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New Zealand maintains an independent voice in media
Wednesday 31 August, 2011
Australia's national newsagency Australian Associated Press is launching a service in New Zealand to fill the void left by the closure of its trans-Tasman counterpart NZPA.
NZ Newswire starts Monday, September 5, taking over where NZPA left off after a 131-year presence.
NZ Newswire reporters in Wellington and Auckland, supported by freelancers around the country, will produce approximately 40 news, feature, finance and sport stories a day for New Zealand and Australian print and digital publishers and broadcasters.
Images, interactive graphics and video will also be a part of the service.
"I think we would all prefer that NZPA continue, so it's very sad to see such an institution close its doors," said AAP Editor in Chief Tony Gillies.
"But every country deserves a free and independent voice in media so it's proper that an independent news agency like AAP with a 75-year tradition of balanced, fair, accurate reporting is able to step in."
"NZ Newswire has no political axe to grind, nor advertisers to please. News value is paramount and the independence and reporting integrity are guarded above all else."
"I'm also very proud of the fact that we have been able to employ quite a few NZPA journalists for our venture; we're so happy to have them on board."
The service will be edited and prepared for transmission by a team in Sydney headed by Nick Brown, who was the editor of NZPA until late 2010.
NZ NEWSWIRE SERVICES
NEWS FEEDS
Breaking news, business and sports stories covering the length and breadth of New Zealand and the outer reaches of the Pacific are delivered in real-time. Stories are updated as developments occur while features and analysis pieces add context to the issues as they unfold.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
A selection of news and sports images to support the New Zealand breaking news wire are complemented by raw on-the-spot video footage. The New Zealand content is supported by rich feeds of Australian and international news photographs and video from Australian Associated Press.
INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS
Stories can be told in many ways - using words, images video or audio. Interactive news graphics employ a smart combination of all of these elements to add another dimension to the news. Designed for online, the graphics enrich a story in a thoroughly entertaining and informative way.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Tony Gillies, Editor in Chief – Australian Associated Press
P: +61 2 93228500 E: tgillies@aap.com.au
Pagemasters Extends Subediting Services for Fairfax Media
Tuesday 3 May, 2011
Newspaper production services provider Pagemasters is to take on additional subediting for Fairfax Media.
The company, a subsidiary of Australia's domestic news agency Australian Associated Press
(AAP), will expand its current services to include the subediting of general news, business and
sport for The Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun-Herald, The Age and The Sunday Age.
Pagemasters has been editing feature sections for the titles since September 2008.
The expanded editorial production services will be delivered from Pagemasters centres in
Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
AAP CEO Bruce Davidson said he was honoured that Fairfax Media had entrusted Pagemasters
with the extra sections of the newspapers.
"Subediting live news pages is a huge responsibility, and one which Pagemasters is pleased to
accept," he said.
"We will be assembling a team of dedicated and experienced journalists for this new work, which
represents a significant expansion for the company, especially in Sydney and Melbourne.
Mr Davidson said the decision by Fairfax to move more of its subediting to Pagemasters was a
reflection of the changes sweeping the newspaper industry, not just in Australia but globally.
"We are seeing the outsourcing and centralisation of newspaper production across the world as
the balance between print and digital distribution shifts," he said.
Pagemasters has a subediting centre in New Zealand, where it produces more than 1000
broadsheet pages of news, sport, business and features for the New Zealand Herald and seven
regional daily newspapers. The company also has an operation in London, providing subediting
for the UK's pre-eminent national broadsheets, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.
Pagemasters Launches iPad Production Service
Monday 29 March, 2011
Pagemasters, Australia's premier provider of newspaper editorial services, has launched an iPad
production service.
The iPad application offers newspapers, websites and other media organisations a simple, fast
and cost-effective way of getting on to the new publishing platform in a matter of weeks.
Using smart technology, Pagemasters will push daily news and advertising content to the iPad
and, in the near future, other digital tablets.
The service will also encompass solutions for smartphones and iPhones.
Publishers will not need to install software or employ staff – instead Pagemasters will provide the
complete digital production service on a low-cost annual subscription basis.
The elegant and flexible design of the application presents daily news content in two ways – as a
fully searchable story-by-story view, or as an "e-reader" version of the way the newspaper was
presented for print.
Daily content from the publisher – whether a regional daily newspaper, a radio station, or another
media organisation – will be supplemented by live news feeds from Australian Associated Press
(Pagemasters' parent company).
The news app package will also provide various channels for advertising support.
AAP CEO Bruce Davidson said the move to a digital production service was a natural
progression for Pagemasters, which provides editorial services for all major newspaper
publishers in Australia and New Zealand.
"We believe our iPad service will be the most cost-effective way for publishers, especially regional
daily newspapers, to get into new mobile digital platforms," he said.
"We have invested in technology that does all the hard work for publishers. All we need is their
content, and we will make it appear on an iPad by 6am every day."
FURTHER INFORMATION
For pricing or to see our news app in action, contact Tim Campbell on 613 8413 3209 or
tcampbell@pagemasters.com.au
To download an overview of the new service, please click here
AAP's Pagemasters Launches Imaging Services with Sir Stephen Tindall Backed New Zealand Company
SYDNEY, Australia, March 1, 2011 / Medianet International/ --
Pagemasters, Australia's premier supplier of editorial production services, has entered into a strategic alliance with New Zealand-owned imaging and graphics company Velocity Made Good to provide imaging services for the print and online publishing industry.
The new service will enable newspaper and magazine companies to significantly reduce costs while maintaining quality and fast turnaround times.
Pagemasters, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Associated Press (AAP), will provide marketing and client liaison for the new service, and VMG will manage operations.
VMG, of which Sir Stephen Tindall is a major shareholder, currently supplies imaging production for Fairfax Media in New Zealand and for Hearst Magazines in the US, including titles such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire and Good Housekeeping.
AAP Chief Executive Officer Bruce Davidson's endorsement of the young Kiwi business was resounding. "It was important for Pagemasters to work with the leading provider in the market. VMG is not only that player but has already earned a deserved reputation of reliability with key clients such as Fairfax NZ and Hearst Magazines," he said.
The imaging service - which will encompass clear-cutting, image enhancement, colour correction and 360 - degree imaging for iPads - will use VMG's operation in the Philippines to access a highly skilled, cost-effective workforce.
The service will be available for both advertising and editorial images.
Mr Davidson said the move into imaging was a logical extension to Pagemasters' suite of services for the publishing industry.
"Publishing, especially in newspapers, is now all about content. With the advance of technology and communication, the production functions, including imaging, can be outsourced effectively. This will have real benefits for publishers, and help them navigate the challenging times facing the industry," Mr Davidson said.
VMG Sales & Marketing Director Doug Drury said the outsourcing of imaging by Hearst and Fairfax Media was completed smoothly and was now providing significant savings and quality improvements.
"The feedback from production managers has been extremely complimentary, and Hearst in particular is looking to increase its throughput to Manila in the coming months. With the support of Pagemasters and AAP, we are now looking forward to offering these services to a wide range of publishing groups in Australia and beyond," Mr Drury said.
For further information, please contact:
Pagemasters
Brook Thomas
Pagemasters Business Development Manager
bthomas@pagemasters.com.au
+61 3 8413 3207
VMG
Doug Drury
VMG Sales & Marketing Director
doug@velocitymadegood.co.nz
+61 450 055 286
ABOUT PAGEMASTERS
Pagemasters is leading the world in the establishment and operation of centralised sub-editing centres for the newspaper and magazine industry. Its operations in Australia and New Zealand provide complete design, editing and production services for a range of metropolitan, regional and community newspapers and weekly and monthly magazines.
Pagemasters is also Australia's premier provider of pageready listings and other editorial pages. These services range from TV guides and cinema listings, to racing form guides, sharemarket data, weather information, crosswords and comics, as well as editorial and design services. Formed in 1991, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Associated Press.
ABOUT VMG
VMG is the market leading provider of pre press imaging services, working with major publishing companies globally.
Specifically its services include image background removal, retouching, colour correction, and online/offline advertisement design. These services are fulfilled through a wholly owned production studio in the Philippines.
VMG was founded in 2007 by now 27 year old Auckland entrepreneurs Jonathan Reid and Doug Drury, receiving seed capital from Sir Stephen Tindall through his investment vehicle K1W1, who remains a major shareholder today.
The company now has operations in 4 countries and a growing staff of approximately 40.
AAP Celebrates 75th Birthday in Style
November 18, 2010
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. Some of Australia's most regarded media figures, journalists
and special guests came together last night in celebration of Australian Associated
Press' (AAP's) 75th year of operation.
Over 200 guests gathered at Doltone House to celebrate the contribution that AAP
has made to the Australian media landscape over the past 75 years.
Master of Ceremonies; Channel 7 personality Kylie Gillies kicked off the evening
introducing guests of honour including former AAP Chairman; official historian of
the Australian Olympic Committee and author Harry Gordon, AAP Chairman Michael Gill,
AAP's Board of Directors along with a host of media figures, journalists and staff
all who have played a part in AAP's long history.
AAP's Chief Executive Bruce Davidson said "To bring together such an esteemed crowd
of past and present media figures to celebrate this milestone in AAP's long history
is a momentous evening and is testament to AAP."
AAP's Chairman Michael Gill said "As we celebrate tonight, we should remember that
the performance of AAP over seven and a half decades has been, more than anything,
one of reliability."
Bruce Davidson also said "Our mantra at AAP in 2010 has been "how can we help."
How can we help with the daily news grind, by providing things like breaking news
direct to websites, 24 hours a day, and offering other content in a web-ready format
– cutting down labour at the publisher's end."
He added, "For those of you who may not know, we financially support much of this
with successful and healthy enterprises outside the editorial space – Medianet,
our press release distribution business; Newscentre, our media monitoring operation
that is seeing fantastic growth at the moment; Media Research Group, which is developing
strong media and business analysis revenues; and Pagemasters, our pageready and
editorial sub-editing outfit. I believe those enterprises will only get bigger and
better, expanding into many niche areas to generate substantial revenue in order
to help support our most vital purpose, the beating heart of the agency – the fast,
accurate, trusted editorial content."
"We have a lot to be proud of at AAP – and will have even more to be proud of in
the future." Davidson concluded.
The event also saw the launch of On the Wire, a commemorative book discovering and
celebrating the 75 year old history of Australia's only news agency.
Since 1935, AAP has been at the forefront of bringing the breaking news from all
over the nation and the globe to Australians. For over 75 years, AAP has consistently
delivered on its mission; to provide the Australian media, private and public sector
with an unbiased, reliable and comprehensive news and information service.
About AAP
Founded in 1935, AAP is the national news agency of Australia employing more than
700 people. It provides a comprehensive domestic and international news service
to the Australian media, business sectors and beyond - 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year.
In addition to bringing breaking news to Australia, AAP also provides media monitoring,
media and message distribution and page ready services.
AAP's headquarters are in Sydney and it has commercial operations in Melbourne,
Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and internationally.
www.aap.com.au
For more information:
Rita Athanassiou
Australian Associated Press
+61 2 9322 8701
rathanassiou@aap.com.au
PANPA - Newsroom revolution: Interview with Bruce Davidson, CEO of AAP
5 March 2010
In an era of spending constraints, the new boss of Australian Associated Press believes
newspapers will soon be spending more on his company's journalism.
Editors will dedicate more of their budget to specialist journalists who analyse
and comment and will rely on agencies to provide the straight news reporting, predicts
Bruce Davidson, who took over as the chief executive of Australia's largest news
agency earlier this month.
By providing the "nuts and bolts" of the news, AAP will free editors to focus on
distinctive content that reader's value.
Editors might decide they won't use their own journalists to cover "every court
story, or the road toll, or those sorts of things which everyone wants to know about,
everyone wants to hear about" but are easily covered by a myriad of news sources.
Instead editors will ask, "What can we do to distinguish ourselves from everyone
else", says Mr Davidson.
"AAP will become more important, more relevant, as everyone struggles with where
they're going to be in the next 10 to 15 years."
Mr Davidson says newspapers are unlikely to look the same in a decade as they try
to find the editorial balance to sustain print and digital models.
"As revenue shifts to the website, they (publishers) must come up with the compelling
content for those platforms. AAP has a fantastic role to provide the base of the
news every day for all publishers," he continues.
Mr Davidson's vision for the future of the newsroom will be sobering for many journalists,
but he is not alone in his view.
The need to hire specialist journalists and editors to create content that the reader
values is a priority for the chairman and chief executive of News Ltd, John Hartigan.
He told The Bulletin last October: "Commercially, we are going to need to focus
on journalism that makes a difference.
"For print we are going to have to hire more specialists – individuals with great
knowledge of specific subjects who have the ability to write and communicate in
all forms – a style of journalism that really gives context, and the truth."
Such a mission for exclusivity and quality will take its toll on editorial budgets
even in robust economic times.
Mr Davidson believes the option to reduce costs dedicated to straight news stories
to pay for higher value journalism will benefit AAP.
His optimism is tempered by the current challenge that the economic downturn has
given the agency, and the difficulty in recovering revenues to previous levels.
The company has created diversity in its media portfolio so that it does not have
to rely on the news agency alone for its profit.
The agency also runs a media services business, Medianet.
"The challenge is that as one revenue stream slows down and then goes into another
area, there are sometimes short-term difficulties in keeping something alive, because
all of a sudden you're not making any money out of it any more.
"We need to be ready to meet those shifts so we maintain the health of the agency
in terms of the ability to pay for all our business units and make it all work.
"AAP is first and foremost a news agency, which has a very long standing tradition
of quality journalism and fast and accurate supply of editorial, of text and image
and now video on a daily and hourly basis.
Mr Davidson presents an optimistic vision for print media, mentioning several times
that he believes the "death of newspapers" is an exaggeration.
"Sometimes, we're our own worst enemies," he continues.
"There's been a lot of woe-is-me about newspapers recently, and it's probably time
we got off that treadmill.
We should be talking about the health of newspapers.
"I don't think newspapers will die now that the internet has come along, but they'll
be different. They may not sell as many copies, but they still should be healthy
in whatever sphere they end up being in."
Although he's only been in the job for a few weeks, taking over from Clive Marshall
who left for the top job at the Press Association in London, Mr Davidson brings
with him the experience of running Pagemasters – the most profitable part of AAP.
"I've got some advantages in that I was managing director of Pagemasters, so I have
a fair bit of knowledge of the inner workings of AAP," he says.
"That's made the transition a bit easier than if you'd come directly in from outside."
Mr Davidson started Pagemasters with Martin Thomas in 1991, after both finished
working for the Herald & Weekly Times, the Melbourne-based newspaper company owned
by News Corporation.
After 15 years of gradual growth, Mr Davidson says the AAP acquisition in 2002 gave
Pagemasters the opportunity to extend further into editorial work, which led to
the editorial outsourcing for sub-editing for APN New Zealand, Fairfax Media in
Australia, and the Daily Telegraph in London.
Pagemasters' future lies in markets outside of Australia. "We're continually talking
to other publishers, not just [in Australia] but also in the UK and Asia, about
trying to develop more editorial services," he says.
"We're becoming known in the industry as someone to approach, and talk to and see
what we can offer."
Overseas, other companies offering editorial services have begun outsourcing to
India in an effort to lower costs.
While he doesn't rule out going down a similar path, Mr Davidson says it is unlikely
that will happen in the medium term, believing that sub-editing and listings require
culture-specific knowledge to be done well.
"I'd rather develop technology here to enable us to be more efficient," he says.
"The interesting model that we've got, as opposed to perhaps the Indian companies
that are working in America and elsewhere, is that we're not about a wage arbitrage.
"We're more about efficiency, productivity, centralising and using the economies
of scale and having 10, 12, 15, 29, 30 or 40 people in one room that can be more
flexible, can iron out the deadline fluctuations throughout the day."
"You've got these peaks and troughs in any newspaper cycle, and if you've got a
group of people working across several titles, or across several parts of titles,
you can make that more efficient."
As far as the quality of sub-editing goes, Mr Davidson challenges anyone to distinguish
the work of Pagemasters from in-house subbing.
"Pick up the Sydney Morning Herald and tell me who subbed what," he says as a challenge.
"I'd be very interested if you can tell me which bits Pagemasters have subbed, and
which bits the internal editors subbed."
Mr Davidson says he is privileged to have become the chief executive, and he is
proud of the agency's history, which enters its 75th year.
"It's a lot different than it was 75 years ago, and it'll be a lot different in
another 75 years," he says philosophically.
By: Nick Evershed
Bruce Davidson appointed CEO of Australian Associated Press
10 December 2009
The Board of Directors of Australian Associated Press Ltd (AAP) has appointed Bruce
Davidson as the national news agency's Chief Executive Officer.
Mr Davidson, currently Managing Director of AAP subsidiary Pagemasters, succeeds
Clive Marshall, who is joining the UK's Press Association as its CEO.
Mr Davidson, a journalist with more than 30 years experience in the newspaper industry,
was a founder of Pagemasters, which has in recent years won contracts to provide
editorial production services to titles such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age,
The New Zealand Herald and London's Daily Telegraph.
Since the acquisition of Pagemasters by AAP in 2002, Mr Davidson also has been a
member of the agency's executive team.
AAP Chairman Michael Gill said Mr Davidson will bring a combination of editorial
leadership and business experience to the role.
"Bruce has steered Pagemasters through a major expansion, particularly in the past
three years, and his proven management skills and entrepreneurial approach will
be a great asset to AAP," he said.
Mr Davidson said he was delighted and honoured to be appointed as CEO.
"AAP, as with all news agencies around the world, has a vital role to play, especially
as the media landscape shifts – and it seems to be shifting almost daily," he said.
"We can serve the industry well, not just as a reliable and trusted source of news,
but as an organisation that can provide new and creative services to help the industry
survive and thrive in these turbulent times.
"I am also fortunate to inherit and strong and healthy AAP, much of which is the
result of Clive Marshall's leadership over the past nine years. I trust I can continue
in that vein."
Mr Davidson began his career as a cadet journalist in regional Victoria, before
moving to community newspapers in Melbourne and a stint in the UK. He joined the
Herald and Weekly Times in Melbourne in 1980, where he was a sub–editor on The Herald.
He switched to the Sun News-Pictorial in 1985, and served in several senior editorial
roles, including News Editor and Features Editor. He was also the founding Deputy
Editor of the Sunday Sun, now the Sunday Herald Sun.
He formed Pagemasters in 1991, and remained with the company as Managing Director
when it was acquired by AAP.
Mr Davidson will assume responsibilities as AAP CEO in January 2010. He will maintain
a strong presence in the continued expansion and development of Pagemasters.
For further information contact
Michael Gill, Chairman
Phone: +61 (0) 2 9322 8701
Australian Associated Press CEO to Step Down in New Year
12 November 2009
 Australian Associated
Press announced today that Chief Executive Officer Clive Marshall will leave the
company at the end of January 2010 following his appointment as Chief Executive
Officer of the Press Association Group in London.
Michael Gill, the Chairman of AAP, said Clive Marshall had transformed the business
into a dynamic, customer-focused and diversified media group with a growing reputation
worldwide.
"Clive fostered the essential news focus of our agency and managed the business
smoothly into some well-suited diversification," Mr Gill said.
"While Clive will be missed, his efforts and management have built in AAP a team
of executives that we are confident will provide strong leadership in the years
ahead.
"We certainly wish Clive well in his new – or perhaps renewed – challenge," Mr Gill
said.
Clive Marshall said: "It has been my privilege to head up AAP for the past nine
years.
During that time, the company has gone through an extraordinary period of change.
We have significantly strengthened and developed our news and information services
whilst broadening and diversifying our revenues through a number of stand-alone
commercial businesses including Pagemasters, Medianet and Newscentre.
"It is testimony to the skill, commitment and dedication of our employees that Australian
Associated Press is now recognised by its peers as one of the world's leading news
agencies.
"I am particularly proud of the success of our page production business Pagemasters.
In the past seven years Pagemasters has grown from a company employing 30 people
providing TV listings to Australian newspapers, to one which today employs over
140 people and produces 4500 editorial and data pages each week for newspapers in
Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Pagemasters is receiving enquiries
for its services from newspaper publishers around the world."
Mr Marshall joined AAP in 2001 having originally spent eight years at the PA Group
in a number of senior roles. He was appointed a director of the PA Group in 2000.
Australian Associated Press (AAP)
Founded in 1935, AAP is the national news agency of Australia employing more than
600 people. It provides a comprehensive domestic and international news service
to the Australian media, business sectors and beyond - 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year.
In addition to the news agency, AAP's businesses include Pagemasters, the page production
outsourcing service; Newscentre, the news monitoring and media intelligence company;
and Medianet, Australia's largest distributor of corporate news releases.
Virtually all of Australia's newspaper, broadcast and digital media subscribe to
AAP news services.
http://www.aap.com.au
About PA Group
PA Group owns the Press Association the national news agency of the UK and Ireland.
For over 140 years, the Press Association's network of journalists has been gathering
news and information for the media. Today the company supplies everything from breaking
news and showbiz interviews to real-time sports results and weather forecasts.
Other PA Group companies include international weather forecasting business MeteoGroup
and CNW Group, Canada's leading news distribution company.
PA Group employs almost 1500 people. Its headquarters are in London, UK with major
operations centres in Yorkshire, England and Mangalore and Puna, India.
PA Group Limited is a private company with 27 shareholders, including Associated
Newspaper Holdings Limited, News International plc, Trinity Mirror plc and United
Business Media plc.
www.pressassociation.com
For further information contact
Michael Gill, Chairman
Phone: +61 (0) 2 9322 8701
Pagemasters' editorial production services launched in North America
13 August 2009
 Australian editorial
production house Pagemasters has announced a deal that will lead to the services
it pioneered in Australasia being offered to newspapers in North America.
Under an alliance with The Canadian Press, Pagemasters North America will provide
newspapers in Canada and the US with a complete range of editorial services, from
design to sub-editing and headline writing.
The launch of Pagemasters North America by The Canadian Press follows Pagemasters'
success in providing editorial production services to newspapers in Australia, New
Zealand and the United Kingdom, including sub-editing for the Sydney Morning Herald,
The Age, The New Zealand Herald and the UK's Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.
Under the agreement with The Canadian Press, Pagemasters will provide consulting
and advisory services and earn revenue based on the success of Pagemasters North
America.
Pagemasters currently produces more than 10,000 editorial pages per month in four
production centres in Australia and New Zealand and employs more than 100 sub-editors.
Pagemasters is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian Associated Press (AAP).
AAP chief executive Clive Marshall said: "Pagemasters has experienced extraordinary
growth over the past few years as more newspapers outsourced their editorial production.
The launch of Pagemasters North America will enable us to capitalise on the high
level of interest that we have received in Pagemasters' services from newspapers
in both the US and Canada – the largest English language newspaper market in the
world."
Pagemasters managing director Bruce Davidson said: "The launch of Pagemasters North
America is a major development and I believe one which has the potential to lead
to significant changes in the editorial production model for US and Canadian newspapers.
"We will be heavily involved with The Canadian Press in setting up editorial production
centres in North America, working closely with newspaper publishers as they grapple
with the radical changes sweeping the industry."
Eric Morrison, president of The Canadian Press, said: "We wanted to be a part of
the solution to the industry's current difficulties so it was a natural choice to
work with a world leader like Pagemasters to give Canadian and US newspapers the
benefit of their expertise in significantly reducing editorial production costs.
"The key is the savings through greater productivity and efficiencies are not achieved
by sacrificing the quality of the pages."
The Pagemasters model being adopted in North America guarantees quality in two main
ways:
- Pages will be developed in close consultation with clients, allowing pages to be
highly customised while publishers retain complete editorial control of everything
from story selection to placement and treatment. Pages can be created live within
the client's editorial system using advanced technology that enables clients to
monitor quality throughout the process, raising the standards of accountability
even higher.
- Features, news pages and common pages will be edited by North American staff on
North American deadlines, adhering to local language and style guidelines and ensuring
proper use of sports, political and other terms specific to Canadian and American
culture.
For further information or interviews contact
Australia
Kate Priestley
Phone: +612 9322 8892
Email: kpriestley@aap.com.au
Canada
Sharon Hockin
Phone: +1 416 507 2137
Email: sharon.hockin@thecanadianpress.com
Pagemasters wins editorial sub-editing contract from Britain's Daily Telegraph
9 January 2009
Pagemasters, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian Associated Press (AAP), has
been awarded a contract by the UK's biggest selling newspaper, The Daily Telegraph
and sister title The Sunday Telegraph, to provide sub-editing for the newspapers'
weekend supplements.
The agreement with Telegraph Media Group (TMG), which will result in Pagemasters
sub-editing 150 pages a week, is the fourth major sub-editing contract awarded to
Pagemasters. Pagemasters is now sub-editing more than 1800 pages a week, at four
centres, for clients in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. The Telegraph
sub-editing will be carried out at Pagemasters' operation in Sydney
Bruce Davidson, Managing Director of Pagemasters, said: "This is a ground-breaking
decision that further establishes Pagemasters as an important part of newspaper
editorial production, not just in Australia and New Zealand, but now on a global
basis."
Clive Marshall, the CEO of AAP, said. "I am absolutely delighted that newspapers
of the quality and prestige of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph have
selected Pagemasters to provide them with sub-editing services. Since we were awarded
our first sub-editing contract by APN in New Zealand 18 months ago, we have received
enquiries from newspaper publishers around the world. It is a testimony to the quality
and professionalism of our company that Telegraph Media Group has awarded Pagemasters
this contract."
Richard Ellis, TMG's Executive Director, Editorial, said: "As Britain's most pioneering
and innovative multimedia company, Telegraph Media Group is delighted to be using
the services of Pagemasters, whose staff have impressed us with their professionalism,
dedication and commitment to quality."
For further information or interviews contact
Rita Athanassiou
Phone: +61 2 9322 8701
Email: rathanassiou@aap.com.au
AAP's Newscentre Set to Shake up the News Monitoring Market
27 August, 2008
 Newscentre, the news
monitoring division of Australian Associated Press (AAP), today announced a significant
expansion of its monitoring services with the launch of broadcast monitoring - a
move that will provide clients with fast access to video and audio news clips at
highly competitive prices.
"For far too long there has been no significant competition in the Australian broadcast
news monitoring market" said Clive Marshall the CEO of Australian Associated Press.
With the launch of Newscentre's radio and television news monitoring service, business
and government now have a real choice in broadcast news monitoring - and the opportunity
to make significant cost savings."
Two years in the planning and utilising the very latest search technology, the broadcast
monitoring service will complement Newscentre's extensive newspaper, magazine and
text monitoring service, providing a one-stop solution for organisations who wish
to monitor the Australian news media.
To coincide with the launch, Newscentre clients will be able to access their print,
text, internet, radio and television clips via a newly-designed online platform,
with all their content available at the click of a mouse.
Kylie O'Reilly Managing Director of AAP's commercial divisions said, "Over the past
few weeks we have been trialling the service with a number of clients and the feedback
has been fantastic. Customers love the ease of use of the new platform, the fact
that they can access all of their print and broadcast clips without delay and particularly
in the current business environment that they can make real savings on their monitoring
services."
"I am delighted that with the launch today, Newscentre can now showcase the service
to companies and government departments across Australia.'' Ms O'Reilly concluded.
For further information, please contact:
Kylie O'Reilly, Managing Director - Commercial Divisions
Phone: +61 (2) 9322 8120
AAP acquires The Media Research Group
5 July 2007
Australian Associated Press, the national newsagency, today announced the acquisition
of The Media Research Group (MRG) the Melbourne based media monitoring and analysis
company.
Under the terms of the deal, MRG will continue its current operations in Melbourne
and its principal, Michael O'Connell, will remain with the company as Managing Director.
AAP Chief Executive Clive Marshall said: "This investment is part of a major commitment
by AAP to develop our range of media monitoring, analysis and media distribution
services. The acquisition of The Media Research Group will complement AAP's existing
media monitoring business, AAP Newscentre. The combined business will enable us
to expand our current range of services whilst continuing to provide clients with
the highest quality of service."
Michael O'Connell Managing Director of MRG said "Over the last 10 years we have
enjoyed considerable success in growing and developing our business. Following the
sale of the company to AAP we will be able to invest in our systems, infrastructure
and services to ensure that we can continue to capitalise on the enormous growth
in demand for media monitoring and analysis services. In addition MRG clients will,
for the first time, have the ability to monitor around the clock, in real-time,
the editorial newswires of AAP."
Media Enquiries: Clive Marshall, CEO, Australian Associated Press, Tel: +61
(2) 9322 8701
About Australian Associated Press. Australian Associated Press (AAP) is the
national newsagency of Australia providing Australian focused news and information
24 hours a day to media, corporations and government in Australia and around the
world. Established in 1999 AAP Newscentre provides corporate and government clients
with relevant media coverage on any topic from a wide range of Australian publications
and sources.
About Media Research Group. The Media Research Group (MRG) was established
in Melbourne in 1996 with the objective of providing clients with focused high quality
cost effective media monitoring and analysis. The company has expanded to become
a national operation, undertaking media analysis, monitoring and related services
to a diverse group of client roster that include some of Australia's largest and
most successful public and privately-listed companies, government departments, not-for-profit
organisations and public relations specialists.
Honoured journalists defends the profession
By James Dampney
SYDNEY, June 12 AAP - Journalists, generally, are grouped with used car salesmen,
real estate agents and politicians at the bottom end of the career food chain, certainly
in regards to honesty and ethics.
 But Ted Simmons, a sports journalist
for 63 years who has been named on this year's Queen's Birthday honours list, believes
the media industry is simply misunderstood.
Simmons, 78, has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services
to soccer, athletics and tenpin bowling and as a journalist, referee, announcer
and coach in this year's list.
His career began as a 15-year-old with the now defunct Sydney Daily Mirror in 1943
and Simmons is all too aware of the industry's reputation.
But the man who has worked for the past 37 years with the national news agency,
Australian Associated Press, feels the conduct of a few has tainted the reputation
of many.
"I think (the award's) marvellous," he said. "I'm pleased as a journalist, first
of all, because it's recognising the work that journalists do.
"We do a pretty good job informing and entertaining the people.
"Unfortunately the few that don't do the same type of job are the one's that get
the publicity and everybody seems to think of journalists as people not too high
in the popularity list.
"I've always felt we've been an overlooked profession. Look at Watergate in the
States, that was a great example of investigative journalism. I've been in the profession
since 1943 and I wouldn't change it for the world."
But services to journalism, including working on AAP's sports desk since 1969, only
scratches the surface of Simmons' involvement in the sporting arena.
As he says: "When you're interested in something and prepared to stand up and support
or argue for it, they tend to notice.
"The usual reaction of administration is to get you onto the committee and I often,
invariably, became president." And how.
The Eastern Suburbs Soccer Referees Association, Greater Sydney Tenpin Bowling Association
and Australian Churches Soccer Association are just a fraction of the organisations
Simmons has served as president.
He has been an official announcer for Athletics Australia since 1961 and still competes
for NSW in over-50 tenpin bowling competitions.
And he isn't finished yet.
"I was born 5 August, 1928," he said.
"That means I'm two years off 80 and 22 years off 100.
"I've marked them both down in the calendar and will be looking forward to them
both."
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