December 29, 2009 • 23:32
South China Morning Post, the English-language daily from Hong Kong, has reportedly cut 30 editorial jobs, apparently as part of a plan to restructure the company.
According to the AFP, which cited an internal memo circulated among staff by the Post’s Editor-in-Chief Reginald Chua, the company wants to remove the reporting teams from the actual production of the paper.
This would be the first big move by Chua, who was appointed to the post in July. He was formerly Deputy Managing Editor at the Wall Street Journal in New York, where he oversaw the Journal’s “computer-assisted reporting capabilities.”
It sounds as though Chua is re-allocating the company’s reporting resources to further support a digital function, which would make sense. So many newspapers are still hamstrung by their “core” product, refusing a great opportunity to lead the audience and dialogue through their online properties. Yes, I get it, advertisers are still paying for newspaper placements and online is merely a “bonus” in the package. But all that is quickly changing — digital is leading the newsflow. And remember, dailies aren’t in the newspaper business; they’re in the news business.
Filed under: Jobs, Newspapers , SCMP
December 23, 2009 • 16:53
Ok, here’s one more job opening at Yahoo! Southeast Asia. I wanted to get this out the door before we head out for our holidays.
We’re looking for a producer to edit and curate compelling stories for our Singapore version of Yahoo! Finance.
The job is incredibly challenging: Identifying and delivering accurate, reliable and timely information to help our users make the best decisions in their financial investments.
This isn’t an entry-level position; you must have proven experience in producing and editing financial news stories. You may also have to write or commission blogs on finance and investments.
Technical experience isn’t necessary, but you’ll need to be comfortable working with a number of internet publishing tools. The position is based in Singapore and reports to the Managing Editor of Southeast Asia.
This is what we’re looking for in an ideal candidate:
A financial journalist with at least five years of writing, editing or production experience at news organizations such as Dow Jones, Reuters, Bloomberg or CNBC
Knowledge of the publicly listed companies in Singapore and commonly watched blue chip stocks
Reliable contacts in the financial services industry would be helpful
An understanding of social media and how to use it to distribute stories and engage a wider audience
Able to pitch great ideas for blog posts and articles relevant to the investment community in Singapore
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in journalism or communication
If your experience fits what we’re after, please send your CV to:
Alan Soon
Managing Editor
Yahoo! Southeast Asia
Email: alansoon@yahoo-inc.com
Filed under: Jobs , Yahoo!
Here’s the another job I’m looking to fill at Yahoo!.
We’re looking for a producer to curate and deliver the best stories on our Singapore front page. This is a high-profile role in guiding and engaging our audience through the most visible section of our Singapore property.
This is a great job for journalists, but ultimately our best candidate must have strong writing skills and a wide understanding of what makes news in the Singapore context. That means you’ll need a broad knowledge of subjects as diverse as politics, business, entertainment and sports. If you know how to write in a compelling style that delivers the clicks, we’d love to hear from you.
Technical experience isn’t necessary, but you’ll need to be comfortable working with a number of internet publishing tools. The position is based in Singapore and reports to the Singapore country editor.
Here’s what we’re looking for in a candidate:
Fluent in English
Able to write in a strong, unique and engaging conversational voice
Must have at least 3 years of relevant or related experience in online and/or traditional media
Excellent local knowledge and a nose for news
A wide variety of subject interests, from politics to health to the local entertainment scene in Singapore
Attention to detail
Able to work with diverse teams of people from different cultures
An understanding of how online communities work
A strong presence in social media networks
An appreciation of analytics and numbers
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in journalism or communications
If you’re interested, send your CV to:
Alan Soon
Managing Editor
Yahoo! Southeast Asia
Email: alansoon@yahoo-inc.com
Filed under: Jobs , Yahoo!
December 22, 2009 • 11:19
This is by far the toughest position for me to fill as Managing Editor of Yahoo! Southeast Asia.
After months of looking and countless interviews, I’m still finding it tough to check off all the boxes for this senior role. So I’m plugging this on my own blog; if you (or anyone you know) have the right skills for this fantastic role as Vietnam Country Editor, please drop me an email.
The job description:
—–
Yahoo! Southeast Asia is looking for a driven and passionate leader for the role of Country Editor for Vietnam. This role requires strong leadership and editorial skills to help build Yahoo’s presence in Vietnam. The successful candidate will be based in Ho Chi Minh City and will report to the Managing Editor for Southeast Asia.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Oversee our editorial strategy for the Vietnamese market, ensuring that we deliver fast, accurate and relevant local-language stories for a growing audience
- Lead, nurture and manage a team of producers in Ho Chi Minh City
- Work with product managers to improve on the layout of the Front and News pages
- Engage and grow our relationship with local content partners
- Engage and work with freelancers and stringers
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
- Fluent in Vietnamese with good command of English
- Must have at least five (5) years of relevant or related experience in online and/or traditional media;
- Proven leadership and mentoring skills;
- Experience working in a real-time environment;
- Demonstrated ability to work in a new technology environment;
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in journalism or media.
COMPETENCIES
- Must be a self-starter;
- Excellent local knowledge and a nose for news;
- Understanding how audiences interact with online communities;
- Keen interest in global and regional current affairs and pop culture from a local perspective;
- Able to interact with diverse groups of technical and non-technical people;
- Must be able to communicate effectively within and outside immediate group.
APPLICATION
To apply, please send your CV to:
Alan Soon
Managing Editor
Yahoo! Southeast Asia
Email: alansoon@yahoo-inc.com
Filed under: Jobs , Vietnam, Yahoo!
I guess you can’t be too quick to say no to AOL’s rumored algorithm “robot” editorial strategy (covered in the previous post).
TBI Research has put out an interesting report that says the plan could actually be quite “smart.”
This is how TBI is looking at it:
- This is all about Search in what is an increasingly fragmented content market; the move will pull in more referral traffic.
- It makes sense to give audiences what they want (duh!!).
- It easily allows AOL to create the custom microsites or “experiences” for advertisers.
- By dealing with a market of freelancers, the amount of AOL’s fixed costs will decrease.
I completely agree with the TBI Research report. But it still leaves one lingering issue: AOL will still need to hire an army of copy editors and fact checkers — and that’s costly.
Filed under: Jobs, Publishing, Tools
November 30, 2009 • 19:33
If you thought the lines between advertising and journalism are blurred, you haven’t seen anything yet.
According to the Wall Street Journal, AOL is putting together a new workflow that aims to cut costs by simply outsourcing editorial interest to algorithms. This is how it works:
- The “algo editor” automatically assigns stories to freelancers through Seed.com based on Web searches and sites that AOL users visit;
- The system also figures out how much marketers are willing to pay to advertise alongside such stories;
- AOL’s staffers (human, presumably) will edit the stories as they come in;
- Fees will “range from nothing upfront, with a promise to share ad revenues the article generates, to more than $100 per item.”
This is of course nothing new. Demand Media is already doing it. But it would be interesting to see how the math is done: Surely having to maintain an army of copy editors and fact checkers will outweigh the cost savings — these could arguably be more expensive than the sale of the ads on the articles themselves.
Or maybe it’s just time to leave fact checking to algorithms.
Filed under: Jobs, Publishing, Tools
