For this week's Media Monday, we look at the end of an era ushered by The New York Times, Apple's attempt to invigorate the newspaper industry, and TV networks and celebrities uniting to raise funds for Haiti.

The New York Times to charge for online site next year

The New York Times announced on Jan 20 that it would charge frequent users to its website starting next year.

Similar to a model adopted by Financial Times, visitors to The New York Times website would be able to view a certain number of articles each month, while those who wish for unlimited access can pay a flat fee.

Subscribers to its print newspapers, even those who subscribe only to the Sunday paper, will receive full access to the site without any additional charge.

The fundamental features of the plan have not yet been decided by the executives at The New York Times Company, including how much the paper will charge for online subscriptions or how many articles a reader will be allowed to see without paying.

The move drew mixed responses from industry observes, writers and readers alike.

“You can’t continue to be The New York Times unless you find a new source of revenue," said James McQuivey, a media analyst at Forrester Research.

Felix Salmon from Reuters wrote on his blog, “Successful media companies go after audience first, and then watch revenues follow; failing ones alienate their audience in an attempt to maximize short-term revenues.”

Thousands of readers sent e-mail messages to The New York Times or posted comments on the site the day the announcement was made, with those supporting the paid-model outnumbered by those who vowed not to pay.

Apple tablet to revive newspaper industry?

While The New York Times made a move which it believes may be necessary in keeping the industry alive, Apple Inc. believes it could revive the newspaper industry, just like what it did to the music industry with iTunes.

Apple's iTunes Store became the world's largest music retailer by making it easier for people to buy music from record labels. Its digital-media receiver Apple TV was also designed so people can buy and rent movies and television shows.

Apple's chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Jobs is betting on the role of the much-anticipated tablet, which is expected to debut on Jan 27, to reinvent the the newspaper, textbook and television industries and expand Apple’s influence and revenue as content middleman.

Sources close to Apple said the company has been looking at how content from newspapers and magazines can be presented differently on the tablet, which, if sources are correct, would allow the digital content to be shared by multiple persons.

The company has recently been in discussions with book, magazine and newspaper publishers on how they can work together. It has talked with New York Times Company, Condé Nast Publications Inc. and HarperCollins Publishers and its owner News Corp, which also owns The Wall Street Journal, over content for the tablet, said people familiar with the talks.

As it was also looking at television content, Apple has been in talks with CBS Corp and Walt Disney Co as well.

Jobs is "supportive of the old guard, and [he] looks to help them by giving them new forms of distribution," said a person who has worked with the CEO. "What drives all of these changes is technology, and Apple has an ability to influence that."

In an interview by The Wall Street Journal on Jan 20, New York Times chairman Arthur Sulzberger declined to comment on its involvement in the new device except to say, "stay tuned".

“Hope for Haiti” telethon raises US$57 million for Haiti

The “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief” telethon held on Jan 22 raised US$57 million (RM194 million) for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, organisers said on Jan 23.

Up to 1.5 million Haitians lost their homes in the earthquake that rocked the poor Caribbean country on Jan 12 and killed an estimated 200,000 people.

The two-hour telethon was led by actor George Clooney and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean. It was broadcast live on all four leading US networks, dozens of cable channels and on Internet websites internationally. It featured more than 100 celebrities including Beyonce, Madonna, Chris Martin, Keith Urban and Taylor Swift performing from New York, Los Angeles and London. Networks showing the telethon include ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, HBO, MTV and VH1.

Clooney, who took part from Los Angeles, told "Entertainment Tonight" he had been up for "three days straight trying to put it together."

"It's first getting networks together, getting phone lines, phone banks, charitable organisations together and finding the way to get the money to them. It's a long process of making deals and trying to get things done," he said.

Since Jan 23, all of the performances were available on Apple's iTunes. Organisers said the one-day pre-order sales for the "Hope for Haiti Now" album was the highest in iTunes history and was No 1 on the iTunes' album chart in 18 countries.

Proceeds from the telethon would be split among relief organisations including the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the UN World Food Programme, Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation.

Relief agencies estimate one-third of Haiti's nine million people will need emergency food, water and shelter for an extended period. Donations could be made at hopeforhaitinow.org.

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