We’re closing allabouthestory.com down at the end of February 2012, and have written to our members to tell them so.

My thanks to those of you who’ve sent messages of support. Very much appreciated.

I don’t propose writing an in-depth post about the decision since it’s a fairly straightforward one. We said at the beginning that the site would be an experiment and our conclusion is: Yes, there is some demand for this kind of content marketplace and we have provided a useful service for some of our members, but overall the opportunity just isn’t compelling enough for us to take it any further. Co-founder Lance Wiggs has written a brief post about it here.

I’ve learned a lot along the way- about the market, the media, myself, building websites and marketing businesses online – and will no doubt reflect on those things here over time.

In the meantime I’ll be working with Fairfax Media on newsroom change management, thinking about my next project, and trying to read more books – perhaps with this advice from Francis Bacon in mind:

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. That is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books: else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things.” — Francis Bacon essay ‘Of Studies’ 1612

 

• Futuristic Concept Design: The California Roll House Photo: http://t.co/w07nqKo2 #
• Photo: VW plant parking tower http://t.co/JOWFvHHN #
• A polite robot car playing by the rules could be lost by aggressive humans… it needs to learn how people really drive http://t.co/hlxzzZPe #
• In Malaysia, RFID used to stop illegal logging | Springwise http://t.co/On3bonAE #
• The IMF expects growth in Mongolia to average 14% a year between 2012 and 2016. http://t.co/njXPtblO #
• "Schoolwide wireless will be available this year, and pupils are free to browse the internet in class." http://t.co/BeAfGtde #

New Zealand

BUSINESS REPORTER/CONTENT EDITOR | NZHERALD.CO.NZ

Reporting in to our Business Editor, we are seeking a Business reporter/Content producer for nzherald.co.nz. The duties for this position will be wide-ranging but primarily involves working closely with the Business Editor to ensure nzherald.co.nz Business section is well managed and continues to attract a growing audience. We are looking for a journalist/Editor who can combine all the duties of the Business Editor; reporting on Business, copy-tasting, editing for publication, sourcing content and liaising with Herald Business team, the APNZ news wire, photographers and video producers. Experience with video and social media would be an asset.

REPORTER | HOKITIKA GUARDIAN

The Hokitika Guardian is a morning daily newspaper circulating throughout the southern half of the West Coast. We are seeking a motivated junior reporter.

Deadline: January 30

PRODUCER | CLOSE UP (TVNZ)

We are seeking a dynamic, courageous producer with a proven record of investigative journalism and a reputation for ‘getting the gets’. You will need to be driven, demonstrate great initiative, manage an impressive range of contacts and be able to work to a deadline. You will have a key influence over daily and longer term research. The position involves field work and you will be working alongside a team of highly skilled reporters and producers. It’s a senior role which will require a notable journalistic portfolio. Preferably you will have had television experience but that is not essential.

Deadline: January 30

REPORTER | STAR NEWSPAPERS (CHCH)

The successful applicant will need to be competitive, have an unquestionable thirst to break news and beat the competition, have an empathy for the city and the communities within it. They will also need to be website savy as The Star group (APN)  progresses its online during 2012.

Deadline: January 27

REPORTER | ACADEMY PUBLISHING (MAGAZINES) 

Applicants will have completed a diploma in journalism or equivalent and experience in a newsroom environment is preferred, but not essential. The ability to take photographs would be an advantage.
You will be highly self-motivated and organised, with superior time-management attributes and the ability to source news ideas.  The successful applicant will be required to write news, features, profiles and supplement-based articles for a range of business, hospitality and education related publications.

Deadline: February 3

Australia

Try: Seek Australia

REPORTER | CANBERRA TIMES

The Canberra Times, part of Fairfax, is seeking an experienced journalist to work in its editorial department in the national capital. The successful candidate will have a passion for print and online news media, sound news judgement, a proven record of excellence as a journalist and the desire to become part of a dedicated team producing high-quality print and online journalism for one of Australia’s most respected metropolitan daily newspapers.

Deadline: January 27

PROFESSOR/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR COMMS & MEDIA STUDIES | MONASH UNIVERSITY

Monash University is seeking to appoint an outstanding candidate as Professor/Associate Professor, Communications and Media Studies within the School of English, Communications and Performance Studies, in the Faculty of Arts. The successful appointee will have an outstanding record of research, teaching and broader achievement in any area of communications and media studies and will provide strong leadership in their field and in the school at large.

Deadline: January 31

SUB-EDITOR (MATERNITY COVER) | NEWCASTLE NEWSPAPERS 

Newcastle Newspapers Pty Ltd, part of Fairfax Media, is seeking to recruit a sport sub-editor. This is a 12-month, full-time maternity leave replacement. The position requires sub-editing to a high standard of accuracy and within Fairfax style. To succeed in this role, applicants need to possess the following skills:  Experience in all facets of copy editing; Demonstrated excellence in headline writing; Ability to work as part of a team; Layout/design experience, particularly using the Cybergraphic system, would be an advantage; Online experience would also be beneficial.

Deadline: February 3

>>> More NZ/Aus journalism jobs at TradeMe | Seek NZ | Seek Australia | Herald Jobs | Fairfax Media | AP | The Big Idea | Reuters | NZJOBS.govt.nz |

>>> UK jobs at |  journalism.co.uk  |  Guardian jobs |

• http://t.co/FTTeaZIl #

• British newspapers pick up Danish press hand-outs | Media | http://t.co/9TVcFAK6 http://t.co/hH6DT4JM #

REPORTER | COOK ISLANDS NEWS (Rarotonga)

Cook Islands News is looking for a general reporter. The daily newspaper based in Rarotonga requires a junior or intermediate journalist or graduate of a fulltime journalism course. The successful applicant would work in a news team of five sharing daily news and reporting assignments. Preference will be given to applicants of Polynesian descent and/or with a proven interest in Pacific people, culture, issues and current affairs.

New Zealand

PRODUCER CLOSE-UP | TVNZ

We are seeking a dynamic, courageous producer with a proven record of investigative journalism and a reputation for ‘getting the gets’. You will need to be driven, demonstrate great initiative, manage an impressive range of contacts and be able to work to a deadline. You will have a key influence over daily and longer term research. The position involves field work and you will be working alongside a team of highly skilled reporters and producers.

Deadline: January 12

WRITER/WEB EDITOR | FAIRFAX DIGITAL 

Fairfax Digital is looking for a writer/web editor to join our team. The successful candidate will be involved in developing and implementing new content streams, and will be responsible for writing, producing and editing the content. You will already have an excellent track record as a journalist and the ability to work fast and think on your feet under pressure. While experience of news agency or online journalism is desirable, full training will be given.

Deadline: January 20

REPORTER/FEATURES REPORTER | TAUPO TIMES

Taupo Times is seeking an enthusiastic, well organised journalist who is keen to report on all aspects of community news and advertising features for our publications. Your key tasks will be varied and you will be required to work in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment, covering issues affecting Taupo, the Waikato and the Nation. Filing breaking news snaps, story updates, advertising feature stories and associated multimedia content such as audio and video for our print and digital products.

Deadline: January 13

SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR | STUFF

We need someone with great news flair, energy, ideas and passion who will be able to step into senior duties in our busy digital newsroom. You’ll love a great breaking story but also have plenty of ideas for projects and features Stuff could develop. Digital experience would be great, but is not essential. You will be a newsroom leader already, maybe not in title but certainly in influence.

Deadline: January 16

MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST | FAIRFAX DIGITAL

Fairfax Digital is looking for a multi-talented journalist to join our Wellington multimedia newsroom team and deliver top quality news for award-winning website, Stuff.co.nz, and our newspapers across New Zealand.  A typical day could include filing a breaking news snap to the web, updating the story through the day and taking it forward for the papers. It may also include filing audio or fronting a video from a scene, or working with our graphics team on in-depth interactive presentations.

Deadline: January 16

AUSM PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR

Auckland Student Movement @ AUT (AuSM), the student association at AUT, has a rare and exciting opportunity for a journalism graduate to join our small but committed team. As publications co-ordinator for AuSM, you will be responsible for putting together debate magazine, the free weekly student magazine at AUT University.  You will write original content for the magazine each week, including news stories, student profiles, info about what is happening around campus and in the wider tertiary environment, reviews and hard-hitting features, all relevant to our student audience.

Deadline: January 13

Australia

REPORTER | CANBERRA TIMES

The Canberra Times, part of Fairfax, is seeking an experienced journalist to work in its editorial department in the national capital. The successful candidate will have a passion for print and online news media, sound news judgement, a proven record of excellence as a journalist and the desire to become part of a dedicated team producing high-quality print and online journalism for one of Australia’s most respected metropolitan daily newspapers.

Deadline: January 27

VIDEO PRODUCER | FAIRFAX MEDIA (Canberra)

Fairfax Media is seeking an experienced video professional  for the role of Online Video Producer in the Canberra Parliament House bureau. The successful applicant will have strong professional experience in all aspects of video production, ideally in a newsroom setting. They will be required to write, produce, direct talent, shoot, edit and  publish to multiple digital platforms. Working alongside the Fairfax bureau journalists and photographers, we are seeking a self-starting and energetic person with excellent verbal and written communication skills who can work to tight deadlines and in a rigorous editorial framework.

Deadline: January 14

PROFESSOR/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR COMMS & MEDIA STUDIES | MONASH UNIVERSITY

Monash University is seeking to appoint an outstanding candidate as Professor/Associate Professor, Communications and Media Studies within the School of English, Communications and Performance Studies, in the Faculty of Arts. The successful appointee will have an outstanding record of research, teaching and broader achievement in any area of communications and media studies and will provide strong leadership in their field and in the school at large.

Deadline: January 31

>>> More NZ/Aus journalism jobs at TradeMe | Seek NZ | Seek Australia | Herald Jobs | Fairfax Media | AP | The Big Idea | Reuters | NZJOBS.govt.nz |

>>> UK jobs at |  journalism.co.uk  |  Guardian jobs |

• http://t.co/HUZvsLwi #

• Air pollution – how are we doing in NZ? | Science Media Centre | http://t.co/QqEzzikW #

• "Two biggest drivers of rising inequality across OECD were tech changes & deregulation of labour and product markets" http://t.co/hHMVWWqZ #
• Don't Be A Free User (Pinboard Blog) http://t.co/DP7aU6UC #
• "We must be polled on how clean we want our rivers, and given costs for each option" | http://t.co/6BfRgonX http://t.co/8nguvBsi #
• Google to finance affordable housing in Mountain View – San Jose Mercury News http://t.co/Jaf9d4Tz #
• Mini-masts in the home to beat Wi-Fi signal overload | Technology | The Observer http://t.co/gzkDeYxS #
• Channel 5 News (UK) to relaunch with reporters editing own footage | Media | http://t.co/9TVcFAK6 http://t.co/t35A9DqK #

Australia’s Financial Review slashes paywall prices

The new regime at Fairfax Media’s Financial Review Group will cut online subscriptions prices by 40% from next Monday for The Australian Financial Review, allow print subscribers full access to online content for free and launch an iPad app early in the new year as part of a major overhaul of the group’s market strategy.

Guardian’s Facebook app generates almost 1m extra page impressions a day

The Guardian’s Facebook app is generating almost a million extra page impressions per day, according to figures released by the news outlet and by Facebook… The news outlet also believes that the app is engaging a younger audience, as over half (56.7 per cent) of the app’s users are 24 and under and 16.7 per cent are 17 and under.

Most Shared Articles on Facebook in 2011

We recently looked at the most shared articles in the US on Facebook over the past year. The stories range from cute to thought provoking and represent the type of news people have been sharing and discovering with friends in 2011.

Kiwis’ most search terms on Google in 2011

In 2011, the fastest rising search by New Zealanders was perhaps unsurprisingly the Rugby World Cup. Second on that list was “Japan earthquake” after people hit Google for more information about one of this year’s most devastating disasters. This year, Sonny Bill Williams trumped Justin Bieber in the most popular searched images, proving biceps and ball skills could overcome Bieber fever.

Igloo pay-TV details released

Sky Television and TVNZ have taken the lid off their new discount pay-television service, Igloo, promising it will offer “pre-pay TV for fun-loving Kiwis”. A website for the service was visible briefly yesterday before taken offline. It said customers would be able to pay in advance for “30-day channel packs” that would let them watch 11 Sky channels. Sky’s sports channels aren’t included, but viewers will be able to pay to see “the best sports live” on a pay-per-view basis.

The road to one million mobile apps

Mobilewalla, a search, discovery and analytics engine that tracks apps in real time, said the count had risen to 989,476 across all four platforms. Apple holds about 60 percent market share, while Android accounts for 32 percent and Blackberry and Windows account for the rest at 4.4 and 3.6 percent. In the last 12 months, Apple apps grew from 338,000 to 589,148, while Android apps went from 115,000 to 319,774.