Technology 'priority for Britons'

Britons are more willing to cut back on holidays and meals out than on spending on communication technology during the

recession, an Ofcom review suggests. The watchdog's annual report says spending on mobiles, the internet and TV is regarded

as a higher priority than almost anything except food. In a poll of 862 people, over 40% said they would save on holidays and

eating out and 19% chose spending on mobiles.

BBC Article
Reuters Article
 

ITV in £25m Friends Reunited sale

ITV has sold Friends Reunited for £25m four years after buying it for £120m. The buyer is Brightsolid Limited, which is owned

by DC Thomson, Dundee-based publisher of comics such as the Beano. The announcement came with the release of half-year

results, which were hit by the worst decline in UK television advertising on record.

BBC Article
 

Rupert Murdoch plans charge for all news websites by next summer

The billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch suffered the indignity of seeing his global empire make a huge financial loss

yesterday and promptly pledged to shake up the newspaper industry by introducing charges for access to all his news websites,

including the Times, the Sun and the News of the World, by next summer. Stung by a collapse in advertising revenue as the

recession shredded Fleet Street's traditional business model, Murdoch declared that the era of a free-for-all in online news

was over. "Quality journalism is not cheap," said Murdoch. "The digital revolution has opened many new and inexpensive

distribution channels but it has not made content free. We intend to charge for all our news websites."

Guardian Article
 

Google to Buy On2 as It Looks To Boost Video

Google agreed to acquire On2 Technologies Inc. for $106.5 million in stock as the Internet-search company looks to buttress

its video operations. Separately, Google said yesterday it sold its orphaned radio-ad placement technology to WideOrbit, a

small San Francisco company that makes software for the broadcast TV and radio industry. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

WSJ Article
 

Iraq mulls website ban, fuels censorship fears

Iraq is considering blocking websites deemed pornographic or that incite violence or crime, triggering fears of a return to

Saddam Hussein-style state censorship and government propaganda. Iraq's Interior Ministry said earlier this week it was

looking into banning certain websites, including those it judged are connected to crimes such as money laundering, robbery,

prostitution, bomb-making and "terrorism."

Reuters Article
 

NTT Q1 group net profit contracts by 21%

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. said yesterday its net profit shrank 21% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier,

hit by weakness in its mobile phone business. Japan's largest telecommunication carrier, known as NTT, said its net profit

fell to Y139.56 billion from Y175.53 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was down 3.5% at Y2.503 trillion from

Y2.594 trillion, while operating profit dropped 12% to Y325.77 billion from Y372.06 billion.

Total Telecom Article