Germany's leading newspaper publisher, Axel Springer, has explained how it will charge for content. Christoph Keese, an architect of the company's online strategy (and its chief PR) told the New York Times: "A highly industrialised world cannot survive on rumours. It needs quality journalism, and that costs money."
German newspaper publisher Axel Springer has abandoned plans to enter television and instead pocketed €509m (£366m) for its 12% stake in ProSiebenSat1 from private equity firms that control Europe's second-largest broadcaster. The move comes only days after the Berlin-based company signalled it could close its German postal services group PIN, and write down €600m (£432m), as another attempt to diversify away from print appears to have foundered. Both moves cast a pall on the record of Mathias Döpfner, Springer's chief executive. (Via FT.com)
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