NLA ClipShare Update

Last July, NLA media access launched an upgrade to ClipShare, the editorial database for newspaper journalists, with exciting new features including web content, a more dynamic search function, and a fresh design. For more detail on the changes that took place, please take look at our website www.nlamediaaccess.com/clipshare.

Since then, the NLA ClipShare team has been busy listening to users who have provided valuable feedback on the new ClipShare. As a result, we can announce the development of several further improvements including:

•    Users can now see their search terms highlighted within the article they are viewing
•    Making it easier for users to run searches across all national newspaper titles, without needing to click on each one individually
•    Making it easier for users to move between pages of results using the page numbers at the bottom of the search results page
•    For those users who have access to first editions, we have made it clearer which publication date is being viewed on the first editions home page
•    When viewing search results, it is now clearer which articles and pages appeared in which edition of the paper
These changes were prioritised thanks to dialogue with our users, who rely on the database to search through news content daily.

We will continue to improve ClipShare in future, working hard to make it as easy to use and intuitive as possible. In the meantime, if you experience any hitches please take a look at the ClipShare user guide for helpful tips and guidance. Alternatively, you can always contact us by email publisherservices@nla.co.uk or tweet us at @NLA_Ltd

NLA extends long term partnership with Ninestars

NLA media access is pleased to announce that a new three year contract has been agreed with Ninestars Information Technologies Ltd, extending our near ten-year partnership.  

Having undertaken an assessment of alternative outsourced production facilities, we have decided to renew the relationship with our current provider. Ninestars continue to demonstrate the clear understanding and importance of high quality press clippings, and the speed in which they need to be processed, in order to aid the NLA in supplying the UK and international media monitoring market through our eClips service.

As we enter February 2016, Ninestars currently clip around 200,000 PDF pages per month (supplied direct from publisher content management systems) for the NLA, to varying processing deadlines. The searchable press clippings generated from publisher PDFs are accessible to around half a million working professionals every day.

With such reliance on the NLA’s eClips technology comes the need for effective disaster recovery. eClips content is generated across three sites in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India:

-       Chennai

-       Pondicherry

-       Tirupati

With production spread across three sites, supported by staff 24/7, this arrangement means that the Ninestars team are able to divert content from one facility to another should there ever be a need.

The presence of a Ninestars facility in Pondicherry is particularly key for the NLA to support its growing partnership with the French reproduction rights organisation - Centre Français d'exploitation de droit de Copie (CFC). Since 2012 the NLA has (via Ninestars) processed French newspaper and magazine content for the french media monitoring market.

Working alongside Ninestars we expect another successful three years and see both continued growth in our eClips database and client satisfaction in early and high quality press coverage.

The NLA's eClips team processing content at the Chennai facility.

Eashwar, Vice President of Operations, proudly displaying photos of the changing NLA eClips teams across the 10 year partnership

The newest Ninestars production facility, at Tirupati

Entente Cordiale – UK and French content exchange simplifies access to international content

NLA media access and the Centre Français d’Exploitation du droit de Copies - CFC – have completed an agreement allowing them to license their respective publisher repertoire to media monitoring organisations - MMOs -  and business users in both countries. As a result, Les Echos, Le Monde, Figaro and other leading French titles can now be delivered as part of UK digital press cuttings services, and major UK titles like the Telegraph, Guardian and Independent can be delivered through licensed French MMOs.

NLA and CFC have also made access available to newspaper and magazine content through the eClips and CFC distre-presse databases to users in UK and France, and will co-operate in offering French and UK content to media monitoring companies in other territories. This additional content will be automatically included in current CFC and NLA end user licenses at local prices, so no additional agreement is required by users or MMOs. The agreement also replaces the special licences needed by French media monitoring suppliers and users accessing NLAs eClips service.  

NLA and CFC have come together in response to user requests to make it easier to use international content. Both are members of international organisations PDLN and IFRRO, who have provided model contracts to assist in reaching the new agreement. 

NLA media access international director Andrew Hughes said: “CFC are close and valued partners. Like NLA, they have created a comprehensive licensing structure for French agencies and clients which both respects publishers’ rights and supports legal use of high quality press material by agencies and their clients. We also co-operate on technical services. NLA is pleased to extend and support this alliance. We know UK agencies and users will welcome rights to use French content.”

Philippe Masseron, CFC’s General Manager, said: “We welcome the opportunity to offer seamless access to English language content to the French market and to have NLA media access act for us in the UK. Working together we can create better solutions for users and publishers. Working through PDLN and IFRRO we hope to extend these agreements to users in other countries. We aim to show that voluntary licensing is the best way to address market needs.”

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CFC is the French Reproduction Rights Organisation representing rightsholder of books, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. For more than 12 years, CFC has been developing voluntary licensing schemes to permit digital uses of protected works in the business sector and particularly for the media monitoring organisations. CFC thus collects in field over 18M€ per year on behalf of press publishers and journalists. 

Contact: Andrew Hughes International Director NLA - 020 7332 9359 ahughes@nla.co.uk

A ClipShare Christmas Cracker

Journalism Diversity Fund Alumni Win NCTJ Awards for Excellence

News reaches the NLA that two former Journalism Diversity Fund (JDF) recipients have recently won NCTJ Awards for Excellence. The awards recognise and reward the best journalism students completing NCTJ accredited courses with less than two years in employment.

George Gigney, now at Boxing News magazine, was named as Student Journalist of the Year having achieved the best exam results for the 2014/15 academic year. George completed his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism this year. He said:

“Simply put, without the JDF I wouldn’t have done the NTCJ diploma and my career aspirations would have been seriously hampered. The JDF putting their faith in me was a huge compliment … Winning the NCTJ student journalist of the year award seems the right way of paying the JDF back and I’m hugely proud of it.”

Sophie Mei Lan Slack, a JDF alumnus from 2012, won Multimedia Campaign of the Year for her campaign ThankYouNHS. BBC trainee Sophie’s campaign was highly commended by the judges for its use of social media, video, images and even poetry. This is the second time that Sophie has won an award following her Scoop of the Year award at the 2013 NCTJ Awards. She said:

“I wouldn’t have got into journalism properly if it hadn’t been for the Journalism Diversity Fund. I love journalism … but it’s hard to get very far without an NCTJ diploma behind you. The JDF gave me the chance to have the support and the money to get my diploma and MA at University of Salford.”

The success of George and Sophie highlights the important work of the JDF in encouraging the next generation of journalists to the profession. This year, NLA media access celebrated the 10th anniversary of supporting the JDF and continues to be a proud sponsor of the graduates of the fund. The NLA has donated over £1 million since 2005 helping those without the financial means to attend NCTJ-accredited journalism courses and kick start their careers.

Read more about the NCTJ Awards of Excellence here.

This week the total number of bursaries awarded by the Journalism Diversity Fund reached 200 as four up-and-coming journalists get ready to begin their training in 2016.