Charity licensing discount to be extended

We have talked before on this blog about our work with the RNIB and Talking Newspapers, and our donations of over £800,000 to the Journalism Diversity fund. A list of charities supported by NLA publishers can be found here. Another big contribution the NLA makes to the Charity sector is giving discounted or free licenses to over a thousand charities.

Since 2003, following dialogue with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Newspaper Licensing Agency has granted ALL UK charities a financial discount on their copyright licence, worth in excess of £1.5m since inception. To mark the tenth anniversary of the charity discount (and to reflect the NLA's introduction of licences for web-published content) we are pleased to announce an extension to the scheme to incorporate:-
• copying of content from newspaper websites
• republishing of copyright content for publicity purposes on charity websites.

The result is an increase in the financial discount available to charities of all sizes, from the current £150.00 to a maximum of £390.00.

In summary, the extended discount will be:
• financially beneficial to over 1200 licensed UK charities
• smaller charities will see the greatest relative discount
• and over 200 charities (with 5 or less staff) will continue to enjoy a FREE licence.

The NLA licence fees are a small fraction of the value charities get from their coverage and they are distributed in the form of royalties to publishers. NLA fees contribute the equivalent of 800 jobs in the newspaper industry, some in hard pressed regional and local titles. These journalists create the content which provides the publicity the sector thrives on.

We feel this move strikes a good balance; increasing our support for those charities most in need whilst ensuring newspaper publishers reliant upon NLA fees are fairly remunerated by larger charities benefiting from PR exposure in their titles. 

Taz Ahmed (Tahmed@nla.co.uk) and Rhea Borland (rborland@nla.co.uk) – NLA Customer Services

Online licensing for more NLA clients this year

In 2010 the NLA responded to customer feedback and launched an online licence renewal service, enabling businesses to renew their copyright licence simply, securely and efficiently online.

2 years on, this is proving a popular and efficient way for businesses to administer their licence, with nearly 1,000 licensees using the service in 2012.

Licensing online, via www.nla.co.uk is simple to use and provides clients with all the information they need to manage their copyright licence for the forthcoming year – including cover details and licence fees. The NLA’s aim is to remove some of the complexity from our licensing process and provide clients with the facility to select the level of cover they need for their media monitoring needs in a way and at a time that suits them.  We now want to make online licensing  more available.

In the next few months, the service will be extended to a larger group of clients with more extensive media monitoring activity and more involved copyright needs. Clients receiving a press clippings service and sharing relevant content with colleagues, will be able to log in to their NLA account, see their current licence cover and review volume and usage data, to make an informed decision on their licence needs for the forthcoming year.

Clients eligible for the new service will automatically receive an email inviting them to renew their licence online. By clicking on the link provided in the email invitation licensees will be taken directly to their account information and will be guided through the renewal of their licence.  NLA Account managers will be on hand to assist where necessary.

Josh Allcorn

Account Manager, Renewals

Who owns the future? When disruption becomes destruction

Here at the NLA we know from personal experience that the debate around copyright can get bogged down in debates over the minutiae of a particular piece of copyright law – and forget the big picture as to why NLA web licenses are necessary.

Therefore our recommended reading for March is a new book called ‘Who Owns The Future’ by Silicon Valley pioneer Jaron Lanier.   As Lanier points out the digital revolution has brought incredible short term benefits to consumers and wealth to tech entrepreneurs, but there are also huge risks attached.

There is a fine line between disruptive technology which opens up new markets, and destructive technology, which ultimately damages the wider economy.  Respect for copyright, and the NLA’s efforts to seek a fair return for newspaper publishers content are part of the safety net that ensures the internet is to the benefit of all.

For more on this, read the thoughtful review by Evening Standard journalist Andrew Neather.

David Pugh

Managing Director, NLA

Jobs for young journalists: JDF announces 3-month paid internships

Before  becoming the Newspaper Licensing Agency’s MD I worked with the Telegraph Group, launching its first website, the Electronic Telegraph.  It was the beginning of the rapid shift in publisher demand for young, tech savvy journalists who could adapt to the frenetic pace of the online news cycle and create news for a variety of media formats.

So I am very aware that encouraging young new talent is vital to the future of the newspaper industry.  20 years on, competition for entry level positions is fiercer than ever in the digital age, as a squeeze on publisher revenue impacts their businesses. 

There are plenty of fledgling journalists out there seeking to carve out a career.  But the tough economic times mean that even if they have the raw talent many cannot afford to work for free, or to gather the education and experience necessary to make it in the industry.

That’s why publishers support the NLA to use some of the money raised from its licenses to support the Journalism Diversity fund.  Back in September last year, we announced another £100k grant to the JDF to help aspiring journalists, bringing our total contribution to £800,000 since the fund launched in 2005.

This money is now being put to good use in paying tuition fees and living costs for aspiring journalists.  I am delighted to report that the JDF has just announced a paid internship scheme which will provide recipients with a 1-3 month work experience placement at a regional newspaper in order to gain hands-on experience within the industry.

This really steps up JDF support for young people from diverse backgrounds, enabling them to get on the first rung of the ladder for a career in journalism.  Diversity Fund bursary recipients will now be able to put college theory into practice, build their CVs – and have an opportunity to impress a regional newspaper editor!  This scheme will help provide the industry with highly trained, diverse graduates who will reflect the communities which they serve.

It is great to see the NLA’s donations put to such good use.

David Pugh

Managing Director, NLA

Follow the NLA on Twitter - @NLA_ltd

A winner! NLA and RNIB pick Matopy as the winning entry for IC Tomorrow’s ‘Inclusive Media’ contest

Unlike the rest of the population, visually impaired people are often unable to read newspapers or newspaper websites in their original form.  But with advances in technology, and a little hard work, they are increasingly able to receive news from newspaper publishers in an audio form they can easily navigate.

The NLA is pleased to make a contribution to this through its partnership with the Royal National Institute for the Blind.  The NLA supplies a daily feed of text from over 100 newspaper titles to their innovations team and the RNIB optimises this content for visually impaired access to create its Talking Newspaper Service. 

Now this has been taken a step further. Last week, IC Tomorrow and the Technology Strategy Board awarded a prize of up to £48,000 to a ‘Inclusive Media’ developer.  Entrants were required to develop a prototype service for application to newspapers.  We are pleased to report that after seeing off tough competition tech company Matopy was the winner.  Their new app will deliver newspapers and magazine content in audio in a way that is faster and easier to access -  and more fun - than any audio browser/reader available today. 

We look forward to seeing it in action!

David Pugh

Managing Director, NLA

Follow the NLA on Twitter - @NLA_ltd