Another Dubai media behemoth rises again .... Former ITP sales god Neil Petch is now managing director of ENG Media, formed by Emirates Neon. He has poached Graham Stacey from CPI (where he headed up OK Middle East), who is now group editor.
Details on what publications they plan to launch are sketchy at best, but our money is on a celeb gossip title at least. Our spies tell us that Stacey is on a serious recruitment drive.
Updated: thanks to the poster who submitted a first look at one of the ENG magazines, BHW.
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99 comments:
emirates neon a few months ago were trying to launch a daily business newspaper. but, given the "talent" they have hired, i wonder if they've given up on that idea.
My money's on a magazine consisting of nothing but pictures of Petch and Stacey. Hopefully fully clothed, but you never know.
Seriously though, at least one senior person has already apparently left, and they haven't even launched anything. I'd stay well away.
There was talk of a senior UK hack coming over to run editorial. Is that the person who has already left? And now been replaced by Dubai's answer to James Cameron?
just heard the Editor of Charged at ITP is on his way to head up a mens lifestyle magazine...
What I want to know, is why do you have to send a photograph with your CV? Is this standard procedure in Dubai?!
If you don't send a photo, the editor will probably just look you up on Facebook and decide that way if you're good-looking enough for the job. Talent? Experience? Work ethic? Actual skills? Who needs 'em if you're pretty and perky?
Pretty and perky, that's me! Where do I sign?
Sorry to butt in folks but I'm after some advice.
I'm an Aussie journo looking to live and work in Dubai ... or I thought I wanted to before I started checking out various blogs and discovered so many of you seem just as unhappy as your average Aussie journo.
Give it to me straight.
What's it like for a 40-something married journo (no kids) living and working in Dubai?
Is it everything it's cracked up to be or do you wish you could have your time over?
Is the money any good? etc etc etc
Stick with Australia mate. The only thing Dubai's got going for it is the sunshine - and you've got that already.
I'd rather be spending Anzac Day in the Courthouse than looking at twats from ITP in the Irish Village.
Since the US dollar tanked, the wages aren't so hot either.
The sun is good in Dubai? Who keeps saying that crap? It's horribly, horribly hot and unbearably humid. You cannot go outside from April to October. Since when does that qualify as 'good weather'? Is this coming from Brits? Geez guys, come to the US if you are looking for good weather. Who in their right mind would leave Oz for Dubai?
Journalists should be warned about Media One in Dubai. This company, not to be confused with another of the same name in DMC, is located in Deira and publishes a number of contract magazines for the logistics industry.
Media One appears to have hit the wall and salaries are between one and three months late.
The management decisions are taken by one chief executive who is rarely in the office to avoid creditors.
The company regularly takes people on and then asks for documents to process visas. However they don't actually apply for the visas and may get two or three months' work out of the applicant before they walk away unpaid. Of course without a valid visa they have no chance of getting help from the authorities.
The gossip is that company drivers can't move because of lack of money for fuel and there is no salik credit. The phones and internet were cut because of overdue bills and then restored.
The editorial office uses old computers bought second-hand and running unregistered software.
Except for one or two stalwarts the staff is almost entirely made up of non-journalists of Indian origin who were lured by big promises of salary, status and travel. In desperation to pay their rents they often resort to appealing to the local sponsor who, to his credit, has rescued some from debt crises.
Despite this situation Media One continues to run job ads.
Thanks for the warning - it would be easy to get caught over here in Autralia.
What about some good news. Are a mob like 7Days safe enough?
Forget about the journalistic judgements - I can see who's doing what (and who's not) on their websites and I understand the limitations of the media in the UAE.
I want to know who are fair employers; who pays their wages on time and who are the best to work for in general.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Media One aren't perchance a wing of CPI, are they?
I don't regret leaving Oz to come here but basically Dubai is a great place when things go right for you and can be bloody horrible when things go wrong. If you're aware of the sometimes pathetic and often inconsistent censorship, the lack of clear guidance about what you can and cannot get away with but you want to live and work somewhere where you can score some nice travel opportunities, it can be a good move.
But carefully research rents, be aware that rent is usually paid six or 12 months in advance and this results in many people taking out a loan to pay rent, which makes it harder to get out if you wish to leave in a hurry. As you're a man, your wife can go on your visa but do investigate what sort of jobs she could do here if she doesn't want to be a Jumeirah Jane who fills her days with manicures and shoe shopping. And if she does want to be a Jumeirah Jane, make sure your salary alone will cover the rent as well as her manicures!
The more information you can arm yourself with before you get here, the less chance you have of being bitten on the arse, but you probably still will get bitten on the arse over something unexpected.
At least you're married so your sex life will be legal!
Media One sound very much like an arm of C**p Publishing International...
Remember that magazine idea they had called 'Goodbye' (about dead people) that hit the newswires? Genius
Let me guess, the magazines will 'break new ground', have GCC distribution and all have '10,000 circulation'...
i would rather stick wasps up my ar*e then work in the emdia in dubai
Cr*p PI's 'Goodbye' idea was apparently registered, and with licence, according to my mole at DMC.
Obviously a dig at Hello - for which Desousa would have paid Dhs5-7,000.
No wonder his staff work without visas - he has better things to splash his Dirhams on. Wonder if his staff found it funny!
Anon @ 20.30 (AKA Dave Johnson of Camden).
Ok, we get it, you don't like Dubai. Change the record, for fuck's sake. You're boring the shite out of us now.
Yes, please do amuse yourself with wasps and leave us alone if you're that same idiot who hijacked a previous thread with your shreiking "evil Dubai" diatribe.
i've heard all about how bad/good the publishing side of ITP is but i just sent over an application to the events division. can anyone give me some information about that? is it just as bad/good as the publishing side or worse?
Jesus - I remember when this site used to be fun, informative and worth logging on to. Now it's just a mixture of 'ooh, should I take the job with such and such' (answer: no, you moron, and stop asking for career advice on an anonymous blog site), and Dave Johnson moaning about Dubai versus someone else singing its praise.
Even Eudore's tach was more entertaining than this.
GROW SOME BALLS DMO.
When i read a recent edition, I really felt like i was overCharged.
Charged is appalling. Does not bode well for the supposed men's magazine.
onviously, anonymous comments abouve clearly represents the voice of a frustrated person. if you have nothing positive to contribute, why don't you shut up and stop being a moron as well!
Yeah, 'onviously' it does.
Neon roll call:
Neil Petch
Graham Stacey (Ok)
Alex Ritman (Charged)
Paul Ewart (Ahlan!)
Andrew Buchan (Time Out)
Matt Ross (Time Out)
Becky Wicks (Ahlan!)
Feel free to add to this illustrious band of cavaliers as and when you find out more...
Not exactly the elite of the city's media talent is it?
Matt Ross has just left Time Out for 7Days. So that's one wrong name.
There is more than one Matt Ross. The talented one has gone to 7 Days, the less than talented one will soon be joining the ENG Media carthorse.
Nick Pomeroy (ITP)
Jeremy Lawrence (Time Out)
Gina Johnson (Motivate)
James Rawlins (ITP)
Few more on the roll call. Can't say I've heard of three of them. Apparently they have the Esquire franchise, and have three (junior) Esq staffers coming over.
haha, you are quite wide of the mark guys. there's no magazine...it's an entertainment and listings-based daily. i know because i met with the publisher today! I'm not sure about the concept (it looked a bit like the sun newspaper!!), but the publisher is certainly a very well-known figure in the uk. i won't reveal his name because i'm possibly only one of a few people he has had the time to meet so far, but he's just as flambuoyant off the screen as he is on it!
He can be as flamboyant as he likes, but it won't do much good without a publishing licence, which they are sadly lacking...
licence is from abu dhabi. or so he says. is that possible?
Remember the time ITP thought they had a newspaper licence from Abu Dhabi? That's when they hired the magnificent Frank Cane/ Kane, plus a lot of other expensive staff.
You'd have thought Petch would have learned his lesson from that little fiasco.
So lets get ot the truth. Petch is back to his old ways of 'Gentlemans' hours and contributing fuck all to the day to day running of the business as he successfully did for 5 years at itp. Merchant is starting to realise this and is now wondering what the hell he has gotten into. they printed a zero issue of their daily that is to be titled ' business telegraph' at al Ghurair printing without realising the press was closing down and moving to umm al quwain. the licence is out of fujeirah not abu dhabi. the licence was part of the package when they bought coast FM ( you know the one without any ads on it). the paper should it be launched will not be seen before october at the earliest.
they need a strong commercial director and quickly, merchant is despised by the agency heads for ruining their cash in hand outdoor bonanza and petch is as he always was and will be a complete laughing stock.
Useless Gina Johnson has convinced another Dubai publishing company to hire her? You're kidding...
Jeremy Lawrence - ahhhh what a dide - I remember when he played guitar with the Sonic Avengers (or was it Cinderella Rockafella) at Rock Bottom....
Time Out Dubai has gone completely down the toilet. Why anyone would want to hire their current editorial staff is beyond belief.
Maybe they've been hired to clean the toilets
With all these character and career judgments about Dubai's publishing community, are we to believe that it is the unsung media geniuses of Dubai that spend their busy days on DMO?
You'd think that with the amount of self-declared talent currently floating around DMO, they'd have got together by now and shown the rest of us how it should be done.
DMO Media Group, anyone?
I don't think Time Out has gone down the pan - they've had a few people leave over the last few months, but they've had some great cover stories in recent times. Back to the topic though, it'll be interesting to see how ENG get around the license issues...
dide = dude
duh
Interested your opinion on the "great" cover stories TOD has had in the last few months.
The recent photo issue was good, as was the traffic feature. I only pick it up when I'm in town but it's generally a good read. I assume you beg to differ...
Everyone has an opinion out here and its good that this site encourages free and 'fair' debate.
We all know there are too many mags per capita in Dubai, but still they keep getting launched and claiming 'new and better' things'.
Give ITP credit, at least they hire quality journo's (but not always 100%)and pay them on time, dont take their passports away, look after them (yes hours are long)have nice offices, modern desks and computers (as opposed to crammed in 'hotdesking in Bank Street)....but the 'grass in not always greener' elsewhere...as those who leave soon find out.
Also credit for them in having 'visibility' even if some of us judge their mags in a poor light. Carrefour + other main supermarkets, gas stations, aiport etc in highly visible loctions. Yes, they prob dont treat staff that well which is why I hear about high staff turnover, but no doubt one of the best places to work in media in Dubai...
People will always come an go, but I think every media house in Dubai must be jealous of the growth rates and money ITP brings in...
PAT LAMPARD RIP
Anon @ 21.32 - I not so much beg to differ, as laugh in your face.
Still, credit to ITP, they hire "quality journo's" (sic, anon@22.22); a pub singer 'editor' derided by his own staff and a bunch of kids in their first jobs living off the 'kudos' of working for Dubai's cutting-edge media magazine (for which read self-referential smug).
That said, they do have really good desks at ITP, which, as we all know, is the mainstay of any journalist. Conrad Black wouldn't be the man he is now without years spent on solid office furniture.
I work for ITP and I think it is an excellent company. Hard working, entrepreneurial, fast moving with possibilities always there for new projects, and new ideas.
ITP publications ARE good. The company knows its business, and creates for the most part a very good, lively environment to get things done.
I am not a school kid. I have been around a few years, and worked in several international media companies, and I can safely say, ITP, for me, is the best organization I have worked in so far. I look forward to going to work.
Please note the subjective caveat. Not everyone can fit in everywhere.
DMO is very entertaining, but the black and white statements it revels in - usually black - can be a little predictable.
I don't think you can say that nothing ITP produces is any good, but Time Out is vastly overrated. The listings are useful, but take that away and all you've got is some incredibly smug, incredibly niche editorial aimed at young, left wing, Guardian-reading Londoners. That must be an audience of all of about half a dozen.
They might think it makes you appear intelligent to use English slang and bizarre UK cultural references that 99% of Dubai won't understand. It doesn't. It makes you someone who has completely failed to understand the market you're in, but is fortunate enough to have a good brand name and a strong sales team to cover your backside. I think Time Out is possibly the mose over rated magazine here.
"Time Out is ... aimed at young, left wing, Guardian-reading Londoners. That must be an audience of all of about half a dozen."
I guess I'm one of those six, then. But I'd rather pick up a copy of Time Out anyday over OK/Ahlan/What's On. I think they pull it together for, what sounds like, such an overstretched team.
Quite frankly, I don't give a cr*p what the editor does in his spare time as long as I have something to read whilst in the queue at Spinney's. He can spend his time plaiting the hair of a My Little Pony for all I care!
I don't think its of any relevance whether the Time Out editor's play the guitar or DJ in their spare time. I think they are all nice enough people, just a bit out of their depth.
Saying ITP magazines are good/bad is meaningless without context. Compared to other magazines in Dubai, most of them stack up, compared to UK/US magazines, they are not up to scratch, but then neither are the staff, so what do you expect?
I agree with you dangermouse, that's why I stated that I couldn't care less. However, I think it's an unfair, sweeping statement to slam all journalists in Dubai. I've seen some great articles out here in publications such as Time Out, Communicate, Xpress etc.
The difficulty for journalists in Dubai is that, generally speaking, people here are hard to please. They want the biggest and the best of everything. Even when there's really not that much to write about, people are still expecting to see exceptionally gratifying articles. Whilst I agree it's the down to the journalist to dig for an original story, I think most of them here are too busy doing five other people's jobs to go out and find it. It's a shame because there IS talent in Dubai, people just fail to recognise is.
I agree with Dangermouse. Compared to UK, yep not up to scratch, but then out here ad revenue is more important and unlike UK, editorial comes second. So companies out here dont care about their Single Copy sales figures on the newsstand because the money comes from ads either way.
I think nice clean modern offices and a good social environment makes a lot of difference...especially when you compare it to some of the media houses out there who cram them into horrible offices in cheapest Bur Dubai or Deira.
Its a funny old market out here, the guys with the real talent who come out from UK, try to make things better and can make a difference...but dont conform to the company way of doing things and are ousted soon after...
What ever happened to Chris Kelly?
The notion that magazines here are about ads and those in tne UK aren't is naive in the extreme. That's putting it nicely, it's more likely just more cultural superiority from a group of people who think their home country defines all that is good and pure.
All this judgmental crap and rating talent is a joke. There are young writers and editors out here learning plenty about a fast paced media environment who will be improved by the experience.
who's Chris Kelly?
All this judgmental crap and rating talent is a joke. There are young writers and editors out here learning plenty about a fast paced media environment who will be improved by the experience.
Hahahahahaha.
If you think the ad revenue chase here is anything like UK, then you must be low down the food chain mate..
Ad revenue here comes before the quality / look / feel of the magazine. Plenty of cases where sales have run supplements in mags totally unsuited to the editorial and target demographics...against thw wish of the editor. But of course he always gets over ruled
The ITP model is exactly the same in Dubai as it is in the UK and that includes the relationship between advertising and editorial. Mate.
The publication I work on is every bit as good, if not better, that its corresponding title in the UK. And that's a fact.
The grass is always greener...
UAE publishing has come a long way and can increasingly show the rest of the world the way to go.
Yes, ad revenue is just as important in the UK, but the way you get it there is through having actual readers, proven by an audit. The way you get more readers is by investing in editorial. Until more advertisers start demanding audits here - and learning how to understand them when they have them - most publishers will continue to underinvest in editorial.
If you bundle several magazines together and sell the whole packet for dhs5 in the auditing period to raise sales (thanks Motivate), that shows up on the certificate. It's just very few people seem to know how to read them.
Underinvestment in editorial is good and bad for journalists here. You get to do a bit of everything, broadening your experience. The bad news is, you have to do a bit of everything, instead of concentrating on what you're good at.
"If you bundle several magazines together and sell the whole packet for dhs5 in the auditing period to raise sales (thanks Motivate), that shows up on the certificate. It's just very few people seem to know how to read them."
Including you it seems. Audit reports can't be manipulated in this way and the audit companies are very aware of this possibility and report spikes due to extraordinary promotional activity clearly. As much as these things show a climb coming in they show a decline going out which is exactly what a publisher doesn't want.
There is no "audit period" - it is ongoing and continuous unless forfeited by the publisher.
"UAE publishing has come a long way and can increasingly show the rest of the world the way to go."
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh today.
Why, no mirrors in your house?
I agree with 09:23. Having worked in UK media for over 10 years, and having recently moved to the UAE, I firmly believe the title I am working on here is better quality than the well known product I was working on in the UK.
Moreover, there's real excitement here about what we're doing. Something that was just non existent in the UK.
I hire about 3-4 journalists a year from Dubai. I would never take on any ITP journos unless they worked for a serious publication back in the UK.
Even then, I find most of them are still raw and need a hell of a lot of training before they stand up to international standards.
That saying, there have been some success stories who moved onto the wires.
Overall though, there's still a massive gap between UK and UAE standards.
I especially like Heat as an example of UK publishing standards.
which planet are the guys from who ethink there is as much pressure on ad revenue here as in the UK? Here its twice as bad....
Come on, seriously. Low newsstand revenue as most are bulk free copies, so ad revenue is the only aspect (along with awards)
Why do you think sales can run roughshod over editorial out here. That would never happen out in UK. Oh and publishing deadlines....depends if a mag has reached budget.
In terms of audit periods, yes it can be misleading. Any mag seriously concerned about its audit image should apply for two per year. A audit from a year ago is only as good as the mag at the time...
What planet are you from if you think a market of a few hundred thousand consumers can be run on the same terms as one with tens of millions? Or an industry that's been established for over a century compared to a decade?
Ah, ITP. It's very sad really - the amount of negativity in the air surrounding the whole company. I was coming home in tears every night towards the end of my time there, due to the sheer frustration created by trying to make a difference, and being beaten down and reprimanded for my efforts, every step of the way. I started out, happy, positive, determined not to join the troop of miserable people bitching about it all on this website. It was near enough impossible.
Having left, I am a thousand times happier, and have doubled my salary in a company (not publishing) that respects and makes the most of my ideas and ambition.
That's not the point however. The point is that ITP continuously fails to appreciate and encourage its talented staff, creating as a result, this feeling of bitterness and a tribe of mistreated people lashing out at Dubai's media on the whole. What happened to supporting each other? It's a small enough place.
I'm pretty sure most of the judgemental people who spend their time arguing on this site are from ITP. Do yourselves a favour - if you're that miserable, leave. It's not going to get any better when the people at the top don't seem to care about improving their work ethics. There are better things out there, if you're willing to put in some effort. And there are companies waking up to the talent they have arriving by the plane-load, dying to use the skills they didn't get the chance to display in an overcrowded industry back home.
10:50 - I think you miss the point.
People who did not last with ITP perhaps do not like the company, and perhaps leave these message. Those within it and thriving like it very much indeed.
I like it very much. I would not work anywhere else.
yeah thanks for that robert you whispy bearded tool.....
Guys, how about cutting the crap and getting some specific points that really matter? Each publishing house here has got its own standards in terms of journalistic values sales/advertorials influence, who ranks where in those terms is worth exploring more than I like or hate bloody ITP. Will your company protect your backside if you slag off some big outfit like Nokia, Emaar or other big shots?
Some interesting comments on here. It's inevitable that in any market where the bottom line is so reliant on ad revenue you're going to face pressure from advertisers - that's a commercial reality and anyone who thinks otherwise is naive. Most consumer mags in the UK run off a 70/30 to 60/40 revenue split between copy sales and ad revenue, which obviously makes it easier to resist advertiser pressure. However, it obviously varies from market to market and also on the nature of the client.
This brings up something that's been neglected in the debate to date, namely the role of the media buyer or direct client - the UK's a more sophisticated market and consequently many agencies and/or direct clients tend to understand the true value of editorial impartiality and integrity, as well as concepts like protecting their brand by ensuring it's featured in the right 'environment'. However, in Dubai this appears to be far from the case.
If advertisers were more sophisticated in their buying patterns and were driven by issues like ROI (return on investment) or correct brand positioning, this in turn would lead to greater transparency and ultimately the demise of publications that fail to demonstrate a clear, measurable ability to reach the desired target audience.
In the absence of these pressures, publishers are able to leverage the fact that there are disproportionately lucrative streams of ad revenue available relative to the size of the audience to create publications that in the most extreme cases are little more than ad vehicles, with zero reader value.
Having said that, it's all too easy to forget the fact that the Dubai print media market has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Magazines like Time Out wouldn't look out of place on the international newsstand and ITP in particular has chosen to invest in the quality of some of its key publications in a bid to drive the market. You can certainly make a case that it's already overhauled longer-established markets of a similar size, such as Singapore.
As I see it, the key challenges the Dubai publishing scene needs to tackle to move forwards are three-fold:
1) Investment in people - if you look at most successful international companies in any sector they tend to be characterised by a clearly defined, respected company culture where staff feel valued and feel part of the process, rather than a disenfranchised, 'faceless' commodity.However, I can't think of a single Dubai publisher that invests significantly in staff, particularly with regards to training and development. It's this that in part leads to horrific levels of 'churn' and the irony is that this could be reduced dramatically through quick and relatively cheap measures - after all, the fact that individuals are being offered the opportunity to earn tax-free salaries in a growing market with plenty of opportunity should mean that turnover is well below markets like the UK. Companies need to realise that if they chose to invest in training, bonuses/incentives, social days etc, they'd generate far more loyalty, have far better levels of staff retention, produce better publications by improving skill sets etc. Even if you you chose to judge this purely in commercial terms rather than by any ethical criteria, it's easy to make the case that you would consequently go a long way towards offsetting the overt costs of 'churn' such as visas, flights and accommodation, and the frequently forgotten 'hidden' costs such as the damage done to publications, or in the case of ad staff to client relationships, as a result of an ever-changing sea of faces.
2) The development of strong 'home-grown' brands - it's no coincidence that the best magazines in Dubai tend to be licences of successful international publications. There's an obvious short-term win from importing 'tried and tested' templates, but a true sign of market maturity will be developing original brands that are strong enough to export to other markets.
3) The online opportunity - Dubai publishers collectively seem to be well behind the curve here, but given the way many international publishers are still trying to work out the most effective way to monetize their web presence there seems to be ample opportunity to play catch-up by learning from experiences (both good and bad) in more mature markets.
As for the individual who claimed that Dubai will 'lead the way', that's an implausible scenario for a number of reasons. Some have already been mentioned by other posters, such as the size of the market and the disproportionate influence of advertisers, but the other thing that will hold it back is a lack of competition. The reason why the UK has the best magazine market in the world bar none is down to the simple fact that competition breeds innovation. By contrast, ITP's dynamism/aggression over the past decade has allowed it to capture a huge amount of market share and in what remains a relatively small market, this makes it extremely difficult for any other 'player' to mount a sustainable challenge, whether that's an established rival such as Motivate or a new entrant to market. Extremely impressive 'play' judged from a particular business's perspective, but not necessarily a development that is a positive for the market as a whole.
Finally, the anonymous poster who referenced Heat highlights the fact that it all depends on perspective. Judged purely as a piece of publishing rather than on the grounds of whether you care for its content or not, it's indisputably a great example of UK publishing standards. It's why it has consistently managed to sell more than half a million copies despite existing in the most competitive magazine market in the world and why Mark Frith has won the PPA Editor of the Year award twice. What EMAP and Frith had was a fantastic awareness of what their target audience wanted from this type of publication and they delivered it perfectly. The fact that magazines as diverse as Heat and The Economist thrive is a testament to the dynamism and innovation still present in the UK. People will prefer one or the other, but they both fulfill the objective criteria of delivering the content its particular consumers want, and in a format they desire.
A workmanlike effort Jason, although, as we've discussed in class, brevity is the soul of wit. You cover all the important points discussed in the course reading materials and demonstrate a good understanding of the basic principles. However you have limited your "compare and contrast" to the UK only and your assertion that UK publishing is in every way superior gives your argument a narrow focus. I'd like to have seen a more global perspective in your essay to avoid the implication of chauvinism.
Grade: Credit
08 May, 2008 05:44 Love it!
I might add, Jason needs to include an abstract, and, I think a PowerPoint presentation would strengthen his argument.
oooh, a couple of posts seem to have been moderated (ie removed).
i suggested that 'jason' was trying to teach grannies to suck eggs FWIW. Not sure what the other post was.
Surely the word is parochialism, not chauvanism!
No the word is very much chauvinism - aggressive, overt nationalism etc. Named for a French soldier (Chauvin) known for his jingoism and blind devotion to France and Napoleon. It was co-opted in the geneder politics of the sixties as male chauvinism to signify gender bias.
Parochial is good too though.
come on, don't leave us third rate single finger typists who are too lazy to use wikipedia et al hanging, what's parochialism all about then?
It's about idiots going crazy because their football team won something or other. A close relative of tribalism. Also found in religion (hence "parochial schools"), often associated with racism, imperialism and undoubtedly a hundred other isms.
Are the pro ITP comments on here left by their sales people? or do they have a bot in the basement programmed to type weird, automaton responses?
Very few of the editorial staff I met at ITP (I was briefly in a very senior position) would get a job in the UK. It's not that they lack talent it's more that they are doing low-quality repetitive jobs that offer no chance to develop. Standards are low and if you spend too long there it will rub off. Sales run things at ITP - simple as that. Trying to improve editorial there would first of all require a massive cultural shift - with the same roll call of MDs it isn't going to happen.
It also shows the limits of their ambitions. They are certainly a massive financial success and could punch their weight on a bigger stage. But editorially they are light years behind.
Now the old excuse 'this is Dubai, give it a chance' is bollocks. There's plenty of vested interests, like anywhere else, who don't want it to change. And I don't mean the locals - I mean the endless parade of usually British spivs who are just here for the cash. I don't have a problem with that but if you're a journalist interested in presenting good stories that is what you fight for. When I was at ITP I heard plenty of stories of sales people coming down and bullying and harassing junior editorial staff. Senior staff, eager to protect their own backs, said and did nothing.
Also claims that 'it's just the same in London' is utter rubbish. Sure sales play a role but spend ten minutes in any quality publication office and you'll realise that sales and marketing are normally considered the lowest form of life by editorial. A necessary evil. Sales behaving the same as they do at ITP would probably get knocked out - literally - but normally they quite rightly know their place.
I really hope something good and of merit can be produced by the Dubai media - there are some good people out there - but it has yet to happen. At the moment, and given the evidence of the spiteful, nasty and vindictive comments on here (it's quite funny stuff), you're going nowhere.
isn't this thread supposed to be about Petch and Eng entering the magazine and newspaper publishing market? The ITP bashing/ bigging up is getting very tired in this blog!
anyway, if you want to check out ENG's first magazine offering follow the link below.
http://uae.engworldwide.com/UserFiles/Active/9b624da4-a4fd-40e6-a869-47dcd5f69091.pdf
'The ITP bashing/ bigging up is getting very tired in this blog! anyway, if you want to check out ENG's first magazine offering follow the link below.'
Ok, we get it, you used to work at ITP, you thought it was amazing and now you think you're off to change the world at ENG.
Still can't shake that smug 'we're better than you' attitude, can you? Even when you're clearly not.
Comment approval from the owner?
WTF?
WELCOME TO THE DEATH OF DMO.
This blog is no more. It has ceased to be. It is an ex blog.
Hey hang on there a second 15.03!
Thats the kind reaction that made my decision to leave my career of 23 years in the publishing industry very easy after only a couple of months here in Dubai, talk about jumping to conclusions.
I am the senior member who left ENG Publishing very early on to undertake a career change, judging by how bitter and twisted a lot of the contributors are here then I seem to have made the correct choice. Why would I want to be working in an industry rubbing shoulders with the likes people like of you?
So, No, I never worked for ITP and have absolutely nothing either for or against them, I do very much like reading Timeout though!
The point I was making was that the slagging of or bigging up of ITP/ MOTIVATE/ any publishing house is not the original thread of this topic, but most topics here tend to come around to that subject sooner or later here, I simply thought readers here may like to see the first mag from ENG as a matter of information currently lacking on this thread - so excuse me for offering some real information! and keeping on topic for a change.
I think, due to the nature of working in Dubai and the lack of any real debate, this blog acts as an outlet - hence the endless parade of hyperbolic comments.
ITP gets a lot of attention, I believe, cos it is one of the biggest players in Dubai and in many ways epitomises the worst aspects of working there.
The little I knew of Neil Petch is that he is the kind of person who would do quite well in Dubai but would be a completely marginal figure in any mature market place. But then again, so would ITP, ENG, Motivate or whoever. And if Timeout Dubai is the highwater mark of Dubai publishing, god help you all....
So, a lot of the self importance and passion of the comments on here are very self-indulgent and self-sustaining. They reflect Dubai and its nascent media scene pretty well.
Someone once said that the less there is at stake the more important it will appear.
As an outsider I find this blog highly amusing but equally indicative of how low-brow the Dubai media world is.
Enjoy.......
http://uae.engworldwide.com/UserFiles/Active/9b624da4-a4fd-40e6-a869-47dcd5f69091.pdf
That's the worst magazine cover I've seen since Time Out Dubai's nauseating Tom Hanks issue.
BH&W - if that's the magazine that ENG Media has dished out. I am not completely surprised.
CPI was publishing a magazine called Beauty & Wellness, which was pretty much along the same lines as BH&W. After 2-3 issues and some problems with getting the title registered with DMC (or maybe CPI was trying to save a buck or two) the magazine was finally canned.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Editor's South African 'mate' also turned up at ENG. Having said that - good for them, better anywhere else than in CPI.
just had a look at ENG's effort - do these people realise it is 2008? It looks like it's been put together by work-placement kids who are obsessed with retro 80s culture.
Is it still CPI company policy that staff must undertake visa runs for at least about one year before visas are contemplated. From what I hear, if the labour guys were to turn up at the office it would be pretty much just the CEO remaining.
CPI .. not a daft bunch after recent rumours about being 'sold' for $10m....or was that AED?
Either way,nothing much will change. Same editors, same tosh and same 'quietly closing titles' cos they balls em up
http://uae.engworldwide.com/UserFiles/Active/9b624da4-a4fd-40e6-a869-47dcd5f69091.pdf
what an awful cover. Dreadful fonts, some of which are used to large. That really poor sticker - the pealing edge doesn't even line up properly against the circle. Inside it gets worse. I heard that ex ITP photographer Victoria Callaghan is heading up the design division, she was interviewing designers a while back. No wonder it looks so bad.
A photographer interviewing designers? Og deary me. So Dubai publishing!
New pubs from ENG - IQ and Insider magazines have now been launched - see the ad campaign running on busses, outdoor ads along SZ road and taxi banners.
what do we think about these? any comments?
The other planned advertising by ENG is a brightly colored van with rolling, changing ads, the country I worked in previously introduced this and it fell flat on it's face, the view being that this cheapened brands because it's ugly advertising, so here in Dubai it's bound to be a success - me thinks!
Correction - IQ is out on the 2nd July
eng has formed a very large group in the line of publications. however their magazine's concepts went out fine, but the celeberity magazine, IQ, the enquirer and the magazine for men were full of redundancy, pixelized pictures, repeated infos and recycled pictures and stories.
Now they had laid off bunch of workers but still the office is up an running.
ruwaad's gigantic billboards and ads are nothing but a mock of idiotic concept. waste of space leaving the readers a huge question mark of "how, when, where and why?"
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