WTF Publishing LLC

Thread request:

Can anyone tell me how these magazine survive as they don't appear to have any advertising to speak of... and they can't all be Lebanese vanity projects can they?

UNFAIR
Brownbook
Desert Fish
IN Magazine
Virtuosity
Men's Style
Fur & Feathers

Emirates Business 24/7

Apparently not looking so healthy according to several commenters:

The big bosses are now debating as to how put it down 'peacefully' without attracting much negative coverage. Last I heard was it might be given a final lease of life as an online-only website with a trimmed down staff. Most senior editors are still in dark about the future. A final solution is still being debated... But people have been sacked quietly in twos and threes. Pagination has been cut back to 40 pages from 48.

Mass staff cuts at TMF

Rumours have been swirling and here's some corroboration:

As a former staff member, I can confirm that around 16 staff from TMF have been laid off in a mass staff cut at the company.

Citing the loss of the Thai airways inflight magazine Sawasdee, low ad revenues across the company and generally poor business results, the unfortunate decision has been made by TMF management.

The company is still a going concern, and will continue through this tough period.

Even as a staff member affected by the cuts, I can confirm that these events have taken place, believe this, not any erroneous reports printed elsewhere online.

We are all disappointed, but understand the business reasoning behind the decision, though all regret the sudden nature of the news.

Our sympathies to the staff that have been laid off, and we hope you find new positions soon. Anyone who's hiring, or knows any companies that are, feel free to post about it in comments.


EDIT: I just want to clarify that we're approving all the comments we can, but unless sources are provided, we can't publish some of the allegations that have been made regarding the management of TMF. Likewise allegations about their personal lives. If you can stand them up, then feel free to post with sources or email us. Comments that we consider fair opinion or "fair comment" are however going up.

Nice win for 7Days

It's won two separate libel cases - link here:

In the first, Vincent Antia sought to claim dhs1 million over articles he alleged featured both true and fabricated information about his family.

The articles reported how his wife, Sally Antia, had been arrested for having an affair with a male friend. She was later sentenced to one month in prison.

Antia’s claim was dismissed by the courts, which said: "the press has a vital and effective role in directing society and thus it should have sufficient freedom of expression and should consider the public right to information".

In the second case, Ehab Ibrahim Mohamed Al Labban had claimed for dhs5 million for similar reasons. His wife, Marnie Pearce, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by deportation for having an affair, which she denied.

7DAYS published articles on the case.

Al Labban claimed the articles were defamatory, but the court dismissed the claim.

Anyone got any more juice on this?

"The future of media"

Just for a change, here's a plug for an event (we are not associated, contact Polaris for more info):

Digital Journalism: The future of media
Expert Panel Discussion

Date: Monday, 24th May 2010
Time: 7pm for 7.30pm start
Venue: Shelter, Warehouse 209, 318 Road, Al Quoz Industrial 4

The expert panel will include respected industry figures such as:

Mark Briggs--Visiting from the USA, Briggs is a blogger, journalist and authority on the media revolution. He is also the author of Journalism 2.0: How to survive and thrive in the digital age, and CEO of Serra Media.

Pia Heikkila--A freelance digital journalist at the forefront of the media revolution, and co-creator of the new SAE Institute Digital Journalism Course.

Nabila Usman--writer and journalist, business development executive at Newzglobe.com, an online portal that provides edgy, bold & quirky news from the region.

Khaled Khalifa - Head of Office, United Nations - Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) Middle East and Asia Bureau.

The discussion will be moderated by Reg Athwal, Co-Founder and Chairman of online television platform onetvo.com.

“Wow! How did I reach that circulation?”

An impressive performance, if the Grand National's claims can be believed:

Two years after its launch, Newland has stepped aside to become editorial director and Fattah has become its editor. The paper's sales have doubled year-on-year with 20,000 paid subscriptions. Another 20,000 issues are distributed for free of charge - to encourage further subscription - while a further 20,000 are sold in retail outlets across the country. It has also proved to be popular amongst the local Emirati community as well as with expatriates.

Click here for a three page article on all the paper's many glories

Shock horror sensation: yes, it's a new thread at last

Unfortunately despite several very interesting suggestions we really cannot do posts on unsubstantiated and potentially defamatory rumours and allegations of corruption and sexual indiscretions among UAE media people, much as we might love to.

So while we await an exciting yet safe suggestion, how about your opinions on this thought-provoking anonymous reader comment:

We all know that all of you westerners working in the media in the UAE are good for nothing and will do anything just to suck the money out of any company you work for. I just hope one day the media industry will wake up and kick you all out back to where you belong.