London

The Times of London’s Pay-Wall

Submitted by JMB on Thu 17/Jun/2010

Last year a regional newspaper in the US tried setting up a “pay-wall”, requiring a payment to access stories on their website.

On October 28, 2009 […] Newsday.com would open its front page, classified ads, movie listings, and school closings to all site visitors, but access beyond this content would require a weekly [USD $5] fee. This fee would be waived for subscribers of the print edition of the paper, as well as for subscribers to parent-company Cablevision’s Internet service. 

Through its first three months, only 35 non-[Cablevision], non-Newsday subscribers signed up for the paid web site.

Newsday’s daily circulation is around 400,000. Their pay-wall produced a total annual income of – pro-rata – USD $9,100, or approximately GBP £6,000.

TheTimes-Masthead

The Times of London, which has just set up their own pay-wall, has a daily circulation of about 500,000. Given that they are a noted paper of record (or used to be), I imagine the Times might be ten times as successful with their pay-wall. In which case they’ll sell 500 weekly subscriptions. At GBP £2 a week, that’ll bring in GBP £52,000 every year.

A Great business model, assuming the operating budget of the Times website is significantly less than £1,000 a week.

If you find yourself starved of news in the absence of the Times, you might try looking…oh, I don’t know, ANYWHERE!

For starters:

Police Appeal following Copper Theft

Submitted by JMB on Fri 12/Mar/2010

Nobody likes a bent copper. You can’t get them in the machines.

Via the Avon and Somerset Constabulary:

avsom

Police are asking to residents in Bristol to be vigilant following several incidents of copper theft.

In recent weeks copper piping has been stolen from a number of electricity sub-stations in North Bristol. Concentrated in the BS9 and BS10 areas offenders have been breaking into the substations and stealing the copper piping inside. To do this they are pulling out plugs carrying 11,000 volts which puts themselves at risk but can send extra voltage to nearby homes and damage electrical appliances.

Speaking about the offences, Detective Constable Matt Stanford from Southmead CID said: "These offences are mainly in the North Bristol area in places such as Henbury Road and Sea Mills. The people committing these offences need to be aware of the danger they are putting themselves in. They also put at risk homes in the surrounding area which could well damage televisions and other electrical equipment. Homeowners can us tackle the problem, and in doing so reduce the risk of their homes being affected by remaining vigilant and reporting anything suspicious to the police."

Anyone with information should contact Southmead CID on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-org.uk - they never ask your name or trace your call. Call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org We never ask for your name or trace your call.

Copper is currently trading on the London Metals Exchange at USD $7,384.00 per tonne, which is about £4.87 a kilogram. Not really worth the danger, I think. For example:

John Roberts, aged 39, then fled from Park Mills before driving to his girlfriend's house in Bramley in a panic where his hair, skin and t-shirt began burning off.

Mr Roberts, of Winrose Avenue, Belle Isle, died in the burns unit at Pinderfields General Hospital 10 days later where he had 37 per cent burns.

That’s one of almost a million search results for “copper thief death”

The Apprentice - Jewish Lads Brigade

Submitted by JMB on Wed 20/May/2009

I was amused, while watching game-show “The Apprentice” tonight, to hear Sir Alan Sugar excoriating the losing contestant, who seemed to constantly brag about some sort of scholarship to Sandhurst (whatever that means):

Dahn’t go bangin’ on abaaht blaahdy Sandhurst again. I was in the Jewish Lads Brigade, Stanford Hill Division, Trainee Bugler. It didn’t make me sell computers when i got older.

JLGB

I never knew there was such an organisation, but a quick Google search turns up all sorts of information about what is now the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade.

The Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade (JLGB) is England's oldest Jewish youth movement. It was founded in 1895 as the Jewish Lads' Brigade by Colonel Albert Goldsmid, a senior army officer, to provide an interest for children of the many poor immigrant families who were coming into England at that time. The first company was launched in London's East End but others soon appeared throughout the city and the provinces. The movement later spread as far as South Africa and Canada

I’m a former Boys Brigade lad myself – 1st Yate Company, to be specific. I stopped after the Junior section, but my brother Gary – yes, the Gary Barlow – was the musician in the family and went on to become a drummer, bugler and the local Staff Sergeant.

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