NDM stories 1/12/13

Telegraph group shelves 'five pillars' restructure plan

The Telegraph Media Group's planned reorganisation, known as "five pillars", has been held off. News of the initiative was reported by Media Guardian in September the day after TMG announced the appointment of Jason Seiken as the group's chief content officer and editor-in-chief. It appears that Seiken, the former head of digital at the US public service broadcaster PBS, does not favour the plan. He is still considering options on whether a restructure on such lines is necessary.

Now it is for Seiken to decide, in company with TMG's chief executive,Murdoch MacLennan, on the publishing company's future structure. In his six years with PBS, America's equivalent of the BBC, Seiken helped to transform the broadcaster's video and mobile fortunes. At TMG, he will now be able to draw on support from a former PBS colleague, Jon Brendsel, who was yesterday named as the group's chief information officer. He will lead TMG's technology team when he arrives in January 2014.

It is really important getting this right whether it does need to be restructured or not due to the simple fact that newspapers and print media are dying due to new and digital media technologies and their current and future advancements. Furthermore they should also consider whether there may be the outcome that they may have a loss in terms of money and profits if its not a big hit with currrent audiences. 

Paul Walker obituary

Paul Walker, who has died aged 40 in a car accident. This happened whilst on his was to a charity event with a friend when he was involved in a car crash and then the car blew up. He was part of the successful Fast and Furious franchise, which has grossed $2.38bn worldwide to date. In 2001, the first film in the series, The Fast and the Furious, put a four-wheeled spin on the surfing-bank-robbers thriller Point Break. Walker took the Keanu Reeves role of the upstart undercover cop who infiltrates a criminal gang – in this case, a group of daredevil street-racers moonlighting as truck hijackers – before discovering a kinship with the renegades he is supposed to be apprehending.

The incident was a huge shock to Fast and Furious fans and have left people gob-smacked. Also they have already started recording Fast 7 (the next film in the franchise) however his death has therefore led to people wondering what are the producers going to do now. 

Paul William Walker, actor, born 12 September 1973; died 30 November 2013