Tadgh Enright is leaving RTE to join Sky News. Conor Brophy is joining the RTE business team from NewsTalk.

George Lee is the new presenter of RTE’s The Business on Radio 1.

• Unbranding - Business Insider: Instead of sending their latest accessory to celebs, some fashion houses are now sending rival products to sleazy stars to tarnish the reputation of rivals. (via the New York Times)
• Facebook now valued at $33 billion - Guardian: What’s really of interest here is how might try and buy the company. With almost 50% of mobile internet traffic going to Facebook, it opens up a nice opportunity for the likes of Apple or Microsoft to get a step ahead of Google. Personally though, I still think Facebook will see new rivals emerge and the price tag could prove hefty in the long run.
• Media very skilled at missing the bigger picture - Vincent Browne: Great piece by Browne in the Irish Times which highlights how the media can often sensationalise a particular story, but miss out on the bigger picture.

Here’s a couple of tips I picked up which can be applied in any sales setting:

• Never open the negotiation: As the customer, never give the opening price. This sets a threshold which you cannot go below and if you are unfamiliar with the product or service you are buying you may start off with an opening price which is already higher than what the seller is happy to accept.
• Be personable: Always introduce yourself and get the salesperson’s name. Sellers use the same trick to try to form a bond and emotionally manipulate you when negotiating. Flip the tables and do the same thing. When we were given the first price, instead of giving a counteroffer we would immediately say something like ‘I know that’s the regular price, but I’m Irish. Do you have a special discount for us?’ So instead of launching into a back and forth of counter offers, we forced the seller to offer a discount immediately.
• Be prepared to walk away: If you look like you really want something, then you are handing over control to the seller. Most deals in Beijing are done when the customer walks away and the salesperson calls them back, accepting the final offer the customer made.
• Don’t be put off by the sales environment: When you walk into a Porsche dealership, you know that the cars cost a lot of money. Just because a shop is snazzy or the service provider pitching to you is dressed to the nines, you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable asking for a discount. Sure they’re likely to have higher overheads, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t try to drive a bargain.
• Always try to speak to another customer: No matter what you are buying in life, always try to speak to someone who has bought the same product or service. It’s a no brainer, besides making sure the quality is of a high enough standard, it’s also a quick way to check what they paid and gives you the upper hand in a negotiation if you were originally unsure what you should be paying.

The schedule is outlined below. No sign of information on the website yet, but judging from the 2008 conference tickets should cost around €130. The most obvious session of interest will be Carol Coulter’s talk about coverage of criminal trials on Sunday, hopefully part of this discussion will centre on the family of the victim’s perspective.

Friday 15 October 2010 at 7.30pm

Showing of Das Herz von Jenin (The Heart of Jenin): 2010 Award Best German Documentary Film (Father of Palestinian boy shot by Israeli soldiers decided to donate his son’s organs to 6 Israeli children to save their lives) Followed by interactive lecture with director Marcus Vetter about challenges in making the film

Saturday 16 October 2010: Documentary Film-making

Re-presenting reality, protecting integrity - Ian Kirk-Smith, BBCNI documentary film-maker (1991-2010)

Human rights documentaries – a case study on Burma from Radharc Films - Peter Kelly, Managing Director, Esras Films

Being true: dealing with the push for more ‘edge’ and more ‘jeopardy’ - Martina Durac, Loopline Film

Amazon Indians battling oil interests: the challenges in producing an independent documentary - Marc de Jersey, British film producer; former editor “Russia Today” (24/7 TV news channel in Moscow); former desk editor ABC New York

Sunday 17 October 2010: Issues in Journalism

Feeding the beast: sources, accountability and fact-checking in the 24-hour news cycle - Kate Shanahan, Lecturer, DIT; former RTÉ Radio & TV producer

What are the ‘arts’? How radio is broadening the horizons - Clare Duignan, Managing Director, RTÉ Radio

Holding politicians to account — how an Irish media investigation led to an EU ban on Brazilian beef - Justin McCarthy, Chief Livestock Editor, Irish Farmers’ Journal

We are all investigative journalists - Don Van Natta, Jnr, New York Times Investigative Correspondent, Manhattan

Administration of justice versus prurient public curiosity — media coverage of recent criminal trials - Dr Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Editor, The Irish Times

This is why I continuously say focus on creating compelling content rather than building platforms. A couple of years ago, most marketing execs would not have foreseen the shift to smartphones and as a result wouldn’t even have contemplated mobile apps. Who knows what platforms will be prevalent in a couple of years time?

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Why would teens want to be on the same social network as their parents? Seriously, how do you explain turning down a friend request from your mum at the dinner table! Like previous generations of teens, they will turn elsewhere, building communities with their peer set away from the prying eyes of adults.

All is not well in the local newspaper industry with the River Media Group, the company behind the Letterkenny Post and Derry News, posting more negative news. The Irish Independent reported on Monday that the Group’s newspaper arm posted €3.3 million losses.

Despite all the doom and gloom in the newspaper industry, the Irish print market is holding up well. Roy Greenslade offers some interesting analysis, pointint out that readership has only declined by 0.28% over the past twelve months and 86% of the Irish adult population regularly reads a paper. Catherine O’Mahony points out in the Sunday Business Post that emigration in recent months may be bolstering the figures, with younger audiences who would be more likely to get their news online moving abroad. O’Mahony rightly observes that the ABC figures for actual sales will reveal the real story behind the Irish print media landscape shortly. The JNRS survey is available to view here.

O’Mahony also writes about Radio Nova in the same paper. The new radio station is aimed at 25-50 year olds. One has to question the launch of another station in an already crowded marketplace, particularly in the current economic climate.

Jim-Jim Nugent has quit 2FM ahead of today’s scheduled revamp. The former presenter of the breakfast show had been offered other opportunities at the station, but decided to pursue his stand-up comedy career. The Irish Times has a full report.

The conference takes place on Saturday 4th September at 10.00 am in European Union House, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. Entry is free and you can register here.

Here’s the running order:

The same paper also points to the Daily Mail’s online operation, which is bucking the trend and shows that it is possible for media organisations to make money online without paywalls.

According to the Irish Times, ‘former Irish ambassador to the UK Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh has been appointed chairman of the Press Council.’

The Sunday Times has been covering internal rota changes at NewsTalk. Unfortunately no link is available as it now resides behind a paywall. The Sunday Tribune has picked up on the story and reported at the weekend that the Breakfast Show format will change with co-presenter Claire Byrne starting the show and Yates joining later in the morning. The supposed changes are apparently not going down well with fellow staff. There was another twist in the tale yesterday with both the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald reporting that Byrne was actually set to leave NewsTalk and join RTE as one of its afternoon TV presenters. Confused, you should be!

The Tribune also speculates that Charlie Bird, RTE’s Chief News correspondent, will head a new nightly news programme to go head-to-head with TV3’s Tonight With Vincent Browne.

The recession has hit radio listenership figures. Less people working means fewer cars on the road driving to and from the workplace. The Irish Times has a recap on the latest JNLR figures and Pembroke Communications have a screenshot of the graphic that went along with the print edition of the article.

That hasn’t affected plans for a new radio station from launching. According to the Irish Independent, the launch of Radio Nova will create 32 jobs.

RTÉ director general Cathal Goan is stepping down after serving his full seven year term. Lots of speculation in the media of late as to who will be his successor. Chief financial officer, Conor Hayes, is tipped to succeed him, with Ed Mulhall, Managing Director of RTÉ News, and Claire Duignan, head of RTÉ Radio, cast as his rivals for the position.

Paul Allen has a great op-ed in the Sunday Business Post about the relationship between politics and the media.

Calvin Klein Jeans has pulled a masterstroke with its latest billboard campaign by using a QR code to conceal a racy image, which passerbys can reveal with their smartphone (via Mashable.)

The New York Times has an interesting article about how Kleenex have bolstered their sales through some clever packaging design. The company has used packages that resemble wedges of fruit in order to illustrate different occasions that customers can use their products, rather than simply for blowing their nose.

David Taylor offers some great insights into whether brand publishing is right for a company.

Buzzfeed recently highlighted a really innovative marketing initiative from Dove - the Magic Mirror: “Dove came up with a creative idea to have people actually try their product. They sent a de-misting pen to a variety of hotels, and had them write a message about Dove on the mirror, pointing to the product. After the guest would have a shower, the message would appear when the rest of the mirror steamed up - the perfect time to try the product! Hard to ignore, right?“

Cool ad from Kit Kat, which appeared just after the epic Wimbledon match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Check it out on Brand Ireland.

There a new web development trend which creates prank on regular websites. For example, Bacolicio.us to put bacon on a web site. Just append the URL to http:// bacolicio.us and watch it sizzle. Activists are putting it to practical use like this mod which creates an oil spill on any website (via Mashable.)

Check out this funny April Fools Day prank Dr Pepper played on Chatroulette in the UK.

I love this ad for the Dodge Challenger - nothing says gung ho quite like George Washington in a muscle car.