Meanwhile on the other side of the world, he has signalled his willingness to put The Independent and the Sunday Independent up for sale, to reduce the debt of his Independent News and Media group. Roy Greenslade has the wrap, noting that the “Indy” and the “SIndy” are losing money, and while they aren’t officially for sale:

“Let’s get real. Though there is no overt “for sale” sign over the Indy, it’s obvious that if Alexander Lebedev – or another oligarch – came forward with a £1 coin and a willingness to lose £1m every couple of weeks or so, then INM would bite his hand off.

But Greenslade looks at what has happened in Australia with the failed attempt to sell APN, and asks whether any buyers can be found.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

INM’s  stake in APN has been on the block since November, of course, with no buyers emerging. In early December the Herald Sun reported that INM was bravely denying they were having trouble making the sale, but the paper quoted sources as saying the shareholding had been shopped “up and down Collins St” and in Sydney but had “not had a bite”.” Channel Seven and Lachlan Murdoch are the only two potential buyers thought to have some interest.

Help Me Explain Twitter to Eggheads

New media academic Jay Rosen, whose presence on Twitter is one of the main reason I am there too, is writing an article for the Chronicle of Higher Education about why he is on Twitter. He has asked for help from readers of his blog, and followers of his Twitter feed. The resulting post and comments make an interesting read, and an interesting article in the making.

More Negative Press for O’Reilly

Roy Greenslade predicts that Tony O’Reilly will have to get used to some negative press, and questions whether he will be able to maintain his hold in The Independent newspaper. The profile Greenslade links to, from the Financial Times contains nothing about O’Reilly’s Australian setbacks – the announcement last November that his debt-laden Independent News and Media would sell its stake in APN News and Media, and the reports last month that he is having trouble finding a buyer.

Seems like only yesterday (but in fact January 2007) that O’Reilly was trying to buy out the other shareholders in APN, and there were mutterings that he might want to make bigger moves in media once the foreign ownership regulations were relaxed. All that came to nothing. If the economic times were better, perhaps it would be clearer where APN, with its Classic Hits and Mix FM Radio brands and stable of regional daily newspapers, would end up. As it is, nothing is clear.

A stuff up at the Tele.

Lastly, what a stuff up at the Daily Telegraph. Tim Burrowes reports at MUmBRELLA that the Tele managed to get its weekend television listings entirely arse-about in Saturday’s paper, apparently reprinting a guide from some time last year.

According to the Tele, Big Brother (which you may recall was axed after its last series) is at the heart of tonight’s schedule for Ten, with showings at 7pm and 10pm, wrapped around the premiere of How To Look Good Naked. Meanwhile, fans of Media Watch will be glad to see that that’s on the ABC, along, apparently, with an unexpected return for More Than Enough Rope from Andrew Denton.

Oh deary me….