Media Roundup: Financial Times Profits Up, Amazon Backtracks on Kindle Feature and More

Financial Times profits up as online subscriptions kick in — The Financial Times announced a 13 percent rise in profits today, mostly on the strength of its paid online subscription plan. After acquiring Mergermarket, Exec-Appointments.com and Money-Media last year, digital is now responsible for two-thirds of the Times’ revenue. The newspaper’s print circulation grew by 16 percent as well.  Despite the positive news, the company still plans on eliminating 80 jobs, and the staff is considering a strike. [Source: paidContent]

Amazon backtracks on Kindle feature — After criticism from the publishing industry, Amazon will make its text-to-speech feature on the Kindle optional for publishers. Amazon was accused of using the feature to sidestep audio book royalty payments. Before the launch of the e-reader, Amazon had not warned publishers of the automatic test-to-speech capability. [Source: CNET]

Hearst may charge for Web content — Hearst is planning to withhold content from the free Web sites of its newspapers in order to launch a paid subscription section. The announcement came in a memo to staff from Steven Swartz, new president of Hearst Newspapers. The memo also hinted that the 16 papers will begin sharing content and consolidating resources. The newspaper division of Hearst is 50 days into its “100 Days of Change” program. [Source: Editor & Publisher]

Clear Channel has down Q4 – A declining advertising market is mostly to blame for Clear Channel’s 14 percent forth quarter loss. Losses came from the company’s radio and outdoor divisions. Last month, Clear Channel began a restructuring program and eliminated nine percent of its workforce. [Source: MediaWeek]

iPhone is leading mobile browser — Apple’s iPhone is far and away the leading mobile browser. The touchscreen phone accounts for just over 60 percent of all mobile phone browsing. The closest competitor is the Java ME platform’s nine percent share. The Java platform is used by multiple phone models. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, Google’s Android and Palm OS all posted less than six percent in the survey by Web metrics firm Net Applications. [Source: ReadWriteWeb]