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🖥️ Google announced its first AI cash-for-content deals with publishers yesterday, along with a series of measures aimed at improving the visibility of news on search.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the rise of zero-click searches due to the rollout of AI Overviews has led to the loss of thousands of journalism jobs in the UK and US, so any move to address this is welcome.

The Google deals involve a selection of major news publishers around the world – including The Guardian in the UK – who have been invited to join a new “AI pilot programme”.

For participating publishers, this means AI Overviews could now be extended to Google News pages, and Google is also looking at creating AI-generated audio briefings.

(Sidebar: yesterday the Washington Post announced the launch of a new daily, personalised AI-generated podcast for users of its app.)

Google also announced improved visibility of publisher links in AI Mode and the rollout of “Preferred Sources” globally – a feature which allows people to prioritise favoured outlets and sites.

Google plays a balancing act with publishers, extracting all it can to fuel advertising revenue of at least £20bn a year in the UK alone – while giving back enough (in terms of clicks and cash) to see off a revolt.

Over the last year that bargain has seemed increasingly unfair to many publishers. It looks like the media/technology giant is trying to redress the balance a little.

READ THE FULL STORY

⚽ UK-based sports publisher GRV Media announced plans to create 100 new journalism jobs this year back in January.

Instead, founder Vic Daniels told us this week he has cut 60 roles entirely due to Google algorithm changes and the rise of zero-click search.

He is one of many publishers to have been hit hard by sudden and arbitrary changes to the news ecosystem made by its biggest player.

Daniels is refreshingly honest about the challenges his business is facing and surprisingly upbeat about the challenges ahead. Like many publishers, he is effectively writing off Google as a source of traffic and focusing on owning his own audience and community.

He said: “I think it was Darwin who talks about the strongest of the species aren’t the ones who survive, [nor] the most intelligent, it’s the ones that are most adaptable to change.”

READ THE FULL STORY

🧙‍♂️ And in the latest instalment of our Reality Wars coverage charting the rise of fake AI-generated news, we expose a new local website in London publishing misleading, AI-generated crap.

It looks like the latest example in the UK of a so-called “pink slime” site producing pseudo journalism to garner online advertising revenue.

North London News looks plausible enough at first glance but if you delve deeper it contains plenty of AI tells.

It is stealing traffic from actual publishers and also spreading misinformation due to its clear propensity to hallucinate.

[In other Reality Wars news, PR giant has removed hundreds of press releases posted by MyJobQuote following a Press Gazette investigation].

READ THE FULL STORY

📰 A period of huge upheaval at the Mirror culminated today in the exit of editor-in-chief Caroline Waterston after just under two years in the job.

Independent UK editor Chloe Hubbard takes over a diminished Mirror editorial team, reduced by redundancies and the outsourcing of much online content to centralised Reach operations.

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media US update. You can sign up for that here.

Meanwhile keep an eye on Press Gazette’s website tonight/tomorrow for news of this year’s British Journalism Awards winners. You can remind yourself of the full shortlist here.

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🗞️News In Brief

Gavin Bell, “daredevil foreign correspondent” and travel writer for titles including The Times and The Guardian, has died aged 78. (Press Gazette)

US president Donald Trump has said CNN “should be sold” as part of the Warner Bros Discovery deal, adding it is “imperative” CNN gets a new owner in any transaction. (Axios)

The Liverpool Echo has become the second Reach regional to launch a premium paywall, two weeks after the MEN.

Echo editor Maria Breslin said it “gives you the option to choose a cleaner and more streamlined experience while backing quality local journalism”. (Liverpool Echo)

CBS News has named Tony Dokoupil, one of the hosts of its morning show, as the next anchor of the CBS Evening News. His appointment is the “first significant shake-up” under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. (The New York Times)

Meghan Markle has accused the Daily Mail of breaching “clear ethical boundaries” by reporting from her father’s bedside in a Philippines hospital. (The Independent)

Schools Week deputy editor Freddie Whittaker has been promoted to editor and chief reporter Samantha Booth has been named deputy editor, both starting in January. (Linkedin)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) Cision investigates and MyJobQuote maintains silence over fake experts network

US PR giant addresses role in circulating hundreds of misleading stories.

2) Europe to investigate Google over use of publisher content for AI

Use of Youtube content for AI products also under scrutiny.

3) Forbes cuts dozens of contributing writers

The business publisher has said it needs a “financially sound” contributor model.

4) 50 biggest UK news websites in October: Daily Star up, Forbes down

The Daily Star continued its run of strong year-on-year audience growth in October.

5) The tech stack powering TTG bid to capture 90% of UK travel market (sponsored)

Reader data is key to success of the free travel industry news website.

📻Latest podcast

Using AI to make your CMS work for you (not the other way around)

Dominic Ponsford talks to WP Engine director of product management Jason Konen and CTO of Bigbite Jason Agnew about the future of content management.

They are both experts in the deployment of Wordpress, the world’s most popular content management system. They talked about some of the ways publishers are responding to falling referral traffic by making their websites more immersive and community-focused.

They also talked about the ways AI is being used to streamline content production and remove complexity in journalists’ lives.

And they have an interesting debate the importance of ensuring your content is seen and cited by the likes of ChatGPT.

This episode is sponsored by WP Engine.

LISTEN NOW

Their latest report, The Future of Discovery: Strategic Business Model Choices in the Age of AI Search, is available to download now.

🏅Journalism can be a rum business. And news, almost by definition, is generally bad.

But today Press Gazette proudly shares some positive news about work that reminds us why journalism is more than a job – it’s a force for positive change in the world.

The shortlist for the Public Service prize at the British Journalism awards includes work that has literally saved lives and has given a voice to some of the most vulnerable people in society.

It has shone a light on careless power and proved that sometimes this job is simply about doing the right thing.

It is well worth a read as a reminder of why we do what we do.

READ THE FULL STORY

🖥️Today we also have another insightful report from our recent conference in New York featuring wisdom from top execs at The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and BBC.

Personalisation was top of the in-tray for them as they thought about ways to future-proof digital journalism.

They were not necessarily talking about tailoring topics to particular readers, but of finding ways to share content in the way consumers most want to get it – be that video, text, audio or something else. Any form of website personalisation requires a huge amount of heavy lifting on the technology side, but AI is making this a lot easier.

READ THE FULL STORY

📉 And we have an interview with the CEO of a brand which has been hit harder than any other major title by the rollout of Google AI summaries.

For Forbes, a big part of the post-Google future is live events.

Sherry Phillips told Press Gazette: “For us, it’s getting back to those core communities and those businesses and our editorial journalism that we take pride in and protect. And as the business evolves, as the digital ecosystem changes, there were certain parts of the company that were fully just servicing that digital ecosystem, which is now evaporating quite quickly.”

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

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🗞️News In Brief

Hearst is cutting 26 roles at the Dallas Morning News, a paper it acquired less than two months ago. Union The Dallas News Guild says the entire copy desk, including sports, is being eliminated. (D Magazine)

Manchester Mill is launching its first membership campaign, handing out 50,000 copies in the city in hopes of adding 1,000 pay-what-you-want subscribers in the coming weeks. (Linkedin)

A news reporter has been fired after requesting an investigation into their editor’s AI use. Florida nonprofit Suncoast Searchlight had four reporters tell the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. (Nieman Lab)

Peers are calling on the government to block UAE-backed RedBird IMI from overseeing any sale of The Telegraph. Lord Fox said the group’s failed takeover attempt left “financial wreckage” and urging the investment group does not drive any new sale process. (The Telegraph)

The New York Times has severed its professional relationship with former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers after the disclosure of his extensive email correspondence with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Brit Brief)

Broadcaster Nexstar is seeking to acquire Tegna for $6.2bn, a deal that would make it the largest owner of local TV stations in the US. In its filing, Nexstar praised President Trump while urging regulators to relax ownership rules and fast-track approval. (Poynter)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) Bloomberg uses ‘synthetic characters’ to test out products and marketing

COO Julia Beizer shared insights into how the business giant has grown subscribers and revenue.

2) Nursing Times ends 120-year print run to focus on digital growth

Just 100 of the Metropolis-owned title’s subscribers are print only.

3) Financial Times launches first Substack newsletter to target younger readers

The publisher joins titles including Daily Mail in joining newsletter platform.

4) Financial Times launches first Substack newsletter to target younger readers

The publisher joins titles including Daily Mail in joining newsletter platform.

5) Express offers compensation after freelances say work was stolen

First person account of rail journey apparently rewritten using AI.

📻Latest podcast

Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips on life after Google

Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt speaks to Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips about how the US business brand has shifted tack in response to massive changes in Google referral traffic to publishers.

She said: “I think a lot of publishers were in the same spot, or still are in the same spot. And so for us, it’s getting back to those core communities and those businesses and our editorial journalism that we take pride in and protect. And so how do we look at that in new revenue models?”

Listen now

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🎤 Dom’s filed a report from his time at Web Summit in Lisbon this week, where he interviewed the heads of Sky News, ITN and Euronews on stage.

ITN CEO Rachel Corp gave an encouraging message of support for the BBC amid its current storm: “A weakened BBC is not good for anybody and not good for the world.” Hear hear.

Meanwhile David Rhodes of Sky News shared how the broadcaster is preparing for a world in which AI chatbots could start to surface video.

“What we all need to be thinking about is not what is going on in the text ecosystem now, but what will the video ecosystem look like in three to five years?”

READ THE FULL STORY

🌳 I spoke to a man who must be one of the magazine industry’s best examples of nominative determinism: Mark Hedges, editor-in-chief of Country Life.

Hedges just edited his 1,000th issue of the magazine and declared it “the most successful magazine in Britain” (read the piece to see if you think his reasoning is fair).

He was remarkably candid about the frustrations an editor can feel working as part of a bigger publisher - and at the industry’s hastening of its own demise with the jump to get online before the strategy had been fully thought through.

Country Life, unusually, has only just increased its online team from one person to five. It simply hasn’t needed to, as print is still working so well. Now, can it embrace the best of both worlds?

READ THE FULL STORY

🏢You may remember that in July we reported Fortune had made its London-based editorial team focused on Europe (four people) redundant.

The business publisher is now building that team back up, with Kamal Ahmed joining to be executive editorial director - marking an end to his stint on audio at The Telegraph after he had already stopped co-hosting The Daily T.

The team is at three people with more hiring planned for this “next chapter”, we’re told.

READ THE FULL STORY

🤝 And finally, we have a comment piece from a former senior policy advisor for competition at the White House under Biden who has warned that publishers getting carried away on the current Youtube wave are at risk of making the same mistakes as in the Google/Facebook era.

Reed Showalter says it’s yet another example of publishers handing over their work to an external platform that sets the terms of use, as Youtube increasingly creates its own features putting it in direct competition with those same content providers.

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

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🗞️News In Brief

More than 25 jobs have reportedly been cut across business and B2B publications owned by Crain Communications. (Press Gazette)

More than a decade on from the Leveson Inquiry, new YouGov research shows that six in ten think that false or misleading reporting, as well as the unfair treatment of individuals and groups, are becoming more common. (Press Gazette)

The BBC is reportedly prepared to formally apologise to Donald Trump. The deadline for his billion-dollar legal threat, over its editing of one of his speeches, is Friday. (The Independent)

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to investigate Google over claims it demoted news publishers carrying “third party” promotional content such as sponsored articles. (Financial Times)

Talk’s Mike Graham “will not return” to the station after what parent company News UK described as an “abhorrent and vile” post appeared on his Facebook page. News UK said he “reneged on several opportunities to cooperate” with their investigation. (Daily Mail)

CNN has added a swipeable short-form video feed to its app homepage. (The Verge)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) Google promises Discover ‘fix’ as more fake AI stories top rankings

Discover feed being flooded by fake and ‘deliberately alarming or surprising’ headlines.

2) How crime content is powering Daily Mail’s podcast expansion

It’s back to the future for a title which has always been strong on crime coverage.

3) Top 50 English-language news sites in the world: The Hill leads growth in October

US political news site The Hill led monthly growth among the world’s most visited news sites in October.

4) Top 50 news websites in the US in October: Ten biggest sites see YoY traffic decline

Syndication website MSN saw the biggest drop year on year among the top ten by more than a third.

5) Manchester Evening News pays £16k damages to Bob Vylan frontman

Reach publication wrongly stated Pascal Robinson had performed Nazi salutes on stage.

📻Latest podcast

Turmoil at The Telegraph, trouble at The Times | Misinformation and the Huntington train stabbings

Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford and UK editor Charlotte Tobitt discuss the latest front in the Telegraph ownership battle, the publication of fake interviews on The Times, and the threat from social media misinformation in the wake of serious incidents like the stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire.

Listen now

📻Everyone is experimenting with video at the moment and the mighty New York Times is no exception.

I caught up with director of video Solana Pyne and VP for product Jordan Vita to find out more about the title’s video strategy as they put a Watch tab front and centre on The New York Times app.

The user experience is a little bit like Tiktok or Youtube Shorts. The NYT publishes around 20 short videos per day to the Watch tab offering a round-up of the day’s big news and a selection of lighter content - like recipes or Wirecutter stories.

It is as slick as you would expect but I’m not sold on it. Why give everyone the same curated feed every day? Shouldn’t it at least offer a different selection once you have visited the Watch tab once, and UK readers have very different priorities to those based in New York City.

But what do I know? Kudos to the NYT for sharing their strategy and trying new things. Publishing is always about throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

And the NYT is riding high after reporting quarterly revenue up 9.5% to $701m and digital subscribers up 460,000 to 12.3 million in the last three months. Digital-only subscriptions revenues were up 14% year on year in the quarter to $367m.

READ THE FULL STORY

🗞️Today on Press Gazette we also have an interview with the editor of storied US magazine Newsweek as it relaunches and redesigns its print and online editions.

There is plenty of life left in print, according to Jennifer H Cunningham: “It’s definitely something that we remain really proud of – and it’s also profitable. I think there are some print entities that are no longer profitable and are now publishing digital only, but that’s not the case with Newsweek, and we’re really proud of that.”

READ THE FULL STORY

🖥️And we have a warning about the dangers of self-publishing that Substackers may not consider when setting up on the newsletter platform: cyber hacks.

This piece looks at a recent data breach on a big Substack publication and shares advice on what authors can do about it. It’s a useful reminder of cybersecurity basics for any publisher because, as The Guardian and others have found, the price of a single point of security failure can be huge.

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

🗞️News In Brief

The Guardian US editor Betsy Reed launches end-of-year fundraising by saying threats to journalism since Trump returned are working: “One of the most chilling things our newsroom has witnessed in the past year is sources falling silent, afraid of retribution”. (The Guardian)

News Corp is looking into a multi-licensing LLM portfolio strategy, according to sources. The media group struck its first licensing deal with OpenAI in May 2024 but considering branching out. (Digiday)

Axios has cut 19 jobs, with individuals on product, tech and design teams laid off. Co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei said: “This is a difficult, but necessary, move to meet our evolving tech strategy”. (The Wrap)

Raptive, a digital media company that manages ads for independent publishers, is suing Google for billions of dollar in damages, accusing them of running a decade-long scheme to monopolise the open-web advertising market. (A Media Operator)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) New police media guidance aims to reset post-Leveson culture of suspicion

New guidance allows off-the-record briefings and encourages police openness.

2) Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain: Interviews shouldn’t be about ‘winning or losing’

Husain says she is the same journalist she was at the BBC despite leaving behind strict impartiality rules.

3) UK Labour Force Survey data suggests sharp fall in younger journalists

Journalists older than wider UK workforce on average.

4) Getty vs Stability AI ruling is ‘damp squib’ that fails to create precedent

Getty parallel case against Stability AI in the US continues.

5) 50 biggest UK news websites in September: Daily Star leads yearly growth in audience and time spent

Press Gazette’s monthly ranking of the top 50 news websites in the UK.

📻Latest podcast

Turmoil at The Telegraph, trouble at The Times | Misinformation and the Huntington train stabbings

Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford and UK editor Charlotte Tobitt discuss the latest front in the Telegraph ownership battle, the publication of fake interviews on The Times, and the threat from social media misinformation in the wake of serious incidents like the stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire.

Listen now

Find out more

💼As Reach concludes its latest mega redundancy round we’ve attempted to chart some of the higher profile departures.

Some 34 staffers have confirmed their exits on Linkedin out of a total planned exodus of 186 people.

We don’t know the total tally of leavers yet as the redundancy process is still playing out. And there are hopes the final net loss will be far less than 186 people.

Video journalists, audience growth experts and newsletter specialists are among those leaving Reach. So the changes are far more widespread than just cutting back on old fashioned print production roles (although plenty of those have gone too).

We’ve published the full list of known leavers because their stories deserve to be noted (and because this is a great resource of talent for hiring managers to draw from).

READ THE FULL STORY

⭐The Daily Star is among the Reach titles seeing heavy cutbacks, down from 70 to around 50 editorial staff. But editor Ben Rankin remains upbeat about the future and told us how the brand has evolved with more racing coverage, less objectification of women and a new sponsored AI answer engine all now part of the mix.

READ THE FULL STORY

📨And we have published a new guide to help journalists quickly spot crappy AI-generated press releases.

Press Gazette has spotted more than 100 examples of fictional content sent by dodgy PR companies being published by major newsbrands in recent months.

At a basic level journalists should obviously check out Linkedin and pick up the phone to ensure all quoted experts are real.

But our at-a-glance guide should help time-pressed reporters and editors see if press releases pass the AI sniff test.

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

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🗞️News In Brief

Youtube has reported ad revenue of $10.3bn in the third quarter ended 30 September, up 15% from revenue of $8.9bn in the previous-year period. (Media Play News)

The sale of Telegraph Media Group is in “fresh turmoil” after the paper linked expected buyer John Thornton (Redbird Capital chair) to the suspected ringleader of an alleged Chinese spy ring. The Telegraph ran a 2024 photo of him with senior CCP figure Cai Qi in Wednesday’s issue. (The Guardian)

Around 100 CBS news division jobs are being cut as part of wider layoffs of 1,000 people at its parent company Paramount. It includes the closure of the Johannesburg bureau and the end of the CBS News race and culture unit. (Los Angeles Times)

The Times reportedly spoke to a Long Island man named Bill DeBlasio via email rather than the former New York mayor Bill De Blasio for an article quoting him about mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. “I never once said I was the mayor,” the interviewee told Semafor. (Semafor) 

CNN has launched a streaming subscription option called All Access, which includes multiple live streams of news coverage and exclusive content. CEO Mark Thompson said: “It’s not CNN ‘extra’ or ‘plus,’ it’s CNN.” (CNN) 

Hundreds of weekly newspapers, including titles owned by Reach and National World, are running an identical front page today to protest government plans to change alcohol licensing rules. (Hold the Front Page)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) How to manage newsroom change without the misery

Newsroom leaders have a duty to maintain the joy - even during periods of transformation.

2) Study claims 9% of US newspaper articles at least partly AI generated

5.24% of articles in large study classed as AI-generated and 3.98% as mixed (human and AI use).

3) Google promotes fake content to millions on Discover news platform

Fraudulent sites with no history promoted as trusted publishers to millions by Google.

4) Olive magazine relaunches as 148-page bookazine and reduces frequency

Newsstand price rises to £8.99 as Olive broadens editorial focus away from food.

5) University leader wins substantial damages after being defamed by Steve Coogan

Loughborough University chief says Coogan script was ‘monstrous’ distortion of facts.

📻Latest podcast

The race to video with Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners.

He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer.

Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger’s commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.

This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners.

Listen Now

Contact Wright’s Media to get your free licensing review from one of the most trusted authorities in the industry.

💡Today Press Gazette lights a beacon of hope to restore your faith in quality journalism as we reveal the British Journalism Awards finalists.

We have included links to all the shortlisted work, including much brave journalism, which those wielding careless power would rather see suppressed.

The work on display in this shortlist provides a reminder that our industry is far more than just a business: it’s a huge force for good.

The British Journalism Awards are open to all journalists wherever they work and have a particular emphasis on recognising journalism that serves the public interest. Those from previously under-represented groups who did not have a publisher willing to pay for the cost of their entry were able to enter for free.

READ THE FULL STORY

🤖It is a great shame that all those journalists dodging bullets and lawsuits to hold the powerful to account are being exploited by the generative AI companies.

We already knew that ChatGPT, Microsoft, Google and others have stolen all the journalism ever made that was available on the open web to feed their AI models.

Now new research from the BBC has revealed that these platforms are also distorting news reports to an alarming degree in AI-written answers. And these hallucinations aren’t just fuelling the spread of misinformation, they are reducing trust in the publishers themselves – the research has found.

READ THE FULL STORY

🪓And as Reach today concluded its six-week redundancy consultation, with around 300 journalists leaving the business and more than 100 new roles created, staff at the Mirror have voted in favour of strike action.

Journalists there are worried that AI will be used to “centralise and duplicate content” in order to plug the gaps left by missing staff.

Reach denies that the cuts have anything to do with AI.

AI has many uses in the world of publishing but, as the BBC research underlines, using it do create journalism is risky in the extreme.

READ THE FULL STORY

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

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🗞️News In Brief

In Q3 2025, GB News Radio saw its weekly reach jump by 25%, according to the latest RAJAR radio results. The station overtook Times Radio for weekly audio reach in the UK. (Press Gazette)

The Observer has signed a commercial partnership deal with AI-powered news platform Particle News as it ramps up its digital presence as a standalone brand. (Press Gazette)

Channel 4 News presenter and Europe editor Matt Frei has offered advice on surviving the challenges facing journalists in 2025, suggesting we need some kind of “journalistic hippocratic oath”. He shared the idea as he delivered the Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture 2025. (Press Gazette)

The Competition and Markets Authority says Google and Apple mobile ecosystems will have ‘strategic market status’ meaning they can be regulated to ensure competition in the market. The News Media Association said the CMA should bring remedies against “exploitative” app fees. (News Media Association)

Static Media has acquired tech news site BGR and entertainment site TVLine from Penske Media, with its CEO saying they are “motivated to bolster both brands while maintaining their loyal followings”. (Media Post)

Rap and R&B music magazine Vibe is merging with Rolling Stone, with two staffers losing their jobs but other roles - head of the Vibe brand, a video and podcast host and an events producer - being created. (Pitchfork)

GB News reporter Dougie Beattie has told the channel he and his crew was “attacked by police themselves” while reporting from demonstrations outside a Dublin migrant hotel. They were pepper-sprayed and knocked to the ground, he recounted. (GB News)

Reddit has filed a lawsuit to block four companies, including Perplexity, SerpApi, Oxylabs and AWMProxy, from scraping its data via Google Search instead of paying to use its API tool. (The New York Times)

Channel 4 says it is offering “young audiences duly impartial and fact-checked response to the week’s biggest news stories” via two new podcasts: weekly current affairs show Untangled hosted by Stacey Dooley, and weekly news review A News Thing. (Channel 4)

The Sheffield Star has won the right to name Mohammed Umar Khan, who stabbed a 15-year-old to death in February this year, after campaigning for the restriction to be lifted. (Sheffield Star)

Broadcaster Kaye Adams is yet to be presented with the complaint that led to her being taken off air for two weeks by BBC Radio Scotland. BBC News reported that she had been taken off the programme after “a conduct complaint”. (The Guardian)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) Travel magazine TTG closes print title to focus on digital and events growth

CEO Daniel Pearce says strategy based on registration wall data, research reports and events.

2) Why The Guardian is no longer dependent on page views to drive revenue

The Guardian and FT shared tips on boosting reader revenue at Press Gazette event.

3) Google AI Overviews ‘leading to affiliate revenue drop of 20-40% at some publishers’

AI Overviews having impact on reviews content traffic of up to 50%, event hears.

4) Freelance journalists want control over AI using their work, survey reveals

Current situation on AI follows years of freelance journalists ‘signing away’ their rights.

5) Ofcom backs away from change to rule over politicians acting as presenters

Concerns over “de facto ban” on politicians presenting any type of programme under Ofcom’s proposed change.

📻Latest podcast

The race to video with Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners.

He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer.

Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger’s commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.

This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners.

Listen Now

FT Strategies provides Print Optimisation services designed to help publishers streamline print operations, reduce costs and build a more sustainable business.

🤖 How are publishers using AI in content production?

Press Gazette wants to find out and we are specifically keen to discover what is going on at the coalface.

I know The Telegraph and The Times ban journalists from using AI to draft articles. At the likes of Reach and Newsquest, in-house bots are used to write articles in certain circumstances which are then edited by journalists.

At least one major publisher I know of refers internally to the AI sandwich – whereby journalists ask AI a question then edit and publish the answer (which sounds pretty worrying to me).

And even publishers with strict guardrails around the use of AI have been duped into publishing AI-written quotes and case studies provided by dubious PR outfits.

If you are involved in content production in any way at a publisher (from reporters to editors) please fill out our quick anonymous survey. It will take five minutes to complete and will form the basis of a Press Gazette investigation into AI in the newsroom. Thank you!

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

📉The latest ABC circulation figures show a widening gap between weekday and Saturday sales of UK national newspapers.

The Daily Mail for instance still sells over one million copies on a Saturday, but half that figure on weekdays.

At the FT the Saturday edition is more than double that of Monday to Friday with 83,000 sales versus 40,000 sales.

The Mail titles are leading the pack - not just in terms of overall sales but also rate of decline - with both the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday falling by around 7% a year. The Daily and Sunday Express are among the biggest fallers, down 18% and 21% respectively year on year.

The Daily Express now sells less than 100,000 copies per day during the week.

Meanwhile, my estimate is that The Guardian (which no longer publishes its ABC figures) is now well below 50,000 copies per day during the week.

READ THE FULL STORY

🗞️The LA Times has opened its books as it seeks investment of $500m.

The figures make fairly grim reading with losses of $50m last year. But the promise of a 7% annual return and the backing of billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong will provide investors with some reassurance about what looks like an otherwise risky bet.

READ THE FULL STORY

👏 Kudos to journalists covering the Pentagon who walked out yesterday rather than sign up to more than 20 pages of rules curbing their activities.

Scores are believed to have handed in their badges in a near total show of solidarity.

Among the restrictions proposed were a ban on unsolicited requests for information (i.e. journalism).

Publishers ranging from Fox News to The New York Times have agreed that their job is to be more than stenographers for official announcements.

💻There is no Press Gazette daily newsletter tomorrow but we will be sending our weekly Future of Media USA update. You can sign up for that here.

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🗞️News In Brief

New articles primarily generated by AI briefly outnumbered those written by humans online in November last year but they are now roughly equal, according to a new study. (Axios)

Some 150 jobs were cut at NBC News on Wednesday (about 2% of the workforce) as the network’s news division faces cuts ahead of Comcast’s planned spinoff of most cable networks into a new company, Versant. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Sun, which relaunched under its new owner and publisher Dovid Efune in 2022, is reviving the paper’s print edition for the first time since 2008. (Axios)

📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:

1) Mail invests heavily in creating content for Tiktok and Instagram

‘You are not selling around the content, you’re selling the content.’

2) Techcrunch founding editor at large Mike Butcher launches new title

Like Techcrunch, Pathfounders will cover the start-up scene.

3) How Far Out grew from student blog to 30 full-time staff

Founder of culture title said it averages 20 million page views per month.

4) Slow digital growth sees Reach revenue fall in third quarter

Page views to Reach newsbrands down 1% in year so far.

5) Culture brand Broadsheet marks London launch with first print edition

Broadsheet London is online and distributing a free quarterly print magazine.

📻Latest podcast

The race to video with Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners.

He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer.

Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger’s commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.

This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners.

Listen Now

In today’s feature, Admiral shares a practical playbook for media executives looking to break down silos, unify fragmented visitor experiences, and unlock higher ARPV and long-term revenue. Learn how publishers are using VRM to connect the dots across adblock recovery, subscriptions, consent, and engagement — with zero dev lift.

📈Want to get more traffic from Google search? The short answer is: be more like The Guardian.

Press Gazette’s latest analysis of search visibility data shows Guardian stories are far more likely to appear at the top of Google search results than those run by other publishers.

But even The Guardian has been impacted by recent Google algorithm updates which have downgraded the visibility of many news publishers. Data from Sistrix, which charts the visibility of publishers appearing on key Google search engine results pages, has found 43 out out of 74 leading UK news websites falling down the Google rankings.

Incredibly annoyingly, Google appears to place far more value on updates from random anonymous users of the messaging forum Reddit than it does on professional journalists. This may be linked to Google’s decision to pay $60m a year to Reddit to train its own AI models.

(It is worth nothing that Reddit itself has been making overtures to publishers and launched a set of Pro tools for publishers last month which are well worth checking out as part of your audience growth strategy)

🗨️One way to beat the fickle algorithms is to send news directly to your readers via SMS text messaging.

This 33-year-old technology is being used by Politico to send urgent news updates to key movers and shakers working on Capitol Hill in Washington.

After testing the service in the summer, Politico executive producer Zach Warmbrodt said readers who used it were “thrilled with the kind of formula we landed on”.

This formula is based to a large degree on trust, ensuring that text messages are only sent when there is something substantial to report. But in a high-paced news environment where having the inside track is key to your career success, text messages appear to work.

It’s not being directly monetised by Politico, but it brings the newsbrand closer to its readers, keeps it relevant and no doubt makes it easier to make money out of them in other ways further down the line.

🙌 And the chief executive of specialist UK publisher Anthem has written a piece for us about why the story of magazines does not have to be tale of decline.

Jon Bickley took exception to a recent Press Gazette newsletter headline which referenced the “end of the magazine age” when talking about UK publishing giant Hearst which has suffered dramatic revenue decline over the last decade.

He said Anthem has grown revenue by 10% every year since 2020 for its 12 specialist leisure titles (which include Health Living, Vintage Rock and Women’s Running).

He said nimble magazine publishers can still see growth (even on the newsstand) especially if they can react to new trends by racing to market with relevant “bookazines”.

It’s not the first time that one of my headlines has failed to accurately capture the nuance of a situation (sorry about that!) and I’m chuffed to hear Anthem are bucking the trend.

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On Press Gazette

Most leading UK news websites fell down Google rankings in 2025

June core update is one of biggest recent algorithm adjustments.

Read more

How Politico is using text messages to boost engagement on Capitol Hill

Everything from layoff plans to news that coffee shops will remain open in Government shutdown is good for text.

Read more

Anthem Publishing finds growing market for specialist newsstand titles

Co-founder of Anthem Publishing Jon Bickley says group is growing by 10% year on year.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Google appears to prioritise global newsbrands over local ones for breaking news events

• PA Media Group continues revenue growth for eighth year in a row

• Automated PR tool is bombarding UK media with AI-generated content

• The Free Press goes from zero to $150m valuation in five years on Substack

• GB News comment about LGBTQ+ including ‘paedos’ in breach of Ofcom code

• New launch from ex-Observer staff exceeds 1,000 paying subscribers

• Piers Morgan company turnover rose to £17.1m in 2024

• Washington Post’s chatbot has received ‘tens of millions’ of queries

• The Guardian tells marketers to stop buying intrusive online ads

• Perplexity launches AI subscription revenue-share scheme for publishers

Latest podcast: The race to video with Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners.

He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer.

Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger’s commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.

This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners.

Listen Now

🎥 In terms of time spent with its brands, Goalhanger is now one of the biggest publishers in the UK.

Which is an astonishing fact, given it launched its first regular podcast in 2019 (Ways of Making You Talk).

I spoke to co-founder Jack Davenport about how video (and Youtube in particular) has led to an explosion in reach for Goalhanger’s 13 regular shows (and why he no longer uses the term podcast).

He told me that Goalhanger now clocks up 70 million full-episode streams (average 40 minutes) per month across its portfolio. This is roughly equivalent to the monthly time spent by UK readers with the Mirror website (per Ipsos iris data).

Davenport also told me why Goalhanger’s star presenters are so well paid, how many paid subscribers it has and (if you listen to the podcast version which is sponsored by Q5 Partners) we got into the question of whether what they are doing is journalism and what that means for Goalhanger’s editorial approach.

📰 Today we also have a rare interview with Guardian editor Katherine Viner as she marks ten years at the helm of the global liberal newsbrand. She revealed that the title is drawing down on its £1.3bn investment fund to expand its presence on video and social media and to further expand internationally.

She also reflected on the colossal Noel Clarke libel trial (which cost The Guardian £6m to defend as he sought up to £70m in damages).

🌍 And we’ve interviewed the CEO of a Danish publisher which now has 70,000 subscribers paying more than £10 per month for access to long-form journalism.

What’s most interesting about Zetland, which has just been bought by Bonnier News, is the fact it has a strong base of paying readers in their twenties and thirties.

Despite having around 100 staff, Zetland publishes just two to five stories per day – but makes sure they told “in a very engaging and personal way”.

⚡The deadline for submissions to the British Journalism Awards is MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. Get your entry in now to have a chance of winning the ultimate accolade for public service journalism.

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Why video’s reign has only just begun

At the Future of Media Technology Conference, one theme dominated: video is no longer an experiment, it is the default language of news. As platforms reshape how audiences discover content, publishers face a post-search world where direct relationships and brand differentiation matter more than ever.

The Economist Group’s Luke Bradley-Jones sparked discussion about the need for publishers to consider three key imperatives: Differentiate what makes you unique, build Direct audience connections, and focus on Distribution beyond search through social, newsletters, and new platforms.

We heard about how different legacy media orgs are responding in different ways. Sky is leaning into longform storytelling. Hearst is competing across every channel. The BBC is prioritising reach and trust. What they share is a recognition that video requires structural change, authentic voices, and investment in talent.

The message is clear: success in a video-first world means embedding video into workflows, experimenting boldly, and balancing reach with monetisable, owned relationships. Those who adapt will set the pace for the future of news.

Find out more

On Press Gazette

Katharine Viner interview: Guardian editor sets out multi-year transformation plan

Guardian editor-in-chief on ten years in charge of the liberal newsbrand.

Read more

UK’s biggest podcast producer Goalhanger is now a video company

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport on the rise of Youtube and why its presenters are so well paid.

Read more

CEO of Danish publisher Zetland: ‘It’s bullshit to say young people aren’t willing to pay for news’

Zetland has 70,000 members paying for long-form digital journalism.

Read more

British Journalism Awards 2025: Deadline is TODAY

British Journalism Awards deadline is today.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Express was newsbrand with most Editors’ Code breaches in 2024

• Publishers with AI licensing deals have seven times the clickthrough rate

• MoneyWeek at 25: Market is ‘swinging back towards quality over clickbait’

• Newsletter tips from the New York Times: Visuals, strong host, short, intimate

• ‘One subs package to rule them all’ helps Delfi Meedia reach one in five Estonians

• Newspaper columnists and BBC execs becoming more elitist, research finds

• FT says AI-personalised paywall messaging has tripled conversion rate

• Irish News adds jobs in digital-focused restructure

Latest podcast: The race to video with Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.

Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners.

He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer.

Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger’s commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.

This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners.

Listen Now

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After positive financial news earlier this week from the FT and The Independent, a gloomier update from magazine giant Hearst UK.

The publisher of titles including Elle, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health has recorded another year of declining revenue and is now achieving just a third of the turnover it recorded a decade ago.

The era of magazines is coming to an end. They will live on, like theatre did after the advent of film and TV, but as a much smaller medium than in their 1990s heyday.

The communities of interest that magazines serve are moving to YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

Influencers are taking ad revenue from publisher brands.

It’s a challenge that nimble publishers are addressing. But it’s hard to build a growing digital business whilst also protecting a declining core print product which provides most of the revenue.

Today we also reveal how AI-enhanced search is fuelling revenue growth at US technology publisher O’Reilly Media.

Before ChatGPT went live, O’Reilly was offering its own AI-powered Answers service providing enhanced access to its archive of books, articles and learning materials.

Answers surfaces the core content that ChatGPT cannot replicate without facing a lawsuit and which O’Reilly believes gives publishers the edge versus LLMs.

And we report on yet more evidence that the brand safety industry is a destructive scam.

Marketers shunning news are ignoring evidence and undermining journalism, experts told our Future of Media Technology conference.

📻Our new podcast (out today) features the head of product at Germany’s Hamberger Morgenpost. Dana Schlunzen reveals how homepage personalisation has led to a big increase in page views, clickthrough rates and returning visitors.

⚡The deadline for submissions to the British Journalism Awards has been extended by seven days from today. Get your entry in now to have a chance of winning the ultimate accolade for public service journalism.

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On Press Gazette

Hearst UK losses grow as search changes hit digital ad revenue

Magazine publisher builds strategy around membership as page views decline.

Read more

ChatGPT is ‘ghost’ of what publishers provide directly

O’Reilly Media showcases in-house AI tool ‘Answers’.

Read more

‘Brave’ advertisers who advertise next to news are seeing results

Brand safety myths were debunked at Press Gazette’s Future of Media Technology event.

Read more

British Journalism Awards 2025: Deadline EXTENDED

British Journalism Awards deadline has been extended to Thursday, 2 October.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Guardian financial chief: Investment in journalism is driving revenue

• The i Paper makes job cuts but invests in lifestyle, money and comment coverage

• The Observer hires first chief commercial officer

• Financial Times reports global revenue boost to £540m for 2024

• Revenue for Independent tops £50m for first time since digital rebirth

• Reach hires first head of digital subscriptions

• Journalist targeted by protesters at Kent anti-asylum rally

• The News Movement becomes Caliber as it secures ‘$10m+’ Qatari-backed investment

• German media groups file complaint against Google AI Overviews

Latest podcast: How personalisation is paying off for Hamberger Morgenpost

Hamberger Morgenpost head of product Dana Schluenzen tells Dominic Ponsford how offering readers a personalised selection of homepage stories has paid off with higher click-throughs and more returning visitors. This podcast also features insights from the CEO of website personalisation specialist Kilkaya, Tarjei Gilbrant.

Listen Now

Today we have a few highlights from last week’s Future of Media Technology Conference for you.

The day opened with a gripping fireside chat between our own Dominic Ponsford and The Economist president Luke Bradley-Jones who was candid about what the brand is doing to grow and thrive in what he described as not just a post-Google world, but a post-search world.

He chose our stage to announce that The Economist was launching a newsletter on Substack for the first time. Although it’s one of their existing newsletters, previously available only through a full Economist subscription, he explained why this won’t cannibalise the main sub - and why they don’t mind the prospect of losing 10% to Substack.

You can read the highlights here or listen to a podcast version of the interview here.

I’ve also written up one of the AI panels, which delved into some data demonstrating the extent to which referral traffic from AI platforms is really not making up for search losses. Despite changing behaviours, it’s still absolutely tiny in fact.

Read about what the likes of the Daily Mail and Bauer are doing to protect themselves in the face of that here. We also have their urgent calls to regulators and to Google.

Are you making £1m a year from each of your Youtube channels? If not, could you be? The excellent video session delved into successful video strategies with great advice on monetisation from Hearst UK’s director of video and audio Brian Whelan and an insight on the “genuine revenue” coming into Sky News from Youtube from managing director and executive editor Jonathan Levy.

And published yesterday: a session about Mediahuis Ireland’s journey to 100,000 digital subscriptions, including its metered paywall disaster and top lessons for publishers early on in their subs journey.

If your journalism has made a difference this year, enter the British Journalism Awards now for a chance of winning the ultimate newsroom accolade. Deadline for entry submissions is next Thursday 25 September.

On Press Gazette

Why The Economist isn’t doing AI deals but has launched on Substack

The Economist president Luke Bradley-Jones shares his three Ds: differentiation, direct relationships, discoverability.

Read more

AI referral traffic ‘not making up for search losses’: How publishers can respond

Bot traffic still increases costs with "no meaningful value exchange".

Read more

Publishers 'should be making £1m a year' from a successful Youtube channel

Youtube "feels different" to other third-party platforms in terms of monetising publisher relationships.

Read more

British Journalism Awards 2025: Deadline is 25 September

British Journalism Awards are open for entries.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Mediahuis Ireland subscriptions lessons: ‘Don’t underestimate your value’

• Top 50 news websites in the US in August: Substack leads just five sites with year-on-year growth

• Top 50 English-language news sites in the world: Substack is only site to report YoY traffic growth in August

• 50 biggest UK news websites in July: Minutes spent with Substack up almost 300% in a year

• Newspaper ABCs: Metro slims down free distribution for August

• Bill could make it illegal for public officials to mislead the public

• Royal cleaner stories removed by Times and Sun after authenticity questions

• Daily Mail ‘arbitrarily’ stopped from joining Apple News

• AI bots appear to be replacing human traffic on publisher websites

Latest podcast: Why The Economist isn't doing deals with OpenAI

Unlike many publishers, The Economist has chosen not to do any licensing deals with the likes of OpenAI - but isn't looking to sue them either.

The Economist's president Luke Bradley-Jones appeared at Press Gazette's Future of Media Technology Conference in London and explained how the brand is adapting for a "post-search world", including by launching one of its newsletters on Substack.

Listen now

FT Strategies has launched a suite of digital advertising services designed to generate long-term, sustainable revenue for media organisations.

The PR agency that brought you the lottery winners who did not exist is at it again.

And it appears to have two sister PR agencies bombarding publishers with dubious case studies which Press Gazette has been unable to verify.

The shame is that some of this crappy, likely AI-generated, content is being published by reputable titles. The incentive for the PR agencies appears to be mentions and links for their clients to boost their visibility on Google.

Read Rob Waugh’s latest report on the war against reality here.

Today we also have an interview with Conde Nast UK chief business officer Andrea Latten who sets out how she plans to achieve 50/50 digital and print revenue within the next year.

Her view on the role of giant tech platforms is broadly: if you can’t beat them, join them.

“You can say like ‘oh my God, these platforms are coming for us, and they’re taking so much market share’, or you’re like ‘okay, let’s be part of that journey, and let’s see how we can actually produce great content for these platforms, and see how we can monetise that and sell that to our partners’.”

We also have a new edition of our podcast, The Future of Media Explained, in which Charlotte and myself discuss: the latest mass job cuts at Reach, new attacks on journalism from AI bots and what the proposed break-up of Google's adtech business could mean for publishers.

Check out the Press Gazette website later today for the full list of winners from the Future of Media Awards.

On Press Gazette

Dubious PR agencies are bombarding journalists with fake content

Doubtful case studies have been published on more than half a dozen major websites.

Read more

Conde Nast UK’s plan to reach 50% digital revenue within a year

Chief business officer Andrea Latten says social media platforms are opportunity for business not threat.

Read more

Rise of the ‘news creators’ tracked by FT Strategies (promoted)

'News creators' on Tiktok, Youtube and elsewhere can have outsized level of influence.

Read more

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More from Press Gazette

• City AM trumpets resurgence of print profitability

• Observer cuts casual shifts amidst drop in pages for Sunday title

• Online polling start-up invests in freelance video reporters

• Reach to cut editorial headcount by 186 in ‘biggest reorganisation’ yet

• New York Times adds family deals in ‘biggest change’ to subscriptions structure in years

• Lifestyle brand Refinery29 closes UK office and lays off journalists

• Publishers welcome EU move to break up Google adtech monopoly

Reach versus Newsquest, publishers versus AI and the break-up of Google

In which Charlotte and Dom discuss: the latest mass job cuts at Reach, new attacks on journalism from AI bots and what the proposed break-up of Google's adtech business could mean for publishers.

Listen Now

Delfi Meedia in Estonia holds the world record in terms of market penetration for a digital news publisher, with 21% of the country’s online population among its paying customers.

The company’s chief AI officer Ivar Krustok is speaking at Press Gazette’s Future of Media Technology conference next Thursday (11 September) to reveal how they reached 200,000 paying subscribers and to share insights into the cutting-edge ways the group is using AI to grow the business even further.

Other speakers at the Bankside Hilton (next to Blackfriars station) will include: president of The Economist Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky News executive editor Jonathan Levy, Daily Mail head of SEO Carly Steven and Telegraph chief commercial officer Karen Eccles.

Tickets for this day-long festival of newsroom revenue ideas are £399 (including breakfast, lunch and post-event drinks). Email me directly (by replying to this email) if you work for a publisher and the ticket price is a blocker for you attending. A limited number of free VIP passes are available.

The UK’s second biggest local and regional news publisher Newsquest has revealed digital subscribers up 35% year on year.

The group also reported growing online page views, healthy profit and revenue numbers.

We asked CEO Henry Faure Walker what is working, and he said: “'People love local news." He added: “We don’t fall in the trap of too much trending news, which possibly some other publishers do.”

Read our interview with Faure Walker here.

Today we also report on a fast-growing newsletter-only publisher.

The European Correspondent has found a niche providing a continent-wide overview of events and has received a huge cash boost from the European Commission. We spoke to editor in chief Julius Fintelmann about how the title is growing its reporting team and expanding into other media.

And finally, Rob Waugh has asked reporters and PRs for their tips on spotting AI-generated copy. The use of phrases such as “flipping the script” - which no human would deploy - is one key tell. His piece also includes links to some handy online tools for spotting robot-generated copy and images.

On Press Gazette

Focus on local, not ‘trending’, news fuels record Newsquest digital growth

'People love local news', says CEO Henry Faure Walker.

Read more

Newsletter-based publisher gets huge boost from European Commission grant

The European Correspondent has 70,000 free subscribers.

Read more

‘Flipping the script’ and other tell-tale signs of AI-written copy

Journalists and PRs share their tips on spotting and blocking AI-written content.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• From Washington Post to Manchester’s Mill Media for new investigations editor

• Express editor-in-chief moves into wider role in Reach leadership reshuffle

• AI hoaxer, a fake X account and the case of Margaux Blanchard

• Publishers call for CMA to include Gemini in Google investigation

• Who owns Byline Times?

• Second mentions: What makes a good ‘knobbly monster’?

• Reach launches All Out Football video brand

• Stop killing journalists in Gaza and allow international media in

• Future of Media Technology Conference 2025: Full line-up

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now

Google is engaged in a face-off with publishers over whether its AI assistant Gemini should be included in new UK regulation of big tech.

It is a racing certainty that Google will be designated a tech platform with Strategic Market Status, meaning it will face tighter regulation by the Competition and Markets Authority. Search will certainly come under the remit of the CMA, but how much the rest of the Google empire is regulated remains a subject of debate.

With £20bn a year (at least) of UK revenue at stake, Google will fight hard to protect its market dominance.

Here we summarise submissions from publishers and Google to the CMA investigation looking at how Google should be regulated under the provisions of the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

Today we also take a closer look at who owns the campaigning and investigative journalism brand Byline Times. It's a harder question to answer than you might imagine.

And we publish an appreciation of journalistic reluctance to use the same word twice.

For Juliet and Matthew Maguire, spotting second mentions in journalism started as a hobby but turned into an obsession. Now they've written a book about the art of elegant (and sometimes inelegant) variation.

In this feature for Press Gazette, they pay homage to the journalists who have coined phrases such as "pugnacious parka-wearer" for Liam Gallagher and "porcine-poultry hybrid" for Scotch eggs.

Press Gazette has now released the full line-up of speakers for the 2025 Future of Media Technology conference at the London Hilton Bankside on 11 September.

This event is purely focused around discussing and showcasing new ways to make journalism pay in the digital age. Full details here.

The New Newsroom: How the relentless rise of video must reshape journalism (promoted)

Video is transforming news. With 95% higher engagement than text, it fuels growth on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. But algorithms often reward style over substance, blurring the line between credible journalism and opinion.

Our sponsors this week, Q5, live and breathe the newsroom. With consultants embedded across the UK, US, and Australia, they are tapped into a network of senior editors and media leaders – from legacy broadcasters to digital-native start-ups – to uncover how the sector is adapting to this disruption.

For newsrooms, the challenge is to become platform-native, audience-first, and agile. That means rethinking operating models, embedding multi-skilled teams, and breaking silos. Q5’s research shows successful video strategies are built on clear building blocks – from audience and editorial strategy to formats, skills, technology, and measurement. When aligned, video drives reach, trust, and revenue.

👉 Q5 have published a white paper on this topic and will be at the Future of Media Conference on 11th September – download your copy below and get in touch.

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On Press Gazette

Publishers call for CMA to include Gemini in Google investigation

Google has said Gemini is “not a market leader in AI assistants”.

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Who owns Byline Times?

Most shares in Byline Times are held by anonymous investors.

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Second mentions: What makes a good ‘knobbly monster’?

Journalists can compete for the best - and most elaborate - second mention in their copy.

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Reach launches All Out Football video brand

Reach launches weekly football show on Youtube.

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News in brief

Brazilian newspaper Folha has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in São Paulo, arguing that the tech company "develops and improves its AI tool... based on third-party content... without authorisation and without paying any compensation". (Press Gazette)

Reform UK’s Nottinghamshire councillors said they refuse to speak to Nottingham Post's reporters, with the ban only lifted in emergencies like flooding and school-related incidents. (Nottingham Post)

Mediahuis Ireland has appointed Sheena Peirse, currently chief customer officer, as its next CEO to succeed Peter Vandermeersch, who is becoming a Mediahuis fellow in 'journalism and society', focused on keeping the group's journalistic mission relevant. (Mediahuis)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has announced it will stop publishing a print newspaper at the end of the year, and divert all of its resources into its digital news operation. The company has published in print since 1868. (The New York Times)

Journalists have overturned a “farcical” anonymity order on a 21-year-old man who kicked his emotional support puppy to death, with media law journalist Charlie Moloney condemning the move as "legally illiterate”. (Hold the Front Page)

The Economist, Vox Media and BBC Studios are among publishers that have joined Linkedin's invitation-only revenue-sharing video advertising programme. (Reuters)

The New York Times has begun bundling its digital subscription with The Economist, indicative of the paper’s goal to hit 15m subscribers in the next two years. The bundle is currently only available in the UK at £167 for year one then £239 thereafter. (Semafor)

More from Press Gazette

• Stop killing journalists in Gaza and allow international media in

• News diary 1-7 September: Parliament returns, China marks Japan defeat with 80th anniversary parade, tube strikes begin

• Independent’s video and podcast Studio aims to become biggest revenue driver

• Comment: TV news is in the ‘post anchor age’

• EU and Canada publishers issue joint plea to halt AI ‘strip mining’ of news

• Police sorry for harassment warning to journalist who contacted councillor

• Survey suggests readers still click on links after reading Google AI Overview

• Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

• Future of Media Technology Conference 2025: Full line-up

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Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed around 200 journalists in Gaza and Lebanon.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded that in 21 cases people were targeted because they were journalists. It describes these killings as “murder”.

The situation appears to be escalating, with five journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes on a hospital on 26 August and six killed two weeks earlier in an attack on tented housing.

Some 150 media organisations around the world - including The Guardian and The Independent in the UK - today supported calls for the killing of journalists to stop and for movement of media in and out of Gaza to resume.

Reporters Without Borders director general Thibaut Bruttin said: “At the rate journalists are being killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, there will soon be no one left to keep you informed.

“This campaign calls on world leaders to do their duty: stop the Israeli army from committing these crimes against journalists, resume the evacuation of the journalists who wish to leave Gaza, and ensure the foreign press has independent access to the Palestinian territory.”

It has been heartbreaking to read the many stories of journalists killed trying to do a vital job in the worst circumstances imaginable.

It is difficult not to conclude that the current Israeli administration sees attacks on news media as a legitimate military strategy.

More killings of journalists in Gaza will not only plunge the region into darkness, they will send a message out to conflict zones around the world that journalists are fair game for the military.

Gaza coverage on Press Gazette

Reuters and AP journalists among five killed in Israeli attack on hospital

Israel has killed around 200 journalists since October 2023 according to the CPJ.

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Six journalists killed in deliberate Israeli Gaza attack

"Targeting media workers is a war crime - and we cannot let it be normalised."

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Nearly 1,000 journalists sign new petition urging end to Gaza ‘information blackout’

Move comes as press freedom groups say Gaza journalists starving to death.

Read more

Marie Colvin Award winner: Journalists in Gaza need and deserve a break

Yousef Hammash speaks about the difficulties continuing to face Palestinian journalists.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• EU urged to cancel trade agreement with Israel over journalist killings

• Nils Horner deserves justice ten years after murder – as do journalists killed in Gaza

• 63 journalists killed in as many days: Silence from newsrooms is deafening

• Robert Peston leads Jewish journalists’ call for media access into Gaza

• ‘We accept the risks’: Sky News boss calls for journalists to be allowed into Gaza

• BBC and news agencies sound alarm over ‘threat of starvation’ for journalists in Gaza

First there was video for publishers: short snippets often aimed at going viral in search of new advertising revenue.

Now, consumer news publishers are increasingly seeking to find deeper engagement and returning audiences with personality-led videos and podcasts based around key newsroom talent.

We found out how The Independent is seeking to lead the charge on this trend via its new Studio division.

Conversely, traditional broadcast news has moved away from its reliance on star presenters to pull in ratings in recent years.

Former head of Sky News John Ryley has written for Press Gazette about the 'post anchor era' of broadcast news. He believes the future of TV journalism now lies more in coverage from reporters in the field than presenters reading from autocues.

And finally we have an exclusive comment piece written by the heads of news publisher trade bodies in Canada and the EU.

They believe a new digital trade agreement could be a chance to stop big tech from 'strip mining' the news industry.

Press Gazette has now released the full line-up of speakers for the 2025 Future of Media Technology conference at the London Hilton Bankside on 11 September.

This event is purely focused around discussing and showcasing new ways to make journalism pay in the digital age. Full details here.

On Press Gazette

Independent’s video and podcast Studio aims to become biggest revenue driver

The Studio has already seen success with launch of ACFC on Youtube.

Read more

Comment: TV news is in the ‘post anchor age’

Former head of Sky News John Ryley surveys broadcast news in the post-anchor era.

Read more

EU and Canada publishers issue joint plea to halt AI ‘strip mining’ of news

Publisher trade bodies see Canada-EU trade deal as chance to curb big tech power.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Police sorry for harassment warning to journalist who contacted councillor

• Survey suggests readers still click on links after reading Google AI Overview

• Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

• Reuters and AP journalists among five killed in Israeli attack on hospital

• Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian

• Reach to ‘radically reorganise’ editorial structure with one live news team

• Wired says ‘AI-written’ story did not have ‘proper fact-check process’

• Wired and Business Insider remove ‘AI-written’ freelance articles

• Future of Media Technology Conference 2025: Full line-up

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now

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Margaux Blanchard is a name you will remember.

She emerged into the world of online news in April this year and has since proved to be a versatile reporter and feature writer with articles published on everything from the child mental health services crisis in the UK to Disneyland superfans who visit the amusement park hundreds of times a year.

Blanchard has written about the persecution of journalists in Guatemala for the journal Index on Censorship and about the challenges of becoming a first-time parent at the age of 45 for Business Insider.

She wrote a 1400-word feature for Wired about couples getting married in virtual online spaces such as Roblox which was followed up by websites ranging from Mashable to Fast Company.

Blanchard’s career hit a major bump in the road, however, when she pitched a feature about a disused mining town in Colorado which has become a macabre training ground for an organisation which uses real bodies to investigate death in staged environments.

Editor Jacob Furedi thought the story sounded perfect for Dispatch. If anything, a bit too perfect.

Today Press Gazette publishes an investigation into the work of Margaux Blanchard, which I suspect will have a major impact on the way reputable online publishers operate. It is a piece which every journalist and editor should print out and pin to their office wall.

Every time you receive an email from someone you do not know the assumption now has to be that they are not real.

There are going to be huge opportunities for trusted news brands to stand out in the increasingly imaginary AI-fuelled online world. But that trust is easily lost and news publishers who don’t put in the effort to check whether their writers and sources actually exist will go out of business.

Today we also report on the spread of “consent or pay” revenue models at UK publishers.

Clear guidance from the UK Information Commissioner has enabled newsbrands ranging from The Sun to The Guardian to offer readers a stark choice: accept cookies to enable personalised advertising or pay for the privilege of reading a website without being tracked.

Nearly everyone accepts cookies given this choice and the few who don’t become subscribers. There is no evidence yet that readers are rejecting “consent or pay” news websites altogether meaning the tactic has become a win-win for those trying to provide ad-funded news on the open web.

Our report provides a full rundown of the consent or pay tactics being adopted by top UK publishers.

The full line-up of speakers for the 2025 Future of Media Technology Conference at the London Hilton Bankside on 11 September is now live.

This event is purely focused around discussing and showcasing new ways to make journalism pay in the digital age. Full details here.

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On Press Gazette

Wired and Business Insider remove ‘AI-written’ freelance articles

Index on Censorship believes article it published by 'Margaux Blanchard' was generated by AI.

Read more

More UK news publishers are adopting 'consent or pay' advertising model

Consent rates jump up and small number of holdouts tend to pay instead - experts say it's a win-win.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Andrew Pierce and Kevin Maguire to launch weekly politics podcast

• Email-based publisher The Flyover has 25 full-time staff two years after launch

• Biggest newspapers in the world: Print is still king in Japan and India

• Fleet Street’s local newspaper goes out of business

• Top 50 English-language news sites in the world: All but four report traffic declines in July

• Top 50 news websites in the US in July: BBC drops five places as paywall introduced

• Future of Media Technology Conference 2025: Full line-up

• Newspaper ABCs: FT reports smallest annual print circulation drop in July

• UK and US publishers say Google AI is harming website traffic

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now

Industrial disputes have been something of a rarity at Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire since… well, 1986 (when he fired 6,000 unionised print workers).

So it is an intriguing sign of the times to see the company-funded News Union (which represents employees at News UK) get ‘a bit bolshy’.

News Union general secretary Jeremy Vine (not the DJ) has written to members expressing disappointment over a 2.25% below-inflation pay rise for most staff. He is also concerned by a mandated three-days-per-week return to office working and the impact a company directive to embrace AI tools will have on headcount.

Vine is also evidently miffed that News UK can waste £140m failing to launch a new UK TV station (TalkTV), yet can’t afford a more generous pay award for staff who he says are working harder than ever due to waves of redundancies.

Today we also take an in-depth look at publisher referral traffic sources going back to 2019 based on extensive data shared by 565 leading news websites in the UK and US.

Our analysis shows that despite everyone’s best efforts (launching apps and newsletters), direct traffic to publishers as a proportion is going down. Google traffic is broadly stable, suggesting predictions that Google Zero is coming any time soon are wide of the mark.

But as we have previously reported, Discover has replaced search as the main source of Google traffic.

And we speak to a leading executive at news aggregator Smartnews (which is also a handy source of revenue for many publishers via its revenue-split model). It has launched a new AI-driven app which aims to counter the trend towards rage-bait and political polarisation by offering readers a more nuanced take on the news of the day.

In my humble opinion, a better news aggregation platform is desperately needed. Google Discover’s algorithm has no quality filter and appears to encourage moronic clickbait (or maybe that is just what I click on). Samsung’s news app only offers a narrow range of sources. Apple News also offers a narrow range of sources, and is only available on Apple devices.

Publishers have long collaborated to ensure physical newspapers are able to reach every newsagent in the UK.

If only news publishers could collaborate on creating a news aggregation app which fairly allocated revenue and clicks and provided a platform for all professional journalism outlets.

Have a great weekend when you get there! (We aren’t publishing a daily newsletter tomorrow, Friday.)

On Press Gazette

Publisher traffic sources: Google steady but social and direct referrals are down

Chartbeat data reveals traffic trends to 565 publishers since 2019.

Read more

Smartnews launches new app to counter rage-bait and polarisation

Smartnews tries something new in tough market for aggregators.

Read more

News UK staff union blames NI increase on below-inflation pay deal

News Union also concerned over return-to-office mandate and AI rollout.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• Press freedom groups flag China links of new Telegraph owners

• Reach hiring journalists in Australia to cover UK overnight hours

• Secrecy order wrongly given to murdered child after no reporters attended court

• Meta says businesses will be able to report scam ads ‘at scale’ after spate of impersonations

• ‘Local Authority’ proves paid-for local news can work in UK towns as well as big cities

• Future expands paid online content offering with Tom’s Hardware launch

• Bloomberg Media reports growing subs, advertising and events revenue

• Google told to ‘stop the BS’ as it claims AI has not harmed website clickthroughs

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now

Google search traffic may be on the wane but it is being replaced by clicks from Google Discover, the search giant’s smartphone news aggregation feed.

Exclusive research published by Press Gazette today reveals that two-thirds of Google traffic to a range of 2,000 global news and media websites now comes via Discover rather than search, with that proportion growing all the time as AI Overviews and AI Mode stop readers from clicking through to sources.

David Buttle argues in Press Gazette that the growth of Discover allows Google to hold leverage over publishers, and so power in the debate over how it is regulated. And it could be encouraging publishers to work against their own long-term strategic interests.

He is concerned that optimising for Discover encourages clickbait headlines and frothy content in pursuit of drive-by clicks and short-term advertising revenue. He worries that this could be a distraction for publishers from investing in the more deeply reported content that can drive direct reader relationships and so prepare businesses for life after Google.

Meanwhile, Google keeps all the advertising revenue from Discover (in contrast to other aggregators, like Samsung News, which give publishers a share of advertising).

In Australia, leading lifestyle brand Man of Many has taken drastic action in response to falling Google search traffic – investing in podcasts, newsletters and adopting a registration wall to build better direct reader relationships.

We found out from co-founder Scott Purcell how the brand, which launched in 2012, is preparing for life after Google.

And amid ongoing industry angst around the impact of generative AI on publisher business models, I have taken a closer look the results of four US-based news media giants who reported quarterly earnings this week: Thomson Reuters, News Corp, People Inc and New York Times.

Together this quartet revealed growing revenue of more than $5bn and growing profit of nearly $1.2bn.

It’s heartening to see these juggernauts roll onwards (although profits are flagging in News Corp’s mainly UK and Australia-based news media division).

The New York Times is in a particularly strong position as America’s leading quality online newsbrand, with subscriber growth fuelling investment in editorial and product in an ongoing virtuous cycle. Expansion into sport and puzzles has also fuelled strong advertising revenue growth in these more ‘brand safe’ areas.

On Press Gazette

Why publishers should worry about growing reliance on Google Discover

'Increasingly precarious' to rely on Google Discover traffic and revenue.

Read more

How lifestyle brand Man of Many has changed to counter falling Google traffic

Man of Many is moving away from SEO-focused, evergreen articles.

Read more

US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

Thomson Reuters, News Corp, People Inc and NYT have strong quarters.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• SWNS expands into ‘creator economy’ with acquisition and new CEO

• Publishers see apps as solution to vanishing social traffic, says Pugpig

• Former Techcrunch staff join rapidly expanding defence technology title

• Youtuber’s libel claim against Spectator dismissed after reporting was ‘substantially true’

• Dubious UK local news websites, Russian links and cash for coverage

• Major UK publishers have seen Google search visibility ‘drop by up to 80%’ since 2019

• How to build a 70-strong newsbrand with 20,000 subscribers in a warzone

• Reddit claims top spot as most cited domain in AI-generated answers

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now

Building any newsbrand up to 20,000 paying members without a paywall is an impressive feat.

But doing so in an active warzone, which at the bare minimum of issues to be faced can mean a sleep-deprived staff running off generators, is even more so.

Of course, it helps that the Kyiv Independent has had such a big news story to cover, with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine starting just three months after the newsbrand was created.

But there are plenty of actionable insights that other newsbrands can learn from in Dom’s interview today with Kyiv Independent chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk.

It’s also notable that they are building up strong areas of coverage beyond the war and other hard news subjects - hoping to ensure they have longevity whatever happens next politically.

It’s nice to have a story that’s not about Google/AI… but I’m afraid I’m going to break that trend again with the next two. Regardless the points made by Protsiuk about building a community will definitely ring true for many publishers right now.

I delved into a new report from Enders Analysis that uses Sistrix data to show that the worst-affected UK national publisher has seen an 80% drop in Google search visibility since 2019.

The data also gives a good sense of what types of keywords are most likely to bring up an AI Overview - we haven’t mentioned The Telegraph’s affiliate revenue in this context yet - and the massive increase in them appearing for UK national newsbrands just since March.

And Alice (our new reporter, if you haven’t met her yet) has spoken to the chief revenue officer of Straight Arrow News in the US.

While you might not have heard of SAN, it provides an interesting case study of the gains to be had by concentrating on making your app really good, especially today as direct audiences become more important than ever.

On Press Gazette

How to build a 70-strong newsbrand with 20,000 subscribers in a warzone

Kyiv Independent COO Zakhar Protsiuk explains how title built reader revenue model since November 2021 launch.

Read more

Major UK publishers have seen Google search visibility 'drop by up to 80%' since 2019

Likelihood of publisher keywords triggering an AI Overview increased by 3.5 times between March and June.

Read more

’Unbiased' US news publisher believes app is key in world of AI search summaries

Straight Arrow News says app page views were up 1,170% year on year in June.

Read more

More from Press Gazette

• RAJARs Q2 2025: Times Radio reports record year-on-year growth

• AI Overviews cutting publisher clickthrough rates by 50%, new report finds

• Google AI Mode goes live in the UK

• Daily Mail sets 1m digital subscriber target amid major rebrand

• Ladbible launches Betches in UK to talk ‘with, not to’ millennial and Gen Z women

• Cyberattacks target email accounts of senior journalists

• Tech newsbrand Digital Frontier ‘pauses’ publication with 16-strong team made redundant

• The Times drops free Money Mentor offering in personal finance pivot

• ‘Anti-clickbait’ Facebook page relaunches after Ladbible complaints led to takedown

• Sky News expands data and forensics journalism team

• Fortune Europe editorial team made redundant but new roles being created

• Reach to put ‘serious focus’ on subscriptions but expects to keep most news free

Latest podcast: How the Kyiv Independent built 20,000 paying members in a warzone

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model.

Listen now