1843's prize-winning life after print | Kate Beckinsale secures removal of Mail article
Plus: Guardian journalist faces tough cross-examination at Noel Clarke libel trial and CEO of US circulation auditing body AAM says print still engine for US publishers
Good morning and welcome to your daily media briefing from Press Gazette on Friday 4 April, brought to you today in association with Arc XP’s Connect London 2025.
The Economist’s 1843 brand has won more awards than you can shake a stick at with its consistent output of beautiful photo essays, gripping features and in-depth investigations.
It may surprise you to know that 1843 closed as a print magazine in 2020. The sort of long-form journalism which previously adorned coffee tables is now confined to a section of the website and app.
Editor Jonathan Beckman says his ten-strong team are expected to produce just one"really good" piece per week. In terms of promoting The Economist as a brand, and attracting/securing some 800,000 digital subscribers, one weekly slam-dunk probably does far more than 100 pieces of average on-the-day journalism.
It's also probably the best defensive strategy a premium brand like The Economist can have against the threat posed by generative AI because painstakingly edited long-reads are the sort of thing LLMs cannot replicate.
She stood up well to some unpleasant-sounding cross-examination from Clarke's barrister. Asked whether she wanted to "damage" Clarke and "cancel him", she said: "No, I wanted to publish an article that documented what I felt were credible allegations from 22 women of misconduct.”
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On Press Gazette
The Economist 1843’s remit for life after print: ‘Do stuff that will win prizes’
The 1843 team are “not under pressure to do stuff that brings in enormous volumes of traffic, but under pressure to do stuff that’s really good”.
Guardian journalist on Noel Clarke investigation: ‘I felt that it was a story to be made public’
Barrister: “You’re lying, aren’t you?
Journalist: “I wanted Mr Clarke’s behaviour to be made public.”
Print is still top-three revenue driver for US publishers says chief of circulation auditing body AAM
“Usually digital is number one, events are number two and then print is number three – and then there’s everything else.”
Actress Kate Beckinsale secures removal of Mail Online ‘weight loss’ article
The Mail said Beckinsale had "opened up" about the "difficult time" she was going through.
Also this week on Press Gazette
Independent says readers ‘often prefer’ stories on new AI ‘Bulletin’ to human-written versions
Facebook profits from scam investment site using name of CNN anchor Richard Quest
Rachel Sylvester named Observer political editor as around half staff leave title
Vox sees boom in paying readers for explainer journalism under Trump 2
Latest podcast: Jim Mullen's legacy at Reach | Value of news to Google | Sun losses, Times profits
Press Gazette's editorial team share their insights into big stories from the world of news. Charlotte Tobitt talks us through the latest News UK accounts, which show losses at The Sun shrank in the year to June 2024 while The Times reported a £60m profit.
We react to news that Jim Mullen, the divisive CEO at Reach, is stepping down. And Bron Maher looks at the arguments and counterarguments being made by publishers and Google over what news is really worth on its platforms.