Anger over pay-per-click journalist contracts | Google AI changes to hit Discover traffic
Plus Google accepts need for ‘new value exchange’ with publishers in new policy paper
Good afternoon from the team at Press Gazette on Monday, 29 June.
Today’s newsletter is supported by FT Strategies – consulting from the Financial Times.
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💷 Incentivising journalists according to how many article clicks they personally drive is hugely controversial.
It encourages ‘clickbait’-style headlines, a high churn of articles and is somewhat unfair given that online journalism is a team sport (with product, commercial and technical teams also playing a major role in how websites perform).
Now major US publisher Valnet, which employs dozens of journalists in the UK, has rolled out new contracts that see freelances paid entirely on a per-click basis.
Given most staff on some sites are freelances this is a radical approach to the economics of website production, to say the least.
If this led to writers getting paid more I guess there would be fewer grumbles.
But our investigation by Rob Waugh into the goings-on at The Gamer and other specialist sites has found the changes have been greeted by journalists with “confusion, anger and extreme frustration”.
🔍 Meanwhile, new changes to Google Discover appear to spell more bad news for publisher referral traffic on the smartphone news aggregator.
Google has started replacing actual publisher stories in some cases with an AI-generated post that summarises various articles on the same topic. It is a tactic which seems calculated to keep more readers scrolling on their phone and looking at sponsored posts (which Google keeps all the revenue from).
It would appear that £21.5bn in 2025 was not enough UK advertising revenue for Google, which can always make a bit more.
SEO experts spoke about the impact of latest Discover changes at a London event last week. We also heard how the rollout of Google’s “Preferred Sources” features is a more positive development for publishers.
🤖 And finally, Google has published a major policy document which includes some encouraging signs for publishers.
While asserting that AI companies should be allowed to help themselves to the “open web” it accepted that publishers should also be allowed to opt out of this.
Google accepted the need for independent regulation of AI and also said it was exploring new “value exchange” models for publishers. Fingers crossed this means actual money rather than magic beans.
🚨 Press Gazette’s AI and Publishing Leadership Summit takes place in Westminster tomorrow from 2.30pm (with networking drinks directly afterwards).
Speakers include: head of AI Strategy at Mediahuis Ana Jakimovska, VP of generative AI at The Economist Josh Muncke, former culture minister Lord Ed Vaizey, managing director of public policy at Daily Mail Owen Meredith and CEO of Candr Media Chris Dicker.
If you are in a leadership position at a news publisher and are currently wrestling with some of the existential questions AI disruption poses, this event will be well worth your time. A limited number of free places are still available if you hurry! (Priority given to publishers.)
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🤏 News In Brief
More than 30 local newspaper publishers in the US (many of them independent or family-owned) have banded together to sue OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of the “systematic and willful theft of hundreds of thousands of copyrighted articles”. (Press Gazette)
The Sun has agreed to pay “substantial” libel damages to actor Qasim Akhtar after falsely linking him to Islamic extremism. (Press Gazette)
US magazine Scientific American is cutting 15 staff after LabX Media Group bought the company from Springer Nature. Scientific American union members said the cuts are “blatant union-busting”. (Press Gazette)
This week's Foresight News diary includes Andy Burnham setting out his economic vision, the beginning of Wimbledon and the Tour de France. (Press Gazette)
Sky has reportedly agreed terms to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming unit in a £1.6bn deal which is now being finalised. (Reuters)
Google is reportedly threatening to exclude publishers from AI partnership deals unless they let it train its AI bots on their content. (New York Post)
Mill Media has won a data protection case brought by TV historian Laurence Westgaph, who sued the publisher in an attempt to force it to reveal its sources. The legal battle cost Mill Media £75,000 to defend. (The Post)
The Intercept has issued a legal challenge over the US Department of Homeland Security’s refusal to release public documents relating to an anti-protester database under the Freedom of Information Act. (The Intercept)
British foreign correspondents could face prosecution under new national security laws if they use sources within state-backed groups in countries such as Iran, two independent reviewers of terrorism legislation have warned. (The Guardian)
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has reportedly said that he has no interest in working with CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss who could have major oversight of CNN after an expected merger with Paramount. (The New York Times)
Staff at the BBC's Today programme have reportedly been told that social and digital platforms are now top priority for correspondents, with making content for Tiktok, Instagram and other platforms taking priority over radio reporting. (The Guardian)
Cooking magazine The Kitchn has launched its first print magazine. Costing $40 a year, the quarterly mag marks the brand's first move into paid subscriptions. (The Kitchn)
👀In case you missed it:
1) 50 biggest news websites in UK: Newsquest’s Herald Scotland and Oxford Mail lead growth in May
The Oxford Mail and Herald Scotland led year-on-year audience and minutes growth in May.
2) B2B tech title The Stack boosts newsletter audience with acquisitioneeds
Founder Ed Targett says focus on Linkedin and sponsored content has fueled growth.
3) Liz Murdoch part of $27m fundraising round for Piers Morgan media company
Investment set to help Uncensored become ‘truly global media platform’.
4) Time and Axios turn AI prominence into advertising revenue
Key insights from Press Gazette’s News Yacht event at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
5) UK news industry backs law to stop deceptive AI scraping
Follows New York state bid to stop deceptive bots which fuel ‘$1bn’ content trading market.
📻Latest podcast
Publishers versus LLMS: Trusted Reviews is leading fightback
Candr Media CEO Chris Dicker has seen its flagship website - Trusted Reviews - be pillaged by AI bots over the last 18 months.
He spoke to Press Gazette about a new legal tactic that uses a branch of law dating back to the Romans to secure justice and perhaps force big tech to the negotiating table.
The Google Discover AI summary replacing actual publisher stories is the quiet one that should alarm every digital publisher. Google keeps the ad revenue. Publishers lose the traffic. The content that earned the click never gets the visit.
Pay-per-click journalist contracts are the logical endpoint of a broken incentive structure. When distribution is commoditized, the pressure lands on whoever creates the content. That's never going to produce better journalism.
"Fingers crossed this means actual money rather than magic beans" is the most honest summary of every publisher-AI negotiation happening right now.