App aims to lure 'news curious' Gen Z from Instagram | 'Substantial' Telegraph libel payout
And Ofcom drops its investigations into politicians as presenters at GB News, LBC and Talk as it withdraws previous breach decisions
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Tuesday, 18 March, brought to you today in association with the AOP Digital Publishing Awards. Discover eleven valuable lessons to support your career development as we asked our jury what professional advice they would share with their younger selves.
The Telegraph has apologised and paid out substantial damages to a US tech entrepreneur in what looks like a setback for #metoo-style investigations.
The curious thing about the case of Zia Chishti versus the Telegraph is that the horrendous accusations against him were first aired in evidence to the US Congress.
And as any student of media law knows, under the Defamation Act 1996 proceedings in foreign legislatures are covered by qualified privilege.
The testimony from Tatiana Spottiswoode to the Congress Judiciary Committee helped pave the way for a change in the law providing more accountability to C-suite executives accused of sexual abuse of their staff.
But qualified privilege only applies to reports that are fair, accurate and published without malice. It also only covers what was actually said in the proceedings.
The Telegraph has now added apologies to the top of all the articles remaining online referring to the allegations against Chishti.
Today we also report on a new app which promises to make news as addictive for Generation Z folks (roughly 18 to 30-year-olds) as scrolling through Instagram.
'That will never work', I hear you say. But they said the same about Duolingo, the gamified language-learning app which is used by millions of children around the world. I caught up with the founder of Newsreel to find out how he is trying to start a grassroots news revival on campus.
I've also tried out Newsreel and this Generation X news junkie can reveal that he found it pretty addictive (and informative).
We also have the latest from the broadcast impartiality wars in the UK, where Ofcom has dropped a number of investigations against GB News and other broadcasters over politicians presenting news content.
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On Press Gazette
Screenshots of the Newsreel app
Gamified app Newsreel aims to lure ‘news curious’ Gen Z away from Instagram
The app has so far raised $200,000 in funding (including $55,000 via Kickstarter) and is now targeting investment of $1m.
Telegraph pays ‘substantial’ libel damages to tech entrepreneur
The payout follows tech entrepreneur Zia Chishti winning the largest defamation damages award in Pakistani legal history last year against Narratives Magazine over reporting of the same allegations.
Ofcom drops politician presenter investigations against GB News
On Monday Ofcom separately announced it has launched a new investigation into GB News over a January episode of its Headliners programme in which presenter Josh Howie said that “full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons” at a church would “include paedos”.
News in brief
Witnesses on behalf of actor Noel Clarke have finished giving evidence in his High Court libel trial, with those for Guardian News and Media due to begin today. Find updates from the first week of the trial here.
Newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital, which is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, have run editorials criticising OpenAI and Google for calling on the US government to allow AI models to be trained on copyrighted data if it's publicly available. (Axios)
RTO Insider, a provider of in-depth energy market reporting in the US, has been sold to Yes Energy, a market leader in power sector data and analytics. Collingwood advised RTO on the deal. (The National Law Review)
Reuters is hiring for a new "newsroom AI editor" role who will incorporate new AI developments the outlet's workflows, train its journalists and "oversee pre-production ethics". (Thomson Reuters)
Reach has launched its second specialist multi-platform brand for 'superfans', All Out Fighting covering boxing and MMA, after All Out Rugby launched last month. All Out Gaming will come shortly.
The BBC’s complaints unit has ruled there was a breach of editorial guidelines when Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford's book was given a "degree of prominence which went beyond what was editorially justifiable" in a BBC News Channel interview. (BBC)
TheBusinessDesk.com has acquired West Business News, the owner of business news websites in Bath and Bristol. The company said the deal "demonstrates our confidence in the growth strategy for our own business, as well as our commitment to the South West". (The Business Desk)
The Cortland Standard, an upstate New York newspaper founded in 1867 which says it is among the five oldest family-owned papers in the US, has ceased publication as "a casualty of declining readership and increasing costs, including an expected 25% tariff on newsprint". (Cortland Standard)
ABC News says it will focus its audio strategy on true crime across current events and its archive. Its vice president of audio said being a news organisation "gives us a natural advantage in the space and so we’re able to give this this audience with this voracious appetite more of what it wants in a responsible way". (The Hollywood Reporter)
Also on Press Gazette:
Press shut out of Home Office’s Snoopers’ Charter Apple encryption tribunal
Four female news presenters settle age and sex discrimination claims with BBC
Guardian, GB News and Newsquest among latest publishers to tell readers: ‘consent or pay’
Noel Clarke finishes giving evidence in Guardian libel trial
As some publishers seek full return to office, most staff favour hybrid working
News media staff share views in the great work from home debate
With launch of AI Mode Google threatens to bleed news media dry
Douglas Murray wins ‘substantial’ damages after Observer column error
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Latest Podcast: How to lose £100m with GB News | Print decline in the USA | Green shoots at Reach
Press Gazette's editorial team share their insights into big stories from the world of news. GB News has lost nearly £100m but is growing its non-TV advertising revenue and heading in the right direction. Charlotte Tobitt talks about this and the implications of its big legal victory over Ofcom.
Bron Maher shares some highlights from Press Gazette analysis for US newspaper and magazine print circulation figures. There are only a handful of newspapers selling more than 100,000 print copies in the USA (but they can console themselves with the fact they have strong digital subscriber bases).
And Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford looks at the latest financial results from Reach which reveal growing page views and profits amid a backdrop of overall decline at the UK's biggest commercial news publisher.