Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner on his 'pact with the devil' AKA OpenAI
And why lifting fake stories from Tiktok is not helping to restore trust in UK media
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Friday 26 April.
Not many journalists have turned themselves into billionaires, so Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner is well worth listening to.
His turn at the World Congress of News Media in London focused around the existential threat posed to us all by generative AI. The new technology could either destroy journalism or make it better, he said. He set out how the latter could happen and explained why, as one delegate put it, he has made a pact with the devil by signing a licensing deal with OpenAI.
And we return to an old debate: is churnalism and thinly-sourced ‘news’ lifted from social media to blame for falling trust in the profession?
Hundreds of stories are written every day for professional news websites based on fictional Tiktok videos and years-old anecdotes lifted from Reddit. What is the point and where does it get us?
Jobs of the week:
Ripple Effect is recruiting a senior writer based in Rockville
Dentsu Aegis Network is recruiting a media measurement manager based in London
New from Press Gazette
Why Axel Springer CEO Mathias Dopfner made ‘pact with the devil’ on generative AI
“If we embrace the possibilities of LLMs we can not only make our work much easier, cheaper and efficient, but also better and more impactful.”
Total Politics Group to run ad sales for Conservative Home and Labour List
Messagespace, the political advertising network co-founded by Guido Fawkes editor Paul Staines, will no longer run ad sales for politics titles Conservative Home and Labour List.
Is lifting of viral news from social media fuelling loss of trust in journalism?
“Trust in journalism down, content lifted from Tiktok up. Could the two be linked?”
News in brief
Suzi Watford, former chief membership officer of Dow Jones, is moving to The Washington Post to take up the newly-created post of chief strategy officer. Watford will report to CEO Will Lewis, a fellow Brit and her former boss at Dow Jones. (Press Gazette)
G/O Media has sold satire site The Onion to a new company made up of "digital media veterans" inc ex Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson and ex-NBC News reporter Ben Collins who promised to keep the staff intact. G/O also recently sold Jezebel, Deadspin and AV Club. (The New York Times)
Google has delayed the end of third-party cookies and rollout of its Privacy Sandbox solution again - it will not now happen in 2024 and it is targeting early 2025. It said this will give the CMA "sufficient time to review... results from industry tests". (Google)
The UK had one first place winner at the INMA Global Media Awards last night: The Economist won best use of visual journalism and storytelling tools for its piece Inside A Month of America’s School Shootings. See the full winners list here.
The New York Times has put out a statement saying President Biden has "actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term", including via a sitdown interview, and that this sets a "dangerous precedent". (The New York Times)
Meta recorded profit of $12.4bn in the first quarter, more than double its Q1 2023 profit. The company also lowered expectations for its Q2 revenue and raised projections for its 2024 costs, however, sending shares tumbling 16% in after-hours trading. (The New York Times)
Gateway Pundit, the right-wing American news site noted for its dissemination of false claims, has declared bankruptcy "as a result of the progressive liberal lawfare attacks". The site intends to continue operating, founder Jim Hoft said. (Axios)
Culture, Media and Sport Committee chair Caroline Dinenage has said of Huw Edwards that "nothing illegal happened and he’s entitled to a private life... It feels fundamentally wrong that someone’s whole life has been damaged irreparably by something like that". (Shropshire Star via PA)
Previously on Press Gazette
How New York Times plans to cover Donald Trump’s third presidential campaign
Why AI-powered search from Google may NOT be disaster for publishers
Google takes lion’s share of growing UK ad market as publishers lose out
The Lever gets reader backing to expose corporate corruption and grows editorial team
Guardian makes rejecting tracking cookies easier as it promotes cookie-less solution
‘Anti-trans narratives’ see Unherd put on advertising blacklist
Henry Winter launches Substack: ‘I’m going to Euros… but I’ll be in an Airbnb’
Latest podcast
Podcast 69: How different minds can thrive in news media
Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford talks about exclusive new research on the prevalence of neurodiversity in news media. He also speaks to Times Radio journalist Darryl Morris and freelance journalist Lydia Wilkins about the benefits and challenges ADHD and autistic thinkers can bring to jobs in journalism.
Press Gazette live
Entries are now OPEN for the Future of Media Awards 2024 (which celebrate the best journalism-based digital products). Check out the full list of categories here. Note: These awards are free to enter.