BBC election debate announced | Marty Baron on what went wrong for Post
Plus new Substacks for Londoners amid Standard decline, what's next for foreign investment in UK news and a major press freedom victory in Northern Ireland
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Today we shed light on a tale of two newspapers with fresh insight from one of the editors at the heart of their great rivalry.
While the New York Times has soared, the Washington Post has sunk - facing falling subscriptions and ballooning losses.
We were at the World News Media Congress in Copenhagen where former Post editor Marty Baron explained why the downfall of Trump was bad news for the title and how, unlike The Times, it failed to give readers an adequate 'bundle' of subscription value.
(New Washington Post CEO Will Lewis has begun making big changes, with former Sunday Times and Telegraph colleague Robert Winnett being brought in to replace Sally Buzbee who is out of the door).
Following news that the Evening Standard is being axed as a daily newspaper, we report on two Substack newsletters that have launched in the English capital, one providing a daily digest of news and the other offering longer reads and investigations.
The BBC has announced details of its head-to-head TV party leader debate on 26 June, which will follow an ITV-hosted debate between Sunak and Starmer tomorrow. Sky News is hoping to host the pair on 12 June in Grimsby, but this has yet to be confirmed.
We have all the details in our broadcast news UK general election round-up here.
Some good news on press freedom from Northern Ireland where publishers have successfully challenged a law providing anonymity for life (and beyond) for those accused of sexual offences (but not yet charged).
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New from Press Gazette
Marty Baron: Why WaPo fell behind NYT and why we can’t be Trump ‘combatants’
The ex-Post and Boston Globe editor on the NYT bundle and "radical reinvention" of the industry.
NI law that would have outlawed reporting Savile allegations struck down
Belfast Telegraph editor says law had already affected newspaper's work.
London news Substack signs up 225 paid subscribers in first month of paywall
A separate daily digest of London local news is on 230 total subscribers after its own May launch.
DCMS seeks views as state-owned investors banned from any stake in UK newspaper
Rules brought to stop the Telegraph takeover unintentionally rule out sovereign wealth fund investments.
News diary 3-9 June: ITV hosts first election debate, Taylor Swift comes to UK, D-Day commemorations
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
The BBC will host a head-to-head party leaders debate for Starmer and Sunak on 26 June in Nottingham hosted by Sophie Raworth, while ITV announced on Friday it will host a seven-party debate moderated by Julie Etchingham on 13 June (it will air the first head-to-head debate tomorrow). Full round-up here of all the broadcasters' election plans and leader debates.
Andrew Neil will start his Monday -Thursday 1pm show for Times Radio today - a month before the election. Originally he was intending to start at the station on 9 September before Sunak's surprise July election date. (Press Gazette)
At least eight people are expected to lose their jobs at the Wall Street Journal amid shake-up of how it covers US news. It takes total job cuts at WSJ this year so far to about 40. (Press Gazette)
The head of Google Search says AI Overviews is driving "higher quality" clicks to websites: "people are more likely to stay on that page, because we’ve done a better job of finding the right info and helpful webpages for them". Google also confirmed the aim is to not show AI Overviews for hard news "where freshness and factuality are important". (Google)
IPSO has ruled Aberdeen Live breached Clause 4 (intrusion into grief or shock) of the Editors' Code by publishing "personal and intrusive" details of a rape victim's physical reaction to the crime. (IPSO)
The New York Times is suing the creators of a Wordle-inspired geography game named Worldle, claiming the latter creates "confusion" with the vocab puzzle the NYT acquired in 2022. (BBC)
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen will step down as director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the end of September to join the University of Copenhagen as a Professor in the Department of Communication. Mitali Mukherjee will be acting director from 1 October until a permanent successor is found. (RISJ)
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