BBC Israel-Gaza complaints not upheld | How local news could use Facebook Subscriptions

Plus: top 50 UK news websites in October and your news diary for the week ahead

Nov 27, 2023

Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Monday, 27 November, brought to you in association with Opti Digital, an adtech company developing innovative AI-based technologies designed to help publishers maximise their advertising revenues.

Almost two-thirds of the UK’s 50 biggest news websites saw a year-on-year audience drop in October according to the latest Ipsos iris data, despite a seemingly huge appetite for information last month from Israel and Gaza.

Could this be linked to our report from last week about the “profound” impact Google’s latest updates have had on many news publishers? We obviously can’t say for sure, but it could well be part of the same picture.

This likely means the trend towards subscription-based titles and those focusing on engagement metrics rather than reach is only going to continue with aplomb. One possible thing to look at is subscriptions on Facebook, an option seemingly largely untapped by publishers despite it launching in 2018.

We’ve heard today from one West Country publisher with a promising launch on Facebook Subscriptions – getting more than 500 paying subscribers in less than a month. It could fit with the current move towards direct relationships with a smaller but loyal and engaged community of readers, although it requires a very different Facebook strategy to what we’re used to from news providers.

Also today we report on the results of a fast-tracked investigation into the BBC’s coverage of a hospital blast in Gaza last month.

Although other sources believe the explosion at the Al Ahli Hospital was the result of a misfired rocket launched from within Gaza, the BBC itself said it has not been able to verify what happened and therefore could not conclude posts stating it was an “Israeli airstrike” were inaccurate. International editor Jeremy Bowen has stated he has "no regrets" about his reporting so far.

And you can find your news diary for this week here.

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New from Press Gazette

*Picture: ITVX homepage, 26 November 2023*

Top 50 UK news websites: ITV and Mail Online see double-digit growth in October

Among the ten biggest newsbrands, ITV, Mail Online, The Independent, The Guardian and the BBC grew last month. The remaining five of the top ten biggest newsbrands saw audience declines.

Read more

Complaints about BBC coverage of Israel-Hamas war are not upheld

The complaints were fast-tracked by director-general Tim Davie after widespread criticism of the broadcaster, including its decision not to refer to Hamas as “terrorists”.

Read more

Facebook subscriptions: Could Meta still be a friend for publishers?

Pulman’s Weekly News, a small newsbrand based in Axminster, Devon, now has more than 500 subscribers (of 1,700 Facebook followers in total) who pay £3.49 a month, less than a month after turning on Facebook subscriptions.

Read more

News diary 27 November-3 December: King Charles opens COP28, Hancock at Covid inquiry, Evan Gershkovich detention deadline

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.

Read more

Podcast 60: How to make local news pay with Newsquest CEO Henry Faure Walker

Last year UK regional news giant Newsquest made £40m in pre-tax profits on turnover of £190m.

This year it is tracking to have ad revenue broadly flat over two years.

CEO Henry Faure Walker spoke to Dominic Ponsford about how the publisher of 200+ titles is bucking the trend on both audience and advertising revenue decline. He also shed light on some fascinating experiments using generative AI in the newsroom.

Listen now

News in brief

Telegraph sale latest

Jeff Zucker, the ex-CNN president who is in line to buy The Telegraph with Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI, has told the FT he would create an editorial advisory board to uphold the independence of the title, and he would keep the same management and editors. (Financial Times)

Downing Street did not deny reports that the Foreign Office intervened to “soften” language used by the Culture Secretary to avoid offending RedBird IMI, saying it is "standard procedure" to advise other departments. (The Independent)

Former Telegraph and Spectator editor Charles Moore argued in a piece for The Telegraph that the titles are "great British institutions. They should not be controlled by a foreign power". (The Telegraph)

Reach restructure

Some of the local Reach websites that are closing have published a templated message telling readers they will stop being updated from Thursday, saying "changes in the media landscape and decisions made by large tech platforms have made life much harder for all media businesses". Oxfordshire Live’s “thank you to our readers” story can be read here.

Meanwhile, a judge in the Insolvency and Companies Court has given Reach the green light for a “cancellation” of its “share premium account”, which it said was “to give reasonable assurance” that the company would be able to continue making “distributions to shareholders”. (Evening Standard)

GB News political correspondent Katherine Forster has said she and her crew were abused while reporting on the pro-Palestine protest in London on Saturday, including being called "fascist" and "scum". She described it as "very intimidating". (GB News)

BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen has said he doesn't "regret one thing" about his coverage of Israel and Gaza because he was "measured throughout". But he did admit he got it "wrong" on an alleged hospital bombing. (The Telegraph)