Big job cuts at Mail | Gen Z media habits fuel disdain for democracy
And The Guardian has been cleared to argue truth and public interest in its £10m libel battle against actor Noel Clarke over sexual misconduct allegations
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday 31 January brought to you in partnership with On The Record, the campaign dedicated to establishing the UK’s first national memorial to UK-based reporting teams who gather news from conflict zones. Be part of their story by donating today.
We know the total is no more than 99 otherwise the changes would trigger a longer 45-day (rather than 30-day) notice period.
The Mail titles have long been print market leaders (not just in terms of overall sales but in their ability to resist decline).
Yet sales of the Daily Mail print edition have halved over the last seven years to just under 700,000 sales per day. The Mail on Sunday has seen a similar drop to just over 560,000 copies per week in the same period.
As with other rounds of redundancies over the last two years at the Mail titles journalists more focused on print are believed to have borne the brunt of the cuts (although I hear some digital-only reporters are being cut).
With cover prices rising far ahead of inflation, print revenue has actually proved surprisingly resilient. And given the Mail’s growing website subscriber base (which now exceeds 100,000) DMG Media can look to the future with some confidence despite the pain of this week.
It turns out that the addiction of children and young people to Youtube and Tiktok really may be rotting their brains in quite alarming ways. According to a Channel 4 survey one in three young people think the UK would be a better place if the military was in charge and more than half appear keen to do away with democracy altogether.
Evil triumphs when good men do nothing (as 18th-century philosopher Edmund Burke apparently did not say).
We should heed the warning from Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon that publishers need to engage with the Gen Z audience where they are (because they are not going to change their media habits).
Actor Noel Clarke has lost his bid to get the Guardian's libel defences of truth and public interest thrown out ahead of trial. The publisher says it has 32 witnesses willing to support allegations of sexual misconduct against the former Doctor Who star.
Clarke is seeking £10m in special damages in what will be a huge test of the media's ability to report on allegations of sexual impropriety by those in positions of power.
Meanwhile, hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is seeking £79m from the Financial Times over allegations of a similar nature.
Did you know that The Sun’s Jerome Starkey was the first UK journalist to report from inside occupied Russian territory since the Crimean War? It is quite some claim to fame and appears to have irked the Russian regime sufficiently to issue a warrant for his arrest. Starkey and Sun editor Victoria Newton have issued a defiant response.
Donald Trump’s decision to suspend foreign aid has had a devastating effect on three Ukrainian newsrooms operating near the front line chronicling atrocities and providing a bulwark against Russian propadanda. They’ve launched a crowdfunded to keep reporting.
On Press Gazette
Major job cuts at Mail titles in final stage of digital-first transition
Mail says job losses "always regrettable" but it needs to position for "an even brighter future".
Channel 4 chief says Gen Z media habits causing ‘immense issues’
Alex Mahon says news providers must take urgent action to reach young people who appear to hold extreme views.
Noel Clarke loses bid to get Guardian libel defence thrown out
Guardian lawyers described an accusation of evidence fabrication by Clarke's team as "hopeless".
‘It’s nice to feel wanted’ – Sun reporter defiant after Russian arrest warrant issued
Sun editor Victoria Newton says Russian move is blatant attempt to suppress the free press.
News in brief
ITV has confirmed that David Tennant and Toby Jones are starring as Nick Davies and Alan Rusbridger in a seven-part TV drama The Hack about the News of the World hacking scandal -something that was first revealed in the Press Gazette newsletter ten months ago.
Three House of Commons Select Committees have called on the Government to sufficiently resource the BBC World Service so it is less reliant on the licence fee and short-term funding cycles. See their letter here. The BBC this week announced plans to cut 130 World Service roles to save £6m in the next year.
Nordic news publisher Schibsted has asked staff not to use Chinese AI platform DeepSeek on company devices or networks because it "raises privacy and security concerns" and "poses a significant risk to Schibsted Media and journalism-related businesses". (Journalisten)
Substack says it will expand Substack Defender, a legal support scheme for "independent writers who face intimidation and opposition from the subjects of their stories". It is now open to Substack publishers in the US, Canada and UK with 50+ paying subs and can cover legal fees up to $1m. (Substack)
Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, has filed a lawsuit against a Washington state agency in an attempt to stop The Washington Post, also owned by Bezos, from releasing records that it claims contain trade secrets relating to an internet satellite initiative. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Lords communications committee chair Baroness Stowell says the Government should step in by threatening a further investigation if RedbirdIMI has not managed to complete the sale of The Telegraph by Easter. (The Telegraph)
The Rest Is Politics won Podcast of the Year at Political Podcasts Awards. Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction won Best Newcomer and Comedy Moment, Sky’s Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard were Presenters of the Year, and Political Currency won Interview of the Year and a publicly-voted prize. (Podnews)
Paramount is reportedly in talks to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris that he alleges was edited to favour her. Paramount executives reportedly believe a settlement would help avoid a delay to the company's upcoming merger with Skydance. (The New York Times)
Peter Spiegel, Financial Times US managing editor and former news editor in London, has been named managing editor of The Washington Post overseeing its national and local newsroom departments. (WaPo)
Writing in the new Substack publication The Contrarian, former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has said he left the paper after editing "went from light touch to extremely intrusive". He also claimed Times opinion writers were "banned" from writing media criticism. (The Contrarian)
The new chair of the FCC has ordered an investigation into whether NPR and PBS member stations have violated government rules by recognising financial sponsors on air. (The New York Times)
The Wall Street Journal’s director of audience analytics Tess Jeffers has said the title's key metrics this year are subscriber engagement and new subscriber conversion rates. She said readers still coming directly for "editorial judgment and authority" despite disintermediation by the platforms. (INMA)
Reach now has more than 100 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, WhatsApp and Snapchat - with 19% growth over the last year, the publisher has announced.
Niall Ferguson is joining The Times as a contributing writer, five years after departing as a columnist for The Sunday Times. Writing 12 pieces a year, Ferguson said "a monthly essay will be a perfect opportunity to put the frenetic changes we see in the world around us into historical perspective".
Also on Press Gazette:
Could AI-powered personalisation boost reader engagement for publishers?
Google owes UK news industry £2.2bn from 2023 alone, claims new research
Future’s former chief technology officer Kevin Li Ying named CEO
Sky News plans for life after 2030 with ‘premium video’ focus and possible paid content
Lords amendments offer AI copyright protection for publishers
Jewish Chronicle announces new editor, new look and revamped membership
Daily Star editor Jon Clark to leave amid new digital-first strategy
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Podcast 81: Super soaraway Substack, how Youtube became newstube and why Prince Harry took the cash
Bron Maher discusses Press Gazette's new ranking of the most lucrative titles on Substack, Charlotte Tobitt explains how and why publishers are currently so fixated on building their followings on Youtube and Dominic Ponsford shares his view on why Prince Harry decided to take News UK's cash rather than have his day in court with The Sun.