Election breaks news page view records | City AM editor steps down
Plus: the Law Commission considers major contempt of court reform, Trevor Kavanagh retires from The Sun and Impress opens its arbitration scheme to public
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Wednesday 10 July, 2024.
Breaking news just in: City AM is getting a new editor as Andy Silvester steps down next week after almost four years at the helm.
It’s been a busy period to lead the business paper, with its post-Covid print return, transition into a digital-first newsroom, and of course concerns about its future last year before it was saved by THG.
By all accounts (but specifically chief operating officer Harry Owen’s account to us), City AM is now thriving. So it will be exciting to see what it does next under a new editor (who has already been appointed but not yet named).
Also today we have data that shows what is believed to be a new record high for news and politics page views at the UK’s leading publishers last week for the Labour landslide results.
It beats the previous record of the week in September 2022 in which Liz Truss became prime minister and the Queen died.
The data, which comes from Ozone, also gives an interesting insight into which party leaders had a bigger share of the voice in coverage throughout the six-week campaign and which parties saw the most positive sentiment in the media (spoiler: one is behind the rest, and it’s not Reform).
In potentially major media law news, the Law Commission is looking at a massive reform of contempt of court law which could see the burden of proof shifted away from accused publishers meaning they would not have to prove they weren’t reckless with any publication – it would instead be on the Attorney General to prove they were.
And although it didn’t go quite this far in its recommendations, the Commission appears to be seriously considering whether the point at which a case becomes active for the purposes of contempt should come later – at the point of charge, instead of arrest. This could massively open up what the media are able to report.
Fleet Street legend Trevor Kavanagh is retiring from The Sun (with a dig at Joe Biden, who is the same age).
And press regulator Impress is opening up its arbitration services with a more commercial lens than it’s had before.
New from Press Gazette
News and politics page views reach record high in 2024 election week
Aside from the week of polling day on 4 July, the next biggest week for politics page views during the election campaign was the week beginning 3 June which was when Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced he would stand as an MP and also when Sunak left the D-Day 80th commemorations in France early to do an ITV News interview.
Secret arrests could mean publishers don’t know they are in contempt of court
Currently legal proceedings are considered active in criminal cases from the point of arrest. But because arrests are now treated as private, and therefore secret, it has become hard for publishers to know if their reporting is potentially risking contempt of court.
Trevor Kavanagh retires: Fleet Street ‘great’ who stood up for arrested colleagues
“I am the same age as doddery American President Joe Biden – it’s time both of us left the building.”
City AM editor Andy Silvester steps down after almost four years
Silvester has prided himself on nurturing young talent in the newsroom and putting out playful front covers (click through for a selection of his favourites).
Impress opens up dispute resolution service to all publishers and others
“Now, thanks to Impress’ tried and tested out-of-court procedures, everyone can get affordable and binding resolution, leaving them free to hold power to account and safe in the knowledge that they can access justice when they are wronged.”
News in brief
An ex-Wall Street Journal healthcare reporter has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the title, accusing it of seeking to get rid of well-paid staff who also incur high healthcare costs using "trumped up performance issues". (NPR)
The Washington Post has launched an AI chatbot based on its own articles, although it is currently only able to answer queries about the climate. It has also begun an experiment with AI summaries, currently available on 10% of stories. Several other major publishers have already launched their own archive-based, AI-driven chatbots, including the Financial Times, Future and Forbes. (Axios)
The Washington Post has appointed Ellen Francis, currently a breaking news reporter at its London hub, as Brussels bureau chief. She is a former deputy bureau chief for Reuters in Beirut. (Washington Post)
Ofcom has blocked the BBC from immediately launching a streaming spin-off to Radio 2 offering music from 50s, 60s and 70s, ordering a full public interest test into the potential adverse impact on commercial competitors like Boom Radio and Bauer. (The Telegraph)
Previously on Press Gazette
New culture secretary Lisa Nandy called for BBC to be ‘mutualised’ but backed licence fee
Publishers must prove audience loyalty to win ad spend battle
Top 50 UK news websites in May: ITV growth sees broadcaster re-enter top ten
BBC News deputy CEO Jonathan Munro promoted to global director
How Politico and New Statesman election parties toasted Labour’s landslide
Latest podcast
Setting goals for US expansion with Footballco’s first North America CEO
Goal, Indivisa and Mundial publisher Footballco was reaching 30 million people in the US without having any meaningful boots on the ground.
But at the start of 2024 Jason Wagenheim arrived as its first CEO for North America, bringing lessons that sports publishing can learn from lifestyle after a long stint at Bustle Digital Group.
Wagenheim told Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt about how he is approaching Footballco’s two-year runway ahead of the World Cup being held in the US, Canada and Mexico in 2026 as well as the value of going deeper – well beyond traditional match reporting – in an age of algorithms and generative AI.
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