Future of Media Awards winners | Police investigate death of Telegraph journalist
And friends pay tribute to former Sunday Times journalist Mark Edmonds who has died aged 63
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Friday, 13 September.
Over my many years covering media I’ve been something of a visionary at times.
I can still remember the frisson of excitement 20 years ago which went through the private dining room of News International when I was shown the future – a £10m project which would take the Sunday Times into the 21st century.
It was a monthly CD Rom called…The Month.
News International was sure readers would rush down to the newsagents every fourth Sunday, go home, fire up their desktop computer, and then start downloading the latest multimedia content.
This was, I wrote confidently, the future of journalism.
I was wrong then, and I’ve been wrong many times since. But the beauty of this industry is that we keep on trying and last night we celebrated some of the publishers who are getting it right at the Future of Media Awards.
Check out our full list of winners here for a snapshot of the websites, podcasts, newsletters, apps and innovators who are lighting the way to a sustainable future for quality journalism in the digital age.
We say goodbye to former Sunday Times journalist Mark Edmonds who infamously once sent an email to a junior colleague with the one-word subject line “bollocking”. He was a nightmare for HR, but a joy to work with according to colleagues Bill Akass, Eleanor Mills and John Sweeney who wrote this tribute.
Police are looking into the sudden death of Telegraph journalist David Knowles on holiday in Gibraltar aged just 32. His work reporting on the war in Ukraine annoyed the Russian government enough to see him banned from entering the country. Police say there are no “specific concerns” about his death as yet.
New from Press Gazette
Future of Media Awards 2024: FT, Telegraph and Sky News are big winners
All the winners and photographs from last night’s Future of Media Awards
Mark Edmonds: Tough, kind and forensic journalist with a huge sense of fun
Bravely, Edmonds tried his hand at stand-up, not altogether successfully. Dressed in a tuxedo, he stood in front of an audience in Paris and demanded to know: “So why isn’t there a Place de la Collaboration?”
Police probe sudden death of Telegraph’s David Knowles
“A policing ‘mutual aid’ request for specialist support was submitted to UK policing, although there are no specific concerns at this time with regard to the death.”
News in brief
Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is suing Variety for $15m over a story alleging "unprofessional behaviour" on the set of his new movie Megalopolis. Variety said: "We stand by our reporters". (Associated Press)
Press regulator IPSO has announced a new settlement protecting its funding in real terms for five years. It has also reached an agreement with regulated publishers to give it "greater discretion to allocate resources to the most important complaints". (IPSO)
The BBC will make more of its podcasts and on-demand radio programmes available to listen to first on BBC Sounds - usually for a week or a month - before they go onto third-party platforms. It follows a trial that began with some programmes in 2022. (BBC)
Unionised Forbes staff in New York have passed a vote of no confidence in their CEO and chief content officer in part because, they say, poor pay has helped lead to an exodus of more than 70 employees while pay disparity is also an issue. (Talking Biz News)
Rightmove's board has rejected a "wholly opportunistic" £5.6bn bid from News Corp-controlled REA Group, saying the offer "fundamentally undervalued Rightmove and its future prospects". (Rightmove)
The New York Times has opened a bureau in Vietnam, its first full-time, on-the-ground presence in the country since 1975, as it commits to "expanding global coverage and bolstering independent journalism worldwide". (NYT Co)
News publishers have lost a bid to have access to the upcoming private courtroom battle over Rupert Murdoch handing future control of News Corp to his eldest son Lachlan and taking away equal voting rights from his other children. (Deadline)
Previously on Press Gazette
Mill Media says goodbye to Substack and moves onto competitor Ghost
‘Consent or pay’: Why UK news websites are getting tough with readers over data
Former Emap pair hit £1m+ revenue for second year with free construction B2B title
Online overtakes TV as biggest source of news in UK for first time
Twice as many Brits got 2024 election news from TV as from social media, Ofcom finds
Google ad tech practices harming ‘thousands of UK publishers and advertisers’, watchdog believes
Press Gazette live
The event is open to all journalists producing work targeted at a UK audience. The criteria stipulate that reports must bring important new information to light, show journalistic skill and rigour and make a difference for the better.
The awards pit the smallest local newspapers and independent podcasters against the biggest international news organisations. The great leveller is the quality of the story being told.