Future shares tumble as CEO quits | A closer look at the New York Sun

And cheers to news agency SWNS where national editors have paid tribute as it marked 50 years in business

Oct 18, 2024

Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Friday, 18 October, 2024 published in association with Papermule - the UK’s leading Publisher Digital Asset Management provider. AdDesk, their leading product, has been revamped and recently gone live, with Bauer Media being one of the first adopters. More information below.

So long then Jon Steinberg, who after 18 months as CEO of Future is heading back to the USA.

The share price tumbled this morning on the news leaving investors in the company licking their wounds.

Future is the UK’s second-largest magazine publisher, with a range of specialist brands, from Marie Clare to The Week. It reaches a vast audience, but its ad-driven revenue model is failing.

A company that was worth nearly £4bn just three years ago now has a market cap of just over £900m (most of which must be for price comparison site Go Compare, which is by far the strongest-performing part of the group).

New York Sun owner Dovid Efune is now in exclusive talks to buy the Telegraph for around £550m.

He has outspoken views on the Middle East which will make journalists on the title nervous that he will interfere in editorial.

But what about his existing title? We've taken a closer look at the New York Sun which is a famous newspaper name and now quite an obscure website. Efune has had some success at reviving the title but it is still tiny compared to the Telegraph.

Today we also raise a glass to SWNS, the news agency which fills great chunks of our national press. It has grown from a local Bristol-based outfit to become a nationwide and even international business. Telegraph editor Chris Evans and Times editor Tony Gallagher both learned their trade at SWNS and were among those paying tribute at a London party.

Full disclosure: I once went for an interview at SWNS (some time in the late 1990s) and can recall the moment I blew it, when I told Andrew Young (who I think was then the news editor) that I read The Guardian. He guessed, rightly I suspect, that I did not have the hungry tabloid instincts necessary to make it in the cut-throat world of news agency journalism.

And 17 years on from the first hacking trial, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has lost his bid to appeal against his conviction. He claimed he was badly advised and said he is now homeless and unable to work.

Others involved in the hacking scandal have managed quite successful rehabilitations. Jailed former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, for example, now runs a PR advisory firm, hosts a podcast and is a sought after public speaker.

The many Mirror journalists involved in phone-hacking were never charged.

But Mulcaire seems unable to live his involvement in the scandal down.

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New from Press Gazette

Telegraph bidder Dovid Efune’s New York Sun is obscure even in home city

Under Efune The New York Sun has grown rapidly - although its reach still appears limited

Read more

National editors pay tribute to SWNS at 50: UK’s biggest independent news agency

“It isn’t just the journalism – it was the hunger to win and the business-savvy approach that led me to being a chief reporter on a national aged 23, just a year after leaving – and serves me well still today.”

Read more

Phone-hacker Glenn Mulcaire loses bid to appeal against convictions

Judges said Mulcaire's request to challenge his second set of convictions had "no prospect of success".

Read more

Future plc share price tumbles after boss Jon Steinberg steps down

Shares in magazine publisher Future plc dropped more than 10% on Friday morning after the company announced the departure of chief executive Jon Steinberg following a year and a half in the role.

Read more

News in brief

The Nottingham branch of the NUJ has issued an open letter hailing the Nottingham Post’s IPSO win over Nottinghamshire Police as “a victory for the free press”. The letter, addressed to Nottingham Post editor Natalie Fahy, can be found in full here.

The NUJ is to consult more than 600 Guardian and Observer journalists next week over their willingness to take part in industrial action over the proposed sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media. Members fear for their jobs, the union said.

The UK government is planning to consult on a scheme that would allow AI firms to scrape publishers' content unless they opt out. Publishers have argued it should be on an opt-in basis, saying it will be onerous to even find out who is scraping their sites. (Financial Times)

The Guardian has apologised for "any offence caused" by a review of a Channel 4 documentary about the 7 October massacre by Hamas. It said the review, which said the film "demonises Gazans as either killers or looters", was a "collective failure of process". (The Guardian)

Amazon Prime Video is entering live news for the first time, streaming a US election night special set to air from 5pm Eastern Time on 5 November with former MSNBC anchor Brian Williams at the helm. (Axios)

Reuters president Paul Bascobert has emailed registered users of the site to explain the paywall: "We will return your investment in broader coverage, deeper investigations, more innovative products, and special subscriber experiences". Reuters says occasional users will still be able to read a few articles a month without hitting the paywall, while certain "important news moments" will remain available for free to everyone. Background here.

The NCTJ has launched a Community Reporting Fund to continue the work of the Community News Project, for which Meta pulled funding, hiring trainee local reporters. The NCTJ will initially invest £450,000 from its reserves and is seeking external partners. (NCTJ)

The New European has appointed Eleanor Longman-Rood in the new role of digital editor. Founder and editor-in-chief Matt Kelly said she "will lead our push in 2025 to accelerating growth online, keeping existing subscribers delighted and winning new ones along the way".

PA Media has appointed Ranj Begley to the dual role of chief revenue officer & managing director. She will join at the start of 2025 from Readly where she is MD & chief content officer. She will oversee commercial and operational activities for the agency plus group initiatives.

BBC News has reportedly dropped plans to hire its first royal editor. Deadline reports the BBC passed over two internal candidates for the role only for the preferred external candidate, Roya Nikkhah, to decide to stay at The Sunday Times. (Deadline)