GB News losses so far grow to £100m+ | Guido Fawkes libel payout to Dale Vince
And the National Assocation of Press Agencies has slammed a new £10 minimum rate for supplied photographs paid by the Telegraph
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday, 28 February.
Luckily for the channel's hundreds of staff, investors Paul Marshall and Legatum Ventures appear happy to carry on bankrolling the business
An ongoing campaign to stop brands advertising with the channel has given GB News its own problems. But its performance underlines the wider challenges which stopped TalkTV getting off the ground and which Sky News also faces.
I don't believe a news channel has ever been run profitably in the UK, even back in the days when TV advertising was a far more lucrative market to be in than it is now.
A new minimum rate of £10 per picture paid by the Telegraph for some images sourced from social media by freelance contributors has been slammed as "insulting" and "beyond a joke" by the National Association of Press Agencies.
Once the backbone of UK newsgathering, local news agencies are now a dying breed. They are based on a self-billing model whereby much of what they produce is sent out to publishers on spec and they are paid if stories and pictures are used.
With fees as low as £10 paid for supplied pictures it is not hard to see why so many agencies are closing down.
A Guido story headlined: "Multi-million pound donor to Labour Party says Hamas are 'freedom fighters'" included an edited clip from a Times Radio interview where Vince was asked: “Is a terrorist attack from Hamas Palestine defending itself?”
He replied: "I think one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, right? That’s how it works."
Guido Fawkes owner Paul Staines said he has settled the case because he could not afford the potentially "ruinous" cost of going to trial.
Vince said: “Guido Fawkes used a doctored news clip to smear my reputation and it snowballed into a right-wing pile-on involving the Daily Mail, GB News, three Tory MPs, one Peer, Richard Tice and Paul Staines.”
On Press Gazette
GB News losses since launch top £100m but 2024 revenue more than doubles
GB News more than doubled its revenues in the past year to £15.8m but its total losses now top £100m.
News agencies boss slams £10 Telegraph picture rate as ‘a new low’
“The Telegraph should recognise the amount of work that goes into sourcing collect pictures from social media as part of a news story.”
Guido Fawkes settles Dale Vince libel claim to avoid ‘ruinous’ costs
Guido settlement follows others between Vince and Associated Newspapers and GB News.
News in brief
The BBC has "identified serious flaws" in the making of a Gaza documentary that was narrated by a boy whose father is in the Hamas Government. It said the programme makers knew this and did not tell the BBC but it was the broadcaster's "own failing" that it did not find this out. (BBC)
The editors of Reuters, the AP and Bloomberg, the three permanent wires in the White House press pool, have issued a joint statement warning moves to exclude the AP threaten public access to information about government that is "essential in a democracy". (Reuters)
Jeff Bezos has told Washington Post staffers its opinion section is shifting to focus on "two pillars: personal liberties and free markets". Opinion editor David Shipley is to "step away" after declining to lead the section under the new focus. (Bezos on X)
New Yougov research has found that 7 in 10 Brits trust news content generated by AI less than news created by humans and most are uncomfortable with it being used across different news formats. (Yougov)
Time sold its web design platform Time Sites to Norwegian start-up Vev, with investment from Time owner and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Time CEO Jessica Sibley said it had helped Time produce "digital experiences that capture our customers' stories with quality, speed and scale". (Tech.EU)
Belfast Live, the first of Reach's Live news sites, has marked its tenth anniversary. Editor Sheena McStravick said: "From humble beginnings amidst a very competitive news scene, Belfast Live has grown to become the best read commercial newsbrand in NI, and we're still growing..."
Women in Journalism and Channel 4 News are hosting a discussion about managing online, physical and psychological threats including practical tips and advice. The panel, on 5 March, is being held in Leeds and online. (WiJ)
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News titles from Guardian to Daily Mail unite in opposition to AI copyright grab
Publishers must use AI-powered slingshots to fight big tech Goliath
US newspaper circulations 2024: LA Times loses quarter of print circulation in a year
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