Global reports of Facebook deleting news links | Tiktok journalist election diary
And US sports business brand Boardroom reveals how it has nearly tripled its events revenue by embracing a consumer audience
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They are FREE to enter and the deadline for submissions is THIS FRIDAY.
Something fishy is going on at Facebook.
Last week reported on how local community news publishers were seeing their news updates getting arbitrarily marked as spam and deleted from the platform.
Meta is declining to explain or even respond when concerns are raised.
It's particularly alarming given many of these updates relate to election news.
Facebook has got so big that it is the internet for many. It makes (and this is an educated guess, but feel free to contradict me) £5bn-plus a year in UK advertising revenue.
So while it may not want to pay publishers money for their content it should at least be stopped from actively sabotaging them.
This is the sort of behaviour which will likely be addressed under the Digital Markets Act (passed last month). It gives the likes of Facebook and Google their own regulator (the Digital Markets Unit) which will have the power to compel these tech giants to behave themselves. This can’t come soon enough.
(As an aside, I often seen copyright paywalled news articles published in full on Facebook. It is interesting that the platform turns a blind eye to this acivity, which keeps readers inside the walled garden, while stopping entirely legitimate linking which might take readers elsewhere.)
And video producer for ITV News Lewis Denison reports for us from the world of Tiktok where the broadcaster is finding an engaged young audience for general election news.
We’ve checked the Tory election manifesto for media stuff and there is not much to report (although, to be fair, they got a lot of useful legislation through in the last Parliament). They have, however, signalled their clear opposition to toughening up press regulation which provides a point of difference with the Lib Dems. Labour’s manifesto is due on Thursday.
Future of Media Awards: Enter now (deadline Friday)
The Press Gazette Future of Media Awards celebrate the best websites, apps, newsletters, podcasts and commercial innovation in the world of digital journalism. They are free to enter and previous winners have included The Guardian, Telegraph, FT and Business Insider. This year there are separate categories for specialist/local and national media. Find out more and start your entry here.
New from Press Gazette
Publishers around the world hit by Facebook labelling news as spam
Independent local publishers are reliant on Facebook for distribution.
Sports brand Boardroom boosts events revenue bringing B2B to the masses
Boardroom's events range from VIP parties and 'tastemaker' conversations to a major sports business conference.
ITN election diary: Report from the frontline of the first Tiktok election
“It’s been a rollercoaster. The plan was to build a following before a general election in the second half of the year. We didn’t expect it to be on the first week of the second half of the year.”
Qonqord joins forces with Evolved Media to serve UK publishing market (sponsored)
“AI integration helps to automate all kinds of repeating activities like creating headlines, making summaries and translations, and of course, all kinds of image services too.”
News in brief
A Labour parliamentary candidate in Liverpool has criticised the fact the party took out a homepage ad takeover with The Sun on Monday. Kim Johnson said she felt let down by Keir Starmer after he previously vowed to boycott The Sun when running to be Labour leader.(The Guardian)
Evening Standard's Tristan Kirk has won the Paul Foot Award for Investigative and Campaigning Journalism for his work on the single justice procedure. Ian Hislop said: "Justice is NOT being done but thanks to Tristan Kirk it is being seen NOT to be done!" (Private Eye)
The New York Times has updated its app, new features include:
Listen tab for podcasts and audio journalism
Articles read by automated voice (play button)
You tab, personalised feed based on preferences and suggestions. (NYT)
Mehdi Lebouachera has been named the next global editor-in-chief at news agency AFP, starting in November after the US election when Sophie Huet will take on an AI strategy role. (Press Gazette)
BBC's Mishal Husain to take over final head-to-head election leaders debate as Sophie Raworth recovers from a fractured ankle. The debate has also been extended by 15 minutes. (Press Gazette)
An AI news summarising app has secured $10.9m in funding, with Axel Springer as one of the investors. Particle also has a partnership with Reuters "to collaborate on new business models" through which it also subscribes to and uses the Reuters wire. (Techcrunch)
A former assistant chief constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland has claimed the force monitored "hundreds" of phones, including those of journalists and lawyers, using a dedicated laptop to avoid scrutiny. PSNI has denied the claim. (BBC)
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Latest podcast
Podcast 72: Camilla Tominey and Kamal Ahmed on cracking a busy news podcast market
The Telegraph’s new daily news podcast, The Daily T, is the latest entrant to an increasingly crowded audio market.
But days after the show bagged the first election trail interview with Rishi Sunak, Press Gazette spoke with Daily T hosts Camilla Tominey and Kamal Ahmed about how they’re hoping to stand out from the competition with a right-of-centre viewpoint they feel is missing and by leaning heavily on the Telegraph newsroom.
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Entries are now OPEN for the Future of Media Awards 2024 (which celebrate the best journalism-based digital products). Check out the full list of categories here. Note: These awards are free to enter.