Good news for tabloids from UK info chief | Big cuts at DC Thomson
And Guardian journalists have reached an uneasy truce with management, but Observer colleagues have yet to receive no-redundancies promise from Tortoise
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday 24 January.
I'm told that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson used to tell reporters: "Never mind man bites dog, I want a story about a man biting a talking dog."
Some say he was a great boss. But we are still paying a heavy price for the win-at-any-cost mentality of the Coulson, Rebekah Brooks (formerly Wade) and Piers Morgan tabloid era of the 1990s and early 2000s.
In some ways they were, and are, buccaneering and inspiring characters. And the ability of all three to keep moving forwards while absorbing blows would put Tyson Fury to shame.
But I wonder if some public personal reflection is now needed (to go alongside the corporate mea culpa) to help our industry move forward from a shameful era of outsourced criminality which must have stalled the careers of many honest reporters who played by the rules?
Today the future of tabloid journalism depends largely on trust. Brands must persuade readers to trust them with personal information so they can target them with premium advertising.
Maybe that job of regaining trust should start with a lot more honesty and transparency about what went wrong in the past and what has been done since then to put things right.
There was better news for the tabloids yesterday as the Information Commissioner confirmed it is OK for publishers to use tough "consent or pay" messaging when it comes to persuading readers to allow cookie tracking. There is a third option of course for readers which is to simply ‘go away’ and that is why regaining trust is so crucial.
Today we also report on big job cuts at Scottish publisher DC Thomson, which has closed four magazines meaning we bid a sad farewell to Unicorn Universe.
And Guardian journalists have reached an uneasy truce with management over the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media (which is due to complete in March, I believe).
On Press Gazette
‘Consent or pay’ model is OK for UK news publishers, ICO confirms
Information Commissioner's Office also set to begin looking at cookie tracking on the 1,000 most popular websites.
DC Thomson plans to cut 35 jobs and close four magazines
Data journalism roles among those affected are among those being cut by Scottish media group.
Journalist denies stalking George Osborne
A trial date has been set for 18 May 2026.
Guardian management agrees deal with staff over Observer sale dispute
But Observer journalists still have no guarantees that they won’t be made redundant after moving across to Tortoise Media.
News in brief
CNN plans to cut about 200 jobs focused on its TV operations but add the same number of digital roles like data scientists and product engineers, with the first 100 joining in the first half of the year. (Press Gazette)
The CMA has announced its second set of strategic market status investigations under the Digital Markets Act, this time into Google and Apple's phone ecosystems and whether they are anti-competitively leveraging their market power, for example via app store fees. (CMA)
The Guardian has appointed Tami Hoffman as director of public policy. Hoffman is currently ITN's director of news distribution and commercial innovation. She will advise The Guardian's approach to AI and work with politicians, regulators and platforms. (The Guardian)
The Federal Communications Commission in the US has reinstated complaints about how ABC News moderated the Biden-Trump debate and about appearances by Kamala Harris on CBS’ 60 Minutes and NBC’s Saturday Night Live. (Reuters)
The Telegraph has reported that the UAE is “at risk of total wipeout” on the £600m loan it provided to the Barclays as part of its attempt to control the newspaper which was thwarted by new legislation. (The Telegraph)
Also on Press Gazette:
Why synthetic market research is an untapped AI goldmine for news publishers
More than 50 newsletters earn $500,000+ on Substack: Exclusive new ranking
News UK admits ‘unlawful activities’ at Sun in settlement apology to Prince Harry
How Reach has moved from salesman to shopkeeper with launch of Yimbly
Associated Press finds growing consumer audience for ‘fact-based’ journalism
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains move from FT to niche Semafor CEO newsletter
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Podcast 81: Super soaraway Substack, how Youtube became newstube and why Prince Harry took the cash
Bron Maher discusses Press Gazette's new ranking of the most lucrative titles on Substack, Charlotte Tobitt explains how and why publishers are currently so fixated on building their followings on Youtube and Dominic Ponsford shares his view on why Prince Harry decided to take News UK's cash rather than have his day in court with The Sun.