Google AI Overviews bite back | ITV-backed Gen Z media brand closes
And good news for investigative journalism as Channel 4 News sees off long-running Dyson legal action
Good morning and welcome to your daily dose of media news from Press Gazette on Monday, 2 September, brought to you today in association with JobsInAdtech. Promote your open roles today with JobsInAdtech.com by using promo code GAZETTE to get 15% off all job packages.
AI-written summaries are creeping back into Google’s search results and they look set to become the norm - turning the world of SEO upside down.
This is big news for online publishers who often rely on Google for at least a third of their audience.
Google says putting AI-written summaries of news articles at the top of search results won’t harm publisher click-throughs. But I am not convinced.
If you need a quick answer and you are casually browsing on your mobile phone why bother clicking through to the people who have done the hard work of finding and verifying information when Google has saved you the trouble?
We reveal new research on the Google AI Overviews rollout here along with some examples of how the technology is already harming publisher visibility on search.
ITV’s bid to capture the Gen Z audience with a positive media brand billed as “an antidote to the toxic news cycle” has failed following the closure of Woo. The brand employed more than 30 staff offering “shows, editorial and products designed to make you feel good” on ITV Hub, its own website and across social media.
CEO Stephen Mai said: “Media still needs to figure out how to work in landscape of creators and dwindling advertising revenues.”
When advertisers can reach Gen Z directly via social media platforms and influencers it seems professional media brands are struggling to carve out a role.
In what many will see as a victory for investigative journalism, technology company Dyson has abandoned its two-year legal action against Channel 4 News over allegations of worker exploitation in Malaysia.
And your news diary for the week ahead has a back-to-school vibe with Parliament returning today and a packed agenda in the Commons.
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New from Press Gazette
Google AI Overviews rollout hits news publisher search visibility
AI Overviews now being offered for 17% of queries in UK and US.
ITV-backed Gen Z media brand Woo closes after two years
Woo had a team of around 30-40 people and was founded by a former Ladbible CMO.
Dyson abandons Channel 4 News libel claim
Channel 4 News was "determined to defend its fair, accurate and duly impartial reporting".
News diary 2-8 September: UK Parliament returns, Grenfell inquiry ends, Jeremy Kyle guest inquest
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
Evgeny Lebedev has told the FT the end of the Standard's daily print edition was "primarily, the shareholders’ decision… I really should have done it four years ago, but I didn’t… I tried, I tried, I tried, and it just didn’t stack up.” (Financial Times)
Two editors of Hong Kong's now-defunct Stand News media outlet have been found guilty of sedition, the first such conviction of any journalist since the 1997 handover from Britain to China. (Reuters)
“He took the life of an individual who was simply doing his job”: A former politician has been found guilty of killing Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German who wrote articles critical of him. (Sky News)
News Corp-controlled Australian property listings company Rea Group is reportedly mulling a bid for dominant UK property sales website Rightmove (current market cap, £5.3bn). (Financial Times)
Apple is reportedly cutting about 100 jobs in its digital services group including the team that runs Apple News. But Bloomberg reported sources as saying: "As for Apple News, the layoffs aren’t a sign that it’s becoming less of a focus". (Bloomberg)
The BBC is trialling OpenAI's speech-to-text tool Whisper to generate subtitles and transcripts of audio on BBC Sounds. It will review how the tool is working and whether it's cost effective after three months. (BBC)
“It can be challenging for us all when the BBC becomes the headline”: BBC director general Tim Davie has addressed recent controversies, from Huw Edwards to Strictly, in an email to staff, saying there are “lessons we can learn to ensure we have the strongest possible workplace culture”. (Mirror)
Middle East-based newsbrand The National is introducing website registrations, telling readers they will get a "more personalised experience". The plan was teased by editor Mina Al-Oraibi in a Press Gazette interview in April.
Matt Chorley's BBC 5 Live show will start today from 2-4pm - meaning Naga Munchetty (Monday to Wednesday) and Adrian Chiles's (Thursday) shows at 11am will be extended by an hour to 2pm and two features from Nihal Arthanayake’s former show will move into their slots. (BBC)
Labour's Harriet Harman has become the new co-host of Sky News's Electoral Dysfunction podcast alongside political editor Beth Rigby and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson. Labour MP Jess Phillips stepped down after a few months due to taking on a ministerial role.
An appeals court has granted Sarah Palin a new libel trial against The New York Times after the judge in the original case was deemed to have wrongly excluded evidence. The suit relates to a 2017 editorial that wrongly said Palin had incited a shooting. (NYT)
Previously on Press Gazette
Bristol Cable unlocks £40,000 grant after meeting membership funding target
Top 50 UK news websites in July: Sky News jumps into third place
Top 50 news websites in the US: All but two sites see growth in bumper July for news
Top 50 news websites in the world: Readers flock to top US newsbrands in July
IPSO rejects complaint from Michael Jackson nephew over ‘child porn stash’ report
Regional daily ABCs: Print circulation down by average of 17% in first half of 2024
Portsmouth college ditches journalism training after 60 years
Press Gazette live
Our flagship event the Future of Media Technology Conference and Awards takes place on 12 September on the Hilton Bankside hotel in London. It provides publishers with a masterclass on the big technology themes impacting our business and is also an unrivalled networking opportunity.
Full agenda and booking details here.