Independent to launch AI-powered sister site | Reach staff bonus details
And national newspaper ABC figures for February show the Daily Mirror below 200,000 for the first time in over a century
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Wednesday, 19 March, brought to you today in association with the AOP Digital Publishing Awards. Discover eleven valuable lessons to support your career development as we asked our jury what professional advice they would share with their younger selves.
At The Independent, executives use the analogy of judo to describe their dealings with tech giants.
The Japanese martial art, which translates as "gentle way", is based on the principle that you cannot overpower a stronger opponent through brute force so you are better to channel their strength and momentum to your own advantage.
Rather than joining the chorus of outrage over Google's wholesale theft of copyrighted news content to fuel its AI-written summaries, The Independent has partnered with the search giant to deploy the technology in-house.
It is a title which has a history of sometimes iconoclastic innovation: it pioneered that a newspaper should instead be a viewspaper and was the first UK title to be a broadsheet newspaper in tabloid format.
It is also worth noting that The Independent gets a sizeable annual cheque from Google ( I am guessing £1m+) as a major partner on Google News Showcase, the aggregation service which is used by the tech giant to dispense goodwill amongst publishers.
The Independent's new Bulletin website will offer time-poor readers an AI-written summary of The Independent's journalism. It sounds like an online version of The i Paper (in its original iteration) which was launched in 2010 as a cut-price version of The Independent's main print edition offering a digested read for those with limited time.
Time will tell if the new service brings The Independent's journalism to new readers (or cannibalises the existing ones so undermining multiple revenue streams). But nothing ventured...
Today we report on good news for the rank and file at Reach (and even better news for the boardroom team) as it pays out bonuses across the board in recognition of last year's growth in operating profit to £102.3m.
There are, however, raised eyebrows at the NUJ over the disparity between the £662,000 payout for the CEO and the £600 each given to staff.
And the latest UK newspaper print circulation figures show the Daily Mirror under 200,000 for the first time since Edward VII was on the British throne.
A 100% increase in cover price over the last five years, to around £1.70, has helped defend circulation revenue (while at the same time probably hastening decline).
Digital revenue growth is currently failing to cancel out print decline at parent company Reach, which saw overall revenue decline last year.
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On Press Gazette
The homepage for the official website of The Independent, the British online newspaper. Picture: Shutterstock
Independent launching AI-powered news service for ‘time-poor audiences’
Bulletin will go live at the end of the month at the web address bulletin.news and will initially be sponsored by the Rio Ferdinand-backed social media network WeAre8.
Reach bonuses: £600 each for staff and £662,000 for CEO
The NUJ also urged the company to “urgently reconsider” a 2% pay rise offer for staff that is on the table for 2025.
Newspaper ABCs: Daily Mirror drops below print circulation of 200,000
The biggest monthly drop was at the Daily Mail, down 5% to 652,866.
News in brief
The chief executive of online audience growth tool Semrush has said there is “no statistical evidence that says that, in aggregate, Google generates less traffic when there is an AI Overview. It generates roughly the same amount of traffic”. (Digiday)
Wired says it will start putting articles based on information mostly obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests outside of its paywall as part of a partnership with the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Wired global editorial director Katie Drummond said: "Public records are public for a reason". (CNN)
The Financial Times has appointed Claire Jones as US economics editor in Washington DC to lead a new team and strengthen its coverage of trade and economics under Trump. She has been at the FT since 2011, most recently as international economy news editor in London. (FT)
The Times has created a parenting hub on its website and app alongside a new newsletter, video series and segment on the Times Radio Breakfast Show. It said its parenting content "drives high levels of engagement" and therefore presents an opportunity for advertisers.
Taboola has struck a deal with Microsoft to sell display ads for MSN.com and other products. (Axios)
Also on Press Gazette:
Gamified app Newsreel aims to lure ‘news curious’ Gen Z away from Instagram
Telegraph pays ‘substantial’ libel damages to tech entrepreneur
Ofcom drops politician presenter investigations against GB News
Press shut out of Home Office’s Snoopers’ Charter Apple encryption tribunal
Four female news presenters settle age and sex discrimination claims with BBC
Guardian, GB News and Newsquest among latest publishers to tell readers: ‘consent or pay’
Noel Clarke finishes giving evidence in Guardian libel trial
As some publishers seek full return to office, most staff favour hybrid working
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Latest Podcast: How to lose £100m with GB News | Print decline in the USA | Green shoots at Reach
Press Gazette's editorial team share their insights into big stories from the world of news. GB News has lost nearly £100m but is growing its non-TV advertising revenue and heading in the right direction. Charlotte Tobitt talks about this and the implications of its big legal victory over Ofcom.
Bron Maher shares some highlights from Press Gazette analysis for US newspaper and magazine print circulation figures. There are only a handful of newspapers selling more than 100,000 print copies in the USA (but they can console themselves with the fact they have strong digital subscriber bases).
And Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford looks at the latest financial results from Reach which reveal growing page views and profits amid a backdrop of overall decline at the UK's biggest commercial news publisher.