Indy adds 5m readers with Buzzfeed deal | UK online news top 50
And The Guardian begins making amends for the sins of its founders
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday 2 April.
In 2016, when The Independent closed its print edition, no-one would have bet on it one day acquiring both Huffpost and Buzzfeed in the UK. Many thought it would not survive at all as a brand.
Back then, according to the Reuters Digital News report, Huffpost was the third most popular news website in the UK accounting for 14% of weekly usage (just behind Mail Online on 17%). Buzzfeed accounted for 9% of weekly usage and The Independent was way down the list on 6%.
Last week The Independent signed a licensing deal to effectively take over Huffpost and Buzzfeed’s UK operations. The deal gives The Independent at least an extra five million monthly users (to add to its own tally of around 19 million). And it speaks to the success of the Indy’s diversified approach to revenue (embracing e-commerce and subscriptions to move away from dependence on advertising).
In 2016 advertising-led big traffic news websites like Huffpost and Buzzfeed with lucrative propositions. Today the changing online ecosystem has put the future of ad-funded journalism on the open web in doubt. Ad revenue has shifted from publishers further towards the tech platforms. Ad-funded media in the UK now effectively comprises Google, Meta, Amazon and Tiktok.
The latest top 50 UK news websites ranking sees most brands losing traffic. GB News, Forbes, Gloucestershire Live and the Irish Mirror are the only brands in our top 50 to grow traffic year on year and month on month in February.
(The Independent ranks sixth, Buzzfeed and Huffpost no longer feature in the UK top 50).
We also report on a series of hires by The Guardian around the world to improve the diversity of its coverage and make amends for the fact some of the paper’s founders made money out of slavery.
Your news diary for the week ahead includes a deadline for MP Johny Mercer in what could be a major test for the protection of sources in the UK.
He has been given until Friday to reveal to the Afghanistan inquiry who told him the SAS engaged in a policy of murdering civilians or else risk prosecution.
Scroll down for our nibs rounding up breaking news from over the long Easter weekend.
New from Press Gazette
The Independent takes over Buzzfeed UK brands including Huffpost
They say the deal will create "Britain's biggest publisher network" for Gen Z and millennials.
Top 50 UK news websites: Most brands report audience dip in February
A Reach regional newsbrand recorded the largest month-on-month growth in audience for the second month in a row.
Journalists strike over pay at Scottish broadcaster STV
STV called the NUJ's pay request "unrealistic and unaffordable".
The Guardian names five new correspondents to cover underreported communities
The new roles are part of Guardian owner Scott Trust’s programme of restorative justice addressing the newspaper’s historical connections with transatlantic slavery, first revealed in July.
News diary 1-7 April: Johnny Mercer deadline to name sources in Afghanistan inquiry, Netflix Newsnight film airs
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
National World sells tech provider it bought in September. (Press Gazette)
Almost two years on, UK authorities have responded to a Council of Europe alert about then-Home Secretary Priti Patel's trip to Rwanda which the Guardian, FT and Mirror were allegedly blocked from attending. (Press Gazette)
The Atlantic has announced it has reached one million subscriptions and is now profitable. It said revenue is up more than 10% year-on-year and subscriptions were up 14% in the past year. (The Atlantic)
OpenAI has said it is "making links more prominent when ChatGPT browses the internet" to help direct people (currently paid users of Browse only) towards publishers more often. (OpenAI on X)
The BBC has claimed in its annual that it would cost £580 for a family to subscribe to media subscriptions equivalent to its bundle of services versus £159.50 for the licence fee (now £169.50 after yesterday’s increase). (BBC)
Host of London-based TV station Iran International Pouria Zraati has been released from hospital after being stabbed on Friday. The channel provides independent news coverage but has been described as a terrorist organisation by the Iranian regime. (BBC News)
Israel has announced emergency legislation to ban Al Jazeera from operating within the country. Since October the Israeli Defence Force has killed more than 100 journalists with its operations in and around Gaza. (The Guardian)
Metro has paid tribute to its parenting columnist Sarah Whiteley, who died earlier this month aged 39. She was a regular freelance for the site for the past two years and she "felt like part of the family". (Metro)
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has hired Hannah Summers as a full-time family court reporter in what it says is a first for the UK. Summers will lead TBIJ's Family Court Files investigative series for the next two years. (TBIJ)
Petrol bombs were reportedly thrown at the media after an Easter Monday commemoration event in Derry. The NUJ said: "Photographers and reporters are entitled to report on such events without without threat or intimidation." (Belfast Telegraph)
Mariella Frostrup is leaving Times Radio having hosted its lunchtime slot since its June 2020 launch. News UK said as Times Radio "pivots to more news and politics-based daytime content" she wants to find somewhere else to explore a "full range of topics". (News UK)
Reach's Belfast Live has named Sheena McStravick as its permanent editor after nine years of working with the brand. She said: "It feels like a full circle moment to now lead the website I helped to grow from humble beginnings to the biggest commercial news site in Northern Ireland."
Bedford Media, the holding company owned by model Karlie Kloss and husband Joshua Kushner, will revive Life magazine as part of a deal with Dotdash Meredith. Time Inc stopped publishing Life in 2007 - its third closure after shuttering in 1972 and 2000. (PR Newswire)
The Medical Journalists’ Association is hosting an event for any student or current journalists on 13 April centred around how to build trust and work with whistleblowers with speakers from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Sunday Times. (MJA)
Previously on Press Gazette
Video brand TLDR finds way to make money providing news for the young
Reach plans to move 300 journalists into central traffic-driving content hub
What news publishers should do now to avoid extinction in 2025
Mail publisher launches news social-first video advertising product
Google and Facebook blocks hit revenue for The Tab publisher Digitalbox
‘Profitability is versatility’: CEO says video-led future bright for The Independent
Latest podcast
Podcast 68: How to make news pay on Youtube with TLDR News
Founder of video news network TLDR News Jack Kelly explains how he funds an 11-strong editorial team providing serious news for younger viewers on Youtube.
The profitable publisher is funded mainly through the Youtube ad revenue split and direct-sold sponsorship – but also made a successful foray last year into print publishing.
Previously on Press Gazette
Video brand TLDR finds way to make money providing news for the young
Reach plans to move 300 journalists into central traffic-driving content hub
What news publishers should do now to avoid extinction in 2025
Mail publisher launches news social-first video advertising product
Google and Facebook blocks hit revenue for The Tab publisher Digitalbox
‘Profitability is versatility’: CEO says video-led future bright for The Independent
Press Gazette live
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.