Jeremy Kyle says 'world has moved on' as he takes TalkTV breakfast slot | National World buys MNA
Plus: The Sun and the Mail are tied for the title of most-read commercial newsbrand.
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Monday 2 October, brought to you today in association with Norkon, the solution provider for news publishers focusing on real-time audience engagement. Their recent exclusive interview with DN is now released and available here.
National World has completed its biggest acquisition to date, buying Midlands News Association (and linked technology company Press Computer Systems) for £11m. That's more than the £10.2m the group paid for JPI Media's 100+ local newsbrands in 2021.
It's the end of the line for more than a century of local press ownership for the Graham family and a major step up in National World's expansion.
With debt to pay back and shareholders now to satisfy this is likely to be a deal that heightens pressure on costs for the Wolverhampton Express and Star, the Shropshire Star and other titles.
It's also a move that increases the dominance of three groups over UK local news: Reach, Newsquest and National World.
We have the latest data from Pamco on national newsbrand readership which puts The Sun and Mail in a dead heat on combined print and online reach as the most popular titles in the commercial sector. But when it comes to time spent by online readers, Mail Online is the clear winner.
We spoke to Jeremy Kyle and Nicola Thorp ahead of the launch of their breakfast show this week on TalkTV.
And we have your news diary for the week ahead which looks like to be dominated by the Tory conference with Rishi Sunak due to deliver his first (and possibly last) conference speech as party leader on Wednesday.
**BRITISH JOURNALISM AWARDS DEADLINE EXTENDED**
If your journalism has made a difference over the last year you have until this Wednesday to enter your work in the Press Gazette British Journalism Awards 2023.
See the full list of categories here.
Or go directly to the entry portal here.
Remember if you are in a previously under-represented group at these awards (which includes women, the disabled and those in minority ethnic groups) you can enter for free if your employer won’t pay.
Promoted interview
Dagens Næringsliv Investor Page Unveiled
DN's Investor page serves 50k visitors daily with the latest stock market news and analytical insights. In an exclusive interview, Norkon dived into Dagens Næringsliv’s success with their Investor page.
“We have seen that our readers have a constant urge to keep being updated and informed, so they want as much information as possible as quickly as possible about the things they care about,” shares Are Westerink Sandvik, Product Manager at DN. With today's short attention spans, DN had to ensure that their readers would immediately receive personalized information when visiting the Investor page.
Today, Investor is a critical component of DN’s ecosystem as it makes up for one-third of DN’s total web traffic.
Learn more about DN’s success and watch the interview for more insights.
New from Press Gazette
Jeremy Kyle says ‘world has moved on’ since ITV scandal as he joins Nicola Thorp on TalkTV breakfast
“The Jeremy Kyle Show, which finished nearly five years ago now – I think we all know what happened when it finished and I think the world has moved on. And I think that’s a good thing, that the world’s moved on.”
David Montgomery’s National World buys Midland News Association
“Agreeing to sell was an extremely difficult decision for the shareholders, but after careful consideration, the shareholders concluded that a larger media organisation was better placed to secure the future of the business.”
Mail and Sun in dead heat for title of most-read UK commercial newsbrand
"These market conditions make it clearer than ever that there should no longer be a focus on month for month comparisons, which is why in recent years we have been focused on our long term sustainability as a digital business both here and abroad."
News diary 2–8 October: Chris Kaba murder suspect anonymity hearing, Conservative Party Conference
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
Updated: Politico and Insider publisher Axel Springer has entered the race to buy The Telegraph. (Press Gazette)
Update: IPSO chairman Lord Faulks has written to a group of Jewish Chronicle critics to say it has "continued to monitor the editorial standards at the Jewish Chronicle over recent months" and it "will continue to act proportionately". (Press Gazette)
The Observer has removed a print edition article from its website which purported to be an interview with singer Rowetta but was in fact apparently a Q&A with actor Mathew Horne. (MEN)
Journalists from across the BBC will vote on whether to take strike action in opposition to compulsory redundancies planned at the World Service, News Channel and BBC Local in England. (NUJ)
Ava Evans, the Joe.co.uk journalist at the centre of last week's GB News row, has told the Daily Mail she was planning to get the police involved over abuse "because I do actually fear for my safety" and said it had "made me question whether I can even continue doing" her job. (Daily Mail)
Asked about the factuality of his new book on Rupert Murdoch, author Michael Wolff has said: "I think you have to read the book [and] judge for yourself... whether this comports with what is happening. It helps that I said this is the end - and then Rupert steps down." He told Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger’s new Prospect podcast, Media Confidential, that “you have to trust me or you have to just accept that other people will write other books”. (Media Confidential)
All Perspectives Ltd, the company behind GB News, has appointed the chief executive of Parler (and current husband to pro-Trump commentator Candace Owens) George Farmer as a director. (Companies House)
Podcast 57: What is the Murdoch Factor?
Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford discusses The Murdoch Factor with Peter Jukes (author of Fall of the House of Murdoch and co-founder of Byline Times). What is the key quality which has enabled Murdoch’s success and what does the future of media look like without him?
Previously on Press Gazette
Mail on Sunday agrees to correct Braverman grooming gangs ethnicity claim
Mail Online ends Dan Wootton’s contract following GB News suspension
BBC says ‘flagship’ hosts like Lineker and Lord Sugar must be impartial when shows are on air
What is ‘the Murdoch factor’? News Corp insiders reveal secrets to KRM’s success
