Lib Dem and Tory fake newspaper flurry | Sandbox may cost up to 60% of ad revenue
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday 2 July, 2024.
Today we expose a cynical fraud being committed by the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives across the UK as voters go to the polls.
Despite pleas from the Society of Editors, Impress, the Electoral Commission and Full Fact both parties have carpet-bombed the UK with campaign literature disguised to look like local newspapers and magazines.
They've created fake mastheads, mimicked newspaper design and ensured that marketing disclaimers are tiny (if visible at all).
The decline of local news has created a crisis for democracy because parties are no longer scrutinised in the way they once were. The days when most people in the UK received at least one free newspaper through their letterbox and a choice of quality titles on the newsstand are long gone.
Bigger towns and cities are well covered by local news websites, but huge parts of the UK now have no professional local journalism at all.
The Tories and Lib Dems know that local newspapers are among the most trusted forms of journalism in the UK. So they mimic them in order to grab the attention of readers and possibly even dupe some into thinking they are reading bona fide editorials.
If only the Tories and Lib Dems devoted a fraction of the time they spend deceptively copying local journalism to trying to find a way to save it. It is an issue which should trump all others because without effective local journalism, democracy is doomed.
Today we expose another, wider scandal, as the first comprehensive research into the impact of Google-imposed changes to advertising technology reveals they could cost online publishers 60% of their online advertising revenue.
This research reveals that Google's Privacy Sandbox will be the final nail in the coffin of quality journalism on the open web. It is the technology replacing the third-party cookies on Google's dominant Chrome web browser which underpin most online advertising revenue.
Unless big changes are made to Sandbox, or it is scrapped altogether, we can kiss goodbye to what is left of ad-funded local journalism in six months’ time when Google is expected to switch off publisher cookies.
Quality local news in the commercial sector will be a luxury for the (at a maximum) 10% of the UK population who are willing to pay for it. The rest of the population will make their decisions based on information shared on social media echo chambers by deceitful demagogues and self-interested influencers.
New from Press Gazette
Conservative and Liberal Democrat campaign literature sent during the 2024 general election. Pictures, clockwise from top left: Duncan Williams, Miles King, Peter Crumpler, John M
Lib Dems and Tories defy media critics to continue fake newspaper tactics
The Liberal Democrats have defended the practice, arguing: “In many parts of the country, the Lib Dem tabloid format is a well-established and trusted local brand in its own right.”
Google Sandbox rollout could cost publishers 60% of online advertising revenue
“I’ve never shipped a product that, for example, is working at a 60% deficit to an alternative. I probably wouldn’t have my job here if I did.”
News in brief
UK regional news group National World has signed a deal with Reach that will see the latter company sell print advertising to agencies on NW’s behalf. National World is working with Axiom to sell digital advertising and says it is moving its online ads onto the Auth platform to maximise programmatic revenue.
Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against Fox News alleging harassment and harm to his reputation over TV series The Trial of Hunter Biden which included nude images taken from his laptop. He is seeking damages for breach of privacy and emotional distress. Fox said it removed the streaming TV within days of receiving a legal letter but noted Biden is "a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon". (Court filings)
Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp is to launch free streaming platform Tubi in the UK. (BBC News)
Former editor of Open Democracy Peter Geoghegan has launched a bid to raise £30,000 in crowdfunding to support more journalism on his anti-corruption, Substack-based publication Democracy for Sale. (Democracy for Sale)
USA Today editor Terence Samuel has stepped down after a year in the role. No reason was given for the departure. (The New York Times)
Previously on Press Gazette
Enemies of the Nigel: BBC joins growing list of Farage media beefs
General election 2024 press endorsements: Sunday Times and FT back Labour
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Publisher deals vs lawsuits with generative AI companies
NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet to step down after 13 years
Sky’s Sam Coates reveals his election formula: 18-hour days, power naps and gallons of Huel
Savills pays copyright bill for PR image after Press Gazette coverage
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