Mail swears under oath it did not hack Prince Harry | 2024 looking up for news business
And insight from Ian Hislop on editing and Snapchat's Lucy Luke explains how news publishers can appeal to young voters in this bumper election year
Earlier this week the FT asked its readers: "Is AI about to kill what's left of journalism?"
It appeared to cast OpenAI in the role of a Swiss clinic providing a humane end for an industry which was slipping away.
But a series of financial updates from News Corp, Dotdash Meredith, Informa and The New York Times suggests that some corners of our vineyard are in fact in robust health. If you can create information which is valuable enough that readers will pay for it, you have a strong business. Dotdash Meredith has also shown that you can grow ad revenue on the open web if you get the right technology in place.
I think it's also possible to take a glass-is-half-full view on all these publisher AI deals after Dotdash and Informa this week became the latest to sign licensing agreements. And I'm pleased to see Google has just agreed to a partnership with News Corp (worth $50m a year by my estimate) in an encouraging sign that, unlike Facebook, it still wants to engage constructively with the news business.
This morning we also have a fun speech from Private Eye editor Ian Hislop in which he shares insights into the magazine's winning (print) journalism formula.
We have the latest on Prince Harry's war against historic wrongs committed by UK tabloids as the Daily Mail publisher raises the stakes by saying that it swears under oath that Harry and his co-claimants are wrong about their illegal newsgathering claims. Four serving national newspaper editors and 66 other journalists have been named in the claim against the Mail titles.
And Snapchat's head of news partnerships has shared her tips on how news publishers can get down and funky with the kids in this bumper election year.
New from Press Gazette
Dow Jones, NYT, Dotdash Meredith and Informa confound news business doomsters
Financial results and updates from this week suggest news business may be on the up in 2024.
Ian Hislop on journalism, ‘privilege’ of editing and why he is committed to print
"When I was told I was being given an award I thought, ‘Oh, shit, damages.’"
Tips from Snapchat on how publishers can connect with young voters
“Our strong recommendation is that publishers choose one or two personalities to ‘front’ the election content across their online communities.”
Foreign Office whistleblower sacked after being outed by BBC journalist
Josie Stewart had shared emails with a BBC journalist which allegedly showed senior staff at the department sought guidance from Number 10 over whether to prioritise the evacuation of staff from the animal charity Nowzad during the 2021 fall of Kabul.
Daily Mail publisher ‘denies under oath’ Prince Harry hacking claim
“The stories concerned, many of which were published 20 or more years ago, and not subject to any complaint at the time, were the product of responsible journalism based on legitimate sources.”
News in brief
A Conservative MP filmed undercover by The Times offering to lobby for cash on behalf of the gambling industry has had an IPSO complaint rejected. Scott Benton argued the Times’ use of subterfuge had been unjustified under the Editors’ Code as the story was not in the public interest. (Press Gazette)
IPSO has also upheld an accuracy complaint against The Times for a Thunderer column which said the late Lord Jenner was an unconvicted sex offender. IPSO said this was not an accepted fact and The Times has published a correction. (IPSO)
The News Movement is hiring again and targeting profitability with a beefed up commercial team. (Press Gazette)
Long-serving Vice News correspondent Isobel Yeung is joining CNN as an international correspondent based in London. CNN’s SVP for international newsgathering said Yeung's "is the kind of journalism that has always been at the core of what CNN is about”. (Press Gazette)
A service of thanksgiving for the life of Dame Ann Leslie is being held at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, on Thursday 23 May at 11am. Those wishing to attend have been asked to indicate via this link.
Preliminary research into Facebook's Canadian news ban has found users continued posting approximately as frequently in their Facebook groups after the ban went into effect - although the number of screenshots of news articles being posted tripled. (Nieman Lab)
Fox Corporation had a "disappointing" primary season for advertising spend, chief executive Lachlan Murdoch said on an earnings call yesterday, but remains "extremely confident" that money will flow to local television as the election ramps up. (Financial Times)
OpenAI is reportedly developing a web search feature, integrated into ChatGPT, which will cite and link to sources. (Bloomberg)
Jeff Zucker has told a Wall Street Journal CEO summit in London that interest in The Telegraph titles has been "robust" since they were put back up for sale by IMI Redbird and he regrets not "closing the deal" on The Spectator. They continue to look for news and media acquisitions. (The Times)
The NUJ has asked for an emergency Northern Ireland Policing Board meeting after a court heard that Northern Irish police had regularly accessed the phone bills of "troublemaker journalists" as late as 2017. (BBC News)
A follow-up series to the US version of The Office will be set at a dying local Midwest newspaper. The show is set to begin production in July and will star Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore. (The Hollywood Reporter)
This week on Press Gazette
Facebook’s referral traffic for publishers down 50% in 12 months
Le Monde’s Olympian effort to attract more English-language subscribers
Dotdash Meredith’s cookie-killer advertising technology appears to be working
First Google core update of 2024 brings bad news for most news publishers
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Publisher deals vs lawsuits with generative AI companies
US interest in local news tumbles as 15% say they have paid for it in last year
Latest podcast
Podcast 70: The Atlantic’s winning subscription strategy with CEO Nicholas Thompson
The Atlantic has become profitable after years in the red and marked the major milestone of reaching one million subscribers, it announced in April.
CEO Nicholas Thompson joined Press Gazette to discuss the subscription strategy behind The Atlantic’s recent success, how advertising fits in, the search for an elusive third revenue stream, and what goals he might set for the business next.
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