NCTJ chief on 'heartbreaking' Meta decision | Reach royal redundancy risk
Plus: the FT's new app hopes to recreate its paper experience
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Monday, 25 September, in association with Norkon, the company behind the live-blogging platform Live Center. Watch their new webinar - Unlocking The Gen Z Code - for strategies to successfully engage with the next generation.
On Friday the NCTJ held a conference attended by more than 70 of its Meta-funded community news reporters, celebrating their valuable work for local papers across the UK.
But just two weeks earlier the Facebook owner announced it is withdrawing its funding from the scheme, on which it has spent $17m in the past five years, and now the future for these reporters beyond their current contracts is uncertain.
NCTJ chief executive Joanne Forbes has written an important piece for us about the “heartbreaking” news, revealing the secret meetings involved in setting the project up in 2018 and her plan now to fight to find alternative sources of funding to continue its work.
Also today, we hear about the decision behind the FT’s latest app launch – this one for its digital edition. It is said to be an integral part of its print strategy going forward, making the most of the desire for a curated experience even in parts of the world where getting the physical newspaper would be impractical.
We reveal new plans for redundancies at Reach, where 13 staff have been put at risk on the Express and the publisher’s national magazines.
And we have your news diary for the week ahead including the unhappy milestone of 1,000 days in prison for Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai.
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New from Press Gazette:
Reach puts 13 staff at risk of redundancy, including Express royal correspondent
The Reach Group NUJ Chapel wrote in an email to members, seen by Press Gazette, that “we once again have NUJ members at risk in a targeted compulsory redundancy process”.
FT launches new app to recreate print edition for international readers
Nicola Halstead, director of print subscriptions and digital editions, told Press Gazette the popularity of e-papers has grown “through the pandemic and beyond”.
NCTJ’s fight to save Community News Project after ‘heartbreaking’ Meta decision
“Meta’s decision was always going to be a commercial one, based on its business priorities, which have changed, and with the politics of regulation and fair competition as the backdrop. It’s some comfort that its decision is no reflection on the project itself which it regards as one of its most successful industry initiatives.”
News diary 25 September – 1 October: CPS mulls Letby retrial, Jimmy Lai’s 1000th day in prison
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
The Today programme is adding a weekly podcast. The BBC says The Today Podcast, which launches 5 October, will see Amol Rajan, Nick Robinson and their guests "give their take on the biggest stories and give a behind-the-scenes insight into how the programme is made".
Reform Party leader Richard Tice has left TalkTV to join GB News. (GB News)
Daniel Křetínský, the Czech energy billionaire who this month entered the race to buy The Telegraph, has sold his stake in Le Monde for roughly €50m, the FT reports. The shares are to be put into a foundation established by French tycoon Xavier Niel with the aim of guaranteeing the paper's independence. (Financial Times)
The News Media Association has attacked Meta's decision to axe Facebook News and the Community News Project, saying: "If genuine editorially controlled news is not available on the platforms where users are looking for it, society suffers." (Financial Times)
The founder of Russian-language news site Meduza says she now believes a hack of her phone earlier this year was perpetrated not by Russia but by an EU state hoping to intercept exchanges between her and other Russian journalists who have left the country. (The Guardian)
Podcast 56: Is the future looking brighter for Future? Jon Steinberg CEO interview
CEO of Future plc Jon Steinberg explains why he believes his company still has the right ingredients for success (whatever the stock market may currently seem to think).
He also talks about how he has tackled taking over from a highly successful predecessor, what he thinks about AI in publishing and how the company is just starting to generate revenue from digital subscriptions.
Previously on Press Gazette
Journalists fear ‘secret justice’ over proposed one-reporter limit in sex trials
Rupert Murdoch to step down as News Corp and Fox Corp chairman
GB News impartiality undermined by Bev Turner support for Russell Brand, MP warns
The News Movement partners with Persephonica for move into audio
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