News prices race ahead of inflation | Assange case 'bigger threat' than SLAPPs
Plus your news diary for the week ahead
Good morning and welcome to your daily helping of news about the world of news from Press Gazette on Monday, 8 January 2024.
What would you choose? A copy of the the FT Weekend or a frothing pint of beer in the local?
These two commodities now cost roughly the same, meaning beer-loving enthusiasts for quality news may need to make a tough choice if they are on a budget.
Press Gazette has analysed the latest UK prices for national print newspapers, and paywalled news websites, to come up with inflation figures for both.
And it turns out publishers are increasingly leaning financially on readers to make up for the fact that either there are fewer of them (as is the case with print) or because advertising revenue has been significantly down (print and online).
Read our newsflation special reports to find out where we are with:
We also chart year-on-year change and (in the case of newspapers) the longer-term trend over the last decade.
The challenge, as ever, is how to give readers more value to justify the increases when (in many cases) the product has less resource going into it (with at least 8,000 news media jobs lost last year).
Perhaps generative AI is the answer - and we have some handy tips on deploying gen-AI in the newsroom here.
Our diary for the week ahead shows that news is back from its Christmas break with highlights including:
PMQs on Wednesday
An initial hearing at the International Criminal Court over a charge of genocide against Israel
And presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan.
And we have a comment from Tim Dawson arguing the Julian Assange case could pose a bigger threat to press freedom in the UK than SLAPPs.
Jobs of the week:
Lockheed Martin is recruiting a graphic artist/media specialist
Autodesk is recruiting a social media content producer in San Francisco
Browse all the latest media jobs on Press Gazette here, powered by Amply.
New from Press Gazette
Newsflation: UK national newspaper cover prices up 13% in past year
It would now cost £144.80 to buy a copy of every UK national newspaper on each day for one week, compared to £129.85 one year ago.
Online news paywall inflation running at 20% in UK
Online news price rises are well ahead of inflation, which stands at around 5% in the UK and 3% in the US.
Comment: Why Assange case is bigger threat to press freedom than SLAPPs
“Those whose thirst for lifestyle obscures their moral compass might make headlines, but there are far, far more dangerous instances of SLAPPs grinding through the British legal system.”
News diary 8-14 January: Blinken in Middle East, Chancellor meets Martin Lewis
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
Podcast 62: How publishers can sell online advertising in an awful market
The Guardian‘s senior vice president of advertising for North America, Luis Romero, spoke to Press Gazette about what he says is the toughest advertising market for news publishers since 2008.
Asked how the newspaper’s US operation going about surviving the downturn, Romero said conversations with advertisers are key – but explained times may well stay difficult for a while longer.
News in brief
Barb has cast doubt on whether GB News hit one million viewers in the early hours of New Year’s day. (Press Gazette)
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy has apologised after dropping an article about Jewish trauma from its magazine, the BACP Workplace journal, due to "sensitivities" around the Gaza conflict. The article has now been published online. (BACP)
Former Twitter chief customer officer Sarah Personette has been appointed chief executive at Puck, which she will lead into new coverage areas and markets. Personette said it is an "honour to help build out this business, expand our footprint, and do so with purpose". (The Wall Street Journal)
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is reportedly looking at a former in-house solicitor for Mirror Group Newspapers after the recent Prince Harry judgment found he "would have been aware" of unlawful activity. (Law Society Gazette)
MSNBC presenter Mehdi Hasan has said he is leaving the channel after his last weekly show aired on Sunday night. Hasan had initially been expected to stay on as a political analyst and fill-in anchor after his show was cancelled in November. (Huffpost)
Academics are seemingly having their names used without their knowledge to push AI-written articles into the media. Euronews, one of the outlets offered such stories, says it rejected a piece that "just did not sound right" - but it was then published by another outlet. (The Sunday Times)
In case you missed it:
At least 8,000 journalism job cuts in UK and North America in 2023
Why ad-funded journalism-for-all faces fight for survival in 2024
Editors reject extra protection in Code for Jews, Muslims and those with ADHD
Generative AI in the newsroom: Tips and tactics for 2024 from Reuters, Newsquest and BBC
Why New York Times lawsuit seeks destruction of OpenAI and Microsoft LLMs