Olympic traffic surge to publishers | Experts share how to report on neurodiversity
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday 20 August, 2024, brought to you today in association with JobsInAdtech. Promote your open roles today with JobsInAdtech.com by using promo code GAZETTE to get 15% off all job packages.
The normal summer slump for news didn't happen this year as a riveting US election race and the Paris Olympics have seen readers flood to trusted news publishers.
Today we have a deep dive into the website traffic for leading publishers around the 18 days of the Paris Olympics (25 July to 11 August).
Nearly everyone has reported dramatic traffic increases year on year and publishers say Paris has driven far more interest than the 2021 Tokyo Olympics which took place behind closed doors due to the pandemic as well as in a trickier time zone.
In the UK, data from Similarweb shows that controversy over the gender of two female boxers was among the leading stories in terms of search traffic.
Today we also have a timely comment piece from Lydia Wilkins in which she rounds up some expert insight on how to cover neurodiversity sensitively and accurately.
According to some estimates as many as one in seven people in the UK have a neurodiverse condition (such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia or an intellectual disability). For those who face profound challenges in everyday life, and in accessing the right support, it is unsurprisingly somewhat galling to read in the media that their condition does not exist.
Regular readers will recall recent research by Press Gazette which found that ADHD and autism appear to be widespread among journalists.
Colleagues with these conditions reported that being neurodivergent brought particular strengths to their professional lives, as well difficulties. But they also revealed how greater understanding and some relatively simple workplace adjustments could make them far more able to do their jobs effectively.
From our sponsor:
Recruit faster, recruit cheaper, recruit better!
LinkedIn Jobs can attract you hundreds of applications, of which only a handful are suitable, wasting everyone’s time and attention. Recruitment Agencies are very costly, charging between 15% and 25% of a first year salary, for doing little more than CV filtering.
JobsInAdtech.com is the solution. The only dedicated jobs board for digital media attracts only pre-qualified candidates for your roles, and at prices as low as £100 per job.
New from Press Gazette
How Paris Olympics led to traffic boost for leading news publishers
While many leading UK news publishers saw a bump in website traffic during the Paris Olympics, US sites saw a drop compared to the previous fortnight — likely because the weeks before the games saw the Donald Trump assassination attempt and news Joe Biden was exiting the presidential race.
Reporting neurodiversity: ‘Don’t get unqualified writers to tell our stories’
“There are far too many articles and op-eds that claim ADHD and autism aren’t real, that the unacceptable language seeps in. Journalists need to check their own biases and ensure they’re not delegitimising neurodivergent people.”
News in brief
City AM will be in the same office as other brands owned by THG, which bought the business newspaper a year ago, for the first time as it moves into the e-commerce company's new Square Mile base. (City AM)
The Athletic has launched a new vertical covering sports memorabilia and trading cards as part of a partnership with Ebay that will allow readers to purchase collectibles via The Athletic website. (Adweek)
Up to 85 journalists, many of them senior, have taken voluntary redundancy from Nine Entertainment newsbrands including the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review. The company blamed a "challenging" ad market and "collapse of the Meta deal". (The Guardian)
Previously on Press Gazette
MI5 transcripts reveal exploits of Fleet Street’s ‘murder gang’ of reporters
Mirror political editor John Stevens leaving to join government
Advertising blocklists unfairly targeted coverage from Olympics and Euros
Dementia magazine launched as side project secures major headline sponsor
Newspaper ABCs: Sunday People sees biggest print decline in July
Press Gazette live
Our flagship event the Future of Media Technology Conference and Awards takes place on 12 September on the Hilton Bankside hotel in London. It provides publishers with a masterclass on the big technology themes impacting our business and is also an unrivalled networking opportunity.
Full agenda and booking details here.