OpenAI content chief takes aim at Google | Supreme Court upholds qualified privilege defence
And The Sun makes its first TV content licensing deal
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette news briefing on Wednesday 7 May.
OpenAI's head of intellectual property has taken aim at Google and trumpeted "stunning results" from his company's experimentation with publishers.
Tom Rubin was speaking at the World News Media Congress in Poland, covered this week by Press Gazette's Charlotte Tobitt.
His comments reveal the extent to which ChatGPT's tanks are on Google's lawn and are challenging its once seemingly impregnable position as gateway to the internet.
ChatGPT is better than Google at answering many queries, and getting better all the time thanks to the fact it is actively fostering good relationships with the biggest publishers. Read our full report on his comments here.
Today we also report on a ruling from the UK Supreme Court which upholds wide-ranging protections for the reporting of statements made at public meetings anywhere in the world.
And The Sun has made a major step forward in its ambitions to become a broadcaster as it sold the TV and streaming rights for a new Madeleine McCann documentary to Channel 4.
On Press Gazette
OpenAI’s chief of intellectual property and content Tom Rubin speaking at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress in Krakow on 6 May 2025. Picture: WAN-IFRA
OpenAI content boss on Google ‘ten blue links’ and arrival of ChatGPT search
“While it’s still too early to have hard data, I can say that search has become one of the most popular features within ChatGPT with over one billion web searches conducted in a single week.”
Sun Madeleine McCann documentary to be shown first on Channel 4
Madeleine McCann: The Unseeen Evidence was produced by The Sun with support from ITN Productions. It follows a year-long investigation by Sun journalist Rob Pattinson uncovering new evidence around Christian B, a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of the British three-year-old in Portugal.
UK Supreme Court upholds qualified privelege defence over coverage of Pakistan rally
Salman Iqbal, the founder and president of Pakistani broadcaster ARY Digital Network, had been attempting to sue another Pakistani network, Geo News, over its 2022 coverage of a political rally held in Pakistan during which speakers had attacked Iqbal and his business.
News in brief
DC Thomson chief brand officer Ella Dolphin has been promoted to the newly-created role of deputy chief executive. The Stylist and Press and Journal publisher said the appointment would help it increase its focus on M&A and a broader company "transformation". (Press Gazette)
Dotdash Meredith parent company IAC saw a 7% year-on-year rise in its digital revenue in the first quarter of 2025, it has reported, as well as a 22% decline in operating expenses. Total revenue was down from $624m to $571m, but EBITDA rose nearly tenfold to $51m. (Reuters)
The Guardian is reportedly hiring for over a dozen editorial roles in the US including in Washington DC and for a daily news podcast. According to Axios 68% of revenue at Guardian US ($44m) came from reader revenue last year, with $20m from ads and $2m from philanthropy. (Axios)
The BBC has said there was "a lapse in our usual high editorial standards" in an interview relating to Prince Harry's security court case and that it "should have given the view of Buckingham Palace". (The Independent)
The BBC says Newsnight will now be hosted by Victoria Derbyshire on Mondays to Wednesdays, Paddy O'Connell on Thursdays and Matt Chorley on Fridays. Last year's format change towards "live insights and interviews" is seeing "rising ratings", it also said.
14 news organisations have joined together to ask a US judge to unseal documents in the case of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. (Washington Post)
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Latest podcast: Making political news pay the Politico way
Press Gazette senior reporter Bron Maher talks to Politico executive editor for Europe Kate Day about the niche brand's rapid expansion on this side of the Atlantic.
The title launched in Washington in 2007 and has been in Europe since 2015. It now has 350 staff in Europe with 45 journalists in the UK alone. Day explained how the brand's mixed B2B and consumer business model works and revealed more about its further expansion plans.