Paywalled news content stolen using AI to feed Youtube | Reach pay deal agreed
And the latest top-50 ranking of English language news websites globally shows tabloid titles taking a traffic tumble.
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Wednesday, 4 June, brought to you in association with Admiral - the Visitor Relationship Company.
In today’s feature, Admiral shares how CBS Sports used real-time journey shaping to engage over 18 million visitors for major live events like the Super Bowl and March Madness, delivering personalised campaigns at scale, and driving high-value outcomes including Paramount+ subscriptions and live stream views.
When freelance journalist Rob McGibbon shared the story of his 25-year estrangement from his father with readers of the Daily Mail he said it was the toughest story to write in his 40-year career.
The result was a lovingly crafted double-page spread telling a heartbreakingly personal tale, complete with family photos which had never been shared before.
Imagine Rob’s horror, to coin a bit of journalese, when he found the entire feature ripped off using AI and turned into a video on Youtube just hours later. The entire 2,000-word article was reproduced by the robot narrator, photos stolen and damaging inaccuracies introduced for good measure.
This use of paywalled publisher content to create AI-generated videos is the latest front in a war between embattled publishers and giant technology companies.
Rob’s fight with Youtube is playing out as the Data (Use and Access) Bill ping-pongs between the Government and the House of Lords, with Peers trying to include protection for creative works from theft by AI companies in the legislation.
Meanwhile, speaking at a conference in London this week, FT chief executive Jon Slade called for the creation of “a NATO for news” because the cost of defending against AI attacks was becoming too much for individual publishers to bear.
Recent job cuts at Business Insider, Techcrunch, Digiday and other titles underline the impact changes in the digital ecosystem fueled by AI are already having on journalism.
Unless copyright is protected, independent journalism will be replaced by content selected by an algorithm and distributed on X, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. It’s a media ecosystem which I fear would favour populist demagogues rather than reasonable debate. So Keir Starmer’s Labour Government should act now out of self-preservation if nothing else.
Looking at major news brands, Reuters (up 23.2%), Politico (up 27%) and Wall Street Journal (up 17%) were among the biggest winners.
Tabloid titles were among the biggest fallers including The Sun (down 27.9%), New York Post (down 25.6%) and Daily Mail (down 24%).
And journalists at Reach have reluctantly agreed to pay deal of 2%, which would cost the company £4m if applied across the board. It is a small fraction of last year’s £102.4m operating profit for Reach. The fact that union members have voted to accept it speaks to the wider economic pressures everyone is feeling.
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From our sponsor
How CBS Sports used Admiral’s real-time journey shaping to boost ad revenue
Admiral, the Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) company, empowers leading publishers to guide audiences toward deeper engagement and higher revenue outcomes—with no dev lift required.
Case Study: CBS Sports
For high-stakes events like the NFL Playoffs and March Madness, CBS Sports used Admiral Convert to deploy over ten hyper-targeted campaigns, engaging 18.5 million-plus visitors in real-time.
Highlights:
20 million-plus impressions during live events
CTRs up to 33.33%
eCPM exceeding $100
With countdown timers, DMA-targeted messaging, and real-time optimisation, CBS Sports turned live events into high-converting engagement moments.
On Press Gazette
Google ‘handling stolen goods’ with Youtube theft of paywalled news articles
Youtube channels are using AI to turn paywalled articles into videos.
Top 50 news websites in the world: Tabloids take a tumble
Press Gazette's analysis of the 50 biggest English-language news websites in the world, updated monthly.
Reach journalists reluctantly accept 2% pay increase
“However, despite the tough economic background in our industry and the wider economy, the NUJ still managed to achieve some hard-won editorial-only concessions to enhance the overall employment package for Reach journalists.”
Future of Media Awards 2025 are open for entries
The awards celebrate great journalism-based apps, podcasts, websites, newsletters and more.
News in brief
Northern Ireland is the most dangerous place in the UK to work as a journalist. Some report facing more threats and physical attacks than ever before according to a new report by Amnesty International.
Digiday is the latest media organisation to make lay-offs with editorial and marketing staff known to be among those leaving the company in a recent restructuring. This follows huge cutbacks at Business Insider and Techcrunch laying off staff based in UK and Europe.
Financial Times CEO Jon Slade has called for the creation of a "NATO for news". Speaking at a London conference he said publishers are spending a huge amount fighting AI copyright breaches: “there’s a good argument for a lot more collaboration". (Hollywood Reporter)
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Former editor switches from local news to lifestyle with launch of 14 titles
Met Police says terror investigation ongoing over journalist’s tweets
Gerry Adams awarded £84,000 in damages after suing BBC for libel
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: New York Times signs its first AI deal with Amazon
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Latest podcast: Death of the website, the never-ending pivot to video and why Dom loves Substack
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They also analyse the latest publisher pivot to video (more a never-ending pirouette) and Dominic explains why he has become an unpaid brand ambassador for Substack.