Piers Morgan goes Youtube-only | Apple advertising plan revealed | Semafor AI deal explained
And finally some positive business news with News Corp and New York Times results
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Friday, 9 February, brought to you today with FT Strategies in partnership with Google News Initiative - proud to share their latest report on learnings from the Audience Diversity Academy. Read Unlocking Growth through Diversity now.
Is TalkTV toast in terms of continuing as a TV channel on Freeview?
TV advertising is currently in a downturn while Youtube is on the up so Piers has sensibly gone where the audience and the money is. It is part of a wider shift by news publishers towards Youtube as they try to make up for declining online advertising revenue.
Today we also have an interview with Semafor’s executive editor Gina Chua to find out more about the deal the US publisher has struck with Microsoft to sponsor an AI-driven news feed. With a market cap of $3tn (and a huge investment in OpenAI) Microsoft is currently leading the race among the big five US tech giants. Earlier this week media consultant Ricky Sutton told me that AI deals with Microsoft and advertising deals with Amazon could pave the way to a sustainable future for the news industry.
We also have an exclusive report on apparent plans by Apple to support publisher advertising on its devices. Given that Apple smartphones constitute around half the market in the UK and US this could be an absolute game-changer for the news industry.
Both are bucking the trend by growing their revenue. And both are feeling mightily relieved that they doubled down on subscriptions and moved away from reliance on advertising some years ago.
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New from Press Gazette
Revealed: Proposal to support advertising on Apple devices
Apple is considering a move into the online advertising market, according to plans lodged on a coding forum and seen by Press Gazette.
Piers Morgan moves to Youtube in major strategy shift for TalkTV
“People are watching the content on Youtube rather than conventional television and I have no problem with that. You can’t defy audiences or tell them how they should be consuming.”
Executive editor Gina Chua explains Semafor’s Microsoft-sponsored AI content deal
Semafor's Gina Chua tells Press Gazette how its soup-themed news bot works.
Subscription giants News Corp and New York Times buck the trend of revenue decline
News Corp marked a major digital revenue milestone and said a deal with AI companies is "imminent".
Rishi Sunak urged to ‘act immediately’ for safety of journalists in Gaza
PM asked to address "shocking and horrific" killing of journalists.
News in brief
Google is rebranding generative AI chat tool Bard after its AI model Gemini because "Gemini is evolving to be more than just the models. It supports an entire ecosystem — from the products... to the APIs and platforms helping developers and businesses innovate". (Google)
X and Threads rival Bluesky received 800,000 sign ups in its first day open to the public, increasing its user base by about a quarter. It remains some way behind its competitors for active users, however. You can find us on Bluesky here. (Techcrunch)
The Telegraph has joined podcast network Acast, so all the UK's major news publishers are there (including BBC, News UK, Guardian, New Statesman, FT, Tortoise and The Economist). The Telegraph said it is "putting significant investment into our podcast production capabilities for 2024 and beyond".
Ofcom has declined to investigate complaints about GB News presenter Neil Oliver sharing a Covid vaccine-linked "turbo cancer" conspiracy theory. The regulator said the "brief comments" were his personal view and "did not materially mislead". (The Times)
British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, who edits the Sarawak Report website, has been sentenced to two years in jail in absentia for criminal defamation in Malaysia. She says it is political and plans to appeal against her conviction and sentence. (Free Malaysia Today)
Eight reporters who say they were attacked by police while covering the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis in 2020 have received a $950,000 settlement from the city's government. (Newsguild)
Former GB News host Mark Steyn has been ordered to pay $1m to a climate scientist for defamation with another blogger ordered to pay $1,000. The US judge dismissed claims against their publishers, the National Review and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. (Financial Times)
The Bedford Independent has added a "good news only" filter to website in response to comments about local news being negative. "We know, as far as our reporting is concerned, that is simply not true." 32% of content on the site is now tagged as good news. (Bedford Independent)
The Times issued a correction after a column claimed a Government-commissioned report on the Teesworks development "contradicted several linchpin claims made in Private Eye". (The Times)
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Forbidden Stories have partnered up to share journalists’ requests for financial and other support such as security assistance with each other plus information about journalists being killed, jailed, or threatened. They said this will “strengthen journalist safety”. (CPJ)
Latest podcast
Former online editor of the News of the World turned tech entrepreneur turned future of news soothsayer Ricky Sutton joins Dominic Ponsford on the podcast sofa.
He explains why Google’s reign as the most important tech partner for news publishers is drawing to a close, but more lucrative partnerships around AI and advertising with Microsoft and Amazon beckon.
This week’s must-reads on Press Gazette
How Google is helping publishers to harness AI and maximise advertising revenue
Life after Google: Should news industry embrace Amazon and Microsoft?
From changing journalism to chasing clicks: Why The Messenger failed
ITN sounds alarm over fake online content featuring Robert Peston, Mary Nightingale and others
Publisher ad tech platforms Ozone and Mantis advance amid fight to save journalism on open web
