Publisher ad revenue plummets | Why DMGT wants The Telegraph | James Doleman obit
The latest AA/WARC UK advertising figures underline the need for urgent action in the Digital Markets Bill
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Tuesday, 31 October, brought to you this week by EX․CO - the world's leading publisher video platform, empowering publishers to own their video strategy for maximum yield. Their latest blog post, "Why 100% Video Coverage is a Game Changer for Publishers," is available now.
The good news is that UK ad spend is set to grow this year by 2.6% to a record £35.6bn, according to the latest AA/WARC data.
But don’t pop the champagne just yet. The bad news is all that extra money is going to tech platforms and none of it is going to publishers.
Search advertising is forecast to grow 5.2%this year and online display is expected to be up 6.6%.
But ad revenue for magazines, national and regional newsbrands (in print and online) is set to decline.
Search advertising alone is forecast to grow to £13.8bn in the UK this year. If we give Google a conservative 90% of that total, then Alphabet alone will make £12.4bn out of advertising in the UK this year (around ten times the total for every national and regional/local newsbrand combined).
UK earnings for Meta (which are less straightforward to deduce) will at least be in excess of 2021's £5.3bn figure for Facebook alone (source: NMA).
So if you want to know why publishers are sacking so many journalists this year (we've seen redundancies at Reach, DMGT, National World, Vice and elsewhere) - look no further than these AA/WARC figures.
The online advertising ecosystem as a way of supporting the sort of journalism that enables democracy to function and society to thrive appears to be broken. We have to hope that legislators grasp the nettle and tackle this issue in the Digital Markets Bill which is currently going through parliament.
I'd suggest we let Google and Meta continue with their lucrative monopolies but insist they share a meaningful amount of revenue (say 10%) to fund public interest journalism.
Today we also have the latest on DMGT’s bid to add The Telegraph to its stable of national newsbrands (joining the Mail titles, Metro and i).
And colleagues have paid tribute to pioneering court reporter James Doleman who used crowdfunding to ensure he could be the eyes and ears of the public at some major trials and who has died far too young after a long illness.
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New from Press Gazette
DMGT makes case for Telegraph bid: Subscription model would ‘reinforce’ business
“The Telegraph’s success in building a subscription model will help us reinforce the strength of our existing business.”
Pioneering court reporter James Doleman dies from cancer
In 2013 to 2014 Doleman covered the phone-hacking trial for The Drum, live-tweeting and producing twice-daily reports, and featured in Press Gazette’s list of the best reporters on Twitter. It was the first time a judge allowed a trial to be live-tweeted in this way and Doleman became a pioneer of the medium, alongside Byline Times co-founder Peter Jukes.
UK ad spend to grow in 2023 – but only the tech giants will benefit
Advertising on national newsbrands is estimated to be down 8% in the first half of 2023 with print and online declining at roughly the same rate.
News in brief
BBC director-general Tim Davie is to directly oversee its complaints unit with its boss reporting to him, taking over from director of editorial policy David Jordan because of concerns the previous structure led to "marking their own homework". (Sunday Telegraph)
The Government’s journalist safety action plan is being refreshed, with a new online tool for journalists to report abuse, more training for police officers on what reporters are allowed to do at protests and working group to share best practice on looking after staff. (DCMS)
Sky News is launching a new programme: Friday Night with Niall Paterson will "cover the best of the cultural conversation but can just as easily pivot to breaking news when circumstances warrant". The show will feature a big-name guest from one of the week's biggest stories, a panel and viewer messages.
Reporters Without Borders believes an attack that killed a Reuters journalist and injured several others on the Lebanon-Israel border saw the reporters "explicitly targeted" as they were clearly marked as press. (RSF)
The Times reports that Conservative special advisers are being shown details of journalists making FOI requests even though such requests are supposed to be “applicant blind”. (The Times)
The police officer accused of murdering Chris Kaba will be named at his trial in January after an appeal from media against reporting restrictions. However, publishing the officer's address and photo will continue to be banned. (Evening Standard)
Google paid out £21.7bn in 2021 to be the default search engine on major mobile phone devices, browsers and wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, the US Department of Justice has alleged in its ongoing antitrust trial against the tech giant. (Exchange Wire)
Rolling Stone says its journalist Jesse Rosenfeld has been denied press accreditation by Israel. It says he has covered Netanyahu's administration critically and his credentials were denied by an official who claimed Rolling Stone is "not a news organisation". (Rolling Stone)
Podcast 59: From subscriptions to membership at Elle UK
Elle UK editor Kenya Hunt talks to Press Gazette about why she hopes readers will pay £150 a year to become fashion industry insiders as members of Elle Collective.
She also talks about the future of magazines, diversity and why magazine editors have a duty to present images of female beauty responsibly.
Previously on Press Gazette
British Journalism Awards shortlist 2023: Best public interest reporting of last year revealed
UK’s biggest online publishers in September 2023: News UK and Mail Metro Media fall out of top ten
Actor Noel Clarke faced ‘trial by media’ after Guardian reports of misconduct, High Court told
Top 50 UK news websites: GB News, Unilad and LBC see biggest growth in September
Martin Clunes wins IPSO complaint versus Mail after reporter failed to take notes
