Publisher e-commerce hit by Google change | Guardian offers Observer staff new assurances
And a veteran news agency boss hits back at a claim by Owen Jones that British journalists are privileged, posh and amoral
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday 3 December 2024, brought to you today in association with Glide Publishing Platform, who provide a specialist Headless CMS and Customer Data Platform for publishers and media organisations.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones has got the hackles up of some journalists with a recent claim that the British media is largely posh and stupid.
He said this explains why journalists do not give more coverage to the child victims of the conflict in Gaza.
Writing in Press Gazette, news agency boss Mark Solomons argues that journalism is more meritocratic than Jones realises. He says that once you are in the newsroom, hard work and talent are the only differentiators that matter.
That has certainly been my experience. But it is also true that the barriers to entry into a career in journalism, not least among them low pay, means that it is still often a career which favours those who can afford to do it.
Today we also take a look at the latest changes wrought on publishers by increasingly unpredictable tech giant Google, which has downgraded the revenue-driving e-commerce pages run by many leading sites.
Intriguingly, the latest changes at Google are apparently being rolled out manually - rather than by algorithm.
And Guardian Media Group CEO Anna Bateson has sought to allay the concerns of Observer journalists ahead of a planned 48-hour strike which is due to start at midnight tonight.
Some 500 Guardian and Observer journalists plan to walk out unless management halts the Observer sale process. It is a battle of wills which will decide the fate of the world's oldest Sunday newspaper and also who runs The Guardian: The Scott Trust (the limited company set up to protect the title's journalism) or the journalists themselves.
The fact staff are willing to sacrifice four days' salary out of their Christmas pay packets and potentially jeopardise print production underlines the huge strength of feeling opposing the Tortoise deal.
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On Press Gazette
Three sites reportedly affected by Google's site reputation abuse update: CNN Underscored, US News 360 Reviews and Forbes Advisor.
Google search change hits publisher Black Friday e-commerce revenue
“Personally, I think Google is really out of line to start telling people how they can and cannot monetise their website.”
Guardian CEO offers new assurances to Observer journalists ahead of strike
Guardian management met with union officials on Friday ahead of a planned 48-hour walkout by around 500 journalists working at The Guardian and Observer starting tomorrow.
Comment: Privileged, posh, amoral and stupid? Don’t tar all journalists with the same brush
“Like all good journalists, it is their talent not the education section of their CV that counts. No one cares what school you went to if you’re good at your job.”
News in brief
Former Sky News and CNN journalist Sam Kiley has joined The Independent as world affairs editor. (Press Gazette)
Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising and wants the tech giant to sell off two ad tools. (CBC)
The Editors' Code of Practice is to be amended to clarify who can consent to provide information about a child's welfare after a ruling found it to be unclear - it will now say "an adult with legal parental responsibility or similarly responsible adult". (Editors’ Code of Practice Committee)
The BBC has opened the latest tendering process for the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The scheme's funding is to increase by 6.5% when the contract period begins in July, rather than the usual 1.5%, acknowledging "the impact of inflationary pressures". Tender applications may be made here.
Also on Press Gazette:
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: Major Canadian news outlets sue OpenAI over copyright
Ofcom: BBC now part of ‘headwinds’ facing local news publishers
Reach editorial boss: BBC should work with us, not against us
Reporter launches funding campaign to bring local news back to Chelsea
Lord Kinnock joins chorus of concern for future of The Observer
Latest podcast
Podcast 79: How Bluesky became News-sky, Google Discover, US election lessons
Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford talks about the benefits of Bluesky for publishers with the zeal of a new convert, reporter Bron Maher explains how publishers are getting new traffic from Google via Discover and Charlotte Tobitt reveals the biggest lessons for the news industry from the US presidential election.