Publishers hit by out of date ad block lists | National press ABCs
Plus the Daily Mirror's political editor leaves to join the Government and we have your news diary for the week ahead
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Amazingly, news publishers will have lost out on some advertising revenue from their Euros and Olympics coverage because of outdated "blocklists" used by marketers.
This is the view of Reach, which believes its in-house contextual advertising solution gets around the problem.
It's sad that brands are so prissy about where their adverts appear, like you can't be interested in serious international news and also want to buy a new car or a watch?
But the world of adtech continues to be a murky one which serves tech companies well but seems to undermine journalism at every turn. Charlotte Tobitt has taken a closer look at the latest bids by publishers to counter the problems posted by blocklisting (banning advertising from appearing against certain keywords).
Mirror political editor John Stevens is the latest senior editorial poacher to turn government gamekeeper as he becomes special adviser to cabinet minister Pat McFadden.
MI5 transcripts have shed more light on the actions of a top Daily Express reporter who regularly exchanged cash and cases of whisky for stories from police informants. Neil Root has turned the now-public transcripts into a book about Fleet Street's "Murder Gang" and writes about their exploits for Press Gazette.
Our latest round-up of news media job losses for the year so far includes a flurry of exits announced in August. For me the most worrying are at Axios, the news website launched in 2016 which announced earlier this month it is laying off 10% of its 500 journalists.
We also have your news diary for the week ahead which is led by the start of the US Democratic National Convention with Kamala Harris due to formally accept the nomination as Democratic Party presidential candidate on Thursday.
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New from Press Gazette
Advertising blocklists unfairly targeted coverage from Olympics and Euros
According to the team at Reach’s publisher contextual ad solution Mantis, just 43% of Olympics content between the start of the games until 13 August for publishers not using their platform was classified as “brand safe”.
Newspaper ABCs: Sunday People sees biggest print decline in July
The only national newspaper to see year-on-year growth in July was the Financial Times, which was up 2% to 108,070 despite seeing the joint biggest month-on-month decline of 2%.
Mirror political editor John Stevens leaving to join government
Stevens will become a special adviser to Pat McFadden MP, who is in Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and who has been described as “the most influential MP you’ve never heard of”.
MI5 transcripts reveal exploits of Fleet Street’s ‘murder gang’ of reporters
A top Express crime reporter was bugged and watched by MI5 as he paid off top police contacts.
News diary 19 – 25 August: Harris confirmed as nominee, UK immigration figures out
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
We know lots of people are leaving Twitter because of recent events - so if you didn't know, we are also on rival site Bluesky. You can find us at @pressgazette.co.uk.
New York Public Radio, which owns local news website Gothamist and public radio station WNYC, is aiming to lay off at least 8% of staff - an estimated 30 people - amid decline in advertising and stiff competition for philanthropic support. (Press Gazette)
Conde Nast has appointed Elizabeth Herbst-Brady as its new chief revenue officer starting in September. (Press Gazette)
The first MP register of interests of the new parliament appeared to show Nigel Farage was earning £97,900 a month as a presenter for GB News. But Farage said it covered work since 1 April, not just one month, and that it was the gross sum paid to his firm. (BBC News)
The US Justice Department is reportedly considering a bid to break up Google following this month’s ruling that the company monopolises the search market. Other remedies are also under consideration, including forcing Google to share data with competitors. (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, Google has begun rolling out its latest core update and said it will address concerns raised, especially by smaller and independent sites, since September's helpful content update. (Search Engine Land)
And according to US publisher Dotdash Meredith, Google AI Overviews are being served to about 15% of search results and: "Click-through rate differentials between pages with and without AI Overviews are minor so far." (Search Engine Land)
The Boston Globe reportedly hired three people as part of a podcast push in spring only to assign the new staff to different roles in July because it determined that audio journalism "does not attract subscribers". (Commonwealth Beacon)
The number of Substack journalists in news and politics making more than $1m has doubled in the past year into "double digits" with politics and news subscribers also doubling this year, executives have said. (Axios)
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism says the end to Meta’s social monitoring tool Crowdtangle "will make our job harder, and undoubtedly more expensive. But we will still ensure those using Meta’s platforms to cause harm are exposed". (TBIJ)
Readly's chief executive says the ‘Spotify for magazines/newspapers' subscription company just had its "first-ever quarter with substantial profit margins as well as positive cash flow", marking a "major step" on the "way to robust, long term profitability". (Readly)
A local US news website called OkayNWA has been launched entirely staffed by AI reporters. A disclaimer on the "about us" page says "the information presented should not be taken as factual or accurate in a traditional news sense". (OkayNWA)
The Romford Recorder has won a three-year Freedom of Information battle against Havering Council and the ICO, forcing the London borough to hand over a 400-page 2021 report detailing allegations of racism and sexism in its town hall. (Romford Recorder)
The Star Tribune in Minneapolis has renamed to the Minnesota Star Tribune as it expands across the state, "part of a renewed commitment to be the best local news organisation in the country" and a push for more digital subscribers. (Minnesota Star Tribune)
Conservative Home has named former BBC journalist and Legatum Institute director of communications Giles Dilnot as its new editor, starting today. (Conservative Home)
A charity has been launched in the name of former Liverpool Echo journalist Dan Kay who died last year aged 45. It aims to "tackle stigma around mental health while spreading kindness and creating opportunities for those less fortunate". (Liverpool Echo)
Mike Magee, who founded technology publications The Register and The Inquirer, has died aged 74. Here he is remembered as having a huge impact on tech journalism.
NPR's former chief executive John Lansing has died aged 67, just six months after retiring from the network which he led for four-and-a-half years, including through the Covid-19 pandemic. (NPR)
The Racing Post's founding news editor Howard Wright has died aged 79. He spent much of his 26 years at the title as industry editor, and continued contributing after his retirement in 2012. (Racing Post)
The Scotsman's former local government correspondent of 35 years, David Scott, has died aged 80. (The Scotsman)
A former Reach weekly newspaper editor who took redundancy has launched a Substack-based newsletter offering comprehensive community news for Glasgow. (Hold the Front Page)
Our latest podcast
Bonnier News CEO on power of bundles and personalisation
Sweden’s biggest news publisher Bonnier News has more than tripled profits in the past eight years and doubled revenue.
It now believes a subscription bundle, putting together all of its Swedish brands and harnessing AI to better personalise what users see, will be the way forward for continued revenue growth.
Bonnier News chief executive Anders Eriksson told Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt about the business transformation he has overseen and the internal culture change needed to do so, why Nordic countries are ahead on subscriptions, and the thinking behind the bundle subscription strategy.
Previously on Press Gazette
Dementia magazine launched as side project secures major headline sponsor
Independent production companies dominate true crime podcast rankings in UK
GB News America grows revenue with goal to ‘tell unheard stories’
Life after Kamal Ahmed and Will Lewis: The News Movement ‘set to reach profitability in 2025’
Neil McIntosh resigns as Scotsman editor amid newsroom redundancies
Mill Media hires Novara’s Moya Lothian-McLean for new Glasgow title
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