Publishers mull 'consent or pay' regime on cookies | PA forced to negotiate with NUJ
And Huffpost cites "cash flow issues" for thousands of pounds in late freelance payments
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Wednesday 24 January.
In Germany most news publishers offer audiences a simple choice: consent or pay.
Readers must agree to allow publisher cookies to anonymously track them, or else make a financial contribution to the running of the website they are reading.
Now UK publishers may take a similar stand, forced into action by the Information Commissioner's Office which has found that those pop-ups designed to obtain cookie consent are not clear enough.
A more prominent "reject all" cookies button could cost publishers 30% of trackable readers, which would lead to a disastrous decline in advertising revenue for consumer news brands.
We also investigate cash flow issues at Huffpost which have led to very late payments for freelance contributors. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”, I hear you say. Yes, Press Gazette too has on occasion been slow to pay freelances. Apologies, we must try harder.
And there are rumblings of industrial discontent at PA Media which has been forced to the negotiating table by the Central Arbitration Committee after initially refusing to recognise the bargaining rights of the agency's NUJ chapel.
New from Press Gazette
Publishers mull ‘consent or pay’ in response to ‘reject all’ cookies button ruling
The ICO stepped up its action around “reject all” after investigating the top 50 websites in the UK last year. That investigation, named Operation Cobar, found “instances in which organisations have automatically opted-in individuals into marketing/personalisation/tracking cookies” when they should not have, the ICO said.
PA Media forced to negotiate with NUJ by arbitration body
The Central Arbitration Committee, an independent body with statutory powers, said management at PA should sit down with the National Union of Journalists chapel to work out the scope of a potential collective bargaining unit.
Huffpost UK increases payment terms to 60 days amid ‘cash flow’ issues
“I don’t know who the hell can wait 60 days for a payment.”
News in brief
Women in Journalism is hosting an event next week asking what's next after X (formerly known as Twitter) for journalism. Chaired by Genelle Aldred, panellists will include Hardeep Matharu and Eva Simpson. (WiJ)
More than 400 Condé Nast union members at brands like Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ in the US have walked out for 24 hours over negotiations and bargaining practices after layoffs were announced in November. It is the first company-wide strike in Condé Nast’s history. (The Hollywood Reporter)
An analysis of 1,930 news sites conducted by Chartbeat for CNBC found that 33% of their social traffic came from Facebook in December, down from 50% a year earlier. Facebook made up 6% of all referral traffic, down from 12% a year earlier and 14% in 2018. Despite talk of Google referrals dipping in Q4 due to the impact of algorithm changes, 38% of all external traffic to these sites was from Google in December - up from 36% in 2022 and 26% in 2018. (CNBC)
Mediahuis Ireland is seeking to cut about 10% of jobs through voluntary redundancies, with compulsory job losses to come if a target of €4m annual cost savings aren't found. Staff were told investment in digital products like podcasts and local news will continue. (Irish Independent)
The Los Angeles Times has confirmed it is laying off at least 115 people, or more than 20% of the newsroom, but owner Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong insisted: "We are not in turmoil. We have a real plan." (LA Times)
Australia's ABC is creating its own large language model and considering how to use AI to "enhance" its work and make it more accessible to more people. It told staff not to use ChatGPT for work in the meantime. (Australian Financial Review)
18 press freedom organisations have called for personal protective equipment for journalists to be allowed through Gaza's border and for international journalists to be given access. At least 83 journalists have been killed since 7 October. (Committee to Protect Journalists)
Previously on Press Gazette
Ofcom blasts radio news bulletin that said Barry Humphries was alive three days after he died
Yalda Hakim says Sky News are ‘insurgents’ as she leads primetime hour of foreign coverage
Top 50 news websites in the US in December: USA Today remains fastest-growing top ten site