'Pure propaganda': Experts hit back at Google research valuing news at zero
Mail Online hits another online subscriptions milestone, New Statesman editor announced and Dow Jones signs custom content deal with LSEG
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Tuesday, 25 March brought to you in association with The Podcast Show London (21-22 May), the biggest international festival for the business of podcasting. Secure your pass now at thepodcastshowlondon.com.
Time was when you struggled to find anyone in the news industry who had anything bad to say about Google.
Ten years ago having a pop at Google almost felt like being one of those illuminated manuscript writers who claimed standards were going out of the window because of Gutenberg's new disruptive publishing technology.
Following Google's bombshell report last week which claims news is worth nothing to it in advertising terms I have failed to find a news industry source who has anything nice to say about the tech giant.
We cast our net far and wide amongst the world of SEO experts and media consultants to see what they made of the Google research carried out in eight European countries at the turn of the year.
It said: "It is not surprising that some publishers choose to share false statements because they don’t like the outcome of this experiment."
The New Statesman has a new editor, Tom McTague, who will cross over from web-only title Unherd where he has been political editor for the last two years.
And Mail Online has passed another subscriptions milestone and now claims to have some 250,000 readers paying up to £6.99 per month for access to premium online news and features. It says content aimed at women is driving much of this growth and has appointed Celia Duncan to the new job of global women's editor.
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On Press Gazette
Google news revenue research ‘self serving’, ‘pure propaganda’ say industry experts
Search giant hits back to defend research claiming news is worth zero revenue to it.
Unherd political editor Tom McTague named New Statesman editor
McTague has been at Unherd for two years and was previously a writer for The Atlantic.
Mail crosses 250,000 digital subscribers and appoints first global women’s editor
Femail, Inspire and Secrets & Lives said to be key Mail+ subscriptions drivers.
Dow Jones launches first custom news feed for enterprise client
Custom news dashboard for LSEG's Workspace marks expansion of enterprise subscription deals.
News in brief
Al Jazeera said one of its journalists, Hossam Shabat, was killed in an Israeli attack yesterday with his car seemingly targeted according to witnesses. Palestine Today TV journalist Mohammad Mansour was also killed in an airstrike yesterday. (Al Jazeera)
Google has begun rolling out access to "AI Mode" - a version of the search engine that only offers AI summaries - to more users in the US. (X)
Threads is growing as a traffic source for some news publishers following changes to the platform by Meta. (Digiday)
The US Supreme Court has declined to consider overturning the New York Times v Sullivan libel precedent which means "actual malice" by journalists and newspapers has to be proven for a successful case. The bid came from casino mogul and Trump ally Steve Wynn. (The Hill)
Senior Trump political adviser Chris LaCivita has filed a defamation suit against The Daily Beast in the US alleging it published "malicious" and "damag[ing]” reporting about him during the 2024 campaign. (Axios)
Fashion magazine i-D is back on newsstands in print today after being bought from Vice by Karlie Kloss' Bedford Media. It now costs £20 and will come out twice a year. (The Guardian)
Amanda Wills is joining CNN in the new role of group senior vice president and chief content officer. She is currently chief content officer, video, at the Wall Street Journal. (Linkedin)
Also on Press Gazette:
Former CNN correspondent says she ‘lost the support’ of broadcaster after disability
Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel: ‘If you make yourself essential, you will be fine’
Acquisitions and video advertising drive National World 9% revenue growth
Brand safety woes continue and the coming storm on AI litigation
Daily Mail US editor: Reader loyalty is brand’s biggest asset
Publishers seeing ‘concerning trends’ from advertisers in current political cycle
Newspaper ABCs: Daily Mirror drops below print circulation of 200,000
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Latest podcast: Generative AI could spell doomsday or a be a big pay day for publishers
Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford caught up with New York-based publishing consultant Matthew Scott Goldstein (MSG) to talk about the future of news in the era of AI.
How concerned should publishers be about the threat posed to their business models by generative AI? It’s a 9.9 out of ten said MSG.
He explained why generative AI could spell the end of the road for publisher websites, but why it could also lead to a huge payday for the creators of quality content.