Reader's Digest UK to close | Mail sport cuts latest
Plus: editor of UAE's The National says it's a "disservice" to call her paper a government mouthpiece, why FT may have made the wrong choice licensing data to OpenAI, and SoGlos expanding to Bristol
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday 30 April.
Following news the FT has signed a deal with OpenAI to license its content to the large language model underpinning ChatGPT, Dominic Young explains why the UK publisher may be wrong to sign rather than sue.
Without content on which to train themselves LLMs are useless and therefore worthless, says Young. He also warns that we are only just beginning to understand the reputational risk that comes with setting our content free on ChatGPT and its competitors.
He believes publishers are better off biding their time rather than doing deals with generative AI giants.
Reader's Digest UK has announced its closure after 86 years in print. As recently as 2001 it was still selling more than one million copies per issue but the title has floundered in recent years. It's a victim of wider pressure on the magazine industry but also of being a brand that fell out of fashion.
We also have an interview with the editor of The National, a newspaper with a 200-strong newroom based in Abu Dhabi. Mina Al-Oraibi says the FT was wrong to describe her title, which is owned by IMI, as a government "mouthpiece".
Local newsbrand SoGlos is looking to expand after growing its annual revenue to £1m. The lifestyle and business title has served Gloucestershire for 17 years and is now looking to expand into Bristol.
And finally we reveal details of the latest redundancies at the Mail titles with around 15 jobs cut from the sport team. The exits reflect falling print revenue and changing investment priorities as publisher DMG Media targets digital growth.
New from Press Gazette
Editor of The National: 'Disservice' to suggest we are UAE government mouthpiece
The National currently has 194 journalists in total, including 20 in its London bureau, and is owned by International Media Investments, which has recently drawn attention for its attempt to buy The Telegraph.
Reader’s Digest UK closes due to ‘unforgiving’ magazine landscape
The magazine's editor said it has "come to an end" in the UK after 86 years.
Why FT may be wrong to license its content for AI training
“The list of ‘unforeseen’ consequences grows longer every day, alongside known issues like AI’s tendency to invent entirely fictitious ‘facts’. Yet the AI bandwagon rampages on. Which means that now is probably a pretty bad time for anyone to license their content for AI training.”
Up to 15 journalists cut in latest round of sport redundancies at Mail titles
The cuts coincide with sport journalist job cuts elsewhere in the industry, coming shortly after star Times writer Henry Winter was made redundant and a month after sports betting business Livescore laid off its news team.
Local media brand SoGlos moves editor to CEO as it eyes Bristol expansion
SoGlos is funded by traditional display advertisements and content marketing with commercial partners. Annual turnover has grown to almost £1m.
News in brief
Former Business Insider features editor Louise Ridley has joined equality charity The Female Lead as editorial director. She said: "Listening to women and telling stories about them can drive change."
National World has told reporters to stop writing up press releases "with the exception of breaking news and some crime and travel reports" so they can focus on "going out and getting original, unique stories". PRs can upload their pieces directly instead. (Hold the Front Page)
Specialist site Mountain Weekly News says it's struggling to compete post-Google algorithm changes with big outlets writing affiliate content on its beat: "This drop in traffic essentially eliminated our advertising dollars as well as our affiliate income.” (Mountain Weekly News)
French investigative outlet Mediapart says it has stopped accepting Google money for the use of its articles under French law because it opposed confidentiality clauses preventing it from telling its readers about the deal and the sum involved. (Mediapart)
Former BBC Northern Ireland political editor Stephen Grimason, who broke news of the Good Friday agreement and was later director of communications at Stormont, has died aged 67 after a long illness. (BBC News)
Global has launched Capital Buzz as a new Gen Z pop culture digital brand, rebranding Pop Buzz so it sits alongside Capital FM and "massively increases the huge social reach of Capital, already the most followed radio brand in the world on Tiktok". (Global)
Media freedom is in "steady decline" across the EU and “perilously close to breaking point” in several countries, according to the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, which cited "deliberate harm or neglect by national governments". (The Guardian)
Previously on Press Gazette
FT becomes first UK newsbrand to announce licensing deal with OpenAI
David Lammy leaves LBC ahead of election and is replaced by Lewis Goodall
James Harding warns BBC podcast ads will ‘drain advertising away from journalism’
Times editor Tony Gallagher: We’ve abolished meetings about the newspaper
Ex-Treasury minister to replace Sir Paul Marshall on GB News board
Is lifting of viral news from social media fuelling loss of trust in journalism?
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