Reuters and CNN launch paywalls | Police tracked journalist number plates
And we have an obituary for 'fearless' war reporter Olga Craig
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The rise of the paywalls continues with both CNN and Reuters announcing they will charge for online content.
CNN is more significant. If the largest news website in the biggest media market in the world can't balance the books from advertising alone then what chance can anyone else?
It is a move which speaks to wider forces which continue to draw advertising away from journalism towards increasingly anti-social social media companies and the dark empire of Google.
CEO Mark Thomson knows a thing or two about growing subscription businesses from his tenure at The New York Times. But it will be intriguing to see whether a general news site can make a go of paywalled news at this late stage in the game.
Reuters has always been something of an anomaly as an unpaywalled business news provider. Again, it will face a tough task playing catch up with Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and the FT.
Today we also have an exclusive report which reveals the extent to which UK police have routinely tracked journalists.
It's a tale involving well-meaning plods seeking to protect freed paedophiles from media intrusion. A chink of light has been shed on the world of police media surveillance which I am sure remains a widespread issue.
And we share a fine obituary to a journalist who owned a rare collection of talents. Olga Craig was a brave war reporter who was also a great writer who never lost the human touch. She could charm stories out of difficult celebs and roll her sleeves up in the newsroom to punch up lacklustre copy. A newsroom star who could also be a mentor.
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New from Press Gazette
Reuters and CNN launch paywalls on same day
CNN, currently the biggest news website in the US by visits and the third most popular in the world, said it will charge its most-regular users in the US $3.99 (£3) per month to access the full site.
Police tracked journalist number plates to warn sex offenders they were approaching
It’s not known exactly which force carried out the checks, because the trust operates bail hostels across the country.
Olga Craig: Fearless war reporter and charmer of tricky interviewees
“Olga’s interviewing and reporting were legendary and the products of her fierce intelligence, lack of prejudice, immense curiosity, an innate sense of fairness and compulsion to tell the story as it was.”
News in brief
Fieldsports Press is rebranding to Time Well Spent following an acquisition spree that saw it buy up titles including The Countryman's Weekly, What Gun? and Trout & Salmon. The company said it needed a new brand that reflected its “ambitions which extend beyond its roots".
Private Eye editor Ian Hislop was reportedly inside a taxi in Soho when its back window was hit by a suspected gunshot yesterday. Hislop and the driver are both okay and police are keeping an open mind on motive. (The Guardian)
The Telegraph will livestream the funeral for its journalist David Knowles who died last month aged 32. It is being held at 11.15am on Thursday. (Youtube)
Labour's minister for artificial intelligence wants to see copyright disputes between British AI companies and the creative industries resolved by the end of the year and says this could be via an amendment to an existing law or new legislation. (The Times)
Gentoo Media Inc (formerly Gaming Innovation Group Inc) has formally restructured into two independently listed companies: the media division, led by affiliate revenue, and GiG Software PLC incorporating its proprietary platform and sportsbook technology. (Gentoo)
RSF has condemned journalists being stopped from attending UK political party conferences as a "wide range" should be able to hold them to account. A Declassified journalist was reportedly barred by Labour with others blocked by Reform and the Tories. (RSF)
BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness says the ban on independent access for journalists to Gaza by Israel, and now some areas in Lebanon by Hezbollah, "creates an environment where disinformation can thrive". (BBC)
Attacks on journalists in the US increased by more than 50% in the first nine months of the year compared to 2023. Most of these were reported at Israel-Gaza protests. (Axios)
Julian Assange has spoken about his plea deal for the first time: "I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism... The criminalisation of newsgathering activities is a threat to investigative journalism everywhere". (The Guardian)
Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz is leaving to start a Substack outlet called User Mag. She told potential subscribers: "Your funding allows me to publish the type of reporting on the internet that has become increasingly difficult to do in corporate media." (User Mag)
Previously on Press Gazette
Tortoise heads for showdown with NUJ over bid to buy Observer
Top 50 news websites in the world: Traffic pulls back after big July for US politics
Standard managing editor Jack Lefley to replace Pete Clifton as PA editor-in-chief
News media job cuts 2024 tracked: US national network Scripps News shuts with loss of 200 jobs
Future closes titles and events deemed ‘low to no growth assets’
Gaming media group Gamurs cuts 30 staff, blaming Google ‘helpful content’ update
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