'Sack the CEO' advice for publishers | £19m Harry vs Mail planned costs 'excessive'
Plus judges in Sara Sharif case to be named after appeal, Middlesbrough's last freelance court reporter retires and we have your news diary for the week ahead
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Monday 27 January.
An update on Prince Harry's privacy claim against the Daily Mail publisher provides a clue as to one likely reason for him settling with The Sun last week.
A preliminary judgment reveals that Harry and his high-profile co-defendants were proposing to spend nearly £19m on legal fees (fees for both sides have now been capped at £8.6m).
No wonder he was keen to accept The Sun's offer of an apology and around £10m (reportedly) to cover damages and costs.
Harry versus the tabloids round three is scheduled to start in January 2026 and, like The Sun case, centres around use of private investigators.
Today we publish our latest column from US-based media consultant Matthew Scott Goldstein, who offers a punchy to-do list for publishers in 2025 (which includes returning to the office full-time and a firing the CEO if they are not showing sufficient courage).
Three judges who dealt with family court hearings involving a child who would later be murdered can be be named this week after a Court of Appeal challenge by journalists. The Court of Appeal has ruled that Mr Justice Williams "got carried away" and was wrong to cast aspersions over reporters covering the case.
And finally, we report on the retirement this week of a journalist who has helped ensure justice is seen to be done for 57 years in Middlesbrough.
Public fascination with crime meant that Teesside Crown Court was once a goldmine for Peter Holbert. Today, publishers are no longer able to pay for his in-depth reports of proceedings and instead sometimes have to rely on press releases issued by police (only for convictions) which Holbert regards as a form of "censorship".
On Press Gazette
Fire the boss and fight for your rights: How publishers can succeed in 2025
“Some of these are conceptually simple ideas, some can be implemented by individual publishers, and others require collaboration across multiple publishers or the entire industry. The most important aspects revolve around generative AI.”
Middlesbrough’s last freelance court reporter retires after 69 years in journalism
Holbert recalls once selling three of 1,800 word features in a week to the News of the World at £1 per word (a rate many national press freelances would be happy to achieve today).
Sara Sharif murder case judges to be named after ‘unfair’ treatment of journalists
Sir Geoffrey Vos in the Court of Appeal wrote that Mr Justice Williams “undoubtedly behaved unfairly towards the journalists and Channel 4 – and that is enough to allow the appeals”.
Planned costs of Harry and Mail publisher legal battle ‘excessive’, judges rule
Judge Cook said he and Mr Justice Nicklin “had little difficulty concluding that such sums were manifestly excessive and therefore disproportionate”.
News diary 27 January – 2 February: Trump nominee confirmation hearings, 80 years since Auschwitz liberation
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
NBC News has laid off about 40 employees across several departments, or 2-3% of the company. About 12 new positions will be created, as well as 50 other open positions already being hired for, and laid-off staff are being encouraged to apply. (Press Gazette)
Newsweek generated $90m in revenue at a profit margin of 20% last year, according to Adweek. It has quadrupled revenue since 2018 when it had a loss margin of 10%. Digital advertising made up 63% of revenue last year. (Adweek)
Reach has removed an article about "Five common property laws you might be unknowingly breaking" from everywhere it had been published across its network after an IPSO complaint about the version on Hull Live said one of the supposed laws did not exist and the others were wrongly applied. (IPSO)
The Times has called the sales process for its rival The Telegraph a "farce" and urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene as "it has been a mistake to entrust the Emiratis and their proxies to handle the sale". (The Times)
The Metropolitan Police has requested transcripts of pre-trial hearings in Prince Harry's claim against News Group Newspapers. Co-claimant Tom Watson had said they planned to submit a dossier of evidence to the Met for a criminal investigation but there is no active probe. (The Guardian)
Some 58% of Gen Z respondents to a survey from polling company Craft "said they considered social media posts from friends to be as — and sometimes more — trusted than established journalism". (The Times)
A new documentary claims the iconic 'Napalm Girl' photo from Vietnam in 1972 was not taken by the Associated Press photographer to whom it has always been attributed. AP says it has not been able to verify this claim and the film falsely portrayed its response as dismissive. (AP)
Piers Morgan has told The i Paper that he turned down a renewal of his £50m News UK contract in order to launch his own media business, also claiming that he has been "inundated" with investment offers from "very, very serious players". (The i Paper)
Also on Press Gazette:
‘Consent or pay’ model is OK for UK news publishers, ICO confirms
Why synthetic market research is an untapped AI goldmine for news publishers
More than 50 newsletters earn $500,000+ on Substack: Exclusive new ranking
News UK admits ‘unlawful activities’ at Sun in settlement apology to Prince Harry
How Reach has moved from salesman to shopkeeper with launch of Yimbly
Associated Press finds growing consumer audience for ‘fact-based’ journalism
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Podcast 81: Super soaraway Substack, how Youtube became newstube and why Prince Harry took the cash
Bron Maher discusses Press Gazette's new ranking of the most lucrative titles on Substack, Charlotte Tobitt explains how and why publishers are currently so fixated on building their followings on Youtube and Dominic Ponsford shares his view on why Prince Harry decided to take News UK's cash rather than have his day in court with The Sun.