Scottish sports desks cut | Top 50 UK news sites | BBC releases redacted Bashir emails
Why it is right that media will name Brianna Ghey's killers on Friday
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Wednesday 31 January, brought to you today in association with Bauer Academy. Future-proof your career and discover the latest trends in journalism with our day courses delivered by Head of Journalism Andrew Greaves and supported by Press Gazette.
The BBC is once again playing on both sides of the fence when it comes to the public's right to know.
While its journalists fight the good fight, management has spent £150,000 trying to keep secret emails which shed light on the Martin Bashir scandal.
After a three-year legal battle journalist Andy Webb finally secured the release of 3,000 emails yesterday, but even now they are heavily redacted. Like the Post Office, the BBC is a public organisation which moves achingly slowly when it comes to correcting past wrongs.
The Bashir cover-up has been going on since journalists first raised concerns about Bashir's methods in 1996 and still continues.
Author of Reporting the Courts Richard Jones explains why it is right that the teenage killers of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey should lose their right to anonymity in the media on Friday.
Our latest top-50 UK news websites ranking shows nearly all sites down year on year in December. But month-on-month growth has seen The Sun widen its lead over Mail Online as the commercial title with the biggest monthly UK audience (24.7 million).
However, when it comes to engagement Mail Online is still way out in front with 1.6 billion audience minutes versus 360 million minutes spent with The Sun.
Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns said: "The concern here is not foreign ownership, it is foreign state ownership, and in this situation you cannot separate sheikh and state.”
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New from Press Gazette
Sport journalists cut at Record, Scotsman and Scottish Daily Mail
A total of around eleven writers and sub-editors look likely to be leaving the sport teams at the Daily Record, Scottish Daily Mail and The Scotsman as a result of redundancies.
Top 50 UK news websites: Sun extends lead over Mail Online in December
The Sun reached an audience of 24.7 million in December, 1.5 million more than the 23.2 million people reached by Mail Online, according to data from Ipsos iris. In November the gap between the newsbrands was 100,000 people.
Why it is right that media will identify Brianna Ghey’s teenage killers
Journalists successfully asked a judge to overturn an anonymity order on open justice grounds.
MPs question media ownership rules amid Telegraph sale probe
Culture minister Julia Lopez faced calls to avoid “selling England by the pound” as she took questions in the Commons about the proposed takeover on Tuesday.
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News in brief
After a three-year legal battle by journalist Andy Webb the BBC has released more than 3,000 (heavily redacted) emails relating to the Martin Bashir scandal. The BBC spent £150,000 trying to block the release but was defeated at the Information Rights Tribunal. (BBC)
Reach is ending all its awards events apart from Pride of Britain and Pride of Scotland due to a "significant increase in costs to host events, as well as budgets being challenged". It held local business awards events across the UK. (Hold the Front Page)
The Newsguild of New York has taken legal action on behalf of the Sports Illustrated Union against The Arena Group, accusing it of "using an engineered dispute over the SI license as a cover to union-bust and unlawfully target our members" for layoffs. (Newsguild of New York)
Tech Crunch has laid off around eight staff members and plans to wind down its paid subscription product as it "refocuses" on investors, founders and startups in Silicon Valley. (Adweek)
The Wall Street Journal is planning to restructure its Washington bureau, with a small number of layoffs expected as a result and some Washington-based economics coverage to move to New York. (Axios)
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has issued a pre-emptive action order into the sale of Telegraph Media Group to stop prospective buyer Redbird IMI changing the organisational or management structure as Ofcom and CMA investigations continue. (The Guardian)
The New York Times has created "enhanced" byline pages that give much more information about staff. The company said: "Research has shown that the more readers know about our reporters, the more likely they are to understand the rigours of our journalistic process and trust the results." (New York Times Co.)
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has reported advertising revenue of $65.5bn in the last quarter of 2023, representing slightly lower than expected year-on-year growth of 11%. Ad revenue for Youtube specifically grew nearly 20% y-o-y, to $9.2bn. (Financial Times)
Previously on Press Gazette
Global news industry trends for 2024: Publishers optimistic on new revenue streams
Youtube drives increase in paying readers as Novara Media nears 15,000 donors
Harry hacking lawyer labels case against Mirror publisher ‘overwhelmingly successful’
Mail Online publisher Danny Groom explains partial paywall revenue strategy
Business Insider faces internal backlash over lockout for axed staff
Telegraph Media Group CEO Nick Hugh is out as takeover uncertainty continues
