Secret police: Why true stories on matters of clear public interest are going untold
We also look at website performance for the UK's top 50 news sites
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Friday 6 October, brought to you today in association with Norkon, the company behind the Fantasy Funds stock market game for news publishers. Their latest case study on how a Finland business newspaper giant successfully attracted 24k users in just five weeks is now available.
My hunch is that where allegations are widely reported the horse has already bolted and the privacy risk of saying that police are actually investigating reduces. But publishers are cautious about getting involved in expensive litigation so true stories on matters of clear public interest are going untold.
We also have exclusive data revealing the technical performance of the UK’s top-50 news websites. The story reveals how some of the most popular sites are being slowed down by advertising and pop-ups.
And we report on yet another case of a photographer getting into hot water with the police whilst reporting on an incident. Dimitris Legakis had thousands of pounds worth of equipment seized and is facing a charge for assault but says he was merely trying to do his job.
Promoted report
Finland’s leading business newspaper attracts 24k players with Norkon's Fantasy Funds
Attracting a younger audience as well as female readers was high on the agenda for the Finnish business newspaper giant, Kauppalehti.
"It is very unlikely that a young person will subscribe on his first visit. If we want to win over young subscribers, we know we have to start with building returning reader habits and creating an inner motivation to subscribe," explains Laura Keskinen, Product Manager at Alma Talent Media.
Here is how Kauppalehti attracted 24k players in just 5 weeks by leveraging gamification.
New from Press Gazette
Why UK news publishers are wary of reporting police investigations before charge
In the past five years cases against Bloomberg, Mail Online and the BBC have set a precedent against naming.
New analysis suggests ads are hitting site performance on leading UK news sites
Top 50 UK news websites ranked by site performance.
To protect future newsrooms from AI fakery we must first protect the past (Promoted)
“We only have two years to secure all historical content. After that, any unsecured archive will remain forever unverifiable with no reason to believe its account of history over that of any of the thousands of AI- generated accounts.”
News in brief
Guardian News and Media managing editor Jan Thompson will retire from the company early next year, editor Katharine Viner has told staff. Viner added in a memo that GNM "will be sharing information soon about how we will run editorial management in future”. (Press Gazette)
Hearst UK title Elle has launched a new subscription offering called Elle Collective. £125 includes access to premium content, a new app, print magazine subscription, offers and events. (Hearst UK)
The BBC has reached a settlement with the mother of a murdered schoolgirl some 32 years after disgraced reporter Martin Bashir took the child's clothes for DNA testing and never returned them. Nine-year-old Karen Hadaway was murdered with a friend in 1986. (Daily Mail)
The Daily Mail says it now has some 6.5m followers on Tiktok making it the biggest news publisher on the app. Its accounts include DM Royals, CrimeTok and the main DM account. (Daily Mail)
Former BBC director-general and new CNN chief Mark Thompson has told Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch podcast that difficulties for local papers mean "local radio is really important... I'm a voice very much still in favour of a strong, full service, broad BBC". (Beebwatch Podcast)
The Wall Street Journal has laid off seven editors in its Hong Kong Bureau, Insider reports. The cuts come shortly after WSJ editor Emma Tucker told staff the paper has completed a content review and will begin to focus on improving audience engagement. (Insider)
Freelance journalist Louise Tickle has won an appeal against a judge excluding her from reporting family court proceedings regarding the welfare of a child. Limited reporting (where family remains anonymous) has been allowed. (Judgment)
Marina Ovsyannikova, the journalist who protested the invasion of Ukraine live on Russian television, has been sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in jail for "spreading knowingly false information" about the country's military. (BBC)
Podcast 57: What is the Murdoch Factor?
Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford discusses The Murdoch Factor with Peter Jukes (author of Fall of the House of Murdoch and co-founder of Byline Times).
What is the key quality which has enabled Murdoch’s success and what does the future of media look like without him?
Best of the rest on Press Gazette this week
Why is 20-year-old Linkedin now ‘cool? We’ve not changed, says editor-in-chief
New York Times opinion editor: ‘I don’t have pressure around metrics in any way’
Whatsapp for publishers: How Reach is driving millions of page views via messaging app
Boss of new global health newsroom: ‘There is no for-profit model for what we’re doing’
Guardian and Mirror take down Dan Wootton story after legal warning
Major news publishers block the bots as ChatGPT starts taking live news
