Six ways to protect your content from AI | Making quality news pay the Bel Tel way
And has litigious stock pictures library Alamy met its match in the form of agency journalist Barry Keevins?
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday 17 January.
Is your website protected from the bots?
In his latest column on AI and the news industry, Paul Hood sets out the basics of how to guard your site from AI companies taking your content without permission and passing it off as their own work.
He also explains how publishers can then look to make new revenue by licensing their content to AI companies. I’ve forwarded this article on to our CEO and IT/licensing department already!
One company which could give masterclasses in enforcing copyright is stock picture library Alamy. But it may have met its match in the form of Brighton news agency reporter Barry Keevins who told me he has no intention of a paying a "ludicrous" demand for £460 over a story link posted to his Tumblr page.
And we have an inspiring interview with our British Journalism Awards local prize winner Sam McBride of the Belfast Telegraph. He offers an alternative vision for the future of local news to "scary weather stories" and “hyperbole about something that was on TV".
Promoted job: Headline Search, which finds “cracking comms jobs for journalists (and only journalists)” is looking for an experienced tech/business journalist for a fast-growing London-based PR company. Excellent package and great company culture promised. Email: Cathal@headlinesearch.co.uk (and please mention Press Gazette).
On Press Gazette
Sam McBride on making journalism worth paying for at the Belfast Telegraph
“I’m not saying that there is no place for weather stories in newspapers, of course there is, of course there’s room for stories about what’s on TV or whatever. But when that is dominating your stats online, when that’s the stuff that journalists are being incentivised to churn out more and more of, is it any surprise that people don’t really think that this is an industry worth saving sometimes?”
Alamy sends journalist £460 bill for posting link to their own story
Agency reporter Barry Keevins says letter is ludicrous attempt to make money.
Six things publishers should do now to protect themselves from AI scrapers
AI presents revenue opportunities for publishers - but first they must secure their content from scrapers.
News in brief
Two AI-publisher partnership firsts this week: Google signed the first deal for its Gemini chatbot, with AP, and French AI company Mistral did a deal with AFP. A day earlier, an OpenAI deal meant Axios will open four new local newsrooms in the US. (Press Gazette)
Times Radio political editor Kate McCann has been named the new co-presenter of the station's breakfast show alongside Stig Abell after Aasmah Mir stepped down. It's one of several new appointments by the station. (Press Gazette)
Tech Crunch has made “fewer than 10” staff cuts, citing “evolving needs”, while at least ten more people, "mostly director-level employees", have been laid off at Vox Media. (Press Gazette)
Apple has temporarily suspended its AI notifications that summarise news headlines after being criticised for making multiple errors about stories by BBC News, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Sky News, The Telegraph and more. (BBC News)
The Washington Post has reportedly debuted a new internal mission statement to accompany its public "Democracy Dies in Darkness" slogan: "Riveting Storytelling for All of America". It is also said to be aiming to one day reach 200 million paying users. (The New York Times)
A day earlier, more than 400 Washington Post journalists signed a letter to owner Jeff Bezos to share that they are "deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution", asking him to come to the office for a meeting. (NYT)
The Londoner, newsletter publisher Mill Media's title for the capital, has begun selling paid subscriptions. Subs will normally be charged at £8.95 a month or £89 a year. Press Gazette wrote about the brand's launch in October.
Also on Press Gazette:
Youtube tips for publishers: Consistency, niche, SEO and community building
How The Sun became biggest UK newspaper on Youtube with 6 million subscribers
Biggest news publishers on Youtube: 100+ publishers have more than 1m subscribers
Newsflation 1: National press print cover prices up by 12% in past year
CMA to investigate Google search dominance and impact on news publishers
London Live closes after ten years as broadcasting licence to change hands
Mirror journalists given individual online page-view targets
Latest podcast
Podcast 81: AI tipping point in 2025: What publishers need to know
Former digital development director of The Sun Paul Hood has just quit his job to study generative AI full time.
He explained why AI in the media is set to reach a tipping point in 2025 and start to fundamentally change the business. He also reveals some of the practical steps publishers should take to ensure they can capitalise on the opportunities AI presents and avoid some major pitfalls.