Sport journalists hit by Reach cuts | France's epidemic of AI news sites
And press regulator IPSO was unconvinced when Mail Online defended an inaccurate story by saying it was taken from the Daily Telegraph
Welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday, 11 July.
The UK's largest commercial news publisher Reach has announced yet more major cutbacks with around 50 sport journalists expected to lose their jobs.
The changes will see production of much sport coverage transferred to a central hub providing content for 120 titles around the country. The changes are intended to reduce duplication but will fuel concerns about titles losing their individual character.
The NUJ fears that the dead hand of AI may be at work in terms of allowing such a pared down structure to work.
Rob Waugh found out how the sites have allegedly made their creators rich by using them to game Google algorithms for advertising clicks (with content that is either stolen or entirely fictitious).
Google says it has policies in place to prevent spam. But given how long it has rewarded clickbait and churnalism with prominence on Search and Discover you will have to forgive me if I take their assurances with a pinch of salt.
The Mail published a story about illegal immigrants entirely based on a Daily Telegraph front page. When the story turned out to be inaccurate, the Mail defended its reporting by saying - effectively - it was in the Telegraph, so that was good enough for them.
For the mainly ad-funded Mail Online online clicks are food on the table for its journalists so the pressure to be quick on big stories is a real one. But I would humbly suggest that trust and credibility are more valuable in the long run and that being right is more important than being second to a story.
Enjoy your weekend when you get there.
On Press Gazette
French journalist who uncovered 4,000 fake AI news websites warns UK could be next
“It’s becoming more and more difficult to spot deep fakes and synthetic contents generated by AI, but we must fight this pollution, not only because it threatens journalism, but also our democracies, and the right to be informed.”
Reach to ‘streamline’ sports teams into one hub with ‘around 50’ redundancies
“The elephant now in the room is what role does AI have in the company’s thinking that such a pared down structure may be possible?”
Mail defended inaccurate immigrants story by saying Telegraph was source
The Mail told IPSO that “given the prominence of the original article, it was reasonable for it to assume the central premise was accurate”.
News in brief
Hunterbrook Capital, the US hedge fund which is also a news organisation, is now valued at $100m according to the FT. By having early access to market-moving stories its plan is to trade on scoops. (FT)
Hearst has launched a new paid membership scheme for 'makers' aimed at readers of Prima magazine. Priced at £80 per year the scheme offers access to a members-only website, video tutorials, discounts and a weekly newsletter.
Perplexity has launched an AI-powered web browser called Comet, while OpenAI has its own browser plans coming soon according to Reuters.
Graham Holdings-owned digital media company World of Good Brands has sold off its three remaining titles -Well+Good, Livestrong, and Only In Your State - and closed down, according to Adweek. Some staff moved to the new owners and the rest were laid off.
Hearst is buying The Dallas Morning News and its parent company's marketing agency Medium Giant, with a deal expected to close in the autumn that Dallas News Corporation CEO Grant Moise said would "ensure The Dallas Morning News thrives for decades to come". (The Dallas Morning News)
Bluesky has added the ability for users to opt-in to push notifications from accounts like news sources. The platform is promoting the new tool by featuring The Athletic. (Nieman Lab)
News UK's new TV and film IP licensing arm has announced its debut documentary: Poisoned: Killer in the Post, a two-parter in partnership with Channel 4 and Wonderhood Studios which follows an investigation by deputy investigations editor James Beal. (News UK)
Independent news retailers gathered outside News UK's London HQ, Glasgow offices and Knowsley print plant on Wednesday to protest plans to raise Times and Sun cover prices and cut the retail percentage margin. They said: "Reducing terms accelerates the decline in availability of newspapers to consumers.”
Observer editor-in-chief, Tortoise founder, former BBC News director and ex-Times editor James Harding will give the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival this year focusing on "challenges to truth and trust in the media". (Deadline)
The Guardian has appointed a senior vice-president for development and executive director of non-profit theguardian.org to lead the teams working on growing foundation and philanthropic support for Guardian journalism and global editorial projects. (The Guardian)
Journo Resources and The Journalists' Charity have teamed up to launch a new drop-in mentoring scheme for UK-based journalists. It aims to help those looking to make the next step in their careers and ease pressure on existing mentoring schemes. (Journo Resources)
Also on Press Gazette
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Podcasts, paywalls and Apple News fuel growing profitability at Immediate Media
Prorata: The generative AI player planning to share revenue with publishers
Substacker Judd Legum on doing journalism that ‘went out of fashion’
From ‘hedged gardens’ to new metrics: How publishers can grow ad revenue
Business Post: From ‘shocking’ engagement to 12,000 subscribers
Google Offerwall explained: Easy way for publishers to test pay-as-you-go and ad-gated access
How Google AI Overviews is fuelling zero-click searches for top publishers
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Latest podcast: On the front line of the reality wars with Rob Waugh
Fictional experts and non-existent case studies are conning their way into UK news media with the help dodgy PR companies. It's a lucrative business providing search engine juice to gambling sites and dubious online retailers. And it won't stop until publishers raise their game in terms of verifying the sources they quote, warns reporter Rob Waugh.