Subs boost for Manchester Mill after legal threat | Data bill scrapped
Plus how newsroom bosses can look after staff mental health during election, Jeremy Vine libel suit will go to trial, and German mag pays out over AI Schumacher 'interview'
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday, 28 May, brought to you today in partnership with the Publisher Podcast & Newsletter Summit, the only event solely dedicated to levelling up podcasts and newsletters from publishers. Tickets and agenda for June 12th available now.
[The Press Gazette Future of Media Awards celebrate the best websites, podcasts, newsletters and commercial innovation in news media. They are FREE to enter and the deadline for submissions is 14 June. Start your entry now.]
Google sailed into another AI shitstorm this weekend as its new AI summaries feature came under scrutiny.
Facing serious competition for the first time in years, Google is scrambling to catch up with AI-powered search rivals. AI summaries, it turns out, are not very good and can give readers misleading (and even dangerous) answers.
On a recent trip to the US I was shocked to find out Google is even taking Press Gazette's content to write its own take on subjects as niche as subscriber conversion rates for online publishers, removing the need for a click-through to our site. Last week David Buttle wrote for us about the threat to publishers posed by Google's new AI-written search results service.
Staying on the subject of AI we report on a €200,000 payout by a German magazine over an AI-generated “interview” with racing driver Michael Schumacher who has not been seen in public since suffering a brain injury whilst skiing in 2013.
We also spoke to Mill Media's Joshi Herrmann about his legal tangle with a Manchester businessman and how publicity around the story helped him add subscriptions worth more than £20,000 per year.
More good news from Parliament, where the Data Bill has been scrapped. We explain why it looked like bad news for publishers here. The Digital Markets Bill (which paves the way for regulation of big tech) and the Media Bill (which safeguards the future of public service broadcasting) were both passed last week in the pre-election 'wash-up' period.
The High Court has cleared the way for a libel trial pitting broadcaster Jeremy Vine against former footballer Joey Barton after the latter called the Radio 2 presenter a “bike nonce” on X.
We have a useful piece from Hannah Storm about how newsroom leaders can look after the mental health of their staff as we look ahead to five more weeks of electioneering.
And your news diary for the week ahead includes the dissolution of Parliament on Thursday and ANOTHER wedding for News Corp proprietor Rupert Murdoch.
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New from Press Gazette
Manchester Mill adds 272 subscribers in week after Sacha Lord investigation
Lord’s lawyers initially sent a pre-action letter to The Mill demanding that the story be taken down and replaced with an apology, and that his legal costs be paid.
Data Bill threatening to centralise cookie consent dropped ahead of election
The bill as it stood would have given the Secretary of State the power to create centralised cookie controls, meaning users would accept cookies once in their browser and not have to accept or reject them on each individual website they visit.
Joey Barton calling Jeremy Vine ‘bike nonce’ had defamatory meaning, judge rules
The radio and TV presenter is suing the former footballer for libel and harassment over 14 online posts, including where he called Vine a “big bike nonce” and a “pedo defender” on X, formerly Twitter.
Comment: How managers can play their part supporting journalists’ mental health
“Being a manager can be a lonely business, and it’s important that leaders can access ways to manage their mental health and connect with people they trust, otherwise, they run the risk of becoming the bruised or injured piece of fruit in the bowl, growing the mould that negatively affects those around them.”
German magazine in £170k payout over AI-generated Schumacher interview
The racing legend’s family secured compensation from Funke Mediengruppe, publishers of Die Aktuelle, after it published the so-called “first interview” with the racing legend since his skiing accident in 2013.
News diary 27 May – 2 June: Trump trial closes, elections in South Africa and Mexico, Murdoch wedding
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
General election 2024: The Daily Mirror has become the second UK national newspaper to endorse a party in the 2024 general election, declaring itself for Labour. The Mirror follows The Telegraph, who endorsed the Conservatives within three hours of Sunak’s election announcement. (Press Gazette)
Meanwhile 120 business leaders have signed a letter to The Times endorsing Labour. They say a lack of consistent economic strategy has held UK back under Tories. The Times itself has yet to reveal its election endorsement. (The Times)
Both The Sun's “Never Mind the Ballots” Youtube show and Sky News and Politico's “Politics at Jack and Sam’s” podcast are going from weekly to daily publishing schedules for the duration of the election campaign. (The Sun, Politico)
The NCTJ has rescheduled its senior journalist National Qualification in Journalism exams that had been set to take place in the week of the newly-announced election because it is "an especially crucial experience for trainee journalists". (NCTJ)
Google is scrambling to launch manual fixes on inaccurate AI-written search summaries that have rolled out in the US and variously described Barack Obama as America's first Muslim president and suggested eatings rocks has nutritional benefits. Publishers are alarmed that Google AI overviews steal their copyright content without payment and also compete directly now for advertising. (Search Engine Journal)
The Russian government has denied Donald Trump's claim he can free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "almost immediately" if he wins the US presidency this year. The Kremlin said Putin has “naturally not had contacts with Donald Trump” and there would only be a discreet prisoner swap. (Daily Telegraph)
The latest Orwell Prize for Journalism finalists have been announced. The judges said that "in a year with two major conflicts with global implications, we have been especially struck by the resilience of quality foreign reporting and the enduring value of bearing witness”. (Orwell Foundation)
Rappler CEO and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa has told an audience at the Hay literary festival that Rodrigo Duterte, the former strongman leader of her native Philippines, "is a far smaller dictator compared to Mark Zuckerberg" and Elon Musk. (The Guardian)
Freelance journalist Sheron Boyle has spoken to the Success Means Business podcast about reporting on crimes dating back to the Yorkshire Ripper: “All these years on, I remain humbled and respectful when someone is willing to share their story.” (Success Means Business)
SIC is holding a free webinar on 4 July explaining how disabled and neurodivergent people can get into publishing, featuring Lydia Watkins and Amy Arthur. You can sign up here.
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