Telegraph rolls out AI tools as Efune bid falters | Blog Guido Fawkes has new boss
And is The Guardian right to leave Twitter?
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Telegraph Media Group staff are finding there are some upsides to not really having an owner - they can get on with stuff, as we found out when we spoke to the company’s director of technology Dylan Jacques.
He revealed he has a six-strong team working on creating new generative AI-powered newsroom tools and said they are rolling them out at a rate of one per month. AI is being used to write article summaries, expand newsletter production and help journalists make better use of their own archive.
You can read our interview with Jacques here and listen to it on the latest edition of our podcast here.
The ownership of the Telegraph has now been in limbo since June 2023 and may not be settled for some time.
Current bidder Dovid Efune has yet to secure financing for his £500m+ bid with two weeks to go on his period of exclusivity. This means the auction process could start again with DMGT, National World and the rest all back in the game.
He has plans to expand the site which has launched plenty of journalism careers and sunk a few political ones. Staines, who has run the blog for 20 years packing a big punch with a small team, will continue to keep his hand in with a role as founding editor.
Meanwhile, the platform that we used to call Twitter became a bit more right-wing yesterday as The Guardian headed for the exit and stopped posting updates to its 20 million followers.
The Guardian has already made opposition to Donald Trump a key part of its marketing strategy for new members and I suspect adding Elon Musk to its list of enemies will only add to its growing army of supporters.
Whether or not to stay on Twitter is a question we may all have to face. Personally, I ask myself: “What would Jesus do?”. I reckon he would make a beeline for all those sinners on X as the perfect place to make his case.
And finally, congratulations to Jim Waterson whose paid-for Substack London Centric is doing sufficiently well just two months in to justify buying drinks for a hundred or so media types at the Tattershall Castle (a floating bar on the Thames) last night. Waterson declined to be drawn on numbers, but he revealed he is already approaching his second-year target for subscribers. Not bad for a website which was just a pipe dream three months ago.
Waterson has already made waves with his first foray into local journalism which has included revealing secret plans to price London motorists off the roads by charging them for every mile driven.
Meanwhile, rival upmarket paid website The Londoner (part of Mill Media) has also made a splash in its first couple of weeks with an investigation into a failing children’s home owned by a London MP.
Hopefully, London is a big enough market for both titles to thrive, as free weekly newspaper and website the London Standard.
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On Press Gazette
Telegraph is launching an AI-driven newsroom tool every month
Telegraph director of technology Dylan Jacques says new products are boosting engagement which should lead to more subscriptions.
Fresh auction looms for Telegraph as Dovid Efune yet to secure financing
Key backer has left the deal, with two weeks remaining for Dovid Efune to secure financing.
Paul Staines steps down as Guido Fawkes editor, Ross Kempsell becomes publisher
“I am enormously proud of the newsroom team and I am focused on leading the commercial development of the brand for a new age while maintaining its focus on agenda-setting reporting.”
The Guardian departs ‘toxic media platform’ Twitter/X
“The presidential election campaign only served to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”
Press Gazette highlights
SWNS at 50: ‘Culture of excellence’ behind success of biggest independent UK news agency (promoted)
News Corp adds Google-powered AI summaries to Factiva search results
Open web group says Google Sandbox ‘governance framework’ lets it ‘mark its own homework’
Daily Mail wins European Court appeal over £822k costs payout to terror suspect
News Provider of the Year 2024: Six publishers make the shortlist
Facebook still powering commercial success for local news brand The BV magazine
Former royal editor: Sun newsroom was ‘toxic’ but Harry legal claim is ‘deluded’
How publishers can escape email boxes and embrace automation (promoted)
Latest podcast
Generative AI in the newsroom at The Telegraph
Telegraph Media Group director of technology Dylan Jacques talks to us about the title’s ambitious plans to roll out a new generative-AI powered feature every month for 12 months.
It has already rolled out AI-written summaries and various internal tools which are helping journalists use AI to improve content, increase reader engagement and so sell more subscriptions.