Times axes Henry Winter | Mail Sport faces restructure | Open Democracy cuts
And editors seek stronger anti-SLAPP law
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Friday 12 April.
The past few days have had a few tough pieces of news for the UK journalism industry.
First up for national newspaper sports journalists, with Times chief football writer Henry Winter made redundant and the Mail sports desk told to expect a significant restructure in its ongoing shift in priorities to digital.
Then we heard that Open Democracy is cutting about ten jobs as a result of financial difficulties including some high-profile roles like head of news and political correspondent.
Finally, GB News staff have been told of upcoming redundancies too.
Depressingly I’ve seen people from both ends of the political spectrum celebrating some of these job losses and it’s totally unnecessary. As Press Gazette readers will know, but maybe too much of the wider public don’t appreciate, a thriving media ecosystem is key to so much in our civic life.
I’ve rounded up all the job cuts of 2024 so far that we know about in the UK, Ireland, US and Canada on one page, which we’re keeping updated. It shows that news organisations of all types are being affected – from small to big, from commercial to non-profit – although the impact has been smaller each month of the year so far, thankfully.
Also today we have the latest plea from editors to ensure legislation can crack down on lawsuits being brought to intimidate journalists out of reporting public interest stories. They say the anti-SLAPP bill currently passing through Parliament comes close, but has some fatal flaws.
And some good news for people in the North West of England – they will benefit from the next three newsletter launches from The Lead. Their ambition of building a “Northern newsroom” is admirable and can hopefully add further depth to the region’s journalism.
Our news in brief section is a bumper one today - make sure you read down for everything from The Athletic editor-in-chief's next job to a new Axios membership programme and fresh figures from The News Agents USA and The Free Press.
New from Press Gazette
Times chief football writer Henry Winter collecting his Writer of the Year prize at the Football Supporters' Association Awards in December 2023 from the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire. Picture: FSA/Matt Walder
Henry Winter made redundant from The Times as Mail sports journalists await restructure
Winter is the current Football Journalist of the Year at the British Sports Journalism Awards, where the judges said last month he “has a unique connection to his readership and football fans” and is a “voice of genuine authority and respected by those in the game”.
Open Democracy cuts fifth of staff, including head of news and political correspondent
Chief executive Satbir Singh and editor-in-chief Aman Sethi said in a statement that the publication had been hit by “wider industry trends that include rising inflation and an uncertain funding environment”. Those trends were exacerbated by the cessation of some previous funding.
Editors unite in bid to stop anti-SLAPP bill being ‘ultimately redundant’
More than 60 editors, writers, publishers, lawyers and academics have urged Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and his colleagues to stop a forthcoming anti-SLAPP bill from becoming “ineffective, inaccessible, and ultimately redundant”.
Second wave of local newsletter launches from The Lead in North of England
“In Hyndburn, Warrington and Altrincham and Sale we have proud places, people and towns which have lots of stories waiting to be told.”
News in brief
Our 2024 journalism job losses tracker has been updated to add cuts at Open Democracy, the Mail, The Times, GB News and the Wall Street Journal. (Press Gazette)
This obituary for former Yorkshire Evening Post chief sub and chief assistant editor Leslie Parkin gives a glimpse into a bygone world of news: “It took a particular personality to thrive in newspaper conditions then. It was not for faint-hearts.” (Press Gazette)
GB News staff have been told of planned redundancies this week, as Sir Paul Marshall also reportedly considers giving up his board seat ahead of the expected restart of the Telegraph bidding war. (Sky News)
The US is "considering" a request from Australia to drop its prosecution of Julian Assange, President Joe Biden has said. (Sky News)
Meta's former head of media partnerships Campbell Brown has joined an AI start-up, Tollbit, which is building a marketplace that connects AI bots to publishers' content for a fee. Brown said she believes "this is the right solution". (Axios)
The BBC has split its India operation to meet foreign investment rules. The BBC will retain a 90-strong newsroom producing in English for editors in London, while independent company The Collective Newsroom will produce content for its Indian services. (BBC News)
Profits at Tiktok owner Bytedance grew by about 60% in 2023 to more than $40bn (£31.5bn) while revenue was up 50% to almost $120bn (£94.5bn). (Bloomberg)
In New Zealand, Warner Bros Discovery is closing Newshub including its website, morning TV show and 6pm bulletin, affecting 300 jobs, while state-owned TVNZ is cutting current affairs programmes and news bulletins, affecting 68 jobs. (The Guardian)
Substack-native publication The Free Press says it now has a total of more than 630,000 subscribers and tops the platform's US politics leaderboards for both paid and free subscribers. It currently employs 25 staff full-time. (The Free Press)
A representative of Reporters Without Borders who arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday to monitor the trial of jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was reportedly detained for six hours at the airport before being deported. RSF said "we have never experienced such blatant efforts by authorities to evade scrutiny of court proceedings in any country". (Reporters Without Borders)
NPR's chief news executive has defended the newsbrand's journalism after one of its senior editors wrote an essay criticising it for having an "absence of viewpoint diversity" and reporting major stories with groupthink. (NPR)
The Athletic's editor-in-chief Alex Kay-Jelski, former sports editor at The Times and Daily Mail, is leaving to become director of BBC Sport. (BBC)
Index on Censorship has appointed Jemimah Steinfeld as its new chief executive, succeeding Ruth Anderson who is leaving to focus on her role as a Labour shadow minister in the Lords. Steinfeld is the current editor-in-chief of Index on Censorship magazine. (Index on Censorship)
City AM Magazine was back in print on Thursday for the first time since before the Covid-19 lockdowns. It is part of a turnaround that has seen City AM go from administration in July, to takeover by THG, to breaking even with many areas of growth. (City AM editor Andy Silvester)
The Telegraph's media literacy programme had 650+ sixth form students take part for its fourth year this March. All the students that completed the programme, with sessions from many Telegraph journalists, get added to a talent pool where entry-level opportunities are shared. (Telegraph Media Group)
Global has told Deadline that The News Agents USA has grown ratings by 62% in the last three months to more than 500,000 monthly downloads. (Deadline)
Axios has introduced a $1,000 a year membership programme offering greater access to some of its top journalists. Those paying the sum will receive exclusive reporting, events, networking and in at least one case quarterly calls with top journalists on certain beats, for example Eleanor Hawkins (communications), Sara Fischer (media) and Dan Primack (business). (The New York Times)
Previously on Press Gazette
UK news media rich list 2024: 60 highest-earning execs revealed
Google’s fight in France and what it means for UK publishers
Sun halves losses, Times titles grow revenue, TalkTV losses rise to £88m
BBC faces Pandora Papers libel trial versus Tory donor Amersi after defamation ruling
Latest podcast
Podcast 68: How to make news pay on Youtube with TLDR News
Founder of video news network TLDR News Jack Kelly explains how he funds an 11-strong editorial team providing serious news for younger viewers on Youtube.
The profitable publisher is funded mainly through the Youtube ad revenue split and direct-sold sponsorship – but also made a successful foray last year into print publishing.
Press Gazette live
Entries are now OPEN for the Future of Media Awards 2024 (which celebrate the best journalism-based digital products). Check out the full list of categories here. Note: These awards are free to enter.