Times journalists urged to make ‘basic’ checks after two ‘humiliating’ hoaxes
And Redbird Capital chief issues plea to get £500m Telegraph purchase over the line
Good morning from the team at Press Gazette on Monday, 3 November. Here’s our daily round-up of media news.
🚅The Cambridgeshire train attack provided another reminder of the hugely important role the professional media plays in curbing the spread of misinformation.
As the attack unfolded, various prominent figures jumped to conclusions around the incident being terror-related and to push an anti-immigration agenda.
Former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, appearing on News UK’s Talk (radio and Youtube TV station), said “the British state has been complicit in a crime like this” because governments “haven’t done enough to deport illegal immigrants”.
Former GB News presenter Dan Wootton, who now self-publishes on Substack, said on X: “GB News now talking about knives rather than the elephant in the room: MASS MIGRATION FOR DECADES HAS PUT US ALL AT RISK. The MSM are following the narrative of the police as per.”
And after police ruled out terrorism as a motive for the attack, Daily Mail columnist Andrew Neil wrote on X: “The legal definition of terrorism in the UK is, roughly, the use of violence in pursuit of a political, ideological, religious or ethnic cause. The police have ruled that out in the case of the appalling, terrifying knife attacks on a train, at least so far.
“OK. But then [what] would motivate two men in their mid-30s to run through a train stabbing anyone they can across?”
Police initially detained two people.
This morning police said that British-born Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough, had been charged with ten counts of attempted murder.
It now looks clear that speculation about terrorism and the attacker’s immigration status were wide off the mark and irresponsible.
🗞️The battle for control of The Telegraph appears to be entering its final phase with Telegraph staff themselves fighting a rear-guard action against the Redbird Capital Partners-led consortium.
Funding for the £500m purchase appears to be in place (with Abu Dhabi government-backed fund IMI set to take a 15% stake). Redbird managing partner Gerry Cardinale has issued new assurances over the continuing editorial independence of The Telegraph as the US investment fund tries to get the UK government to stop blocking the deal.
But The Telegraph’s editors appear unconvinced and have published repeated articles warning about Redbird’s links to China and expressing alarm over continuing involvement in the deal from the UAE.
📨And a memo from Times associate editor Ian Brunskill to editorial staff marks a welcome intervention from a senior journalist to halt the growing invasion of fake and AI-generated content in UK-based news publications.
Press Gazette revealed how The Times was duped into profiling a former royal cleaner who appears to have been the invention of a dubious PR outfit. More recently The Times interviewed a New York wine importer called Bill DeBlasio and mistakenly attributed his comments to former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Both mistakes were caused by reporters relying on email-based quotes.
Brunksill’s advice is something we should all take to heart: “We – reporters and editors – should be asking: Who is telling me this and why? How do I know they’re who they say they are? How plausible is what I’m being told? What can I do to check?
“Those questions are absolutely basic. Asking them should be second nature to anyone working for a paper with a long history of trusted reporting. There are no excuses.”
🗞️News In Brief
Good Morning Britain chief correspondent Richard Gaisford has announced he is stepping down after more than 25 years. (Press Gazette)A national design competition has been launched with the goal of creating the UK’s first permanent memorial dedicated to British and UK-based journalists who have lost their lives while reporting from conflict zones. (Press Gazette)A Mail on Sunday front page headline saying punk rap duo Bob Vylan had “led ‘death to Israelis’ chants” at Glastonbury was not misleading or inaccurate, press regulator IPSO has ruled. (Press Gazette)Daily Express has been rapped by IPSO over inaccurate headlines for the ninth time this year, with articles mostly related to Labour’s financial policies. (Press Gazette)Iconic (formerly National World) has poached Newsquest transformation director Morgan Stevenson to be chief growth officer. (Press Gazette)Remembrance Sunday, Aston Villa playing Maccabi Tel Aviv, and an inquest hearing over Liam Payne's death all lead the news agenda for the week ahead. (Press Gazette) Fox News has just had its biggest quarter for advertising revenue in its history, with 350 new national advertisers joining this year. Ad revenue was up 7% to $345m. (Forbes)William and Kate have won a case against the French magazine Paris Match over a “grossly intrusive” article and the use of long-lens paparazzi shots from a family holiday. (ITV)Radio Free Asia is suspending its editorial operations for the first time in its 29 years of existence because the US government shutdown means it has not received funding for the new financial year. (RFA)Gannett and the Daily Mail have won a partial summary judgment victory in their digital advertising lawsuit against Google, as the issue of an ad monopoly was already decided by another court. (USA Today)Newsletter start-up Puck has acquired email magazine brand Air Mail in a stock deal valuing it at $16m. Air Mail founder Graydon Carter is leaving the business, as is co-editor Alessandra Stanley. (The New York Times) James Waterhouse has spoken about suffering post-traumatic stress as he steps down as BBC News Ukraine correspondent. (The Times)The director of publishing trade body Newsbrands Scotland has condemned plans requiring journalists to travel to London to access the Covid Inquiry’s next report, describing the move as “disrespectful” to Scottish media. (The Herald)📈Top five on Press Gazette this week:
1) Senior editorial staff and editors hit hard by Reach cutbacks
Final Reach headcount reduction expected to be less than planned total of 186.
2) Inside the Daily Star’s year of change: ‘We’ve got big ideas and serious talent’
Interview with Ben Rankin, who has been leading change at the Daily Star since March.
3) How to spot fake AI-written press releases
Reporters are being bombarded with millions of press releases from virtual PR agencies.
4) How to manage newsroom change without the misery
Newsroom leaders have a duty to maintain the joy - even during periods of transformation.
5) Study claims 9% of US newspaper articles at least partly AI generated
5.24% of articles in large study classed as AI-generated and 3.98% as mixed (human and AI use).
📻Latest podcast
Optimising programmatic advertising: What publishers need to know
Advertising has funded journalism and kept the lights on for democracy since the steam age.
But in recent years many publishers have pulled away from relying so heavily on automated programmatic advertising as way of funding free online news.
In this episode (sponsored by Assertive Yield) the company’s chief operating office Sherzod Rizaev explains some of the challenges publisher face extracting value from an advertising ecosystem filled with intermediaries all taking a cut.
He says publishers don’t have to passively accept declining revenue but can increase their market share by taking back control of the technology which underpins online advertising.
He said: “I’m generally optimistic about where we are heading as a publishing industry. We are moving from guesswork and patchwork to a world where publishers can operate with more certainty and precision and confidence of know exactly what they are publishing, how much money they are earning.”