Tips on Reddit from Metro | 50 biggest news sites in the UK
And Press Gazette unveils its slate of media events for 2025
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Tuesday 28 January.
Anyone who spends time searching for answers online will have noticed that Reddit has become a lot more visible on Google over the last year or so.
The reason is no doubt connected to the $60m a year deal Google struck with Reddit in February 2024 to use information shared on the platform to train its AI models.
Reddit (which is a sort of forum or bulletin board) is now the fastest-growing social media platform in the UK, meaning it is one that consumer publishers in particular can't afford to ignore.
The social media team at Metro have revealed how they grew from ten million post views on Reddit in the first half of the year to 90 million in the second half by changing tactics and adopting a more tailored approach. This article really is a must-read for anyone involved in the world of audience growth and news syndication on social media.
Today we also have the latest top-50 UK online news websites ranking, which reveals Mail Online is the number one commercial newsbrand with 1.4bn audience minutes in December. The paywalled Telegraph is in second place among commercial news brands achieving 24% year on year growth, which is particularly impressive given the uncertainty which continues to surround the title's ownership.
And today Press Gazette is proud to announce its roster of events for the year ahead which include a new publisher conference on 13 March at 1 World Trade Center, New York.
Our first event of the year ahead is a networking breakfast for media leaders at the top of the Gherkin skyscraper in London on 26 February where CNBC international president Deep Bagchee is our guest speaker.
In total we are running ten awards, conferences and networking events for publishers this year. Click on this link to find out more.
On Press Gazette
Reddit tips from Metro: ‘It’s trial and error… You’re probably going to get banned’
“I think it’s very important to build trust in journalism again, and we think that Reddit is a great opportunity to interact a bit more with a community and have a bit more of a voice as a brand.”
50 biggest UK news websites: Mail Online top commercial publisher for reach and engagement
It was a strong month for the major tabloids with The Mirror jumping from fifth place to third (up 8% month on month to 19.9 million) and The Sun (up 4% month on month to 19.9 million) in fourth place back above The Independent and The Guardian.
Media events for 2025: Awards, conferences and networking
In 2025 Press Gazette is organising ten conferences, awards and networking breakfasts in the UK and US.
News in brief
Several Indian news publishers are joining together in a copyright battle against OpenAI. (Press Gazette)
A new more open regime for family courts in England and Wales came into force yesterday, allowing media more access and ability to report. (Press Gazette)
DMG Media has promoted director of reader revenue Tom Lowe to managing director, digital subscriptions as it plans to "further evolve our subscriptions offerings". Mail Online partial paywall Mail+ has 100,000+ paying subscribers and Mail+ Editions is the paid digital paper version.
The Washington Post says it won back at least 20% of the subscribers it lost after the election endorsement row while 74% of subscribers who have cancelled continue to engage with its content. (Semafor)
The Warminster Journal, which had been published by Coates & Parker Ltd since 1881 but suspended in December, has been saved after being bought by Wiltshire Publications which plans to bring it back as a free title in March. (Hold the Front Page)
Business Insider chief executive Barbara Peng says the drive to "publish journalism that is uniquely us and can't be found anywhere else" is working: "our audience is spending way more time with us than they did a year ago" with "meaningful growth" in subscriptions. (Status)
Quartz has begun using generative AI to create news articles based on original reporting elsewhere. A writer from Techcrunch described an AI-written version of their article about how to delete social media accounts as "sloppy". (Techcrunch)
Meta says it has begun testing ads on Threads "with a handful of brands in the US and Japan". (Social Media Today)
Scammers are reportedly creating fake video segments mimicking CNN and local TV news — apparently assisted by AI — in order to trick victims into believing they are wanted for a crime. (Wired)
Reach has renewed its content recommendation deal with Taboola and said it will begin using the technology company’s header bidding product. Reach chief revenue officer Piers North said: "Reader experience is important to us and so we will be working with Taboola to improve this across our platforms for all our audiences."
Also on Press Gazette:
British Journalism Awards hall of fame: Winners and finalists 2012-2024
Middlesbrough’s last freelance court reporter retires after 69 years in journalism
Fire the boss and fight for your rights: How publishers can succeed in 2025
Planned costs of Harry and Mail publisher legal battle ‘excessive’, judges rule
Sara Sharif murder case judges to be named after ‘unfair’ treatment of journalists
‘Consent or pay’ model is OK for UK news publishers, ICO confirms
Latest Press Gazette podcast
Podcast 81: Super soaraway Substack, how Youtube became newstube and why Prince Harry took the cash
Bron Maher discusses Press Gazette's new ranking of the most lucrative titles on Substack, Charlotte Tobitt explains how and why publishers are currently so fixated on building their followings on Youtube and Dominic Ponsford shares his view on why Prince Harry decided to take News UK's cash rather than have his day in court with The Sun.