Who owns UK news? - New research | Steve Bell cartoon spiked by Guardian
And the latest on Prince Harry's battles with The Sun.
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Wednesday 11 October, brought to you today in association with Reuters News Agency - where the news gets its news. Their latest report, Powering trusted news with AI, is available to download now.
New analysis reveals the extent to which three publishers dominate UK news ownership: News UK, DMGT and Reach.
Whilst two are privately owned by right-wing billionaires, Reach is publicly-owned and reflects a range of political views in its titles.
The research is timely as Lord Rothermere's DMGT looks to buy Telegraph Media Group. It suggests that, when you look at online and print readership combined, such a deal will not move the dial much - but would further concentrate media ownership in the hands of just three dominant companies.
Today we also report on a free speech row at The Guardian which has rejected a cartoon from Steve Bell about the current crisis in Israel. Guardian editors were apparently concerned that the sketch drew on an anti-Semitic trope. Bell states in the cartoon that he was referencing a David Levine cartoon from the 1960s featuring US president Lyndon Johnson.
Bell (who is a freelance) has published the cartoon himself on Twitter, so you can judge for yourself.
We also have the latest on Prince Harry's seemingly endless legal battles with the publishers of The Sun, Mirror and Mail titles. Claims of unlawful information gathering against The Sun are set to go to trial in January 2025. Meanwhile, we still await a judgment after his civil trial against the Mirror titles in the summer, when he also made claims of invasion of privacy and illegal information gathering.
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New from Press Gazette
Who owns the news? Mail titles, News UK and Reach dominate, report finds
The data suggests that if DMG Media were to succeed in its expected bid to acquire Telegraph Media Group it would increase its print market share from 42% to 47%.
Guardian ‘refuses’ to publish Steve Bell cartoon of Netanyahu
Bell posted the blocked cartoon, which depicts the Israeli prime minister preparing to cut a Gaza-shaped hole in his own abdomen, to Twitter/X on Monday and said that after he filed it he received a “cryptic message” from Guardian editors saying: “pound of flesh”.
Prince Harry claims against The Sun won’t be heard until 2025
David Sherborne, for the claimants, said there are 32 people whose cases are set to be heard at a trial in January 2024. He later said there are 27 cases that have been “stayed” and are set to be heard at a trial in January 2025.
News in brief
The Guardian’s director of public policy Matt Rogerson has warned that copyright must not be weakened for news publishers in age of AI: "The owners of the IP should have the right to decide who uses their content." (News Media Association)
Europe's oldest student newspaper, Edinburgh's The Student, has been saved from closure by a £2,000 fundraiser. The loss of a major advertiser had put its future in doubt. (BBC News)
Australian journalist Cheng Lei has returned to Australia after being arrested and detained in China for more than three years over a claim of "supplying state secrets overseas", which she denied, while she was working at Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN. (ABC)
The EU has warned Elon Musk about its "precise obligations" for content moderation on X/Twitter, saying there has been "manifestly false or misleading information" spread about the Israel-Hamas conflict. (The Guardian)
The Washington Post plans to cut 240 jobs by offering staff buyouts. Its projections for advertising, subscriptions and traffic growth have been "overly optimistic", its interim chief executive said in a note, and it is "working to find ways to return our business to a healthier place". (The Daily Beast)
Podcast 57: What is the Murdoch Factor?
Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford discusses The Murdoch Factor with Peter Jukes (author of Fall of the House of Murdoch and co-founder of Byline Times).
What is the key quality which has enabled Murdoch’s success and what does the future of media look like without him?
Also on Press Gazette this week
BBC News CEO Turness woos advertisers and promises more investment in Verify
Big-name sports journalists facing cutbacks at Mail on Sunday
Sky News chief Levy says news leaders must be more sensitive to staff mental health
Freelance journalist wins solo High Court fight to shine light on family courts
Times and Sunday Times eye US expansion with appointment of US editor