Why live blogs are bigger than ever | Global top 50 news sites
And a rare look under the hoods of The Sun and Daily Mail to see how technology is driving new revenue
Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Wednesday 13 September, brought to you today in association with Azernis which provides innovative software for data-driven competition monitoring in realtime. Find out how to save up to 60 minutes of working time per user in the newsroom daily here.
Like email newsletters, live blogs appear to be one of the few media platforms which are impervious to the waves of digital disruption.
It's 25 years since The Guardian first started using live blogs for sport. Back then I was rummaging through the post for stories at the Hastings Observer and I don't believe we even had access to the internet.
But those muesli-chomping early adopters had stumbled on a format which in recent years has been used to cover everything from Bake Off to the war in Ukraine.
At our Future of Media Technology conference we heard from executives at The Guardian, BBC and Sky about how live blogs are among the most-read pieces of content on their sites and how they are optimising them.
We also today on Press Gazette have some rare insight into the inner workings of two major UK newsbrands: The Sun and Daily Mail. We found out how both are using technology and new ways of working to drive growing revenue at their digital operations.
And we have our top 50 global news websites ranking for August. Most sites are down year on year with CNN and Dailymail.co.uk the only sites in the top ten which have managed year-on-year growth.
Finally, we also goodbye to former sub-editing stalwart of The Sunday Times, Patrick Nicholson. He wrote his own obit with instructions for it be shared with Press Gazette on his death. It’s our great honour publish it.
From our sponsor:
Instead of opening new browser tabs all the time, you can use our software to monitor your competitors live and receive additional data about their articles. This way your previous gut feelings about successful content is now backed up by facts and figures.
Find out about readers’ interests outside your own publications and improve your processes with data-driven improvements. Beside the websites of your competitors, Azernis also allows you to analyse push notifications to see which articles are being highlighted to their readers. Leave the mobile phone in the drawer and start into the data age of competition monitoring.
New from Press Gazette:
How new technology at Daily Mail and Sun is growing digital revenues
“The first thing we did was to cut back on the number of things that we were doing in the organisation – to set a vision that was clear for everyone about where we’re going, and understanding the consumers that we have.”
25 years on, live blogs top most-read lists for BBC, Guardian and Sky
“I think that’s part of the reason why they haven’t lost their relevance – because they’ve diversified so much in terms of the things we can cover, but also the way we cover them.”
Top 50 biggest news websites in the world: Mail Online and CNN only top-ten sites to grow for second month
Visits to CNN were up 6% year-on-year to 703.3 million, according to data from digital intelligence platform Similarweb, while visits to dailymail.co.uk were up 3% to 427.7 million.
Former Sunday Times Magazine chief sub-editor dies aged 93
Before Patrick Nicholson died aged 93 last week, he left this self-written obituary to be published in Press Gazette.
News in brief:
Leaders from five regional news companies - Reach, Newsquest, National World, Iliffe and MNA - have banded together to ask the Government to consider funding that may help save the 100 community reporter jobs being pulled by Meta. They suggest National Lottery funds. (Hold the Front Page)The Courier editor David Clegg has thanked subscribers for helping the paper pursue issues like this call for a public inquiry into the scandal of a rogue NHS surgeon. He said he did not believe there would be an inquiry without their reporting of eight years. (The Courier)The most senior judge in England and Wales has praised the start to broadcasting from crown court sentencings and said there is a "strong argument that we need to go further". But he warned court cases should not become "live soap opera" as in some countries. (Evening Standard)Philippines journalist and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has been cleared of a "spurious" tax evasion charge that carried a potential ten-year sentence. Her lawyers, Amal Clooney and Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, said it was a "welcome victory" but the country's war on the press continues.The Economist is planning to put all of its podcasts, with the exception of daily show The Intelligence and some sample or limited episodes, behind a paywall, which will cost $4.90 per month or be included in its overall subscription. (Axios)The US Justice Department yesterday made its opening statement in a landmark antitrust trial against Google. The federal government and 38 states allege the tech giant has illegally maintained its market dominance. Another Justice Department case against Google alleges it has engaged in monopolistic adtech practices to the detriment of online publishers, but a date has not yet been set for the trial. Press Gazette wrote about that case in March. (The New York Times)Previously on Press Gazette:
Reach reader revenue trials: Premium apps, paid-for newsletters and ad-free Express
FT offers lessons for news publishers on how to reach more women
Government-led task force launched to protect journalism from SLAPPs
Memoir sheds light on lost golden age of local news and democratic accountability
