Wootton legal threat to Byline Times, Maitlis & Vorderman | Ros Atkins interview
Plus your news diary for the week ahead and the top 50 US news sites
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Monday, 26 February.
Suspended GB News presenter Dan Wootton is seemingly out of the woods as far as any potential criminal charges go, but he could still be heading into court.
The former showbiz journalist has sent a letter before action to Byline Times and has also sent legal letters to high-profile Twitter users including Emily Maitlis and Carol Vorderman.
His complaint appears to centre around privacy, rather than defamation, and concerns coverage of the fact he was under police investigation. The Bloomberg vs ZXC and Cliff Richard cases both suggest that criminal suspects now have a right to privacy unless they are charged.
If these complaints do go to trial they will be an intriguing test case because, unlike Richard and ZXC, the Wootton criminal allegations had already been put in the public domain (by, among others, Wootton himself).
Today we also have the latest traffic for the top 50 US news websites. The picture for January is a volatile one as sites experience wildly contrasting fortunes in the wake of some major Google SEO updates at the end of last year.
The New York Times extends its lead at the top with traffic stable year on year as the next most popular three sites - CNN, Fox News and MSN - all saw steep traffic falls year on year.
Today we also have an interview with the BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins talking about The Art of Explanation (the title of his new book).
There is some great news for press freedom as legislation to stop bullying SLAPP lawsuits received Government backing.
And our news diary for the week ahead includes the publication of a report on Thursday into the murder three years ago of Sarah Everard by a serving Met Police officer.
New from Press Gazette
Byline Times, Vorderman and Maitlis face threat of legal action from Dan Wootton
The suspended GB News presenter is also considering legal action against other media outlets over articles published in October last year.
BBC’s Ros Atkins on AI, switching off (or not), and staying curious
One piece of advice Atkins gives is to always have a “hands plan”, saying: “The first question I ask myself is whether one hand or another is likely to go rogue.”
Top 50 news websites in the US: Strong growth at UK newsbrand The Independent in January
The Daily Mail remained the best-ranked British newsbrand in the ranking (119.8 million visits) although it dropped one place to eleventh from tenth in the past month.
Government backs crackdown on lawsuits used to silence journalists
While ministers have already begun to tighten the law on SLAPPs related to economic crime, Labour former minister Wayne David said current measures do not go far enough and his Private Member’s Bill seeks to “protect freedom of expression for everyone”.
News diary 26 February-3 March: Sarah Everard inquiry report, Bibby Stockholm challenge, Iran elections
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
News in brief
Business Insider chief executive Barbara Peng has told staff their new "North Star" metric is people coming to the site two or more days a week. Their specific core audience, she said, is "Disruptive Go-Getters" or "people who are optimistic, driven, and always looking forward". It comes a month after Business Insider cut 8% of staff worldwide, with Peng saying 2024 would be about making their vision happen with a clear target audience. (Talking Biz News)
Substack now has more than three million paying subscribers to newsletters on its platform. (Axios)
US freelance journalist Tim Burke has been charged with wiretapping and conspiracy after accessing unaired footage from Fox News. His lawyers say he "merely found something newsworthy on a publicly accessible site" and that the case threatens press freedom. (The Washington Post)
Google was testing removing its News tab at the top of search results for some users - but a spokesperson has now said they "do not have plans to remove it". (Nieman Lab)
Survivors of the Hamas massacre at a music festival in Israel on 7 October are suing AP, alleging it used freelance journalists embedded with the terrorists. AP says the first freelance pictures it received were taken over an hour after the attacks began. (Jewish News)
Mexico's president read out the phone number of a New York Times journalist's phone number during a news conference, referencing an investigation by the newspaper. The NYT said it was a "troubling and unacceptable tactic from a world leader”. (Reuters)
CBS News staff are reportedly concerned about the "very unusual" seizure of files, computers and records, including information on sources, belonging to investigative journalist Catherine Herridge who was among staff laid off this month. (The Hill)
Nottinghamshire Live says its journalists were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before a briefing with the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police about the force's conduct relating to the fatal stabbings in the city in June last year. (Nottinghamshire Live)
'The winding-up petition is more to wind us up than to wind up the company': HMRC has issued a winding-up petition against The Lady over back taxes worth £360,000, but the magazine says it is already "adhering scrupulously" to a payment plan put in place. (Daily Telegraph)
Indonesia has become the latest country to pass a law requiring major tech platforms to pay media outlets for their content. The legislation will come into effect in the second half of 2024. (Reuters)
Latest podcast
Podcast 65: Beyond Google? Amazon and Microsoft are future says Ricky Sutton
Former online editor of the News of the World turned tech entrepreneur turned future of news soothsayer Ricky Sutton joins Dominic Ponsford on the podcast sofa.
He explains why Google’s reign as the most important tech partner for news publishers is drawing to a close, but more lucrative partnerships around AI and advertising with Microsoft and Amazon beckon.
Last week on Press Gazette
National press ABCs: Sunday People sales down 22% year on year in January
Reach using AI to speed up ‘ripping’ and use same article on multiple sites
Vice Media to lay off ‘several hundred’ staff and stop publishing on website
Assange waits for outcome of last-ditch bid against US extradition
Germany’s Bild proves paywalls can work for tabloids as it hits 700,000 milestone
News media job cuts 2024 tracked: At least 980 redundancies in January