Former MSNBC host builds fast-growing independent outlet with big-name contributors and ambitions beyond Substack. Mehdi Hasan’s independent media platform Zeteo has generated more than $3.5 million in revenue in its first year, making it one of the fastest-growing ventures on Substack. The former MSNBC host launched the newsletter on April 15, 2024, and now claims a following of around 400,000 subscribers, including over 40,000 paid members. Hasan told the Los Angeles Times that within four months of launch, Zeteo had already signed up 31,000 paying subscribers. Many now pay $500 annually, putting projected revenue between $3.3 million and $3.9 million.…

Dotdash Meredith invests in mobile product aimed at younger, visually-driven audiences. People Magazine has launched its first standalone app, marking a significant new direction for Dotdash Meredith since acquiring the brand in 2021. The app, released on Thursday, features a TikTok-style interface and offers original, swipeable content designed to appeal to younger users. Unlike previous mobile efforts, which were linked to a now-cancelled TV show, the new app delivers a distinct editorial experience. It includes multimedia storytelling exclusive to the platform, not available on the website or in print. “It’s not just a new platform – it’s a new product,”…

News outlets call for regulation to stop tech firms using journalism without permission. A coalition of major US news organisations has launched a campaign demanding tighter regulation of how artificial intelligence companies use journalistic content. The campaign, called Support Responsible AI, is coordinated by the News/Media Alliance and backed by publishers including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vox Media, the Atlantic, Politico, Wired and the Seattle Times. It aims to stop what the group describes as the unauthorised and uncompensated use of copyrighted material to train AI systems. The campaign includes a series of stark print and digital…

Courts are setting new boundaries for AI copyright, while creators unite against unauthorised use of their works, signalling a shift towards greater protection and accountability in AI development. What happenend? Courts are establishing boundaries for AI copyright: Multiple federal court rulings have allowed copyright lawsuits against AI companies to proceed, including The New York Times’s case against OpenAI and Microsoft. At the same time, courts have ruled that AI-generated content without meaningful human input cannot be copyrighted, preserving public domain status for purely AI-created works. Creative industries are mobilising against unauthorised AI training: Global creators – from authors to musicians to…

OpenAi’s new image generator may not just democratise design, but upend creative hierarchies and entire industries. This week I’ve been playing with something that feels like a moment – one of those quiet milestones you look back on and realise everything changed. OpenAI’s new image generator, now built into ChatGPT, is extraordinary. You give it a prompt and within seconds, it produces not just an image, but a beautifully composed piece of design – layout, fonts, colours, even the copy. No templates, no training, no fiddly software. Just elegant output from a single sentence. What makes it different from…

The London tabloid celebrates a significant milestone in its digital evolution as it appoints a global women’s editor. The Daily Mail has crossed the milestone of a quarter of a million subscribers within 15 months of the launch of its new digital service, Mail+. As of now, the Daily Mail boasts over 163,000 subscribers to its Mail+ service, which offers access to exclusive articles on its online platform, MailOnline. Additionally, more than 92,000 readers enjoy the Mail+ Editions, a digital replica of the print newspaper designed for mobile devices. These figures indicate that the Daily Mail has rapidly established itself…

Bulletin, the title’s new service, is based on Independent content and will launch on 31 March. The Independent is set to introduce a new fast news service called Bulletin, leveraging artificial intelligence to provide succinct summaries of news articles for on-the-go consumers. The platform is scheduled to launch on 31 March, primarily targeting “seriously busy” audiences who seek quick access to vital information. Bulletin will employ Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, to synthesise news content into bullet-point briefings. The Independent says all AI-generated content will undergo a review by its editorial team before it is published. This initiative is part of…

The month-long project Foglio AI aims to stimulate discussion about the possibilities of bot-driven journalism. Il Foglio has launched a newspaper entirely generated by artificial intelligence, named Foglio AI, in an experiment that will last one month. Foglio AI is set to feature daily content created solely by artificial intelligence until mid-April, running from Tuesday to Friday. The initiative will produce a concise four-page publication comprising twenty-two articles and three editorials each day. Foglio AI aims to stimulate discussions around the role of technology in journalism. Giuliano Ferrara, the founder of Il Foglio, highlighted the journalistic experiment’s ambitious nature, stating…

The daily newspaper’s move marks a new development in the bundling of news products. Dutch daily NRC has announced that it will grant its subscribers complimentary access to all content from The New York Times, including articles, puzzles, podcasts and recipes, throughout the upcoming year. This move aims to augment the value of NRC subscriptions during a pivotal time in American politics. In a discussion on the development, Patricia Veldhuis, NRC’s editor-in-chief, said: “We can now offer our subscribers an extra perspective on what is happening in American politics and its implications.” While the partnership with The New York Times…

Jim Mullen emphasises commitment to maintaining print operations despite them become loss-making in “six to eight years”. Jim Mullen, the chief executive of Reach, which publishes the Mirror, Express and Star among others, has forecasted that the company’s print titles are likely to become loss-making by the start of the next decade. Despite this anticipated decline, Mullen remains committed to maintaining the print operations, indicating that their digital strategy will play a pivotal role in preventing closures. Speaking to The Guardian, Mullen pointed out the importance of the print business, despite its challenges. “We are maintaining a well-loved but declining…