Google’s AI Overviews have slashed click‑throughs, accelerating a summer collapse in referral traffic Publishers’ blanket bot blocks (often via Cloudflare) have severed backend discovery, sometimes wiping out sites overnight Pay per crawl offers pennies back — the real solution is nuanced: protect against abuse but keep routes open and build direct audiences This summer’s plunge...

WAN-IFRA appoints JP/Politiken CEO Stig Ørskov as chief executive from early 2026 Vincent Peyrègne, CEO since 2012, will stay on as senior strategic advisor New leadership expected to push innovation, collaboration and press freedom advocacy WAN-IFRA has appointed Stig Ørskov as its next chief executive, succeeding Vincent Peyrègne, who is stepping down after more than...

The adult and gambling sectors treat retention as an immediate, data-driven priority Apply rapid personalisation, habit-forming onboarding and agile pricing to convert early engagement into long-term loyalty Use moment-based offers, constant novelty and community features to make leaving feel like losing more than just content Back in the 1990s, when working with The Economist, I...

Google is testing “Preferred Sources” in Search Labs Users star outlets to boost their presence in the Top Stories carousel Rollout targets English searches in the US and India Google has introduced a “Preferred Sources” feature in Search, allowing users to boost the visibility of news outlets they trust in the Top Stories carousel. The...

Nearly a decade ago I sat in a hotel meeting room in Bermondsey, a newly revived neighbourhood of south London, with a number of colleagues from all departments of The Times and The Sunday Times. The papers were themselves newly revived, having recently returned to profit on the back of launching digital subscriptions for the...

Dow Jones, led by The Wall Street Journal, reported stellar profits of $588m on annual revenues of $2.33 billion for the year that ended on June 30, cementing its position as the standout performer within News Corporation’s portfolio. While the Journal has been revitalised journalistically under the leadership of editor-in-chief Emma Tucker, rising digital subscriptions...

News Corp will launch a new daily newspaper in Los Angeles in early 2026, expanding its New York Post brand to the West Coast for the first time. The move, first reported by Axios, marks a bold bet on print and digital journalism in a region where local newsrooms have been hollowed out by layoffs...

Amazon will pay The New York Times up to $25 million a year under their recently signed multi-year content licensing agreement, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The deal, which was first announced in May without financial terms, allows Amazon to use short excerpts and summaries of Times journalism, including content from...

The Daily Mail has announced that all of its digital platforms – including MailOnline – will operate under a single masthead: Daily Mail. The move is designed to eliminate reader confusion and unify its global digital output under one of the most recognised names in media. Alongside the rebrand, the company has set a target of reaching...

Steven Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO, is experimenting with AI to expand the limits of podcast production. His company, FlightStory Studio, has launched 100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett, a series that uses AI voices and animation to deliver scripted episodes telling the stories of prominent business figures including Richard Branson and Elon...