A year ago The Defiant, a media company focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), partnered with DeepNewz to integrate AI-generated news into its editorial workflow. The collaboration has reshaped its content strategy, showing how AI can augment journalism rather than replace it, according to a recent post from The Defiant. With a small team of around seven journalists, The Defiant faced a common challenge: whether to chase general cryptocurrency news, which drives higher traffic, or focus exclusively on DeFi and web3 stories for its core audience. Working with DeepNewz allowed the newsroom to offload general crypto coverage to AI, freeing…

The BBC has published a detailed account of its approach to artificial intelligence and, separately, how it is experimenting with the technology, pledging to use it in ways that uphold public trust and editorial standards. The move is part of a growing effort by the broadcaster to be transparent about how AI is reshaping its operations, a nod to its role as a public service broadcaster and news source. The document outlines a cautious but forward-looking stance. It commits the BBC to using AI to support staff, improve digital services and enhance content creation — but only where it aligns…

For a long time I thought it was the most cynical thing I had heard in my working life. “There are no prizes for being right, Alan,” said the senior executive during a conversation about whether we should sign up to a shiny new initiative that was being dangled in front of news publishers by a tech giant. It was something that senior people at the company wanted to do and his implication was that though it was self-evidently – to us at least – the wrong thing to do, we should just shut up and do it. Even if it would…

Foreign firms are able to take minority stakes in British newspapers after MPs voted by a wide margin to relax restrictions on overseas ownership. The House of Commons approved a government-backed amendment allowing companies based outside the UK to own up to 15% of newspaper businesses, a move framed by ministers as a way to protect press sustainability while guarding against undue foreign influence. The vote – 338 in favour to 79 against – paves the way for the long-delayed sale of the Telegraph Media Group. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US-based RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s state-linked International…

Particle, the AI-powered news app created by former Twitter engineers, is expanding beyond its hallmark summaries to include full-length narrative journalism. A new feature, Long Reads, will allow users to engage with in-depth commentary and analysis alongside concise bullet-point updates. The feature debuts in partnership with The Atlantic, one of the leading publishers of long-form journalism in America. Articles from The Atlantic will now appear natively in the Particle app, allowing readers to move seamlessly between breaking news and slower, more reflective reporting. The collaboration reflects both organisations’ ambition to combine quality journalism with personalised delivery. Since launching in November…

Douglas McCabe, the long-serving CEO of Enders Analysis, is joining the Guardian later this year as its chief strategy and business development officer. The move marks a major career shift for one of the UK media sector’s most influential analysts. “It is an enormous honour to be asked to support a journalism brand of unique global importance and influence, and that I have passionately followed my whole life,” McCabe said. “At a time when the whole sector faces extraordinary technology, social and political challenges for journalism, the opportunity of helping address them alongside an exceptional and brilliant team is extremely…

The BBC has launched a paid subscription for its news website in the United States, marking a significant shift as it seeks to diversify revenue amid growing pressure on its traditional funding model. American users will now be asked to pay $49.99 a year or $8.99 a month for unlimited access to articles, in-depth reports and a 24-hour livestream of BBC News programming. The move comes as the UK’s licence fee – the main source of public funding for the BBC – faces declining revenue. The fee, currently £174.50 per household, is under review by the British government, which wants…

It would be so easy to stand in line, nod solemnly and pretend this new set of synthetic media guidelines is flawless. But someone has to push back on behalf of the industry, so here I am. The report in question comes from Partnership on AI, a major global AI and media ethics group, and is supported by organisations with genuinely good intentions. It lays out thoughtful, well-structured principles for how publishers should handle synthetic media, including the need for traceable sourcing, contextual information, human oversight and heightened safeguards around elections, child safety and manipulated visuals. I agree with…

Axel Springer is aiming to double its value within five years, with a bold plan built around artificial intelligence, platform independence and clearly stated political values. The ambition was laid out by CEO Mathias Döpfner at the company’s first major strategy meeting since its transformation back into a private media business. More than 100 top executives gathered in Berlin to hear how Springer plans to position itself as the leading provider of AI-powered journalism in what Döpfner called “the free world”. “Journalism remains our core, but it’s evolving,” said Döpfner. “The business model of maximising clicks and advertising is over.…

News publishers in India are asking the same questions and facing the same issues as those in the US and Europe was the conclusion after two days of discussions and presentations at WAN-IFRA’s Digital Media India conference in Chennai this week. They may be only just starting to face falling print circulations – another victim of Covid – but otherwise they are still looking at how best to monetise their digital content and utilise artificial intelligence. There were questions about scale and subscriptions, AI and audiences. “Do you really need 200-300m users to build sustainability? Can you do it…