9:10 am - April 17, 2025
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…...
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Zuora report shows strong growth for subscriber businesses – but rising costs risk driving users away. Businesses built on subscription models are continuing to outgrow the wider market, according to the latest Subscription Economy Index from Zuora. The report found that subscription-based companies achieved an 11% revenue growth advantage over…
Tech titans spark backlash with anti-copyright stance amid AI copyright battles. Jack Dorsey has called for the complete eradication of intellectual property law – and Elon Musk agrees. The former Twitter and Square CEO made the blunt demand in a post on X, prompting an immediate “yes” from Musk in…
New interface offers smarter search, content discovery and real-time alerts. The Associated Press has launched AP Newsroom, a new AI-powered content platform designed to improve how users access and engage with its visual, audio and text-based news coverage. The platform features a redesigned interface and upgraded tools to streamline content…
Newsrooms urged to move beyond experiments and integrate AI into core strategy. Artificial intelligence is no longer optional for newsrooms – it’s existential. That was the message from Ezra Eeman, WAN-IFRA’s AI expert and director of strategy and innovation at Dutch public broadcaster NPO, during a recent industry webinar focused…
News publishers warn outdated laws and AI misuse are threatening the future of the press. Media leaders have called on the Irish Government to fast-track long-promised defamation reforms, warning that current laws are among the toughest in the world and are stifling journalism. NewsBrands Ireland urged swift passage of the…
South African publisher recognised for election coverage, creative formats and bold subscriber strategy Daily Maverick has won three honours at the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Africa 2025, recognising its work in reader engagement, digital innovation and subscription growth. The publication’s Elections ’24 newsletter was named Best Newsletter. Designed to inform…
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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...
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Charles Darwin University research shows AI-written news is more uniform, less creative New research from Charles Darwin University has found clear stylistic differences between journalism written by humans and by artificial intelligence, suggesting that while AI-generated news is readable, it lacks the creative variation that characterises human reporting. The study, led by Van Hieu Tran as part of a Master’s degree in Information Technology, analysed 150 articles from outlets including the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian. The team used Google’s Gemini chatbot to produce AI-generated versions of the same stories, then compared the outputs for…
Media companies and authors challenge AI training practices in landmark legal clash. Twelve copyright lawsuits filed against OpenAI and Microsoft have been consolidated into a single case in the Southern District of New York, in what is set to become a defining legal battle over intellectual property rights and the use of journalistic and literary content to train artificial intelligence models. The cases, brought by major media players including the New York Times, the New York Daily News and seven other titles owned by Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, have been merged alongside class actions filed by…
Move adds to growing portfolio as company bets on innovation and direct audience engagement. Redbrick has acquired digital outlets Quartz and The Inventory from G/O Media, marking its fifth major media investment as it expands its presence in the digital publishing space. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The move is part of a broader strategy to adapt to shifting consumer behaviour and technological change, particularly the growing role of AI in media. “As the media landscape continues to shift, the only way to survive and thrive is by embracing the advancements in innovation to connect and engage…
Complaint to competition regulator argues aggregators are diluting visibility and value of news brands. The BBC has lodged a formal complaint with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), accusing news aggregators such as Apple News and Google News of undermining the visibility and value of its journalism. In its submission, the broadcaster said audiences often consume BBC content through these platforms without attributing it to the BBC itself. That, it argued, weakens the public perception of its work and threatens the funding model built around the licence fee. “If audiences value our journalism but don’t associate it with the…
YouTube football presenter Adam Clery named creative director as publisher expands into personality-led video. The Independent has launched a new production unit, Independent Studio, in a bid to grow its presence in the creator economy and develop original content formats for sponsorship and audience growth. The UK-based digital publisher has…
Pew study shows public attention to press conflicts has halved since 2017, even as engagement with political news grows Public awareness of Donald Trump’s clashes with the media has dropped sharply since his first term, according to new research from the Pew Research Center, despite a rise in political news…
End of manual controls raises concerns over visibility and representation. Google has completed its shift to automatically generated publisher pages in Google News, ending a system that allowed news organisations to manually manage their presence on the platform. The change, finalised late last month, removes tools that let publishers customise…
News UK titles feel pressure of print decline but benefit from shift to subscriptions and cost-cutting. The latest financial results for The Times and The Sun show the pressures of declining print revenues but also signs of progress as both titles pivot toward digital. For the year ending 30 June…
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New assistant aims to boost value of Pro subscription with tailored, report-driven insights. Politico has launched an AI-powered tool for its Pro subscribers, offering on-demand policy reports based entirely on the publication’s own journalism. The Policy Intelligence Assistant is designed for the service’s high-profile users, including lobbyists, corporate executives and industry leaders, who pay upwards of $10,000 a year to subscribe. The move reflects a growing trend among publishers to deploy AI not for general chatbot-style responses, but to mine their archives for bespoke, high-quality content. Politico says the tool will create a huge volume of content, using only its…
Ruling keeps key copyright claims alive in case over AI training data. A federal judge has denied OpenAI’s attempt to dismiss key parts of a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by The New York Times, allowing the case to proceed and intensifying scrutiny of how AI companies acquire and use copyrighted content. The ruling, by Judge Sidney H Stein in the Southern District of New York, keeps alive several claims central to the case. These include direct and contributory copyright infringement and trademark dilution, some of which relate to conduct more than three years before the complaint was filed. “The Court…
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Payments have started to flow to Canadian media under a $100 million initiative aimed at supporting journalism in the face of digital disruption. Payments have begun being distributed to Canadian media outlets under the terms of the Online News Act, which aims to financially support journalism in a rapidly changing digital landscape. The Canadian Journalism Collective reported last week that they have begun to disburse the first tranche of funding, totalling $17.25 million, from a $100 million agreement secured with Google. This funding initiative is designed to provide compensation to news organisations in exchange for an exemption from certain provisions…
USA Today rolls out Witness, which offers investigative stories and podcasts on crime and corruption in the US. USA Today has launched Witness, a new subscription-based true-crime service, aimed at providing readers with a comprehensive collection of investigative journalism stories, videos and podcasts focused on crime and corruption within the United States. The service debuted on Tuesday and positions itself as a premier destination for true-crime enthusiasts and those interested in narratives that reveal the human experiences behind criminal events. Its fortunes will be closely followed as it could suggest a way for news companies to profitably exploit their archives…
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...
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A recent study reveals the concerning implications of AI search tools on news publishers. Recent research conducted by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism reveals that nearly 25% of Americans now use artificial intelligence (AI) search tools instead of traditional search engines, highlighting a shift in how information is accessed online. The study involved an examination of eight AI chatbots which included tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. It aimed to assess their capabilities in retrieving and correctly citing news content from various publishers. The methodology included running 1,600 queries, where researchers provided short excerpts from randomly selected articles, expecting the…
A recent poll by the UK’s Electoral Commission reveals social media is regarded by many young people as trustworthy for political information. A recent poll conducted by the Electoral Commission indicates that nearly half of young people in the UK trust social media as a source for political information, despite the fear about misinformation. The survey, which encompassed 2,500 individuals aged 11 to 25, revealed that 44 per cent perceive social media as a form of reliable political news. Among respondents, 50 per cent cited social media as their source for political news, ranking it as the second-highest source, with…
Troels Behrendt Jørgensen, digital director of Politiken, outlines the challenges and strategies for traditional media to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape. Media companies must look beyond old rivalries as they seek to provide value for their readers according to Troels Behrendt Jørgensen, digital director of the renowned Danish newspaper Politiken. Jørgensen shared insights on the paper’s adaptation strategies during an interview with La Nacion. Politiken has embraced digital transformation, expanding beyond its historical reliance on print subscriptions. It now invests in diverse formats, including live events and audio content. Jørgensen noted that the success of such initiatives hinges on…
Boston Globe Today is cancelled as the company focuses on other multimedia projects. The Boston Globe has announced the cancellation of its weekday television programme, Boston Globe Today, which was a co-production with the New England Sports Network (NESN. The company laid off four employees and reported that two members of the production team would remain to support upcoming video initiatives. CEO Linda Henry highlighted the complexities tied to daily television production as a driving factor in the decision. Boston Globe Media aims to invest in expanding its multimedia team, producing daily video content across news, sports and entertainment sectors.…
The UK broadcaster is restructuring to create a new division aimed at enhancing audience engagement through AI. The BBC is launching a new department aimed at enhancing audience engagement through the use of artificial intelligence, as part of a strategic overhaul to adapt to changing news consumption patterns. Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC...
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The veteran news executive announces his departure, citing a new wave of technological disruption for the business. John Ridding, the group chief executive of the Financial Times, is set to step down after nearly two decades at the helm, a period marked by substantial shifts within the global media landscape. Ridding’s resignation, announced in a...
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As TikTok grapples with potential bans and regulatory scrutiny in the US, its advertising revenue growth may be at risk. TikTok’s advertising revenue is poised to exceed $30 billion this year, with nearly $12 billion of that total at risk if it is banned from operating in the United States. The platform, owned by ByteDance, has been rapidly evolving its role in the advertising landscape, demonstrating effectiveness from consumer discovery to purchase. WARC Media’s latest Platform Insights report provides critical data regarding TikTok’s forecasting and performance. The report estimates that if TikTok’s operations continue unimpeded in the US, its ad…
