11:31 am - September 15, 2026
B2B publishers excel in redefining their value propositions and embracing change Bold pivots, like Euromoney’s shift from journalism to intelligence services, highlight adaptability AI is viewed as an asset rather than a threat, used to enhance specialised content and customer experience There is a lot to learn from B2B…
Berkshire increases stake in The New York Times to $1.1 billion Rising digital subscriptions and advertising boost publisher’s performance Investment signals confidence in media’s digital transition and subscription model Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has continued to build its position in The New York Times, extending a bet on legacy media…
Macron advocates for a unified European ban on social media use for children under 15 The EU aims to deploy a privacy-respecting age verification app by 2026 Critics highlight challenges in rolling out secure and effective age checks across member states French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for an EU-wide…
Byron Allen cuts 35% of BuzzFeed’s workforce to improve profitability Restructuring aims to shift focus towards streaming via Local Now Company plans significant cost savings and content realignment Byron Allen has begun a sharp overhaul of BuzzFeed, cutting about 180 jobs and contract roles across BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty in what amounts to roughly 35% of the workforce. The reductions, disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, are the first major restructuring since Allen’s family office took control of the digital publisher in May. BuzzFeed said the move is designed to simplify operations, lower costs and…
Highlights the importance of integrating AI in newsrooms to foster meaningful change Emphasises the need for journalists and managers to view AI as a tool for value creation Warns of cultural hurdles and stress on verifying information in the AI era Need some summer reading? This week’s newsletter comes in the form of a book review. Not perhaps a suggestion for the sun lounger, but nevertheless one that every journalist should read. It’s called AI in the News Room and it was written by Martin Schori, former head of the AI Hub at Aftonbladet in Stockholm and now the…
Berlin-based startup Beatsquares raises $2 million in seed funding to enhance its AI platform The platform converts editorial content into multiple formats across digital channels Funding will support team expansion and international growth efforts Berlin-based AI startup Beatsquares has raised $2 million (about €1.8 million) in seed funding to expand its platform for automatically repurposing editorial content across multiple digital channels. The round was co-led by IBB Ventures and XTR Capital, with participation from ddvg, Dutch media investor V-Ventures and a group of business angels. It follows a $500,000 pre-seed investment secured in late 2024. Founded in 2024, Beatsquares aims…
Suggestion for industry-focused ‘Festival of Failure’ to promote open discussion of setbacks Critique of current journalism events highlighting repetition and lack of actionable takeaways Advocates for shorter days, more networking, and panels focused on failures to foster growth and innovation “I want to start an uncomfortable conversation: Are there too many journalism events?” So said Marcela Kunova, the owner and operator of journalism.co.uk (JUK), last week. She continued: “I just looked at my agenda and JUK events calendar. It’s gone out of hand. Conferences, festivals, summits, workshops, talks, congresses, study tours, awards. Dozens of great events are clustered between April…
Disney-owned 20th Television partners with Vox Media Studios to develop scripted and unscripted projects Focus on adapting journalism and podcasts from Vox Media brands for Disney+ and other outlets Partnership reflects industry trend of transforming established media content into premium streaming entertainment Disney-owned 20th Television has struck a multi-year first-look agreement with Vox Media Studios, broadening a relationship that will give both companies room to develop scripted and unscripted projects built around Vox Media’s reporting and podcast brands. The deal is expected to feed into Disney Entertainment Television outlets including Disney+, with a particular emphasis on adapting material from New…
Media Concierge Group posts £12.9m EBITDA for first full period post-acquisition Integration of National World (now Iconic Media Group) has gone smoothly, boosting performance Company aims to strengthen local titles while expanding its UK and Ireland publishing footprint Media Concierge Group has said the integration of National World has gone…
Economist launches Economist Play, a $15/month multimedia bundle combining videos, podcasts, and newsletters Strategy aims to reach a younger, gender-balanced audience with mobile-first content Emphasis on newsroom authenticity through faces and voices, moving away from anonymity The Economist has launched a lower-cost subscription bundle built around audio and video, in…
Data shows games and interactive content drive deeper user loyalty. Publishers are overestimating the importance of breaking news for app retention. Investment should focus on habit-forming features to reduce churn and build routines. I used to bristle when I worked at The Sunday Times and a friend said he had…
Der Spiegel refuses to let AI write or rewrite its articles, citing responsibility and trust. Industry faces tension between efficiency and accountability in adopting AI tools. Growing concerns over accuracy, transparency, and the future role of human journalists. Whether journalists should use artificial intelligence to write stories has become one…
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Getty Images strikes a multi-year licensing deal with OpenAI The partnership enhances ChatGPT’s image relevance and trustworthiness Shares rise as Getty aims to monetise its archive amid AI-driven disruption Getty Images has struck a multi-year licensing deal with OpenAI that will allow its pictures to appear in ChatGPT’s search and…
Complaint alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft used nearly 400 newspapers’ reporting without permission Case marks the largest coordinated legal action by local news publishers on AI training issues Suit aims to protect local journalism and challenge the use of copyrighted material in AI development A coalition of local newspaper publishers…
Forbes launches Forbes Creator to leverage social media personalities New platform combines journalistic content with creator autonomy Aims to expand reach, diversify content, and develop commercial opportunities Forbes is deepening its push into creator-led distribution, using social media personalities and specialist voices to widen its reach beyond its own platforms…
Social media and video now the primary news sources globally Trust in news drops to a historic low of 37%, with Americans trusting only 25% News organisations face the challenge of rebuilding trust amidst AI content proliferation Forget the World Cup, for news nerds this week has brought unbridled excitement…
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A debate in Lexington underscores tensions between traditional reporting and AI-assisted news The Kentucky Lantern champions human-made journalism, while Lexington Times utilises AI for coverage The dispute reflects broader challenges facing shrinking local news ecosystems across the US A small but telling dispute in Lexington, Kentucky, has opened a wider argument about the future of local journalism, especially the role of artificial intelligence in newsrooms that are trying to survive with fewer staff and thinner budgets. The spark came when Linda Blackford, editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Lantern, wrote about AI and journalism and stressed that the Lantern’s work is produced…
Bonnier News poised to become majority owner of Irish media group after partnership expansion Deal under review by regulators, with new leadership and board structure upcoming Business Post Group cites significant financial recovery and growth prospects Swedish publisher Bonnier News is set to become the majority owner of Business Post Group, in a deal that will leave founder Enda O’Coineen with a significant minority stake through his Kilcullen Family Office. The transaction marks a further step in a relationship that began in 2023, when Bonnier took a minority equity position in the Irish company. It still requires approval from the…
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Gannett is cutting costs by $100 million and revamping its subscription strategy as it seeks to steady its finances following a difficult start to 2025. The largest newspaper chain in the United States reported second-quarter revenue of $584.9 million, down 8.6% compared with the previous year, but turned a profit of $78.4 million, up sharply from $13.7 million in the same period last year. The savings programme includes closing two major print facilities, shifting some markets to mail delivery and expanding the use of automation and outsourcing in back-office operations. Chief Financial Officer Trisha Gosser said artificial intelligence would be…
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 NYT Cooking and The Athletic, across its consumer products, including Alexa. The content will also be used to train Amazon’s proprietary AI models. Industry sources confirmed to the WSJ that the full amount will be paid in cash. At $25 million a year, the deal…
Google has launched its AI-powered search tool, AI Mode, in the UK, the third country to receive the feature after the United States and India. The tool uses the company’s Gemini 2.5 model to generate conversational, article-style answers within search results. Available via a new tab on desktop and integrated into the Google app on mobile, AI Mode accepts queries by text, voice and image. Users can pose detailed, open-ended questions, from practical searches like “pet-friendly carpet cleaners” to travel planning in cities such as London and Edinburgh. Hema Budaraju, Vice President of Product Management for Search at Google, said…
Google is in discussions to license content from news publishers for use in its artificial intelligence products, according to a report from Bloomberg. The move marks a shift in how the tech giant engages with the media industry, which has raised concerns over the use of journalistic content to train AI models. Google has come in for particular criticism so far compared with its AI rivals as it has rolled out products such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, the latter of which debuted in the UK this week, without striking deals with publishers. The proposed pilot programme would reportedly…
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 one million digital subscribers by October 2028. It currently has more than 325,000 digital subscribers worldwide, including 20,000 in Australia and 50,000 in the United States. The changes follow the launch of Mail+ last year, which the company says is one of the fastest-growing subscription…
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 Musk. While Bartlett still writes the scripts, the hosting and production are done using AI tools from companies such as Runway, ElevenLabs and Wondercraft. The show is available on YouTube and Apple Podcasts and makes clear that it is AI-generated. Georgie Holt, FlightStory’s cofounder, told…
Three small newsrooms in Argentina have shown how AI tools can help local journalism thrive – even in financially constrained settings – by enhancing editorial quality, deepening community engagement and improving operational efficiency. As part of a project led by the regional press association ADIRA and tech company N-Media, the teams at El Debate Pregón in Gualeguay, Ecos Diarios in Necochea and El Libertador in Corrientes used tools such as Google Pinpoint and Notebook LM to take on major projects that would have been difficult or impossible with limited staff and budgets. At El Debate Pregón, journalist Santiago Joaquín García…
Media24’s transformation into a digital-first publisher has gathered pace under the leadership of Jerusha Raath, who returned to the company in late 2024 as publisher of News24. With a background that blends editorial experience and commercial strategy, Raath has quickly become the driving force behind the group’s reinvention. Speaking to Mark Challinor as part of his News Horizons series in The Drum, Raath described 2025 as a pivotal year for Media24. Innovations launched under her tenure include a “Good News desk” designed to counter negative news fatigue. It had already attracted more than 600,000 page views by mid-July. A disinformation…
Reach plc, the UK’s largest news publisher, has signalled a decisive shift toward building digital subscriptions, reversing its long-standing aversion to reader payment models. The move follows the Daily Mail successful introduction of a subscription model for Mail Online and The Sun deciding to try again with a reader revenue with the establishment of the Sun Club. In its half-year results to 30 June 2025, Reach reported a 1.8% increase in digital revenue to £61.1 million, but overall revenue fell by 3.4% to £256 million due to a 4.8% decline in print income. Despite its traditional reliance on advertising, new…
Dow Jones Newswires has launched an AI-powered French translation service, expanding its multilingual offering for real-time financial news. The new service delivers between 500 and 1,000 translated stories every day, building on previous launches in Korean and Japanese. The rollout is aimed at professionals who want to follow US market news in French, including investors in France, French-speaking clients in New York and London, and Canadian firms affected by US tariffs. It translates English-language content from Dow Jones wires and The Wall Street Journal, with a focus on speed and fluency. “We’re targeting users who prefer to read in their…
