Mather Report - David Clinch
Happy Friday! Some of the top #MediaRevenue stories this week are about the continued shrinking of the newspaper industry, with local newspapers disappearing at an alarming rate. I'm determined to do everything that I can to support the emergence of new local news organizations that provide authoritative local journalism to fill that void.
The AP has launched donations!
I very much enjoyed the Press Gazette media strategy event I attended in New York this week and got to meet lots of friends and professional contacts. I loved that the two main panels were all female, but also that those women are leading really remarkable digital strategies at the news organizations where they work.
Please let me know if you plan to attend our Mather Symposium in March. SIGN UP HERE ->
Please let me know if you see stories and updates I should be aware of to include in this weekly update, especially those from more diverse sources and markets.
Here is this week's curated selection of #MediaRevenue news:
Read the latest "State of Local News" Report via Medill.
One-third of U.S. newspapers as of 2005 will be gone by 2024: "The decline of local newspapers accelerated so rapidly in 2023 that analysts now believe the U.S. will have lost one-third of the newspapers it had as of 2005 by the end of next year — rather than in 2025, as originally predicted. Most communities that lose a local newspaper in America usually do not get a replacement, even online." - Axios via Sara Fischer
US lost more than two local newspapers a week this year, new Medill report finds: "More than 130 papers have closed or merged this year, and the country is on track to lose a third of its papers since 2005 by the end of next year, the report found. Over half of counties in the United States have just one or no local news outlets." - Poynter
Associated Press has launched reader donations: "The Associated Press has launched reader donations, telling readers: "Your donation will help The Associated Press continue its mission to advance the power of fact-based journalism"" - AP.
Murdoch says son Lachlan ‘believes in social purpose of journalism’ as he hands over reins: "The elder Murdoch was speaking at News Corp’s 2023 annual general meeting on Wednesday, his last as co-chairman of the Times, Wall Street Journal and Sun parent company. He has now become chairman emeritus." - Press Gazette via Bron Maher
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IAC and News Corp call out generative AI companies for scraping their content without compensation: "During News Corp’s and IAC’s latest earnings calls, the publishers reiterated their anger toward generative AI companies and their scraping of publishers’ content without permission or payment." - Digiday.
BuzzFeed Announces Strategic Shift, Longtime Publisher Steps Down: "Culture and entertainment publisher BuzzFeed Inc. unveiled a strategic pivot during an internal meeting on Tuesday, according to two memos obtained by Adweek. The media company, which houses the editorial titles BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Complex Media, First We Feast and Tasty, is shifting to operate its sales, technical and editorial operations by brand rather than emphasizing its aggregated network." - AdWeek via Mark Stenberg
Insider Co-Founder Henry Blodget Steps Down as CEO Amid Strategy Shift: "H"Henry Blodget, one of the early pioneers of digital media, is stepping down as chief executive of Insider, a publication he co-founded more than 15 years ago. The move comes as Insider, now a unit of German publishing giant Axel Springer, is changing its name back to Business Insider as part of an effort to focus on business and technology news instead of trying to be a generalist publication. - Wall Street Journal via Alexandra Bruell
Bloomberg Industry Group to shutter K Street office amid layoffs: "Bloomberg Industry Group, an affiliate of Bloomberg L.P. that produces content for regulatory professionals, has laid off at least 14 employees, Axios has learned. It also plans to shutter its K Street office in downtown Washington D.C. where many of those employees worked." - Axios.
Layoffs hit Recurrent Ventures following CEO shakeup: "Recurrent Ventures, a venture equity-backed digital media rollup company, informed employees of a new round of layoffs on Monday. Recurrent has a portfolio of about 20 brands that include Popular Science, Domino, Bob Villa and others. Last year, it acquired Dwell and Business of Home. It sold its food website Saveur to the publication's longtime editor earlier this year."
New York Times uses machine learning to create a smarter paywall: "This strategy has successfully generated subscriptions while allowing initial exploratory access to new readers. In fact, in February 2022, when The Times acquired The Athletic Media Company, The Times achieved its goal of 10 million subscriptions and set a new target of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027." -INMA Blog via Rohit Supekar
How to Rebuild Local News: "Steven Waldman is the founder and president of Rebuild Local News, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to counter the collapse of local news and strengthen local democracy. He is also the co-founder of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in newsrooms across the country. Waldman shares his Brief But Spectacular take on how to rebuild local news." - PBS Newshour.
Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI backs latest Barclay offer for the Telegraph: "Jeff Zucker’s RedBird backs latest Barclay offer for the Telegraph Investment group run by former CNN boss offers to help finance deal alongside Abu Dhabi royal family" - Financial Times.
‘End of days’: staff at Mirror and Express owner Reach brace for grim Christmas: "People are working out if they can even afford to get their family Christmas presents this year,” says one of the 450 staff at risk of redundancy at Reach, owner of the Mirror, Express and scores of local newspapers, in brutally timed job cuts that will run into the new year. The grim reality facing the workforce is testament to the increasingly parlous state of the UK’s largest commercial news publisher, whose titles also include the Daily Star, the Daily Record, the Manchester Evening News, the Liverpool Echo and the Live network of local news websites." - The Guardian.