Afghan data leak 'deeply disturbing' for press freedom | Scale of ad-block threat to news publishers revealedAnd how a radio station for tradespeople built into a £8m turnover business
Welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday, 18 July. Using a super injunction to protect the lives of Afghans facing likely death if they are exposed is a better use of the ultimate media law weapon than saving the blushes of unfaithful celebrities. But the Afghan injunction affair exposes some alarming truths about the UK legal system. It reveals that the government has been able to use wide-ranging powers to silence the entire UK media for two years about a matter of huge public interest with no means of parliamentary oversight. Now the Afghan data leak and damage limitation exercise has finally been exposed it is time to overhaul the whole murky world of press gagging orders to ensure they are not being abused to save the government from embarrassment and scrutiny. News Agents co-host Lewis Goodall was among the first journalists to be hit by the injunction and drawn into years of litigation to ensure the story was finally told. He explained why the case raises alarming issues for press freedom. Today we also report on the alarming rise of dark web traffic made possible by ad-blocking technology. According to a new report by Ad-Shield, around one billion web users are using ad-blocking tools which are so powerful publishers don’t even know they have landed on their websites. It’s a threat to news on the open web which could be as severe as Google AI Overviews. We have spoken to the founders of a new UK national radio station which has found success serving a previously neglected niche – tradespeople. Builders tend to listen to the radio all day and also constantly need to buy and sell stuff, so are the perfect audience for a commercial station. Fix Radio has grown into an £8m turnover business which has diversified into merch and live events. And finally, kudos to Rupert Murdoch and Wall Street Journal editor Emma Tucker who have faced down threats from Donald Trump to publish details yesterday of a sinister handwritten birthday card allegedly sent by the US president to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump claimed he warned Murdoch personally in advance of publication that the letter was fake and that he would sue. The fact that 94-year-old Murdoch has published anyway, despite the trouble Trump can cause for his business, suggests the News Corp proprietor is less transactional in his approach to journalism than his critics would claim. On Press GazetteAfghan data breach super injunction ‘deeply disturbing’ for press freedom, says Lewis Goodall
Adblockers stop publishers serving ads to (or even seeing) 1bn web users
Radio station Fix builds profitable community for UK builders
News in briefRupert Murdoch and Wall Street Journal editor Emma Tucker have defied threats from Donald Trump and published a bawdy birthday card allegedly sent by the US president to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump says the card is a fake. (Newsweek) Substack has raised $100m in Series C funding, valuing the company at $1.1bn (up from $650m in 2021). The platform plans to "double down" on its app and launch some form of native advertising. (The New York Times) Future has reported £744.9m in revenue for FY2025 so far. In Q3, US advertising has returned to growth at +5% YOY, UK advertising declined 8% YOY. Magazine revenues remained “resilient”, while e-commerce revenues declined in Q3. (LSE) Mill Media's Liverpool Post has highlighted a "disturbing pattern of behaviour" towards its journalists, including legal threats and social posts, from historian Laurence Westgaph who it has revealed allegations of abuse about. (Liverpool Post) A judge has "recused" himself from a Harry-Mirror legal costs hearing over his connection to a policy that applies to about 40% of the costs in the case. (The Independent) The Senate has voted to approve cuts of $1.1bn in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which acts as a channel for federal money for NPR, PBS and their member stations. (NPR) Four new publishers are joining press regulator IPSO: student-run Oxford Student Publications Ltd, news article rating platform Beehive News, Guernsey news provider The Quarry and Muslim women's lifestyle magazine Friday. Twenty-two US local newsrooms and journalism advocacy/training organisations will benefit from $22.7m grants from philanthropic organisation Press Forward. (Nieman Lab) The Committee to Protect Journalists and nine other organisations have urged the Greek Prime Minister to implement reforms about media freedom concerns, including harassment and murder of journalists. (CPJ) |