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Why Australia’s bid to make big tech pay for news failed: views from an indie publisher

The News Media Bargaining Code favoured legacy media companies and did not obligate platforms to negotiate over news deals

 

This is a fascinating look at why the News Media Bargaining Code was doomed from the outset, written by a man with first-hand experience of it. Scott Purcell, co-founder of Man of Many — Australia’s largest men’s lifestyle news website — provides a rare insight into the NMBC from inception to now, and addresses the systematic flaws within it that ultimately hamstrung it:

“However, in practice, the negotiation dynamics have heavily favoured legacy media outlets with long-standing influence and established networks within Australia’s concentrated media market. Significant funding legacy platforms further amplify this influence have dedicated to lobbying efforts, enhancing their political power and sway over media policy decisions.”

It’s no secret that we at Media Voices think schemes like the NMBC are naked cash grabs from big publishers, who are using emotive language around ‘saving journalism’ to disguise that fact while leaving smaller and indie publishers out in the cold. What is especially heartening to hear from Purcell is how he wishes for further collaboration — not simple compensation — between publishers and platforms.


 

We asked an AI to map our stories across NYC

THE CITY has a mission to cover neighborhoods in all five boroughs. ChatGPT helped tell us how well we’re living up to that goal.

It’s very easy to forget that AI use in newsrooms is nothing all that new, given the furore over GenAI since the start of 2023. But it’s been playing a role within newsrooms for quite some time, and while this example from THE CITY isn’t going to set the world aflame it’s an interesting case study in how low-key AI can deliver benefits to audiences.


 

How the Toronto Star grows their email lists fast

Using promotional emails with a one-click subscribe, the Star can add 10,000+ emails at once.

Here’s a lovely little practical story about a newspaper doing well, of the sort we so rarely get to include these days. Email is the engine of newspaper subscriptions in more than a few ways, from widening the funnel by which people discover content through to delivering promotional offers and relevant content. The Toronto Star’s David Topping breaks down how the team approaches email lists in a very neat way here.


 

More than 100 MPs back calls to block sale of Telegraph to UAE-funded firm

The amendment would require parliament’s approval before UK news media organisations could be purchased by a foreign government

Finally, there’s another potential roadblock being thrown up between Redbird IMI and its purchase of The Telegraph. More than 100 MPs made a plea to block the sale of the newspaper to a UAE-funded firm on the ground “the move threatens to undermine free press in the UK”. I need to get my thoughts straight on that as an argument, to be honest. Let me know what you think by replying to this email!


More from Media Voices

 

The Economist’s Nada Arnot on why publishers should run more brand campaigns

Nada Arnot tells us about how the news-focused magazine is seeking to attract younger readers, and future plans for marketing The Economist.

 

By pretending to be underdogs, national news organisations do smaller publishers dirty

Big Tech companies like Google wield vast amounts of power in their respective fields. But by casting themselves as underdogs against monolithic but amorphous ‘Big Tech’, news organisations are seemingly exculpated from any fault of their own.

 

Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summit

We’re working on the agenda for our Podcast and Newsletter Summit in June. If you’ve got a case study or something you’d really like us to cover, tell us using this form.