Celebrating Great Journalism - 13 September

Welcome to our weekly round-up of impactful journalism from across our 120+ trusted brands, from national titles like the Mirror, Express, Daily Record and Daily Star, to local brands like MyLondon, BelfastLive and the Manchester Evening News, as well as our US-based brands.

In last week’s newsletter, we looked at some of the content that has been keeping readers engaged on our sites for longer. This week, we will explore more of this, and some of our recent successes on TikTok - plus the news from Westminster that has outraged 20,000 readers of the Express.

Winter fuel payments cuts

One of the big talking points this week has been the vote on changes to winter fuel payments as part of the new Government’s review of budgets.

This has become a big issue for the Express, with more than 20,000 readers joining the title’s call for the proposals to be scrapped. On Wednesday, the paper led with a show of force from Conservative and Reform MPs who have vowed to keep fighting, despite the cuts going ahead.

This story cut through in a way that many political stories sometimes struggle to, with our Data Unit producing a gadget widely used on sites across the UK enabling people to see how their MP voted.

TikTok successes

The Mirror last week recorded its best ever week for TikTok, generating 54m views on the platform, with 78% of those views coming from people aged under 35, and 43% from under 25s.

This matters because the future of our brands is heavily reliant on finding new ways to get our journalism to people who don’t turn to our websites or papers through habit.

Videos that cut through for the Mirror included this one about a paedophile who caused an explosion on a film set in London, a gran who is being forced to survive on a diet of crisps and lots about the weather. The Mirror is also seeing an increasing number of videos generating lots of comments on TikTok, including this tragic story about a pensioner who was ‘kicked to death by a gang of kids’.

The Star’s TikTok channel saw a near record-breaker with 9.5m views on its coverage of a man ‘slapping’ a waitress in Nando’s.

And Curiously, our social video brand, has seen success with a series called Breaking Bank, looking at the wealth of celebrities, including Logan Paul, IShowSpeed and Selina Gomez. Well done to the team: Connor O'Neill, Tom Bidgood, Eva Lantos, Phil Boon, Sean Kilmore, Huseyin Seis and Beth Green.

Online successes

On our websites, the most engaging read of the month so far has come from Senior Reporter Chris Slater on the Manchester Evening News, who looked at the role Liam and Noel Gallagher's mother played in their reunion.

Also grabbing the attention of readers was this story on the Mirror by Senior Features writer Matt Roper, about how a pair of odd socks helped solve why a man disappeared from a pub toilet 56 years ago.

Last week, we explored the importance of stories that hold readers’ attention for more than a minute; a typical news story keeps a reader for 38 seconds. This week we have seen two such stories from our Mirror US team as it seeks to grow brand awareness in America.

Reporter Chiara Fiorillo authored both; this article on the threats made by the aunt of a teenager accused of a school shooting in Georgia and this story about an Alabama dad who died after doctors removed the wrong organ.

And finally, you might remember Senior Reporter Adam Cailler’s review of Cristiano Ronaldo’s champagne brand in the Star in July.? Adam attempted to sell on the empty bottle this week - and reported that on eBay, celebrity brands are a fickle business.

Thanks for reading, we’ll be back with more highlights next week.