Media Revenue - David Clinch

Happy Friday and Happy Holidays! Welcome to my weekly review of all things related to media revenue and the future of journalism.

I am thinking about the progress that my partners and I have made this year in bringing together a remarkable network of media technology companies that are ready, willing and able to help support news organizations of all sizes as they create sustainable business models and publish impactful original journalism.

We are helping news organizations get access to games and puzzles, impact tools and analytics, responsible AI newsroom tools, universal bio verification, text functions, verified video, data journalism tools, fact checks, content provenance certification and many more media technology solutions.

If you want to know more about these solutions and how they can help your news organization MAKE MONEY, or how your foundation can help fund this kind of technology access for small news organizations, let me know via message or email: [email protected]

Let me know if you will be attending any of the other top news industry and journalism conferences in 2024 so we can meet in person. Sign up to the Mather Symposium in March right here:

Now take a look through some of the top media revenue stories for this week and let me know if I missed any:

The Rebirth of Local Journalism: "The New York Times highlights some of the best work from news outlets across the U.S." - New York Times.

$48 Million in Support of Local News, Initial Seeding of Press Forward Collaborative: "MacArthur today announced $48 million in grants to support pooled and aligned grantmaking in support of Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than $500 million dollars over the next five years." - MacArthur Foundation and John Palfrey

Global news brand traffic slump in November post Google updates: "Most of the world’s major English news websites saw steep traffic drops in November, possibly as a result of a series of Google updates." - Press Gazette.

Why Google’s lobbying in California skyrocketed this year: "Tech companies strongly opposed Assembly Bill 886, known as the California Journalism Preservation Act. The money appears to have been well spent. Lawmakers put the legislation on hold until 2024." - Los Angeles Times.

The Athletic joins Apple News+: "The Times will not count subscribers to Apple News+ as part of its publicly reported subscriber numbers." - Axios.

Inside The New York Times’ Big Bet on Games: "These games are critical to the Times’ business strategy in trying to reach users—and ideally, future paying subscribers—beyond its core news product." - Vanity Fair.

“The Worst That It’s Ever Been”: Inside Sports Illustrated’s Winter of Discontent: "Staffers are eyeing the exits after a year that began with layoffs and is closing with an AI scandal and the firing of top executives. Can the iconic magazine regain its footing?" - Vanity Fair.

Head of the Economist to take the reins at the Baltimore Banner: "After years running national and global news outlets, Bob Cohn tackles a new challenge: How to turn a nonprofit local news start-up into a self-sustaining enterprise" - Washington Post.

Justin Smith explains how Semafor achieved profitable months in its first full year?: "Semafor is about to close the book on its first full calendar year, having launched in October 2022 as a media and events company. And despite launching during a tumultuous time for any media organization, Semafor’s co-founder and CEO Justin Smith said that his team had profitable months this fall, even coming close to breaking even in the fourth quarter of 2023." - Digiday.

A fight over Trump and “balance” at The Messenger: "The editorial directive sparked immediate backlash among some editors in the newsroom, who noted that the publication had prominently featured major stories about Hunter Biden’s legal issues. It also prompted speculation from the group about the reason for Finkelstein’s repeated calls to remove the stories." - Semafor.

Guardian to build on ‘direct link’ between supporters and journalism with global growth: "Gibson said The Guardian’s model of asking readers for voluntary contributions, keeping its journalism free to all, is a “special thing” that has helped the publisher have a “lasting effect” on the world despite headwinds hitting the industry." - Press Gazette.

Warner Bros. Discovery in talks to merge with Paramount Global: "CBS News could be combined with CNN to create a global news powerhouse. CBS' crime dramas, such as "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds," could be combined with Investigation Discovery and TruTV." - Axios.

Paramount in Talks to Sell BET Network to Management Group: "Media mogul Byron Allen also renews his pursuit of network" - Bloomberg.