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Most click links after AI Overview | Police sorry for harassment visit to journalist
And we explore what paper rounds look like today in the UK.
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Welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Wednesday, 27 August.
A journalist from a local news website in Northamptonshire has become the latest UK reporter to get a visit from the police for doing their job.
Sarah Ward was warned that her emails to a local councillor could constitute harassment and was told by an officer to desist.
Given the story she was covering related to a man who had admitted to having sex with an underage girl, you would think the public interest was clear and she couldn’t reasonably deny him right of reply.
Fair play to Northamptonshire Police for swiftly admitting their mistake and issuing an apology. But more work is clearly needed from the National College of Policing to educate officers about the watchdog role of journalists and the fact that a free press is something they should be helping to protect, not undermine.
Today we also report a new survey which gives a snapshot of public attitudes to Google AI summaries one year after they were launched in the USA. It suggests that people are visiting fewer websites as a result of Google changes, but they say they are still clicking through to links when an AI summary is present.
And finally, former paperboy Stephen Smith returns to the streets after an absence of around 40 years to find that paper rounds are still a thing in the UK (just about). They provide cash and an entrance to the world of work for teenagers (as well as getting them off the sofa) and a vital human connection for those receiving deliveries. But for how much longer?
Press Gazette has now released the full line-up of speakers for the 2025 Future of Media Technology conference at the London Hilton Bankside on 11 September.
This event is purely focused around discussing and showcasing new ways to make journalism pay in the digital age. Full details here.
On Press Gazette
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Police sorry for harassment warning to journalist who contacted councillor
Councillor admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old when in his twenties.
Survey suggests readers still click on links after reading Google AI Overview
US adults claim to trust Google's AI summaries about the same as results in traditional search.
Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls
Former paperboy Stephen Smith gets back on the street with his 13-year-old son.
News in brief
Australia’s Nine Entertainment has posted FY2025 profits of $194m (down 10%) and $2.68bn revenue (up 2%). It will spend $50m digitising archives and will invest in AI, but gave no word on acquisitions after its Domain sale. (The Guardian)
Daily Mail owner DMG Media has written to the CMA saying that AI Overviews is leading to readership from Google searches to fall by as much as 89pc. (The Telegraph)
Journalists in Lebanon are demanding an apology after US envoy Tom Barrack told them to “act civilised” and not be “animalistic” during a press conference in Beirut, following the US delegation’s meeting with the Lebanese president. (The Guardian)
Alex Altman has been named executive editor at Time. He will lead Time's coverage of politics, policy and national affairs, and report to editor-in-chief Sam Jacob. (Time)
SWNS is expanding its team and advertising "a whole host of jobs", including a reporter and YouTube channel manager and editor, as it grows its "offering for clients". (LinkedIn)
Jennifer Peter, managing editor at The Boston Globe, is leaving the paper after 21 years to become editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organisation focused on criminal justice reporting. (Media Nation)