Fighting for journalism and profitable news media Live blogging tips from The Guardian’s Andrew SparrowPlus Computer Weekly's campaigning editor says Google is 'killing quality journalism'Good morning from the team at Press Gazette on Wednesday, 5 August. 🧑💻 Live blogs, a bit like email newsletters, are one of those older bits of ‘new media’ that keep on giving. The Guardian has pioneered this format since the late 2000s when it began live blogging everything from Big Brother to high-profile football and cricket matches. Today, live blogs account for around 15% of the brand’s traffic (around 500 million page views so far this year!). In our latest Masterclass feature we spoke to king of the political live bloggers - Guardian reporter Andrew Sparrow - about what makes a good live blog, how the technology that drives them has changed and why he thinks AI is not going to replace him. Check out our other Masterclass features here, which include tips from the experts on utilising first-party data, making money from online video and producing a hit email newsletter. 🤓 And in our latest ‘What I’ve Learned’ feature we spoke to journalism hero Bryan Glick – the editor who helped secure justice for the victims of the Post Office IT scandal by backing more than a decade of campaigning investigative journalism. Computer Weekly is a title that adds to the sum total of human knowledge and keeps a vast and vital industry on its toes. So it’s sad to hear from Glick that Google, a business that claims it is committed to supporting the news industry, is the thing that currently presents the biggest threat to him doing his job. He said: “Google is killing quality journalism and original reporting.” And he added that it “behaves like a rogue security guard at the entrance to a shopping centre, deciding on a whim which stores visitors are allowed into”. I love reading the bit in this feature where we ask people what motivates them. If you’re a journalist it certainly isn’t money. You need some other inner motor to keep fighting the good fight year after year. Glick said: “Journalism is the best job in the world, isn’t it? For someone with a curious mind and a desire to understand how things work, it’s the dream job.” 🤏 News In BriefThe Met Police spent four months investigating an allegation of harassment against a Times Higher Education (THE) journalist who emailed a Cambridge professor with questions about his academic record. (The Telegraph) Business Insider interim CEO Christian Baesler is staying on permanently. He said there are "significant near-term opportunities" in the brand's social and newsletter reach while becoming "essential for a number of professional niches" via original reporting/events. (Business Insider) Paramount CEO David Ellison has said CNN is at the root of opposition to the company’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery, with “speculation about my politics, my loyalties, my intentions”. (The New York Times) Channel 4 News has appointed The News Agents executive producer Louis Degenhardt in the newly-created role of head of platforms to make sure its journalism "is seen, heard, makes sense and makes an impact wherever audiences get their news". (Channel 4 News) The National Council for the Training of Journalists is looking for someone connected with journalism to run th |