BBC News fends off news avoidance with AI department
BBC News is set to create an AI department as part of a plan by Deborah Turness to fend off ‘news avoidance’ and remain relevant as digital content increases. Its Growth, Innovation and AI department will be aimed at the under-25s and will curate stories for users based on their previous consumption. The moves come as the BBC News app overtakes Apple News as the No 1 UK news app, despite it being pre-installed on every iPhone.
The Guardian – BBC News to create AI department to offer more personalised content
The Atlantic named fastest growing magazine in H2 2024
The Atlantic was the fastest-growing US title in the second half of 2024, according to data from the Alliance for Audited Media. Its circulation has grown 15% year-on-year, with the highest print circulation increase among the top 50 titles and the second-largest increase in paid subscriptions. The biggest US magazines overall were AARP The Magazine (22.2M total circulation), AARP Bulletin (22.1M), alongside Costco Connection (15.3M).
Press Gazette – Top 50 magazines in the US: The Atlantic is fastest growing title in second half of 2024
Telegraph bucks the trend, for time spent reading its content
UK digital news saw a mixed start to 2025, with audience figures showing both big leaps and falls. Eight of the ten biggest websites saw minutes spent with their content decline between January 2024 and January 2025. However, all ten sites saw month-on-month growth, indicating a more recent upwards trajectory. The biggest decline in minutes spent was The Guardian, down 28% YoY whereas The Telegraph bucked the trend – and was up 20% YoY.
Press Gazette – 50 biggest UK news websites Jan 2025: Express audience up by a third in past year]
The Standard relaunches ScaleUp Standard
ScaleUp Standard is back, bringing expert insights into the UK’s thriving scale-up and start-up scene. The newsletter is in collaboration with the ScaleUp Institute and The London Standard, covering startup success stories, funding opportunities, and advice for founders. The first two editions have featured Richard Branson and Simon Squibb. This is a must-read for business leaders navigating growth or looking for inspiration from those that have done it before.
Media Spotlight – Credits to Lucy Tobin’s LinkedIn Post
Majority of advertisers fear tariffs will lead to budget cuts
94% of US advertisers are concerned that tariffs will impact ad spending, according to an IAB survey. 57% say they are “extremely concerned”, while 37% are “somewhat concerned”. 60% anticipate ad budgets will drop by 6-10%, and 22% predict cuts of 11-20%. It’s expected that traditional media and social advertising will take the biggest hit, while CTV and online video may prove more stable.
MarTech – 94% of advertisers concerned tariffs will lead to cut in ad spending: IAB
Instagram “Blend” Reels: Future of Sharing? Or Just More Noise?
Instagram is testing “Blend” a new messaging feature that enables users to view a shared feed of AI-recommended Reels with a friend. The “Blend” feed shows Reels suggested to both friends based on their collective activity on Instagram, including the Reels they watch and interact with. Instead of sending Reels individually, “Blend” displays a stream of Reels to both users. The feed will also realign itself to collective interests based on future Reels shared in the chat.
Social Media Today – Instagram Begins Live Testing of ‘Blend’ Reels Sharing Feature
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