How The Generative AI Boom Proves We Need Journalism

Danielle Coffey, CEO and president of the News/Media Alliance, believes journalism and generative AI can play nice.

But first, generative AI companies must get real about the value journalism brings to their products.

“This doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game,” Coffey told AdExchanger. “These innovative technologies are very promising, but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of journalism.”

AI companies acknowledge the value of journalism, Coffey said… So, she argued, they should look at working with journalists as part of the cost of doing business – similar to how Netflix or Spotify compensate content creators for their IP.

Click here to read the rest of the Q&A on AdExchanger‘s website.

Related:

News/Media Alliance Artificial Intelligence articles

Alliance CEO Op-Ed: Can AI companies and media publishers work together?

AI White Paper: How the Pervasive Copying of Expressive Works to Train and Fuel Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems Is Copyright Infringement And Not a Fair Use

AI Principles

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Opinion: Can AI companies and media publishers work together?

Licensing agreements and permissions would protect the news industry’s work while delivering higher-quality AI content

Generative artificial intelligence has the potential to reshape the digital economy and alter the online experience for millions of consumers. Systems that rely on large language models have already ushered in rapid changes to the news media landscape, and many journalists today are using these tools. But as these technologies become more prevalent, we must develop appropriate guardrails that protect the intellectual property rights of media publishers.

Every day, publishers in print and digital media invest in the creation of high-quality content that is informative, trustworthy and engaging.

Click here to read the rest of the op-ed on The Mercury News‘s website.

Related:

News/Media Alliance Artificial Intelligence articles

AI White Paper: How the Pervasive Copying of Expressive Works to Train and Fuel Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems Is Copyright Infringement And Not a Fair Use

AI Principles

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA – Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will hold a hearing at 2:00 p.m. ET, on “Oversight of A.I.: The Future of Journalism,” which will explore the impact of the growth of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) technology on publishers’ ability to provide high-quality journalism and possible oversight mechanisms to help protect and sustain quality journalism.

Witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing include Danielle Coffey, President & CEO of the News/Media Alliance (written testimony here); Roger Lynch, CEO at Condé Nast (written testimony here); Curtis LeGeyt, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (written testimony here); and author Jeff Jarvis (written testimony here).

Coffey’s comments before the Subcommittee will explain how Generative AI tools exploit news content to compete directly with publishers, yet need quality journalism to train their systems. Coffey will focus on the copyright infringement implications of how GAI developers train and use their models, as well as the need for legislation, including requiring transparency and responsibility from GAI developers, and passing the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA), which would allow publishers to collectively negotiate for fair compensation for use of their content by the dominant tech platforms, such as Meta and Google.

Since generative AI technology took off exponentially last year, the News/Media Alliance has been leading the call for AI companies to seek proper permissions and licensing from publishers for use of their valuable content. Last fall, the Alliance published a White Paper revealing that GAI systems copy massive amounts of publishers’ original works, almost always without authorization or compensation, and publisher content is overweighted in materials used for training these systems. The White Paper and comments the Alliance submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office also explain the legal implications of such use.

In response to the hearing, News/Media Alliance President & CEO, Danielle Coffey stated, “We commend Subcommittee Chair Richard Blumenthal and Ranking Member Josh Hawley and the Senate Judiciary Committee for recognizing the urgent need to address our very serious concerns about the impacts of AI technology on providers of quality journalism, as well as the legal questions this raises. AI companies are scraping our content to compete with it – usually without any compensation to, or permission from the publishers of that content – while they reap all the benefits. This is classic freeriding that infringes publishers’ copyrights and goes far beyond fair use.”

Coffey’s testimony offers multiple suggestions for policymakers, including:

• Recognizing that unauthorized use of publishers’ expressive content for commercial GAI training and development is likely to compete with and harm publisher businesses in a manner that infringes copyright;
• Creating transparency requirements to require the recordkeeping and disclosure of unauthorized training uses of material that is protected by copyright, by technical protection measures, or governed by contractual terms prohibiting scraping; and
• Adopting legislation to remedy existing market imbalances that prevent publishers from engaging in fair negotiations for the use of their content against dominant platforms.

A new report released by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in November found that the rate of newspaper closures has accelerated, now at 2.5 closures per week (with more than 130 confirmed newspaper closings or mergers in the last year), resulting in the expansion of news deserts, in which communities lack a source of local news.

Coffey concluded, “For years the tech platforms have gotten away with using publishers’ content without appropriate compensation. This problem, having gone unaddressed, has been getting worse and now, AI doubles down on the threat the largest tech platforms pose to publishers’ viability. Countries all over the world are introducing and passing legislation requiring the tech platforms to pay news publishers. The United States cannot fall behind other countries and should pass the JCPA, which will ensure publishers can continue to provide important high-quality journalism we all depend on. We have to act now before it’s too late.”

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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We are pleased that the Office has proposed a solution that can be quickly implemented and takes a pragmatic approach by accepting deposits of identifying material to evaluate for registration. It is imperative that digital news publishers can reasonably and functionally access the full benefits of the copyright system, including the statutory remedies for infringement of their content.

Today’s notice is an important step, but not the end, of the process. The News/Media Alliance looks forward to commenting on the proposal and for the Office to swiftly finalize the rule so that publishers can make use of this group option. Building on past successful consultations in connection with the 2018 group newspaper registration rule, we will continue working with the Office to ensure the registration program meets the needs of media publishers. We look forward to further improvements once the outdated computer registration system is eventually updated, and commit to helping educate news publishers so that they may avail themselves of this new group option and comply with its requirements.

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Arlington, VA – Hundreds of millions of adults read news and magazine media each week. That finding and many others can be found in the newly released News/Media Alliance 2023 Market Report: News and Magazine Media: Providing a Trusted, Brand Safe Source for Reaching Engaged & Influential Audiences. The Market Report provides useful facts and figures on the news and magazine media audience and related benefits and advantages for marketers of advertising in print and digital news and magazine media.

A key overall finding of the Market Report is that the inherent value of the news and magazine media audience itself continues to be a huge benefit for advertisers due to their socioeconomic profile and strong purchasing history in several retail categories.

The report highlights the unique qualities of news and magazine media for advertisers, including a brand-safe environment; audience trust in and engagement with the advertising found in their products; a wealthier, more-educated audience than the average U.S. adult; news media reach of more than 116 million U.S. adult consumers, including 44 percent of adults; and magazine media reach of 224 million Americans in 2023.

The Market Report details how news and magazine media provide the best advertising strategies and channels to reach the desired audience(s). The report looks at key demographics of the news and magazine audience, such as income and education, as well as their buying and spending habits and their role as influencers in society which, taken together, make them a must-reach audience for advertisers.

Alliance Vice President of Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank said, “We are excited to have this data to help us evolve the understanding of the value of news and magazine readers for advertisers, which we hope will sustain ad-supported media into the future.”

Today’s news and magazine companies are publishers of original content, providers of marketing services and experts on their readers and communities. Their solutions encompass a variety of customer-focused marketing solutions, from standard print and digital advertising to events, research and marketing services.

“Nowhere else can readers find the quality journalism and content that our members offer,” said Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey. “From sports to politics to recipes to games to breaking news to investigative journalism, news and magazine media provide that brand safe environment where marketers can feel confident that their ads will always appear alongside trusted and credible content.”

This is the first combined report on the unified news and magazine media industry under the News/Media Alliance, which last year merged with MPA, the Association of Magazine Media. Alliance members represent many of the largest and most renowned brands in the magazine and news publishing industries representing $45 billion in combined annual revenue.

The 66-page Market Report includes research and statistics from a wide range of sources, including MRI-Simmons, Nielsen Scarborough, Edelman Trust Barometer and more, which paint a comprehensive picture of the value of the news and magazine audience for advertisers.

Highlights from the 2023 Market Report include:

Reach:

• Our products reach hundreds of millions of Americans.
• Print and digital newspaper reach nearly half of all US adults (116 million or 44%)
  • 45% of adult men engage with news media weekly, 43% of adult women.
• The US magazine audience reached 223.6 million Americans in 2023 (print + digital)
  • 87% of US adults have read a magazine in the last 6 months.

Valuable Audiences:

• The news media audience is well-educated and high-income, with a median household income $8K higher than the national average.
  • News audiences who access news via web/apps/mobile are younger (half are under age 44) and even higher-earning individuals.
• Nearly 9 in 10 Americans of all age groups have read magazine media in the past 6 months, with numbers increasing as age decreases.
  • Black, Hispanic and LGBT Americans all read more print magazines per month than the U.S. average.

Trust:

• Traditional media sources are more trusted than owned and social media.
• Magazine readers are trusted by their communities and influence others’ purchases and make recommendations.
  • Readers prefer magazines to internet, TV and radio on the topics of healthcare, automotive, vacation, finance, and food.

Spending Habits:

• News media reach not only high-value consumers, but those who make high-end purchases.
  • News media reach 58% of households that own or lease a hybrid or electric car, 58% of households that own stocks, and 51% of shoppers who spent $2500 or more on internet purchases in the past year.
• Nearly 8 in 10 magazine readers who see an ad in their magazine take an action as a result.
  • One in four readers looked for more information about the product/service, and one in five visited the advertiser’s website.

The Market Report is available exclusively to Alliance members on its website here (member login required). Advertisers and other who are not Alliance members who are interested in obtaining a copy of the report can request it here.

###

Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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Credit: patpitchaya / iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

This Q&A provides additional background information and answers to common questions about the News/Media Alliance 2023 Market Report: News and Magazine Media: Providing a Trusted, Brand Safe Source for Reaching Engaged & Influential Audiences.

Q: What is the Market Report and what does it contain?

A: The 2023 Market Report from the News/Media Alliance is a comprehensive research report that provides revealing facts and insights that help inform publishers and advertisers about the value of our members’ products.

The 2023 Report features newly published data about news and magazine media, including audience size and demographics, reader consumption behavior, shopping trends, and more. The report grew out of previous work done by the News/Media Alliance, specifically the News Advertising Panorama and Magazine Media Factbook (member login required).

Q: Who is the audience(s) for the Market Report?

A: The audience for the Market Report includes those working in or with the news and magazine industry, including in advertising, marketing, editorial, audience engagement, and other aspects of providing engaging content to readers. There are hundreds of useful data points in the Market Report to help you gain additional insight into who, what, when, where and why readers engage with news and magazine media, including ads.

Q: Why did you combine the separate news and magazine reports?

A: We know that all publishers – news and magazine outlets, print and digital – face similar challenges and can help one another to position themselves for success. As our organizations merged in 2022, we represent a unified industry working toward shared goals, and so moving forward, we will release the data in a combined Market Report.

However, the report still breaks out separately data that is specific to news or magazines.

Q: What are the main highlights of the Market Report?

A: We see the most important findings that members and advertisers alike can draw from the report as laddering to four larger categories:

1. Audience Size: News and magazine media reach hundreds of millions of Americans.

• Print and digital newspapers reach nearly half of all US adults (116 million, or 44 percent).
  • Forty-five percent of adult men and 43 percent of adult women engage with news media each week.
  • Magazines reached 223.6 million Americans in 2023 (print + digital).
    • Eighty-seven percent of U.S. adults have read a magazine in the last six months.

2. Audience readership composition + demographic info: News and magazine media reach a wide group of valuable consumers.

• The news media audience is well-educated and higher income, with a median household income that is $8,000 higher than the national average.
  • News audiences who access news via web, apps, and mobile are younger (half are under age 44) and even higher earning.
• Magazines reach an engaged audience of young and diverse consumers.
  • Eighty-seven percent of white adults, 88 percent of Hispanic adults, 89 percent of Black adults, 91 percent of LGBT adults and 92 percent of Asian-American adults read magazines in the past six months.
  • Eighty-nine percent of Americans under age 35 and 90 percent under age 25 also read magazines in the past six months.

3. Opportunities for advertisers: News and magazine media reach people looking to make big ticket purchases and who take action on information they get from news and magazines.

• News media reach not only high-value consumers, but those who make high-end purchases.
  • News media reach 58 percent of households that own or lease a hybrid or electric car, 58 percent of households that own stocks, and 51 percent of shoppers who spent $2,500 or more on internet purchases in the past year.
  • Nearly eight in 10 magazine readers who see an ad in their magazine take an action as a result.
  • One in four readers looked for more information about the product/service, and one in five visited the advertiser’s website.

4. Trust: News and magazine publishers earn readers’ trust and they share our products with their friends and families.

• Traditional media sources are more trusted than owned and social media.
• Magazine readers are trusted by their communities and influence others’ purchases and make recommendations.
  • Readers prefer magazines to internet, TV and radio on the topics of healthcare, automotive, vacation, finance, and food.

Q: What else can I expect in the Market Report?

A: Other data in the Market Report include: Information about audience size and growth, reader demographics, purchase and spending behaviors, voting behavior, perceptions of news and magazine products, reader trust in news and magazine media, including ads; opinions about advertising fit with news and magazine content; and actions taken after seeing ads in news and magazine media.

Q: Where did the data come from?

A: Data and statistics in the 2023 Report came from some of the most trusted research companies in the field, including Nielsen Scarborough, MRI-Simmons/GfK, and Edelman.

Q: How can people use the Market Report?

A: Our vision for the Market Report and its predecessors has always been to inform any and all activities that publishers are using to help sustain their businesses. Examples include developing presentations and Media Kits for advertisers, developing new local outreach strategies, and refining advertising client targets based on these data points.

Q: Can I use content straight from the Market Report in my own presentations, and do I have to get permission first?

A: Yes! Members can use full slides or certain charts and graphs from the Market Report within presentations and in internal and external communications. We just ask that you attribute the information to “News/Media Alliance, 2023 Market Report, November 2023.” You do not have to get formal permission first.

Related Articles:

Press release: New Market Report from News/Media Alliance Provides Trends, Insights on Valuable News & Magazine Audience for Advertisers

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The latest research, trends and insights on the news and magazine audience for marketing and advertising professionals

The News/Media Alliance is pleased to provide the 2023 Market Report: News and Magazine Media: Providing a Trusted, Brand Safe Source for Reaching Engaged & Influential Audiences. The Market Report provides updated research trends and data points that highlight the continued enthusiasm for news and magazine media, as well as the strong credibility and trust news and magazine media enjoy with their readers. The Market Report’s insights on readership and audience preferences aid news, magazine and advertising professionals in their collaboration and enhancement of their advertising efforts.

The Market Report, published by the News/Media Alliance, represents many of the largest and most renowned brands in the magazine and news publishing industries, representing over 2,200 print and digital publications in the United States and globally, and over $40 billion in annual revenue.

News/Media Alliance members:

Access the Market Report – member login required.*

Non-members / Agencies:

If you are not a member of the Alliance, but you are interested in requesting the 2023 Market Report, please submit a request here for consideration to receive a copy.

* If needed, you can reset your Alliance password here. Please email membership@newsmediaalliance.org if you require assistance or have any questions.

Related resources:

View the press release on the 2023 Market Report here.

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