ChatGPT starts to drive referrals to publishers
Plus: Going beyond the explainer format + Journalism Leaders Winter Forum line-up confirmed
Good morning,
And it’s Thursday - I was tied up with client work in London yesterday so the digest is slightly delayed (apologies) as I thump the keyboard on the trundling train back from Euston to Preston this morning. As usual below is my round-up of some interesting topics, links, reports and more in the digital journalism space which have gone across my feeds in recent days.
A reminder, I started this What I’ve Been Reading Digest back in the summer of 2023 as a way to collect thoughts and interesting links. I’m very thankful for the more than 200 people who indulge this in their inbox each week and if you ever spot something you think I should include then please do drop me a line on ed@almaonline.co.uk and let me know (it’s very much appreciated).
Onwards with this week’s interesting themes…
ChatGPT is starting to send traffic to publishers - FT Strategies - this shouldn’t be surprising, as usage of AI tools like ChatGPT grows it is starting to become an emergent referrer for publishers (and websites in general). It’s unlikely to send traffic in large bursts as is experienced with the likes of Google Discover or social media but I think we will see increasing referrals as it sparks curiosity.
While machines can give you information, they can’t give you the same context and nuisance as you get from human writing and understanding.
That’s where journalists remain crucial and have a huge opportunity. If you compare it to becoming trapped down a Wikipedia rabbit-hole (we’ve all been there) there’s a chance for publishers who have in-depth, specialist, coverage to start to see meaningful referrals.
What’s crucial is ensuring there’s a newsletter, a direct channel like WhatsApp, or a subscription element to try and take advantage of that curiosity once someone reaches your site.
And what I’m increasingly seeing with Google’s AI results is they are an enhanced version of the ‘snippets’ that have always existed. And the potential real-estate for publishers who are referenced is considerable.
It shouldn’t stop content usage deals being reached for AI companies indexing and using publisher content, but it is hopefully a sign there will be some flow of audience back to publishers from AI platforms and AI embedded within existing platforms.
And an interesting line in the Nieman report where the data was taken from, it references traffic from TikTok, trying to drive traffic directly from a social video platform is rather missing the point of being on that platform.
Weak assumptions, bad habits: Sarah Alvarez on pushing journalism beyond “sloppy work” - Nieman Lab - an interesting piece and study shared by my Alma colleague Luke which sparked partly as the inspiration for testing out a new format on The Lead (where we’re contracted to grow their national output and offering now). We had been toying with introducing a weekly explainer format, as The Lead often covers very chunky topics.
There’s a big opportunity for journalists to not just explain - information has always carried a very strong value within digital journalism (i.e. here is a list of the things being talked about) but adding some context within this. Showing there’s multiple sides to an argument and giving readers that feeling they have finished reading an article with a better understanding of what’s happening beyond just reading soundbites. But doing this in an engaging and accessible way. Hence why we now have The Lead Untangles as a format each Friday.
Journalism Leaders winter forum: Media leadership amid the certainty of uncertainty - University of [Central] Lancashire - the Journalism Leadership and Innovation programme I am involved in teaching on kicked off its 2025 cohort in recent weeks. It was a pleasure to pop in and talk to them on Monday this week to set the scene on journalism innovation (concepts and context). Later this month the first JLeaders forum of this year brings together a mix of journalists, editors, media leaders, academics, and more to debate some big topics. Full programme is below for Tuesday 25 February and it is broadcast online, register here to sign up.
And that’s the digest for this week, thanks as always for taking the time to read and I hope it proves useful.
It’s half-term here next week and my daughter’s eight birthday too (where does the time go!?) so the newsletter is taking a breather and will be back on Wednesday 26 February.
Hope you have a great rest of the week and weekend ahead.
Keep going.
Ed