Changes to the way news is distributed and consumed through “secondary uses” like news scraping, has meant that online platforms have flourished without paying journalists and publishers their due share of revenues. Consequently, the UK has seen mass redundancies with 2,681 journalism jobs lost in 2023, up 48% from 2022.

Elsewhere, schemes have been put in place to ensure journalists and publishers are paid for these uses, but no such scheme has been implemented in the UK.

The research shows that the payments made through these schemes vary widely, but that using available international comparators as a guide; payments to UK freelance contributors could be anywhere between £25m and £322m.

The freelance journalism sector is in desperate need of this money. The additional income would help ease the challenges facing freelance journalists, identified in the research carried out by CREATe earlier this year. The research highlighted ‘Wild West’ employment practices and an average income of just £17,500, less than the national minimum wage.

The CREATe research also revealed freelance journalism to be an overwhelmingly white, middle-class profession, with only 19% of journalists coming from “lower” sociological backgrounds. Low wages were cited as a barrier to entry for those from underrepresented communities.

ALCS Deputy Chief Executive Richard Combes said: “In an era of disinformation and deepfakes, credible and reliable news reporting is essential, yet new and established journalists are struggling to make a living. It’s time for a new, fairer deal for freelance journalists, one which ensures they receive their due share of the vast sums being made from the online re-use of their work.”

National Union of Journalists General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “Today’s report affirms the NUJ’s calls for the agreements that redress the power imbalance between freelance journalists and platforms, providing crucial insight into the potential hundreds of millions in revenue that could be agreed in negotiations. Whilst the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act presents an opportunity to reform the current landscape, this research makes clear transparency must lie at the heart of agreements allowing data sharing to ensure journalists receive their fair share of revenue.”

You can see the full report from Datasky here.

The CREATe research can be viewed here.