Germany’s biggest newspaper Bild and other outlets owned by Axel Springer will replace a set of editorial jobs with AI as part of the broader cost-cutting measures. This makes the tabloid one of the few high-profile media outlets that openly announced and implemented cuts citing generative AI tools.

The news doesn’t come as a surprise; earlier this year, Axel Springer announced cost-saving measures across its German news outlets, including closure of print editions, as it aims to focus on the US market. This week we got a better sense of what’s in plans, based on the company’s internal update reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine.

The company hasn’t published an exact number of job positions replaced by AI, but the memo clarifies that layoffs will impact non-reporting editorial jobs like subeditors, proofreaders and photo editors – in other words, those that could be automated more easily. The update makes clear that “the use of AI is no longer discussed, but actually implemented” within the company, Frankfurter Allgemeine writes.

Overall, Bild will cut around 200 jobs, thanks also to reducing the number of regional editions and the shift to digital.

The podcasting industry has been notorious for its lack of widespread convenient options to put content behind paywall, but new technical solutions have emerged over the past couple of years.

This week, Swedish-founded podcasting company Acast announced Acast+ Access, a new product that would allow publishers to integrate their existing paywall tech into podcasting platforms. The technology would help new outlets put their podcasts behind paywall and make them automatically available to their paid subscribers.   

The launch means “paywalled news outlets can much more easily begin offering podcasts as a members-only benefit”, Press Gazette writes. The product would be particularly useful for smaller news outlets who cannot afford investing in their own audio tech, like, say, The New York Times has done. 

In the meanwhile, US digital media company Vox Media announced the launch of its new subscription-only podcasting product – a version of its narrative podcast “Criminal” with bonuses for paid subscribers like exclusive segments and add-free episodes. As Axios reports citing the company’s executive, Vox Media’s large podcasting business is primarily ad-supported today, but their goal is to diversify revenue.

Bonus — Three more stories you might want to check out:

Source of the cover photo: Ralf Roletschek (talk) – Fahrradtechnik auf fahrradmonteur.de, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons

The Fix Newsletter

Everything you need to know about European media market every week in your inbox