The Independent says Independent Studio is where its journalism and content comes to life in talent-led media: original video formats, podcasts, newsletters and more.
Expansion in these areas in recent years has demonstrated how putting independent, trusted voices at the forefront creates deep engagement with audiences and creates valuable IP for brand sponsorships, added the publisher. The content will range across verticals from entertainment and lifestyle to sport and current affairs and will live on-site, across major platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, and in email inboxes.
The Independent Studio announcement coincides with the reveal of The Independent’s AI-enabled news service, Bulletin, which was live from yesterday. In a year-long development led by The Independent’s journalists and teams across the business, working with Google’s Gemini AI team, the publisher says the tools enable trusted news summaries for an era when disinformation is rife, the news agenda is busier than ever, and audiences are more pressed for time.
The Independent says these two launches underscore its tradition of innovation and entrepreneurialism, and its pro-active commitment to tackling distrust in media and disinformation through high-quality, trusted journalism.
INDEPENDENT STUDIO
The publisher says Independent Studio will produce a huge range of content, from podcasts and access to original videos and email newsletters, attracting deep engagement with audiences. Front and centre of Independent Studio will be acclaimed journalists, stand-out creators, and top talent: names and faces that our audiences can get to know and trust, the publisher continued.
In sport, for example, a new YouTube football channel, ACFC, launched last week by the creator Adam Clery, who spoke on stage at AdWeek, will combine with Miguel Delaney’s long-running football newsletter, and a new podcast.
In travel, Simon Calder and Annabel Grossman’s long-established and highly successful Travel Smart video series is accompanied by their email newsletter and Simon’s daily podcast.
Readers, viewers and listeners can expect fresh launches in areas including current affairs, football, music, film, food and more, added the publisher.
Independent Studio’s creative output and deep audience engagement builds on existing success and broadens possibilities for high-visibility partnership packages on high-value intellectual property, added the publisher. Travel Smart is a prime example of this, combining video, newsletter and podcast presence for brands. This formula delivers multiple touch points, unlocking the potential for huge engagement, and will be available in a range of key verticals, with entertainment, travel, food and drink, sport, EVs (electric vehicles) and money (from personal finance to careers, SMEs and business news) leading the charge, the publisher continued.
Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent, commenting on the announcement of Independent Studio at The Independent’s Advertising Week Europe session said: “People trust people, and platforms work well for people: one-to-one deep engagement with audiences through video, podcasts, newsletters and more. At The Independent, we give audiences the freedom to think what they think, make the choices they want to make. And we can give that freedom to creators too.”
BULLETIN
This week saw the first reporting facilitated by Bulletin, The Independent’s new service powered by proprietary AI editorial tools and verified by journalists.
Journalists at The Independent led the development of the tools and designed all the workflows: a new team of (human) editors will oversee all content and sign off before publication, solving the problem of attribution and fact-checking in many other AI initiatives, says the publisher. The Independent says only its own verified and fact-checked reporting will be used as source material for the bulletins, ensuring it continues to earn the trust of audiences.
The publisher says it has been working in partnership with experts at Google Cloud to integrate Gemini, Google's family of Al models, into Bulletin, alongside The Independent’s data and development teams. According to the Independent the toolkit will be continually developed, adding new features – video, graphics, timelines, explainers and personalisation – as the service evolves.
As well as publishing at bulletin.news, The Independent says it has partnered with WeAre8, a sustainable social media app, to deliver exclusive content to the platform’s 1.6 million monthly active users. This supports WeAre8’s mission to be a home for trusted, meaningful conversations and connections in a safe and protected place, where true freedom of speech and authentic journalism can thrive, added the publisher.
WeAre8 is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Zoe Kalar. The Independent says Zoe and her team have reimagined social media so that it brings people positivity, protection and shared economics. Firstly, the algorithms on WeAre8 have been unlocked so that people are no longer algorithmically controlled to scroll endlessly, but able instead to discover something they love and tap out to related websites to read more. Secondly, the economic framework has been radically changed so people can choose to watch an ad at a time that suits them with the money from the advertisers being shared with them and charities through an in-app wallet. Thirdly, in order to enable healthy discussion and real debate, the trolling and directed abuse has been eliminated through AI models that can detect and block toxic content, the publisher continued.
Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent commenting on the launch of Bulletin at The Independent’s Advertising Week Europe session said: “Bulletin is the result of a journalist-led process to work out the best uses of AI in journalism. Our belief is that AI is going to be used in newsrooms, so let’s use it well. Through technology, we can do something that’s been an ambition for a long, long time – more than a decade – to bring quality, trusted briefings to audiences who have less time than ever to keep up with a news agenda that has never been busier. Bulletin creates a whole new product out of our trusted Independent journalism.”
“It’s fundamentally different from asking an open-ended question to an AI tool, where we’ve all seen errors introduced. Instead, we take one single trusted source – and Independent report – that is turned into bitesize content, and approved by our human editors.”
Geordie Greig, editor-in-chief at The Independent, remarked about Bulletin: “The Independent always likes to be ahead of the game. As the first fully digital news brand in the UK, we lead again by now helping to pioneer what is a fact of life in 21st century information, the use of AI in journalism.
“We do this with Bulletin, AI with human editorial supervision to allow us to cut to the chase with essential news briefing. We embrace the opportunity to find a way to provide what our readers want: authoritative, quick, brief, engaging journalism as a supplement to what we also provide. It will have focus and act as a brilliant shorthand to our agenda-shaping journalism.”
Christian Broughton, CEO and former editor of The Independent, says about the new launches: “These twin innovations underscore what makes The Independent so special. Powered by tech, driven by people and giving audiences what they so desperately need: trusted, innovative journalism and content. Driving Bulletin is our belief that journalists should be the architects of how publishers take the best from the transformative powers of AI, while safeguarding audiences against any negatives. Our journalists wanted to ensure they are always in control of the process, so they worked through the workflows and tech implementation themselves, to serve our audience’s desire for trusted, essential briefings. That need has become more acute, whether from long working hours, busy family life, or all kinds of other reasons. Whenever readers want to go deeper, they can click through to The Independent’s in-depth news, or Independent Studio’s vast offering of content. We know that Independent Studio will be hugely welcomed by our audience, partners and advertisers.”
Zoe Kalar, founder and CEO, WeAre8, believes the partnership opens up a world of possibilities: “WeAre8 and The Independent are transforming social news with the launch of Bulletin. In a world where the stories that matter are getting lost to algorithms, journalists are being trolled, people are scared to ask questions, and misinformation thrives - we are radically reinventing and reimagining news on social media. WeAre8 eliminates the negatives of social media. Through WeAre8's healthy algorithms that enable people to see everyone they follow, an AI engine that eliminates abuse, links out from every post back to the publisher websites, and shared economics, we transform the news experience as we know it. Through Bulletin and WeAre8, people will see the daily snapshot of what is happening, but they are no longer passive bystanders. They can discuss the news on our Flows platform without the fear of being attacked. And, because our citizens are rewarded financially when they opt to watch ads on the WeAre8 platform, they can also choose to forward their earnings to key charities and non-profits supporting communities who are going through tragic and challenging times featured in the news. Together we enter a new world where news is truly social and our voices matter, where people can discuss the tough things without fear, elevate journalism, unlock economic flow back to people in need and empower people's voices to fast-track much needed change in the world.”
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