‘I’ve had too many lunches to remember the best’: City AM co-founder Lawson Muncaster on 20 years in the Square Mile September 4, 2025 To mark 20 years of City AM, we spoke to the man who’s been there from the start, our managing director and co-founder Lawson Muncaster.
From fake AI journalism to very real lives: An anatomy of a scoop September 2, 2025 Last week I wrote a wild story that began with an AI-generated pitch about warring London chicken shops and ended with a video call to Nairobi with the man who had willed it into existence. Wilson Kaharua – working under the alias Joseph Wales – was not a criminal mastermind but a small-time SEO writer [...]
Social Chain: Steven Bartlett’s first company returns to the black September 1, 2025 Social Chain, the media agency which was co-founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett, has made its first profit since 2021, it has been revealed. The business, which was also set up by Dominic McGregor, has posted a pre-tax profit of £645,667 for 2024. New accounts filed with Companies House show that Social Chain’s return [...]
Mass hallucinations: How I caught a rogue AI reporter August 27, 2025 The ‘customer’ in the fried chicken shop didn’t touch his meal. Instead, he photographed the kitchen door’s keypad and left. ‘Corporate spy,’ muttered the cashier before showing me three identical incidents caught on his security cameras. This is the opening line of a pitch I received from a writer called Joseph Wales, entitled “London’s Fried [...]
Businesses face wave of AI smear campaigns August 15, 2025 Businesses are facing an uptick in smear campaigns as AI is making it quicker, easier, and cheaper to spread misinformation, which will get worse
The 24-second news cycle has killed off silly season August 12, 2025 In a media landscape fuelled by outrage, the news cycle has no more room for fun or nuance, writes Adam Taylor
WPP shares plunge again on halved dividend and strategic review August 7, 2025 Shares in advertising giant WPP dropped by as much as 4.7 per cent on Thursday morning after it revealed it would launch a strategic review and halve its interim dividend amid falling profit and stagnant revenue. The embattled media group, which owns major agencies like global PR shop Burson and creative juggernaut Ogilvy, revealed its [...]
Youtube becomes UK’s second most-watched media platform July 30, 2025 Youtube has overtaken ITV to become the second most-watched media brand in the UK – behind the BBC – thanks to an ever increasing loyalty from young audiences, according to an annual report from Ofcom. Viewers spent an average of four hours and 30 minutes a day watching either the TV or other video content [...]
Paramount bags South Park in $1.5bn deal after fierce bidding war July 24, 2025 Paramount has inked a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) deal with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, bringing the long-running animated satire exclusively to its streaming platform Paramount+ after a drawn-out bidding war with rivals including HBO Max and Netflix. The five-year agreement grants Paramount+ streaming rights to all 26 previous seasons of the Emmy-winning show [...]
WPP shares dive after sales slump July 9, 2025 Shares in advertising giant WPP plummeted by over 13 per cent on Wednesday morning after the company said sales would take a hit in the second quarter after it lost several key accounts. The FTSE 100 firm said on Wednesday revenue for the first half was expected to decline between 4.2 and 4.5 per cent. [...]