Latest news with #OwenMeredith
BBC News
28-03-2025
- BBC News
Tallest tree in England receives makeover at Exmoor forest
The tallest tree in England has received a makeover to get more visitors to come see signage has been put in place and the paths were made more accessible around some of the country's tallest trees on Exmoor near them is the tallest tree in England, a Douglas Fir measuring 63m (207ft).Owen Meredith at Forestry England said: "It's massively important that people come out here and see these trees just so they're passionate about nature and the environment around them." The new signs next to the tallest tree said its height equalled "21 elephants standing on top of each other".Mr Meredith said the tree was planted 150 years ago, by a famous explorer and botanist, David Douglas."It's a baby in the grand scheme of things so it's still got a way to grow," Mr Meredith added."In America, they get up to 500 years old." Tara Maxamed, community ranger at Forestry England, said: "They grow so well here because we are at the bottom of a valley so we get a lot of rain water here, these type of trees love this type of area."Whenever you drive into Exmoor you usually drive into a cloud, that's typical for the area."We love this site, we think it's a really special site."Ms Maxamed said the makeover included a widening of the paths, to make it wasy to walk on for people with all abilities and parents with Thursday, pupils from Dulverton Primary School came to visit the forest and experience the new one of the pupils, said: "It's taller than the leaning tower of Pisa."Elsie added: "I didn't know a tree that big was in our country."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BBC scraps plans to put ads on corporation's Spotify audio content in UK
The BBC has dropped plans to put advertisements on some audio content outside of the corporation's platforms. The broadcaster was looking at generating sales in the UK through having hosting websites and apps, such as Apple and Spotify, introduce ads – while keeping BBC Sounds free from promotions. This follows criticism from the industry including the News Media Association (NMA), who claimed in 2024 that the idea would 'profoundly distort competition, wreaking havoc on commercial players right across the media and advertising sector'. The trade body has since welcomed the BBC's 'change of heart'. A BBC spokeswoman said: 'We have listened to feedback and having considered the options carefully, we have decided to rule out placing adverts around BBC licence-fee funded programmes on third party podcast platforms in the UK. 'We will continue to support the audio sector and the wider market, investing in the best ideas and developing production capabilities across the UK.' It is understood that industry stakeholders have been told about the decision, ahead of it being published in the BBC Annual Plan next week. BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the corporation, already sells audio books and puts adverts on the corporation's podcasts outside the UK. The corporation originally argued that 'adverts are the norm' on podcast platforms, unlike BBC Sounds, and the idea was to 'generate more revenue to support the BBC, licence fee payers, our suppliers and rightsholders'. NMA chief executive Owen Meredith said: 'This is a welcome change of heart from the BBC showing an understanding of how their unique funding and position, when abused, can have a detrimental impact on the commercial media landscape.' It is believed that BBC Studios will continue to try and commercialise audio content outside the UK, including through launching a new audio experience on In the UK, the corporation is understood to be trying to grow the BBC Sounds audience through making more of its podcasts available first on the app and site, before releasing them on third party platforms. The BBC has been increasingly cash-strapped in recent years, following the two years when the licence fee was frozen, and inflation reached high levels. The Government has committed to increasing the licence fee in line with inflation each year until 2027, starting with a rise from £169.50 to £174.50 next month.
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Make It Fair
Don't steal our creativity The imagination of the UK's creative industries powers the British economy and shapes how the rest of the world sees us as a nation. The creative works of British artists, authors, journalists, illustrators, photographers, film-makers, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters are being scraped from the internet by tech companies, big and small, to build and maintain AI products that have the potential to reshape our world. But most of those companies are taking British creativity without permission and, crucially, without payment. Without fair reward, our creative industries simply won't survive. The government must stand behind its creative industries. It's time to fairly compensate the creators. Read the Guardian view on AI and copyright here. --- 'MAKE IT FAIR' UK creative industries launch copyright fightback against global tech firms' AI Models Hundreds of news brand titles to run a campaign today as the government consultation ends The UK's creative industries have today launched a bold campaign to highlight how their content is at risk of being given away for free to AI firms as the government proposes weakening copyright law. A government consultation seeking views on the copyright issue closes today. The 'Make it Fair' campaign was developed to raise awareness among the British public about the existential threat posed to the creative industries from generative AI models, many of which scrape creative content from the internet without permission, acknowledgement, and critically, without payment. The impact on creative businesses and individuals throughout the country – who collectively generate over £120 billion a year towards the UK economy – will be devastating if this continues unchecked, or worse still if the government legitimises this content theft. On 25 February, which is the last day of the government's consultation, regional and national daily news brands are running the same cover wrap and homepage takeover. The campaign cover wrap states: 'MAKE IT FAIR: The government wants to change the UK's laws to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.' Weekly titles will run the campaign throughout the next week, with the aim of appealing to the British public to write to their MPs and back the creative industries. Launching the campaign today, Owen Meredith, CEO of News Media Association, said: 'We already have gold-standard copyright laws in the UK. They have underpinned growth and job creation in the creative economy across the UK - supporting some of the world's greatest creators - artists, authors, journalists, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters to name but a few. 'And for a healthy democratic society, copyright is fundamental to publishers' ability to invest in trusted quality journalism. The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI, and transparency requirements should be introduced to allow creators to understand when their content is being used. Instead, the government proposes to weaken the law and essentially make it legal to steal content. 'There will be no AI innovation without the high-quality content that is the essential fuel for AI models. We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our 'Make it Fair' campaign and call on the government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries.' Launching a music industry campaign to coincide with the 'Make it Fair' campaign, Ed Newton- Rex said: '1,000 UK musicians released a joint album today, recordings of empty studios, calling on the government to change course or risk empty studios becoming the norm. The government's proposals would hand the life's work of the UK's talented creators - its musicians, its writers, its artists - to AI companies, for free. The government must change course and make it fair.' -Ends- Notes to editors: The Make it Fair campaign will have various spokespeople available for interview on the day. Please contact laura@ for more information. If you wish to get a copy of the artwork, please speak to paul@ The copyright consultation in short: On 17 December 2024, the UK government launched a consultation process on copyright and AI. The government is trying to decide whether to let tech companies use content without permission unless the creators specifically say 'no'. Creators argue this puts the burden on them to police their work – which would be both costly and time consuming – and that tech companies should pay for using their content and work. The UK creative industries, which includes artists, authors, journalists, illustrators, photographers, film makers, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters, generates around £120 billion a year towards the UK economy. As the government progresses towards an AI Bill, the government must take the consultation responses on board before making a final decision on proposed legislation. The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is responsible for the bill. MPs are currently debating provisions added to the Data Bill which – in contrast to the government's plans – would make existing copyright law enforceable in the age of AI.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UK newspapers launch campaign against AI copyright plans
Some of the UK's biggest newspapers have used a coordinated campaign across their front pages to raise their concerns about AI's impact on the creative industries. Special wraps appeared on Tuesday's editions of the Daily Express, Daily Mail, The Mirror, the Daily Star, The i, The Sun, and The Times – as well as a number of regional titles – criticising a Government consultation around possible exemptions being added to copyright law for training AI models. The proposals would allow tech firms to use copyrighted material from creatives and publishers without having to pay or gain a licence, or reimbursing creatives for using their work. In response, publishers have launched the Make It Fair campaign, which saw newspapers put covers on the outside of their front page – criticising the Government's consultation – organised by the News Media Association (NMA), and backed by the Society of Editors (SOE). The message said: 'The Government wants to change the UK's laws to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.' It has been timed to coincide with the last day of the Government's consultation on Tuesday. Owen Meredith, chief executive of the NMA, said that 'copyright is fundamental to publishers' ability to invest in trusted quality journalism', and AI should be no different. He said: 'We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our Make it Fair campaign and call on the Government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries.' Dawn Alford, executive director of SOE, said the 'unprecedented and united action by publishers shows the strength of feeling around the Government's lack of support for the creative sector when it comes to AI'. In addition, the News Media Coalition (NMC), a not-for-profit organisation whose members include publishing houses, national and international news agencies, will make a written submission to the Government's consultation on Tuesday, warning of an existential threat to newsgathering and news operations from the unlicensed use of quality journalistic content by AI. The campaigns come alongside a protest from more than 1,000 musicians – including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn – who have released a joint silent album, featuring recordings of empty studios and recording spaces, meant to represent what will happen to human musicians if AI is allowed to use copyright works.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK newspapers launch campaign against AI copyright plans
Some of the UK's biggest newspapers have used a coordinated campaign across their front pages to raise their concerns about AI's impact on the creative industries. Special wraps appeared on Tuesday's editions of the Daily Express, Daily Mail, The Mirror, the Daily Star, The i, The Sun, and The Times – as well as a number of regional titles – criticising a Government consultation around possible exemptions being added to copyright law for training AI models. The proposals would allow tech firms to use copyrighted material from creatives and publishers without having to pay or gain a licence, or reimbursing creatives for using their work. In response, publishers have launched the Make It Fair campaign, which saw newspapers put covers on the outside of their front page – criticising the Government's consultation – organised by the News Media Association (NMA), and backed by the Society of Editors (SOE). The message said: 'The Government wants to change the UK's laws to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.' It has been timed to coincide with the last day of the Government's consultation on Tuesday. Owen Meredith, chief executive of the NMA, said that 'copyright is fundamental to publishers' ability to invest in trusted quality journalism', and AI should be no different. He said: 'We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our Make it Fair campaign and call on the Government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries.' Dawn Alford, executive director of SOE, said the 'unprecedented and united action by publishers shows the strength of feeling around the Government's lack of support for the creative sector when it comes to AI'. In addition, the News Media Coalition (NMC), a not-for-profit organisation whose members include publishing houses, national and international news agencies, will make a written submission to the Government's consultation on Tuesday, warning of an existential threat to newsgathering and news operations from the unlicensed use of quality journalistic content by AI. The campaigns come alongside a protest from more than 1,000 musicians – including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn – who have released a joint silent album, featuring recordings of empty studios and recording spaces, meant to represent what will happen to human musicians if AI is allowed to use copyright works.
