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Royal cleaner stories removed over authenticity concerns | Daily Mail 'arbitrarily' kept off Apple News
And Eye to Eye Media ceases trading, plus the British Journalism Awards are open for entries
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Welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Tuesday, 16 September.
Former royal cleaner Anne Simmons has become a media celebrity in recent months, appearing everywhere from The Times and The Sun to the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and New York Post.
Her tips on how the UK royals like to keep Buckingham Palace clean have gone viral online and secured valuable brand mentions for: Edit Suits, Plumbworld, Playcasino, Plates Express and Pure Window Cleaning.
That's because all her quotes were provided by a PR agency, apparently acting on behalf of these paying clients.
Buckingham Palace has no record of Simmons ever working there. And try as we might, Press Gazette can find no trace of her online. It’s like she was born in March 2025 when the first interview with her appeared in The Times, as a "brand ambassador" for Hyperion Tiles.
These appear to be yet more examples of dubious PR content being published by journalists and editors who don't have the time or the inclination to check whether it is fact or fiction.
The news industry will head to hell in a hand cart quicker than you can say "Barbara Santini" (see previous Press Gazette coverage) if editors don't start acting again as the gatekeepers of reality.
Also today, DMG Media has shared its extreme displeasure about the Daily Mail being left out of Apple News in the UK.
It didn’t think it was worth it financially to start with, based on evidence from the initial US launch, but said changes in monetisation and visibility mean it has become “as indispensable to an online news business as having access to Apple’s App Store or Google Search”. But now it’s too late and Apple News won’t seem to let them on.
The story also details the hit to revenue from Apple’s ad privacy changes as consent prompts made it more likely people wouldn’t consent to tracking.
We have a report on food publisher Eye to Eye Media, best known for Delicious magazine and for content work for Waitrose, which went into liquidation at the end of August.
And if your journalism has made a difference this year, enter the British Journalism Awards now for a chance of winning the ultimate newsroom accolade. Deadline for entry submissions is next Thursday 25 September.
On Press Gazette
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Royal cleaner stories removed by Times and Sun after authenticity questions
Dozens of stories published based on questionable press releases.
Daily Mail ‘arbitrarily’ stopped from joining Apple News
Mail publisher also reveals 'tens of millions' revenue hit from Apple ad privacy changes.
Food publisher Eye to Eye Media enters liquidation
Publisher of Delicious magazine ceases trading.
British Journalism Awards 2025: Deadline is 25 September
British Journalism Awards are open for entries.
News in brief
The Atlantic has reportedly agreed to pay more than $1m to a writer whose piece it had removed and retracted, who accused the magazine of defamation as a result. (The New York Times)
President Trump has filed a $15bn lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit names articles and a book written by two NYT journalists, “part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of...defamation" against him. (Associated Press)
MI5 has admitted it illegally obtained data from the phone of ex-BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney in 2006 and 2009. The BBC said this "raises serious and important questions that we will continue to pursue". (BBC)
Columnist Karen Attiah says she was fired from The Washington Post over Bluesky posts she wrote condemning political violence after the death of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk. She said the Post described them as "unacceptable" and "gross misconduct". (The Independent)