The Independent Publishers Alliance Joins the Spur Coalition

The SPUR Coalition announced a major expansion with 30 new members joining from across the global journalism sector. The announcement, made at WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress, marks the most significant moment in the coalition's growth since its public launch at the end of February, and signals that publisher-led action on AI is consolidating into a coordinated, international movement. Joining as standard members are: a cohort of leading Canadian media organisations: The Globe and Mail, Quebecor, Postmedia, Torstar, CBC/Radio-Canada, La Presse and TVO Media Education Group. Alongside them are: SIPA Ouest-France Group, Ringier, Citywire, Sanoma Media Finland, Der Standard, Bonnier News and FD Mediagroep. Affiliate members will include: Digital Content Next (DCN), the Association of Online Publishers (AOP), Independent Publishers Alliance, Newsworks, the News/Media Alliance (NMA US), Independent Media Association (IMA), News Media Canada, the Hungarian Publishers’ Association, Hebdos Québec, the PPA (Professional Publishers Association) and PPA Magnetic. With these additions, SPUR will bring together 36 publishers and affiliate organisations to develop a market ecosystem that works for both publishers and AI developers. The coalition is inviting journalism organisations around the world to join in shaping how AI develops on terms that are fair, transparent and sustainable for the sector.

“Since we started the Alliance six years ago, we have evidenced the value of publishers coming together to face down challenges and share experiences for their business growth. We are delighted that our members will now be able to benefit from our association across this important international media coalition.”

Jon Westbrook, Co-Founder, Independent Publishers Alliance

SPUR's founding members - the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian Media Group, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group and Mediahuis - welcome the new cohort and will work alongside them on the coalition's technical, strategic and engagement priorities. Since launch, SPUR has made significant progress on its telemetry work: the technical infrastructure that enables publishers to see, in real time, how AI systems are using their content. The SPUR telemetry standard, which has been developed with SPUR members and technical partners, offers a framework for collaboration between content owners, AI platforms and intermediaries. We expect to launch the standard soon and will set out further details shortly.