The SPUR Coalition welcomes 30 new members in a major international expansion announced at the World News Media Congress in Marseille.

Published: 03 Jun 2026

The SPUR Coalition welcomes 30 new members in a major international expansion announced at the World News Media Congress in Marseille.

MARSEILLE, 03 June 2026 - Today, 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.

The group includes a new founding member, CMA Media, joining from France. Jean-Christophe Tortora, Deputy CEO of CMA Media, said: ‘By joining SPUR at board level, we are making a clear commitment to collective international action. The exceptional success of the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress in Marseille demonstrates that the world’s leading publishers are determined to open a new chapter in their relationship with technology platforms and public authorities: a ‘new deal’ based on fair value sharing, content protection, and the defense of reliable and independent journalism in the age of artificial intelligence.’

SPUR will also welcome two new global affiliate organisations: WAN-IFRA/FIPP and the European Publishers Council (EPC).

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.

SPUR will also welcome associate members: Times Higher Education, RNZ and AML Intelligence.

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.

Anna Bateson, CEO of Guardian Media Group, one of SPUR’s founding members, said: ‘Welcoming 30 new members, including our first founding member from France, gives SPUR the scale required to turn its mission into a global mandate. This collective strength will help legitimise the standards we create, safeguarding the intellectual property of publishers and providing AI developers with a route to scalable, sustainable licensing.’

Stig Ørskov, CEO of WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers and one of SPUR’s new global affiliate organisations, said: ‘Announcing the significant expansion of SPUR at the World News Media Congress - the world’s largest gathering of news media leaders - underscores the importance of this initiative. WAN-IFRA strongly believes that collective publisher action is essential to creating a fair and workable AI licensing market. The global news industry should be an active participant in shaping standards for the AI era, and our affiliation with SPUR marks an important step in that direction.’

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.

Publishers and affiliated organisations interested in joining SPUR can get in touch at info@spurcoalition.org.

ENDS