Ringier Joins the SPUR Coalition – for Fair AI Journalism

Ringier has joined the SPUR Coalition (Standards for Publisher Usage Rights) —a nonprofit coalition of media publishers dedicated to shaping the technical and commercial environment so that publishers, as intellectual property owners, can control and monetize how generative AI applications use their content. The founding members of the Ringier SPUR Coalition include the BBC, the Financial Times, the Guardian Media Group, Mediahuis, Sky News, and the Telegraph Media Group.

Participation in the World News Media Congress in Marseille

The new members were announced at the 77th World News Media Congress in Marseille. There, SPUR welcomed 30 new members, bringing its total to 36 publishers and partner organizations. According to the coalition, this is the most significant expansion since its public launch in late February 2026 and represents a coordinated global effort by publishers to gain control over how AI systems handle journalistic content.

Ringier is joining as a «Standard Member» and will work alongside the founding members to advance the coalition’s technical, strategic, and communications priorities. At the heart of this work is SPUR’s telemetry standard: a technical infrastructure designed to enable publishers to track in real time how AI systems use their content and to ensure that this use is transparent and fairly compensated. According to the announcement, the standard is set to be introduced shortly.

Ringier SPUR Coalition: A Global Framework for All Markets

Ladina Heimgartner, Head of Media at Ringier and CEO of Ringier Media Switzerland, emphasized the importance of a unified approach: «For our nearly 100 media brands across 11 countries, quality journalism depends on the integrity of our intellectual property. By making all Ringier media companies part of the SPUR Coalition, we are securing a seat at the table to help shape the technical standards of tomorrow.»

Michael Moersch, CEO of Ringier Media International, highlighted the cross-border aspect: «AI knows no borders, and neither should our framework for protecting digital journalism. By bringing all of Ringier’s international media brands into the SPUR Coalition, we can implement a coordinated, global standard across all our markets. This collective strength ensures that a piece of journalism—whether published in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, or elsewhere—is protected by the same robust telemetry standard as that used by the world’s leading media companies.»

Ringier is a European media company with a history spanning more than 190 years, approximately 6,000 employees, and more than 130 subsidiaries in 19 European and African countries. With a digital EBITDA share of 82 percent, the company ranks among Europe’s leading media companies, according to its own figures.

More information at: https://www.ringier.com