Mediagazer: Italy's national journalist union launches legal action after Giorgia Meloni's government refused to answer questions about allegedly using spyware on critics (The Guardian)

2:05 PM ET, February 19, 2025

Top News:

Italy's national journalist union launches legal action after Giorgia Meloni's government refused to answer questions about allegedly using spyware on critics — Union submits criminal complaint to prosecutors as ministers refuse to answer questions about alleged hacks

Discussion: Bloomberg, European Federation … and Euractiv

Washington Post:

Email: the US State Department orders the cancellation of news subscriptions globally, in particular the Economist, NYT, Politico, Bloomberg, AP, and Reuters — Embassies and consulates were told to terminate subscriptions to the New York Times, the Associated Press and others.

Discussion: New York Post, The Guardian, @davekeating, @mediaevan.bsky.social, @dannygroner.bsky.social, @Nonilex@masto.ai, @ginsengity.bsky.social, @jonathanmaus.bsky.social, @taraogrady.bsky.social and @laurenleharper.bsky.social

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Adrienne Roark, who was named president of CBS News in August of last year, plans to leave the company at the end of February to take a role at Tegna — They just can't keep senior executives at the top of CBS News. — Adrienne Roark, who was named president of the Paramount Global news division …

Discussion: TV Tech, Adweek, The Wrap, Radio & Television …, New York Post, @c_cgottlieb, @byronbeck, @thegussreport, @joematrixtruth, @bristei, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: the Pentagon's chief spokesperson invites conservative radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton to broadcast their show from the Pentagon — - The Defense Department informed NPR, the New York Times, NBC News and Politico that they had to move out of their workspaces at the Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon last month.

Discussion: Poynter, @mediaevan.bsky.social, @realtuckfrumper.bsky.social and @sarafischer

Anupriya Datta / Euractiv:

Euractiv's parent company Mediahuis sues X over scam ads designed to look like news articles and that allegedly infringe copyright and create reputational risk — Mediahuis Ireland stated that it was “forced to initiate proceedings” against X. — Languages: Spanish 2025

Discussion: @chris.euractiv.com, @noaasm.bsky.social and RTÉ

Austin American-Statesman:

Gannett signs a deal to sell the Austin American-Statesman and related publications to Hearst Corporation; the sale is expected to close by March 31 — American-Statesman staffAustin American-Statesman — Gannett Co. has signed an asset purchase agreement with Hearst Corporation to divest …

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, Gannett Co., Inc., MediaPost, Houston Business Journal, @abigailrosenthal.bsky.social and @jswatz.bsky.social

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

ABC: 55% of the combined 2024 digital magazine circulation in the UK came from “all you can read” services like Apple News+, Kindle Unlimited, and Readly — More than half of digital magazine circulation came via “all you can read” services in 2024, according to the latest ABC figures.

Discussion: The Media Leader

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Letter: Hearst CEO Steve Swartz told staff Hearst brought in a record $13B in revenue in 2024, and a tough ad market and cord-cutting is impacting A+E Networks — Steve Swartz says that Hearst had $13 billion in revenue in 2024 thanks to political advertising, but adds that a tough ad market …

Discussion: The Desk, @matthewkeys.net, @matthewkeys.net and The Wrap

CNN:

Sources: the Trump administration fired multiple staffers who handle FOIA requests, limiting reporters' access to security clearance records for Musk and DOGE — The Trump administration has quietly fired multiple members of the “privacy team” and other officials from the office that oversees …

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

An interview with Sky News Chair David Rhodes, a US cable news veteran who says the channel has never turned a profit in 36 years, as he works to overhaul Sky — Pivoting to premium, big-name content demands an organisational overhaul for the 24/7 broadcaster

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

TMTG and Rumble sue a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice in Florida for allegedly illegally suppressing the US social media activity of conservative Brazilians — - Suit targets a supreme court justice who has clashed with Musk — Brazilian judge has long attacked ‘fake news,’ disinformation

Discussion: New York Times, UPI, Benzinga, New Republic, Fortune, Reclaim The Net, Reuters, CNBC, Politico, Forbes, NBC News and Wall Street Journal

Belle Lin / Wall Street Journal:

Crunchbase launches AI tools to predict where startups are heading, including funding, acquisitions, and IPOs, based on its 17 years of startup data — The data company is using AI to forecast startup funding, acquisitions and public offerings—but its biggest challenge may be predicting its own future

Discussion: @dannygroner.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

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Business Editor, CA — TheWrap

Executive Ed. - Tech & Electronics, AZ — AspenCore

Economy & Industry Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Political Enterprise Editor, DC — Guardian US

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram updates direct messages with translation in 99 languages, scheduling and pinning tools, music-sharing features, and more, on iOS and Android first

Discussion: The Verge, @nkLottery@shakedown.social and Meta, more at Techmeme »

Kavitha Iyer / Article 14:
At least three nonprofit Indian investigative outlets, including The File, have been hamstrung since H2 2024 by tax authorities revoking their nonprofit status

Discussion: @article14live, @samar11, @article14live, @article14live, @betwasharma and @article-14.com

Alissa Quart / Columbia Journalism Review:
The US needs a working-class media covering wage stagnation, medical debt, housing from renters' perspectives, people living paycheck to paycheck, and more

Discussion: @werd.io, @jpmarthoz.bsky.social, Talking Biz News, @columjournreview.bsky.social, @joe.germuska.com, @civicDetroitDan@a2mi.social and r/Journalism

Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
Memo: Politico announces a reorganization, naming six key leaders reporting to Global EIC John Harris, with two also reporting to CEO Goli Sheikholeslami

Discussion: @dylanbyers and @bsdtectr.bsky.social

Nika Schoonover / Courthouse News Service:
A US federal judge orders Carlos Watson and Ozy Media to pay $36M+ in restitution and nearly $60M in forfeiture for lying about finances; Watson plans to appeal

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google Play Books for iOS now lets users complete their e-book or audiobook purchase on the Google Play website, under Apple's “reader apps” exception

Discussion: The Keyword and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Rebecca Stewart / Adweek:
Publicis Groupe buys Brazil-based influencer and content agency BR Media for an undisclosed sum; BR Media claims it has access to a network of 500,000+ creators

Discussion: Ad Age, The Rio Times and MediaPost

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Knight Foundation will invest $25M in the American Journalism Project, to expand AJP's work supporting local newsrooms from 50 to 60 over three years

Discussion: Associated Press, TVNewsCheck, American Press Institute, @sarafischer, Patty Pina Slutsky on LinkedIn and @theajp.bsky.social

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Starting on February 19, Meta will store Facebook Live broadcasts for 30 days instead of storing them indefinitely and will remove videos older than 30 days

Discussion: Metro.co.uk, Meta, The Sun, Mirror, @markeortega, @mediaevan, @arictoler, The Verge and @chronotope.aramzs.xyz

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
VFX company DNEG's AI unit Brahma acquires Metaphysic, a maker of AI tools for de-aging and more; Abu Dhabi's UASG and DNEG will invest another $25M into Brahma

Discussion: The Wrap, Business Standard, Livemint, DNEG, Deadline and Variety

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
SportsNet New York will launch a paid streaming service to watch the Mets' games without paying for a TV bundle; 22 MLB teams can be watched without a TV bundle

Discussion: SportsPro, @tvgrimreaper, Cord Cutters News, @evandrellich, @williamnyy23, New York Post, The Streamable, TVNewsCheck, The TV Answer Man!, Awful Announcing, @robpegoraro.com and r/baseball

From Techmeme:

John Hudson / Washington Post:
Sources: WH national security adviser Michael Waltz and other National Security Council members have conducted government affairs over personal Gmail accounts

CNBC:
Circle files for a US IPO, with plans to list on the NYSE under CRCL; Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, is reportedly seeking a $4B to $5B valuation

Reuters:
Sources: Arm decided not to pursue a deal after recently seeking to acquire Alphawave, a UK-listed supplier of semiconductor IP that is exploring a sale

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