Top News:
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
The Athletic hires six former Washington Post sports reporters, including Candace Buckner, after the Post dismantled its sports section earlier in February — The Athletic is hiring a slew of sports reporters from the Washington Post to expand its coverage of D.C. teams.
Discussion:
The New York Times Company, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Micah Gelman on LinkedIn, Valerie Remy on LinkedIn, @mikemadden.bsky.social, @jbillinson, @candacedbuckner, @davejorgenson.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social, @jimvandehei, @nielslesniewski, @pressgazette.co.uk, @bencjacobs, @kerrymflynn, @leadergrev.bsky.social, @jeremymbarr, @spencernusbaum_, @mlcalderone, @benjysarlin, Sports Media Watch, @bfquinn.bsky.social, @davidaldridgedc, @candacedbuckner, @aarongleeman.bsky.social, @chelsea_janes, @barrysvrluga and Sports Business Journal
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD reports Q4 revenue down 6% YoY to $9.46B, net loss down 49% YoY to $252M, streaming revenue up 4% YoY to $2.8B, and 131.6M streaming subs, up 3.5M from Q3 — HBO Max added subscribers and grew revenue. … But it's the roiling M&A tide, with Paramount suddenly in a position to hijack …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Advanced Television, Variety, The Streamable, Sports Business Journal, The Information, Deadline, C21Media, Proactive, Forbes, Media Play News, Lowpass, Front Office Sports, TVNewsCheck, Streaming Better, The Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo Finance, Wall Street Journal, Sharecast and Broadband TV News
RELATED:
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A record 129 press members were killed in 2025, the second consecutive YoY record; Israel was responsible for two-thirds of killings in 2025 and 2024 — Key findings — More journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 than in any other year since the Committee to Protect Journalists …
RELATED:
Nagham Zbeedat / Haaretz:
Israel bans five Palestinian media outlets, alleging they operate as propaganda or media arms for Hamas without releasing evidence for the claim — The platforms were banned under Israel's Counter-Terrorism Law as security officials reportedly allege incitement and links to Hamas.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect … and @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
Reuters:
Sources: CNBC is planning an overhaul which will result in nearly a dozen layoffs, including the website's managing editor, and the introduction of a paywall — CNBC is restructuring its newsroom to unify its TV and digital operations in a move that would result in nearly a dozen layoffs including …
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:
Netflix plans to debut Dynasty: The Murdochs, a four-part docuseries about Murdoch's rise and court battle over control of his media empire, on March 13 — ‘Dynasty: The Murdochs’ will debut on the streamer on 13 March — The real-world drama that is said to have inspired the hit HBO show Succession …
Discussion:
Deadline, What's on Netflix and The Hollywood Reporter
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WaPo lost $100M+ in 2025, after losing ~$100M in 2024 and $77M in 2023; its publisher told staff that expenses surpassed revenue between 2022 and 2025 — The company recently cut staff by 30% as it looks to refocus its coverage — The Washington Post lost more than $100 million last year …
Harry Davies / The Guardian:
Northern Ireland's police and the Metropolitan police admit to unlawfully obtaining BBC correspondent Vincent Kearney's communications data to identify sources — Former Northern Ireland correspondent Vincent Kearney subjected to ‘unprecedented’ surveillance, says lawyer
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Ozone, a publisher alliance for ad sales representing 500 media brands, signs a deal that makes Ozone's inventory available on the Microsoft Media Marketplace — Ozone deal with Microsoft Media Marketplace is first tie-up with buy-side ads platform. — Publisher online ad sales coalition Ozone …
Discussion:
InPublishing
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
The BBC, Sky News, FT, The Guardian, and The Telegraph form the Standards for Publisher Usage Rights coalition to tackle AI “scraping” of journalism — Coalition, including BBC, Sky News and FT, wants to establish shared standards and licensing frameworks for access
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk, Variety, BBC, The Guardian, Press Gazette, Sky News, The Guardian, Telegraph, The Hollywood Reporter and Telecompaper
Nektaria Stamouli / Politico:
A Greek court sentences four people, including spyware maker Intellexa's founder, to prison, for using spyware to target journalists, politicians, and others — Greece's “Predatorgate” scandal is one of Europe's biggest political crises over the use of hacking software.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Courthouse News Service, The Record, Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and @campuscodi@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
WPP says it plans to cut £500M per year in costs by 2028 and sell non-core businesses, as part of a sweeping overhaul to restore growth after a difficult period — New chief executive Cindy Rose outlines strategy to restore advertising group to profit growth
Discussion:
AdExchanger, Adweek, Marketing Dive, campaignlive.com, City A.M., Business Insider, Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, BMI, RTÉ, Bloomberg and campaignlive.co.uk
