Top News:
Ben Dummett / Wall Street Journal:
Axel Springer agrees to buy the Telegraph for £575M, ending the proposed acquisition by the DMGT, and plans to “turbocharge” the Telegraph's presence in the US — The German publisher outbid an existing offer from the Daily Mail for the British newspaper
Discussion:
Press Gazette Future …, Press Gazette, The Irish Times, The Times, Pulse 2.0, The Daily Sceptic, Telegraph, Courthouse News Service, The New World, The Guardian, Reuters, Times of India, Axios, The Independent, New York Times, The Wrap, The National Pulse, Associated Press, Variety, BBC, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, GB News, Bloomberg and Politico
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: a coalition of states including California, Colorado, and New York prepares to sue on antitrust grounds if the Nexstar-Tegna deal gets FCC approval — A group of states plans to sue over Nexstar's $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna combination if it gets FCC approval
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Seeking Alpha and Radio & Television …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
SEC filing: Byron Allen buys a 10.7% stake in Starz for $25M from investment fund Liberty 77, led by former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — Allen's family office acquired the 10.7 percent stake from Mnuchin's Liberty 77 Fund. — Byron Allen is back in the media M&A business.
Discussion:
Canada NewsWire Group, Bloomberg, Radio & Television …, The Wrap, Deadline, Variety and Media Play News
Sam Neumann / Awful Announcing:
Apple unveils Formula 1 coverage plans ahead of the season's first race, the Australian Grand Prix, and details new distribution deals with Tubi and others — Apple spent Thursday walking media through its Formula 1 coverage plans, showing off a viewing experience that's everything, everywhere, all at once.
Mark Mwachiro / Adweek:
Fox News, MS Now, and CNN all recorded double-digit growth in total viewers and among viewers in the 25-54 demo after US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 — All three networks had over a million total viewers during primetime — This is TVNewser's basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of Feb. 23, 2026.
Discussion:
@hshaban, @jeffstorobinsky, @chriscillizza, @benmullin, TV Insider and LateNighter
Anhata Rooprai / Reuters:
Filing: ex-US trade rep Robert Lighthizer resigns from Trump Media & Technology Group's board; TMTG has been shifting its focus from media toward nuclear fusion — Former United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group's (DJT.O) …
Discussion:
@dude.computer and @lpjr.bsky.social
Richard Tofel / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro on her new report, to be published next week, which argues local news funders should pick winners, scale up, and force mergers — “I don't think we're in a stage, any longer, of innovation. It really is a challenge of what are the scaling solutions."
Discussion:
Jake Shapiro on LinkedIn, @niemanlab.org, Editor and Publisher and Second Rough Draft
Angela Fu / Poynter:
More than 200 journalists at Law360 and its sister publications sign a letter demanding that parent company RELX drop its contract with DHS due to ICE's actions — Some reporters at Law360 and Reuters are raising concerns about ICE's use of their companies' databases in immigration raids
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
In an interview, EIC Jeffrey Goldberg says the Atlantic added 50 journalists in 2025, for a total of 200+, and has ~1.5M paying subscribers, up from 1M in 2024 — The Atlantic is now in a “virtue cycle” of making a product people will pay for and putting the profit back into the business, according to editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Discussion:
@edouardmachery.bsky.social and @pressgazette.co.uk
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Podcast transcript with Nilay Patel and Liz Lopatto, on why prediction market players want to be seen not as gambling but as news, incentivizing insider trading — Today on Decoder, let's talk about prediction markets, which continue to insert themselves into the news cycle and the news itself …
Discussion:
NextDraft, @kylascan, Robert Kelchen on LinkedIn, @kevintdugan, Dave Michaels on LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal, France 24, @dansinker.com, Route Fifty, @jessefelder.bsky.social, Event Horizon, Yahoo Finance, Pixel Envy, The Guardian, Responsible Statecraft, @theverge.com, Semafor and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / A Media Operator:
USA Today's US digital-only paid subscriptions in Q4 fell 30% YoY but digital revenue in 2025 was flat at $1.1B; CEO Mike Reed expects more AI deals in 2026 — USA Today Co.'s push to get readers paying higher prices for journalism is working and despite a nearly one-third drop in its paid subscriptions …
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
A US district court judge heard arguments over rules that limit journalists' access to the Pentagon, in a case brought by NYT, and vows to issue a prompt ruling — A Pentagon policy limiting journalists' access to the building is depriving Americans of vital information about U.S. military operations …
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
How AI is helping expand coverage; the Philadelphia Inquirer launched four AI-assisted newsletters in 2025, which have been a “massive subscription driver” — The Philadelphia Inquirer and other regional outlets turn to AI to automate elements of reporting and expand coverage
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