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:
@dylanbyers, Press Gazette Future …, Press Gazette, The Irish Times, The Daily Sceptic, The Times, Pulse 2.0, Telegraph, Courthouse News Service, The New World, The Guardian, Reuters, Associated Press, Times of India, Axios, The Independent, New York Times, The Wrap, The National Pulse, Variety, BBC, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, GB News, Bloomberg and Politico
Emma Loffhagen / The Guardian:
Amazon withdraws from the Paris book festival, after the French booksellers' association said it will boycott the festival in protest at Amazon's involvement — Syndicat de la Librairie Française accused online retailer of trying to ‘flood the market with fake AI-generated books’
Jennifer Orsi / Poynter:
The Poynter Institute appoints President Neil Brown as chairman of the board, succeeding Paul Tash, who served as chairman for 20 years and is retiring — His appointment follows the retirement of Paul Tash after 20 years as chairman — The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism …
Discussion:
Neil Brown on LinkedIn
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, TheGrio, Bloomberg, Radio & Television …, Deadline, The Wrap, Variety and Media Play News
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
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.
Edna Tarigan / Associated Press:
Indonesia says it will ban “high-risk” platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and Roblox, for children under 16 from March 28 — Indonesia will ban social media for children under 16, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said Friday.
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:
@lpjr.bsky.social and @dude.computer
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
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
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
