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, Press Gazette Future …, The Irish Times, Telegraph, The Times, Pulse 2.0, The National Pulse, New York Times, Axios, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Variety, The New World, Associated Press, The Wrap, The Independent, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC, Times of India, Courthouse News Service, GB News, Bloomberg and Politico
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, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Radio & Television … and Media Play News
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 …
Mikeie Honda Reiland / Nashville Banner:
A reporter for Nashville Noticias, Estefany Rodríguez, has been detained and is being sent to an ICE center in Louisiana; she had reported on ICE previously — A reporter who faced death threats in her home country could now be sent back by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Independent, Investigative Reporters …, New Republic, Columbia Journalism Review, @globalfreemedia.bsky.social, Freedom of the Press …, @kentuckylantern.com, Migrant Insider, Committee to Protect …, San Diego Union-Tribune, Talking Points Memo, @desia.bsky.social, @thetnholler, WSMV-TV, The Tennessean, @iamstevenhale.bsky.social, Mediaite, @rebeccaaguilar.bsky.social, @radleybalko.bsky.social, WZTV, @anitawadhwani.bsky.social, @evansd.bsky.social, @jhollymc.bsky.social, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social and @tennesseelookout.com
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:
Robert Kelchen on LinkedIn, Dave Michaels on LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal, NextDraft, @dansinker.com, @kylascan, @kevintdugan, Route Fifty, France 24, @jessefelder.bsky.social, Event Horizon, Yahoo Finance, The Guardian, Responsible Statecraft, @theverge.com, Semafor and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
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, TV Insider, @chriscillizza, @benmullin and LateNighter
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, Editor and Publisher, Second Rough Draft and RJI
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
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 …
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
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Some podcasters exclusive to Netflix see their YouTube channel growth slow; sources: Netflix limits how many clips podcasters can share on third-party platforms — Podcasters exclusive to Netflix are seeing their channel growth slow by as much as 50% compared to the year prior — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
The Korea Times, Tubefilter, Thurrott, Podnews, NextBigWhat and TechSpot
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.
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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