9:03 am - April 7, 2026
The Daily Mail surpasses 400,000 digital subscribers less than two years after launch Growth driven by expansion into US and Australia, and simplified global branding Targets one million subscribers by 2028, buoyed by strong interest in high-quality journalism The Daily Mail has passed 400,000 digital subscribers for its Mail+ service,…
Publishers are shifting focus towards events and video for growth Subscription importance softens despite absolute gains AI presents both challenges and opportunities for monetisation Publishers are reshaping their business models as economic uncertainty and AI-driven changes to search alter how revenue is generated, according to Digiday’s third annual revenue report.…
The Wall Street Journal uses TikTok to engage younger readers Emphasises exclusivity, authenticity, and verification in social videos Aims to reinforce subscriptions and attract new audiences through social-first storytelling The Wall Street Journal is stepping up efforts to reach younger audiences on TikTok, using short-form video to extend its journalism…
Axios embraces AI as a core part of its growth and innovation strategy The company is automating tasks and reducing staff amid rapid technological change Leadership emphasises maintaining journalism quality through exclusive reporting and expert insights Axios is accelerating its use of artificial intelligence as it seeks to expand its reach and output, with executives making clear the technology will also reshape staffing and workflows across the company. In a memo to staff, chief executive Jim VandeHei described AI as central to a “moonshot” ambition to make Axios “the most useful news organisation in America”. He pointed to a surge…
Highlights the importance of audience teams in newsrooms Critiques their ongoing marginalisation despite proven value Advocates for promoting audience specialists to leadership roles This first appeared in our weekly newsletter Editor’s picks. Sign up here I have long believed that op-ed columnists should be given five years in the job and then be sent out to pasture or other assignments. My experience is that after that long in the job – and to be honest, probably sooner – they aren’t saying anything new. The necessity of producing a cogent argument on a topic 40-plus weeks a year means they…
Axios cuts 11 newsroom roles to focus on deep subject expertise Company aims to build a ‘newsroom of the future’ blending human skill and AI Shift reflects broader trend towards niche authority in digital media Axios has cut 11 newsroom roles as it pivots away from general assignment reporting towards specialist journalists with deep subject expertise. The move underscores a broader shift in digital media, where publishers are betting that authority and niche knowledge, rather than scale , will drive audience growth and revenue, particularly as artificial intelligence reshapes how news is produced and consumed. The layoffs affect staff across…
Dow Jones aims for $1bn in annual earnings within five years amid shift to digital and AI-driven products The segment’s revenue now 82% digital, with a focus on subscriptions and data services Growth driven by AI licensing, risk and energy intelligence, and enterprise news News Corp said Dow Jones, the parent of the Wall Street Journal, could generate $1bn in annual earnings within five years, as the company shifts further towards digital subscriptions and professional data products. The target, presented at an investor briefing on March 16, implies growth of about 70 per cent from fiscal 2025 levels and caps…
Jamie Stockwell set to start as vice president of news at USA TODAY in March 2026 Will focus on impartial reporting, innovation, and expanding audience reach Brings extensive experience from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Axios Local USA Today has appointed Jamie Stockwell as vice president of news, the company said, adding that she will take up the role on 30 March 2026. The hire places Stockwell alongside senior vice president Monica Richardson as USA Today seeks to expand its national reach and modernise newsroom operations. “USA Today has a powerful mission and a unique place in…
Gen Z remains the primary audience for TikTok but shows signs of waning trust Users nostalgic for earlier, less commercial days and more cautious about content Creators and users increasingly turn to alternatives like YouTube amidst TikTok’s shift towards commerce TikTok remains the platform Gen Z turns to most often…
Vox names Steve Heuser as executive editor, starting 23 March Heuser brings extensive experience from Politico and Boston Globe Focus on strengthening coverage across politics, policy, and explanatory journalism Vox has named Steve Heuser as executive editor, the company said in a statement, with Heuser due to begin the role…
Rashida Jones, former MSNBC president, takes on leadership of Uncensored Uncensored aims to diversify its streaming and social content globally Industry observers see her role as key to scaling Morgan’s digital brand Former MSNBC president Rashida Jones has been appointed chief executive of Uncensored, the digital media venture fronted by…
Bonnier News’ profitability increased by 29% in 2025, driven by digital subscriptions Digital revenue now accounts for over 60% of total income, with nearly 500,000 digital subscribers The company anticipates a stronger year in 2026 with continued growth in readership and advertising Bonnier News ended 2025 with sharply improved profitability…
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Traditional newsrooms are overwhelmed with extensive coverage for huge events Readers primarily seek perspective and education, not multiple updates News organisations should prioritise analysis and opinion to better serve digital audiences This is from our weekly Editor’s picks newsletter. Sign up for free here I did something I do…
ESPN hires six experienced journalists from The Washington Post amid industry reshuffle New recruits bolster ESPN’s investigative and long‑form sports coverage The move highlights the widening talent gap and strategic shifts after Post’s sports desk closure Five weeks after The Washington Post dismantled its sports desk, ESPN has hired six…
Axel Springer agrees to buy The Telegraph for £575 million, ending a lengthy sales process The deal marks the first time a German publisher owns the UK’s historically conservative newspaper Regulatory reviews are expected to scrutinise the impact on media plurality and foreign influence German publishing group Axel Springer has…
Axel Springer acquires Bisnow, integrating it into Brew Media Group The deal aims to strengthen Axel Springer’s US B2B and event-led offerings Bisnow remains operationally independent with senior management intact Axel Springer has agreed to acquire Bisnow, adding the events and editorial business to a new US-focused division that will…
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Steve Grove discusses the decline of traditional local newspapers amid rising citizen reporting The Star Tribune adapts through digital innovation, risking operational cuts Signs of growth emerge through increased online subscriptions despite funding challenges Sometimes the context around a conversation reshapes its meaning. That was evident at last Friday’s Good Leadership Breakfast when Steve Grove, CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune, addressed a room grappling with unrest and uncertainty in local media. Grove — whose career includes senior roles at Google and YouTube and a stint as Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development — has written about…
Major UK news organisations launch SPUR to combat unauthorised AI training use Aim to establish licensing standards and secure fair compensation for original reporting Initiative underscores concerns over AI’s impact on journalism’s economic sustainability Some of Britain’s largest news organisations have launched a coalition to challenge the unauthorised use of journalism by AI developers. Leaders of the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group have signed an open letter announcing SPUR , Standards for Publisher Usage Rights. The group says it will press for clearer rules and compensation when original reporting is used to train artificial intelligence…
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Experts predict a divided news industry dominated by global brands and independent creators by 2050 Traditional broadcast and print media face decline, with AI and personalised interfaces reshaping news consumption Preservation of journalistic values and trust deemed crucial for future sustainability By 2050, consuming the news may involve screens that are not really screens, AI briefings delivered through humanlike interfaces or even, as one independent publisher put it, a chip implanted in the brain. Those possibilities emerged from a wide-ranging forecast by Columbia Journalism Review, which convened senior editors, broadcasters and independent publishers to imagine what journalism might look like…
ByteDance agrees to transfer control of TikTok’s US operations to a new majority-American joint venture Deal aims to address US national security concerns through data storage and governance measures Final approval will depend on regulatory scrutiny and implementation of operational safeguards A deal to restructure TikTok’s US business looks likely to head off a long-threatened ban by shifting operational control to American investors while leaving parent company ByteDance with a minority stake. The agreement was first reported by Axios. ByteDance has signed binding agreements to place TikTok’s US operations into a newly formed, majority-American joint venture, with a target closing…
Dow Jones hires M Scott Havens as chief growth officer to lead digital expansion Havens brings extensive experience from Bloomberg, The Atlantic and Time Inc. Move signals a push for increased digital and consumer revenue growth Dow Jones as hired M. Scott Havens as its chief growth officer, the company said. Havens is due to start in January. The appointment signals Dow Jones’ intent to accelerate growth across its digital and consumer businesses at a time when legacy publishers are under pressure to expand subscriptions and product-led revenue. Havens’ career has been built around scaling digital media operations and audience…
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei issued a stark warning to the media industry this week, declaring America’s information ecosystem “badly broken, deeply polluted and increasingly dangerous.” In a memo outlining the company’s strategic vision for 2026, VandeHei argued that society has officially entered a “post-news era” where traditional reporting no longer defines a shared reality. VandeHei suggests that the “crap trap” of high-volume clickbait – which Axios was originally founded to combat – has evolved into a more complex existential crisis. He describes a “shards of glass” phenomenon where public attention is shattered into countless pieces, shaped more by algorithms, podcasts,…
Meta tests a dedicated Instagram Reels app on Amazon Fire TV devices Focused on shared, large-screen viewing of short-form videos Expansion and feature refinement planned before wider rollout Meta has begun piloting an Instagram app designed for television, bringing Reels to Amazon Fire TV devices in the United States and marking a further push to expand short-form video beyond smartphones. This positions Instagram more directly in the living-room viewing battle, where YouTube has already established a strong presence and where attention, advertising and viewing habits increasingly overlap with traditional TV. It is also yet another challenge, in terms both of…
Google experiments with users shaping their Discover feed using natural language prompts The feature aims to improve relevance and control while streamlining content curation Concerns grow over potential impacts on publishers, content diversity and ecosystem health Google is testing a more granular form of personalisation for its Discover feed that allows signed-in users to tell the service, in plain language, what they want to see and what they do not. The test signals a shift toward explicit, AI-driven control of recommendation systems, a change that could alter how audiences encounter news and how publishers compete for attention on one of…
McGrory to rejoin the Boston Globe as editor in January 2026 His return aims to strengthen digital subscription growth and local investigative reporting The newsroom’s structure and digital focus set to evolve amid industry challenges Brian McGrory will return as editor of the Boston Globe in January, the company said on Monday, marking a comeback to the newspaper where he spent more than three decades and previously led the newsroom from 2012 until early 2023. His reappointment offers clues about how this leading metro paper intends to navigate the next phase of digital transformation and local journalism sustainability. Boston Globe…
The former editor finalises a $30 million funding round to expand his YouTube channel The move signals increasing investor interest in creator-driven, partisan media platforms Critics raise concerns over media plurality and the influence of outside capital in UK journalism Piers Morgan is close to securing about $30 million in new funding in an attempt to turn his YouTube programme Piers Morgan Uncensored into a global media business. The move would value the operation at just under £100 million before new money and further cement the shift of high-profile commentators into venture-backed media companies. Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman…
Exor in exclusive talks to sell most of GEDI to Greece’s Antenna Group Italian journalists strike and protest over job security and editorial independence Government and unions scrutinise deal amid fears for media pluralism and democratic heritage Italy’s media sector has been jolted by confirmation that Exor, the Agnelli-Elkann family holding company, is in exclusive talks to sell most of the GEDI publishing group to Greece’s Antenna Group. The prospect of a sale has triggered strikes, newsroom protests and calls for government intervention over the future of La Repubblica and La Stampa. The ownership and independence of two of Italy’s…
Yahoo launches a personalised afternoon audio news digest for US users The new briefing utilises AI technology from Artifact, acquired in 2024 The move highlights a shift towards multimodal, audio-centric news delivery Yahoo is widening its use of artificial intelligence in news delivery with the launch of an afternoon audio digest that personalises headlines for each listener. The move signals how major publishers are starting to treat AI-generated audio as a core distribution format rather than an experiment. The new briefing, called Your Daily Digest, is available on weekdays from noon to 5pm for users of the Yahoo News app…
