News diary February 16-22: Covid inquiry enters final stage, Baftas, Chinese New Year
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
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All Articles
Journalism job cuts in 2026 tracked: Washington Post announces biggest media layoffs of year so far
Press Gazette rolling updates on redundancies made in 2026.
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Nandy launches competition probe into DMGT’s Telegraph takeover
Culture secretary will not intervene to look at any foreign state influence in the deal.
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Lachlan Cartwright matches ‘legacy media’ salary one year in with own newsbrand
Breaker has more than 40,000 paid and unpaid newsletter subscribers.
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Cost of online news rises 3% as Telegraph and Mail+ Editions lead on discounts
Online news subscriptions prices and offers from major publishers tracked.
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How ‘all you can read’ app Readly is gearing up for growth after Cafeyn merger
Readly reported full-year profitability for the first time in 2024.
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How Dave Jorgenson took the Washington Post video audience with him
Video was not getting support it needed says former ‘Washington Post Tiktok guy’.
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Paul Dacre says hacking and tapping claims ‘grave, preposterous, deeply upsetting’
Former Daily Mail editor says Baroness Lawrence claims are ‘bitterly wounding’.
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Reach to close two out of three remaining printing plants
Glasgow and Watford sites to close and outsource most of their work.
ByFaces of fakery: More fake and AI generated experts con their way into media
New Press Gazette research uncovers more PR-generated AI fakery in UK media.
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Why UK mag giants have teamed up to offer digital advertising at scale
Atria will help advertisers reach audiences across multiple publishers at once.
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FT adds ex-Economist foreign editor Patrick Foulis as columnist
Foulis returns to FT where he started his journalism career.
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The Independent names new editors after Chloe Hubbard joins Mirror
Newsweek director of publishing Barney Henderson is new UK editor.
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Immediate launches ‘experiential agency’ to boost revenue from live events
IX will help brands host live experiences in collaboration with Immediate’s 24 titles.
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Big Issue makes staff cuts ‘to ensure long-term stability’
Digital editor and deputy both departing.
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Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison
Jimmy Lai legal process labelled “nothing more than a sham”.
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Will Lewis out as Washington Post CEO days after mass layoffs
Lewis stepped down late on Saturday night days after 300 staff sacked.
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News diary 9-15 February: Jimmy Lai sentencing, Ghislaine Maxwell deposition, Olympics highlights
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
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Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow
Green shoots in digital advertising, video and subs at NYT, Bloomberg, People Inc and Dow Jones.
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A letter to the 300 axed Washington Post staffers from Carole Cadwalladr
There is life for journalists after being sacked by a major brand, says Cadwalladr.
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‘Search isn’t dead, it’s fragmenting’: How to manage Google traffic decline
SEO leaders at Daily Mail, Telegraph and Bauer among those urging against ‘Google zero’ fatalism.
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RAJARs Q4 2025: Strong audience growth for Talk and GB News
Full round-up of RAJAR listening figures for Q1 2026.
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Newsflation: UK newspaper cover prices up 10.2% since Jan 2025
Daily Star has seen a 600% price increase in ten years.
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Washington Post to cut one-third of all staff
Read Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray’s email to staff in full.
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Jobs at risk as Sun set to merge features desk and Fabulous team
“We need to future-proof business” says editor Victoria Newton.
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How Democracy for Sale is making investigative journalism pay on Substack
Newsletter outlet won Specialist Journalism prize at British Journalism Awards 2025.
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Sky News ditches ‘comfy slippers’ as The Wrap replaces News at Ten
The Wrap features more ‘personality-driven’ news with content from Tiktok and Youtube.
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BBC proposes to close central regional investigations unit
Eight jobs at risk with closure of Central Longform Investigations Team.
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Mail says there is ‘no evidence’ it obtained call records of Kylie ex
Private investigator ‘Detective Danno’ gives evidence in Mail privacy case.
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Partner content
Stibo DX signs content technology deal with major Japanese publisher
Shizuoka Shimbun is adopting the CUE media enterprise platform.
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Ladbible owner grows revenue thanks to direct deals with brands
LBG Media reported total adjusted revenue up 10% in the year to 30 September.
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DMGT reports revenue dip as Google changes hit traffic for Mail publisher
Full year results reveal growing subscription revenue at Daily Mail and General Trust.
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Doreen Lawrence accuses Mail of ‘pretending to be her friend’ while stealing her private information
Baroness Doreen Lawrence had long history of working with the Mail until privacy case brought in 2022.
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News diary 2-8 February: Alphabet financial results, Winter Olympics, NFL Super Bowl
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
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AI answers cite ‘narrow range’ of top newsbrands led by BBC and Guardian
BBC content widely cited by Perplexity despite fact LLM’s crawlers are blocked.
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Former agency boss Richard Sexton joins William Reed as COO
Richard Sexton will have remit to “drive speed and discipline across operations”.
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Anna Starnes named Ipswich Star and EADT editor
US-born Starnes has family ties to the region.
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Mill Media journalist faces £10,000 county court bill after exposé
Publisher, editor and reporter face £250,000 High Court libel claim.
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Semafor plans investment and expansion after celebrating first profitable year
Founder Ben Smith talks to Press Gazette about plans for three-year-old brand.
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50 biggest UK news websites in December: Daily Star and Substack fastest growers
Press Gazette’s monthly ranking of the top 50 news websites in the UK.
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Former MP denies paying Prince Harry privacy witnesses for testimony
Dr Evan Harris says wrong to suggest Byline Investigates provided ‘legal camouflage’.
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PR bodies launch campaign against fake experts after Press Gazette investigation
Trade bodies urge journalists to shun rogue PR operators.
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Editors unite to demand Parliament takes action on SLAPPs
Editors from The Telegraph, Guardian and others have banded together against legal bullying of media.
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Goalhanger takes on first outside investment
‘The Rest Is’ production company to expand outside audio and in the US.
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Google ‘exploring updates’ to let publishers opt out of AI Overviews
UK competition watchdog sets out how Google should give publishers more control.
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Mirror accepts hacking took place but says new claims brought too late
Preliminary trial being held to determine whether unlawful information gathering cases should be dismissed.
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The Hill is growing traffic in a declining market by investing in reporters
Senior VP for editorial Bill Sammon on how The Hill is capitalising on ‘bonkers’ news cycle in US.
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Sir Simon Hughes says he was target for Mail after being outed by The Sun
Emails and payment records suggest Greg Miskiw worked for Mail.
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Mail on Sunday broke the law to reveal abortion, claims Sadie Frost
Actress also told High Court she believes her landline phone was listened to.
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Research shows journalists rarely name weapons systems used in explosive attacks
Nearly all reports naming weapons relate to Russian attacks on Ukraine.
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Rising Ballers grows 30-strong team in ‘saturated’ football space
Rising Ballers grows audience with video content on social media.
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California is a ‘news desert’ says Post editor-in-chief Keith Poole as new title launched
Launch team explain why News Corp has launched California Post.
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News diary 26 January – 1 February: Meta results, Australian Open finals, Grammy Awards
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
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Future plans 45 editorial redundancies at titles including Techradar and Tom’s Guide
Some 15 roles will also be created in changes hitting tech titles.
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Watch the British Journalism Awards 2025 highlights video
‘All my journalistic life I’ve wanted to win this award’, says Fraser Nelson of The Times.
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Liz Hurley claim her phone was tapped ‘entirely baseless’ says the Mail
Hurley alleges her phones were tapped and her home bugged by Mail publisher.
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PRs need to stop being complicit in suppression of information via SLAPPs
Why Parliament needs to revive legislation outlawing SLAPPs.
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Why conversational search can be ‘huge opportunity’ for publishers
Commercial bosses at Reach and Hearst UK on the opportunities from AI-enhanced search.
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Future plc buys beauty and fashion brand Sheerluxe for £40m
Social-first publisher deal brings cost of Future acqusitions to £1.6bn over ten years.
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Eight in ten of world’s biggest news websites now block AI training bots
Publishers told it’s “never too late” to start blocking sites from being crawled by AI bots.
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Mail has made Meghan’s life absolute misery, says Prince Harry
Prince Harry did not complain about articles ‘because of the institution I was in’.
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Newspaper ABCs: Sunday People continues to see biggest circulation decline
Press Gazette’s monthly analysis of ABC national newspaper circulation figures.
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How Vox is using Patreon to grow reader revenue and interaction
Vox editor-in-chief Swati Sharma says it is “first national newsroom to use Patreon at scale”.
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Independent set to take over running Standard website
Staff will transfer on 1 March with option to take redundancy.
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‘What journalism should do’: Express health editor on assisted dying campaign
Express Give Us Our Last Rights campaign took four years of work.
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Global news industry revenue level in 2025 as publishers diversify beyond print
But global publisher revenues still dwarfed by tech giants Alphabet and Meta.
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Prince Harry complains of ‘terrifying intrusion’ by Daily Mail publisher
Sir Elton John and David Furnish say son Zachary’s birth certificate ‘stolen’.
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Most serious allegation against Mail struck out ahead of Prince Harry privacy trial
Mail publisher denies culture of unlawful newsgathering said to have wrecked lives.
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Record opposition to climate action in UK national newspapers in 2025
Newspapers criticised climate change policies but did not deny its existence.
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News diary 19-25 January: Prince Harry Mail trial, Davos hosts global leaders, Oscar nominations
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
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Edward Welsh: ‘Witty, hard working and endlessly kind’
Former Times and Sunday Times journalist has died aged 63.
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Five US publishers sue Google over ‘deceptive and manipulative’ adtech practices
Penske, The Atlantic, McClatchy, Conde Nast and Vox Media take a stand against Google on adtech.
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Alan Rusbridger joins The New World as editor-at-large
Rusbridger returns to “first love of reporting”.
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Goalhanger exceeds 250,000 paying subscribers
The Rest Is History production company making £15m a year from subs.
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Prince Harry legal team accused of dishonesty, fraud and misconduct
Prince Harry lawyer David Sherborne said allegations ‘exceptionally serious’.
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Prince Harry versus tabloids: The final showdown
Prince Harry is facing the publisher of the Daily Mail in what is set to be one of Britain’s…
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Amol Rajan to leave Today programme to start own business
Rajan to “unleash inner entrepreneur” after years at the BBC.
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Google now prioritising Youtube and X over publishers on Discover
World’s biggest news aggregator appears to be downgrading publisher content.
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Survey reveals Britons value human journalism and worry about use of AI
Newsworks asked 4,000 Britons about journalism, AI and digital media.
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Most popular news apps in the UK: Times and Daily Mail lead on engagement
BBC and Apple news apps continue to dominate UK ranking.
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Cathy Newman to leave Channel 4 News for Sky
Newman was named Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards in December.
By Google IP boss: We shouldn’t pay for AI training on ‘freely available’ content
Roxanne Carter declines to answer about publishers’ ability to opt out of AI Overviews.
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SEO has changed: The new metrics publishers should focus on
Keyword positions are no longer the best way to measure SEO success.
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Top 50 news websites in the US in December: Men’s Journal and US Sun lead growth
Press Gazette’s monthly ranking of the top 50 news websites in the US, using Similarweb data.
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Top 50 English-language news sites in the world: Substack leads YoY growth for six months running
Press Gazette’s analysis of the 50 biggest English-language news websites in the world, updated monthly.
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Channel 4 News poaches Times head of investigations Paul Morgan-Bentley
Morgan-Bentley named head of forensic journalism leading investigations.
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More than 3,000 journalism job cuts tracked in UK and US in 2025
Total of around 3,400 reported redundancies was 11% lower than year before.
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GB News beats Sky and BBC on average viewers for six months in a row
GB News beats Sky News on average viewership but not on total reach or digital followings.
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Kerrang U-turns on freelance pay policy as 16 contributors take action
Kerrang sought change in payment terms from 30 to 60 days.
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Goalhanger signals expansion of written content with editorial director hire
Former Sunday Times journalist Emily Kent Smith will lead on newsletters and long features.
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Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025
Dramatic decline expected to continue throughout 2026.
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News diary 12-18 January: Reuters media trends report, Scottish Budget, Australian Open
A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda this week, from the team at Foresight News.
By Named: 50 ‘experts’ and linked brands publishers should treat with caution
Experts and brands associated with more than 1,000 likely faked stories.
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UK publishers report surprise growth in online display advertising revenue
Display advertising revenue grew among some surveyed AOP members in Q3 2025.
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Stylist editorial boss Lisa Smosarski promoted to MD
Memberships, B2B insights and brand partnerships seen as key growth areas.
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Observer growth ‘on plan’ says co-CEO nine months after Tortoise takeover
Richard Furness sets out state of The Observer after paywall launch.
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Up to 80 journalists strike in Scotland over STV job cuts
STV journalists turned out on picket lines in Glasgow and Aberdeen.
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Times and Substack among few UK winners in December Google update
Sistrix data shows latest major core update hit several major newsbrands hard.
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BBC’s Noor Nanji on investigating her own employer
BBC News demonstrated editorial independence with Masterchef investigation.
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Mirror publisher seeks legal disclosures to prove 61 hacking claims are out of time
Estimated cost of dealing with Mirror hacking claims is around £150m, Press Gazette analysis reveals.
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