MediaPost | Around the Net In Media

Trusted Media Brands Employ AI To Tell 'One Clear Story' To Ad Buyers

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:53:14 -0400

Revenue, research and insights teams at Trusted Media Brands (TMB) are using AI tools to provide advertisers with a coherent narrative, AdExchanger reports. This isn’t easy, given that inventory spans print, web, social, streaming and newsletters. “The magazine subscriber doesn’t look anything like the TikTok viewer, at least on paper,” says Michael Boccacino, vice president of marketing at TMB. “But advertisers still expect you to tell one clear story about who you reach and why it matters.”

Pittsburgh Market Recovers After Near Collapse

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:33:23 -0400

Pittsburgh media have survived a new-death experience this spring, Associated Press reports. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was acquired by a nonprofit that is committed to keeping it open. And the the alternative Pittsburgh City Paper, which was to close after 34 years, is making a comeback under new ownership.

Buffett Greatly Reduces Stake In Amazon, Invests In 'The New York Times'

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:13:15 -0400

Warren Buffett has reduced Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Amazon by more than 77% — to 2.3 million shares — while investing $351.7 million in The New York Times, for roughly 5.1 million shares, The Street reports. Buffett is continuing to move away from some big tech holdings into a more selective mix of media and traditional businesses.

Nunes Out At Trump Media & Technology After Loss Of Investor Wealth

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:57:12 -0400

Former Congressman Devin Nunes has stepped down as chief executive officer of Trump Media & Technology, the business behind Truth Social, after a stock collapse that has wiped out billions of dollars in investor wealth, The Washington Post reports. Digital media executive Kevin McGurn has named as a temporary replacement.

Brkthru Digital Acquires Gigawatt Media

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:13:50 -0400

Brkthru Digital LLC, a Michigan-based media company, has acquired Gigawatt Media, a programmatic, media and advertising firm located in Milwaukee, BizTimes reports. The combined firms will focus on their key advertisers in the hospitality and tourism markets. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Rumble Sees Revenue Decline In Softer Market

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:02:37 -0400

Rumble, a video-sharing platform positioned as a free speech alternative, reported revenue of $27.07 million, down 10.5% YoY, Stock Story reports. This occurs as the six digital media and content platforms tracked by Stock Story reported Q4 earnings, but beat analysts’ estimates by 1.6%, and the next quarter’s guidance is in line.

Scammers Are Stealing Consumer's Vocal Inflections

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:27:08 -0400

Artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes are infiltrating social feeds, according to a survey by the cybersecurity company McAfee, Investigate TV reports. Scammers have found ways to steal the sound, tone and inflection of individuals and are using the AI voices for financial fraud and to falsely impersonate victims.

FBI Chief Kash Patel Sues 'The Atlantic' For $250 Million

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:14:30 -0400

Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against "The Atlantic," claiming an article titled ”The FBI Director is MIA,” contained false and defamatory statements published with actual malice, USCAnnenbergMedia reports. The article alleged that Patel exhibited erratic behavior and was struggling with alcohol use. The lawsuit claims the article was based on unverified, anonymous sources.

TransPerfect Acquires Italy's Studio Emme

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:30:32 -0400

TransPerfect has acquired Studio Emme SpA, an audiovisual post-production and dubbing facility based in Rome, Pulse2 reports. Studio Emme will operate as part of TransPerfect Media. The purchase will add to TransPerfect’s network of studios that serve global content creators.

Nexstar To Appeal Federal Judge's Hold On Tegna Acquisition

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:25:47 -0400

Nexstar plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling temporarily blocking its $3.54 billion deal to acquire rival Tegna, CNBC reports. Chief U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley says a challenge to the deal is likely to succeed on the claims that the acquisition will substantially reduce competition in dozens of local television markets. Nexstar notes that the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission approved the purchase in March.

Predictive Betting Sites Are Not News: Opinion

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:21:05 -0400

Predictive betting sites should not be mistaken for news or News.2.0, USA Today argues in an opinion piece. News is the record of things that have happened, it does not predict the future. Blurring the line between objective and potential truths gives merit to potential falsehoods.

Magnite, AMC Global Media Partner On Programmatic

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:15:15 -0400

Magnite has formed a partnership with AMC Global Media to bring to bring the broadcaster’s linear television inventory into programmatic buying, PPC Land reports. The announcement, which arrives at the opening of the 2026-27 upfront season, is a step toward bridging the divide between linear and streaming ad buying.

LIV Gold League Coverage Suffers Outage On Thursday

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:59:50 -0400

Coverage of LIV Golf League golf in Mexico City went black on the Fox Sports app and YouTube for more than 100 minutes on Thursday, Golf Digest reports. This followed false reports of the league’s demise. The blackout was accompanied by elevator music.

Nudify Apps Remain A Problem In App Stores

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:54:51 -0400

The App Store and Google Play Store “are helping users to find apps that create deepfake nude images of women,” according to The Tech Transparency Project, 9to5 Mac reports. Nearly 40% of the top 10 apps returned for searches such as “nudify,” “undress,” and “deepnude” could “render women nude or scantily clad,” the new report says.

'NOTUS' To Rebrand As 'The Star' In June

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:25:46 -0400

NOTUS, a Washington political news website, will be relaunched as "The Star" during the first week of June, according to Tim Grieve, editor in chief, The New York Times reports. The site has plans to fill a voice caused by deep staff cuts at The Washington Post. NOTUS was launched in 2023 with a tie to the Allbritton Journalism Institute, a nonprofit that trains young political journalists.

Vox Media Is Likely To Sell Individual Units, Not The Whole Company

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:20:56 -0400

Vox Media is selling itself in pieces, Awful Announcing reports, sourcing Dylan Byers at Puck. Vox CEO Jim Bankoff is now expected to approve several deals, covering the Vox Media Podcast Network, New York Magazine and digital brands including The Verge, Eater and SB Nation. Last year, Vox explored options such as a sale of the podcast network and a full company sale.

Crossover Media Group Appoints John Murphy To New Position

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:06:12 -0400

Crossover Media Group has hired media veteran John Murphy as vice president of strategic partnerships, a new role, Inside Radio reports. He will be tasked with securing new content for the company. Murphy has worked with the Crossover Media Group team as both a partner and a client.

Nielsen Provides Inaccurate Metrics, NBCUniversal Exec Charges

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:52:21 -0400

Nielsen overestimates streaming viewership at the expense of traditional TV, says Mark Marshall, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at Nielsen client NBCUniversal, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Every media company is valued on a multiple of something, right?” Marshall comments. “The baseline for all of these is revenue, and if that revenue is understated due to incorrect measurement, then absolutely, the valuations of these media companies are being impacted. That is why a change needs to happen.”

Court Green-Lights Cumulus Media Restructuring

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:44:00 -0400

Radio firm Cumulus Media is headed for a swift emergency from Chapter 11 bankruptcy following the posting of a 181-page restructuring agreement by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, according to Radio+ Television Business Report. The court’s approval of the plan, which occurs less than six weeks after the filing for Chapter 11 protection, will restructure roughly $660 million in debt.

Interest In Local News Declines, Media Patterns Shift

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:40:39 -0400

Local news consumption patterns are changing as general interest has declined, Pew Research Center reports in a fact sheet. In 2025, 21% of Americans said they follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016. And 36% of U.S. adults said they get news from their local daily paper at least sometimes compared to 43% in 2018.

Axle AI Unveils Media Composer Panel For Search And Editing

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:35:47 -0400

Axle AI will demonstrate a new panel for its Avid Media Composer that will allow editors to search, preview, and import media directly from any Axle AI media asset management system, AIThority reports. “Editing is all about storytelling, but storytelling depends on quickly finding the right media,” says Sam Bogoch, CEO of Axle AI.Media Composer is designed to streamline editorial workflows.

Mediaite's One Sheet Newsletter Contained Fake Quotes And Misattributions, Semafor Says

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:32:11 -0400

One Sheet, a newsletter about newsletters, has suffered several issues, including misattributed information and made-up quotes, leading to questions about whether its AI use is leading to hallucinations, Semafor alleges. The publisher of One Sheet, media news site Mediaite, has suspended author Colby Hall. Hall told Semafor that “written ideas, angles, summaries, takes, and editorial judgments are mine,” although he uses AI in a “limited way.”

Endangered Iowa Newspapers Saved By Nelson Media

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:27:44 -0400

Nelson Media Company has acquired seven out of eight central Iowa newspapers that were in danger of closing after their owner Mid-America Publishing shut down, We Are Iowa reports. The papers are The Graphic Advocate, the Winnebago County Tribune, The Grundy Register, The Clarksville Star, The Butler County Tribune and The Parkersburg Eclipse News Review.

Amazon Close To Acquiring Satellite Telecom Firm

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:47:12 -0400

Amazon is in advanced talks to ‌acquire Globalstar, the satellite telecom group, Reuters reports, sourcing Bloomberg News. Such a deal would bolster Amazon’s effort to build a satellite operation. The transaction could be announced on Tuesday.

Survey Reveals News Outlets Are Not Seen As 'Trustworthy'

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:42:25 -0400

New research from Magid shows a decline in the association of the word “trustworthy” with news organizations, TVNewsCheck reports. Of 44 emotional attributes surveyed, “trustworthy” ranks 39th. The study will be presented at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere conference on April 19 at the NAB Show.

Dollar General, QSIC Partner To Expand Chain's In-Store Audio Network

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:38:36 -0400

Dollar General has formed a partnership with QSIC that will enable the chain to roll out an enhanced, AI-fueled in-store audio media network in roughly 6,000 locations, doubling its in-store audio presence to 12,000 stores, in the second quarter of 2026,Retail Dive reports. QSIC can hep create curated music and AI-generated audio ads. The QSIC platform allows Dollar General to deliver “localized, real-time messaging at scale,” says Austin Leonard, vice president and general manager of DG Media Network, said in a statement.

Nexstar To Use NewsNation Content On Local TV Stations

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:27:04 -0400

Nexstar Media Group plans to use NewsNation as its source for nationally produced segments on its local TV stations, Barrettt Media reports. Previously, Nexstar utilized features from ABC and NBC. Nexstar, which has over 200 stations, is asking them to use content from NewsNation.

Meta Vows To Appeal Two Recent Verdicts

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:53:29 -0400

Meta says it will appeal a pair of verdicts in New Mexico and California that awarded plaintiffs hundreds of millions of dollars, Fox Business reports. "We think we have strong grounds on appeal on a number of counts," said Ethan Davis, vice president and head of global litigation strategy at Meta. "We think these cases threaten to erode fundamental principles of free speech. And so we are optimistic about our chances on appeal."

Scammers Conduct Fraudulent Investment Schemes, NY AG Warns

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:37:36 -0400

Scam artists are targeting consumers with fraudulent investment schemes across Meta platforms, New York Attorney General Letitia James warned in an investor alert, Lohud reports. Scammers are using deceptive ads and “deepfake” technology on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, James warns.

'The Economist' To Feature Its Writers In New Mobile App Product

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:26:14 -0400

Economist writers will no longer toil in anonymity, The New York Times reports. The UK title will this summer start to roll out Economist Play, a feature of its mobile app, that will present shows hosted by Economist correspondents, including interviews with newsmakers and policy debates. Economist Play will be offered for about $15 per month.