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Russia’s Federal News Agency, which has been linked to the Internet Research Agency, the group allegedly behind the country’s infamous “troll factory,” is also behind USA Really, a recently created news outlet devoted to battling “growing political censorship… aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation.” According to a report in The Daily Beast, USA Really is helmed by Alexander Malkevich, a Russian media executive and a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, a body created by Vladimir Putin to advise on government policymaking. The outlet’s website and social media pages went online last month and it is currently recruiting English-speaking journalists and authors. The new website may be part of a pending broader campaign, according to Lee Foster, manager of information operations analysis for FireEye iSIGHT Intelligence. “There are a bunch of other domains as well that play on USA Really that we are monitoring that haven’t launched,” he told McClatchy. As part of its “Wake Up America” campaign, USAReally promoted a flash-mob event in front of the White House that it said celebrated both Flag Day and Donald Trump’s birthday.
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Fox and Telemundo say that ad sales for the 2018 World Cup matches are set to meet expectations, despite the lack of an American presence on the field and a time difference that means most games will be broadcast in the morning in the U.S. NBCUniversal's stated revenue goal headed into the World Cup was $225 million (NBCU owns Telemundo). According to Kantar Media estimates, Univision racked up about $336 million in ad sales revenue when it carried the 2014 World Cup. “The NBCUniversal Hispanic Group has virtually fulfilled its inventory and revenue goals for the 2018 FIFA World Cup," Laura Molen, executive VP, lifestyle and Hispanic advertising sales, NBCUniversal, told AdAge. And Fox says most of its World Cup ad inventory is “already spoken for.” When the U.S. team lost to Trinidad and Tobago in October, shutting it out of a World Cup slot, Fox lost at least three games that were almost certain to deliver massive audiences.
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Amanda Silverman, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson and Sarah Levinson Rothman, who announced their departure from film-industry PR firm 42West last week, are setting up shop as The Lede Company. They will share the title of co-CEO, with Silverman and Levinson Rothman heading up the New York office, and O’Sullivan Wasson working from Los Angeles. The new venture will rep an impressive roster of talent, including Rihanna, Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Queen Latifah, Charlize Theron and Lady Gaga. The Lede Company will also be working with such brands as Illumination Entertainment, Hello Sunshine and PepsiCo. “As the entertainment, media and branding worlds continue to grow and shift, we are confident that our combined skills and experience have readied us to implement strategies that move along with it, and we can’t wait to see where this new journey takes us,” they said in a statement.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
