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The Washington Post is putting out the last edition of Express, its free commuter paper, Sept. 12. Express has been published by the Post since 2003. The Post says that the growth of WiFi in Washington’s Metro system means that more readers are consuming the paper’s content digitally, via such products as its mobile site, apps, newsletters and podcasts. The Post plans to offer Express readers a 60-day, free trial for unlimited digital access to the Washington Post.
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Snapchat is launching a news channel that will focus on the 2020 presidential debates, according to Axios. The curated "Democratic Primary Debate Channel" will kick off with live coverage of the debate in Houston Sept. 12. The channel will exist as a pop-up around each debate leading up to the election. The company began testing the idea during July's Democratic debates. Axios says that the channel will live within Snapchat's content arm, Discover, and will feature updates from the candidates that are on Snapchat, plus coverage of the primaries from vetted news providers and some vetted user content. All of the 10 candidates that qualified for the Houston debate have Snapchat accounts.
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The relaunching of progressive news site Think Progress as a “hub for expert analysis and commentary” has at least temporarily been called off, according to a report on The Wrap. The Center for American Progress, the independent nonpartisan policy institute which operates the site, had put it up for sale in July. However, the lack of a prospective buyer for the site led to the announcement of its closure on Sept. 6, putting its remaining reporters out of work. On Sept. 9, CAP announced that the site would come back to life as a source for “analysis of the news, policy, and politics,” but without original reporting. That announcement led to a backlash from the Writers Guild of America, East, which represents ThinkProgress writers. The WGA called the new plan “an affront to the ThinkProgress mission” and said that its members were exploring legal options. In response, CAP announced that there would be “no further posting” to the site.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
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.
