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The Philadelphia Inquirer is the latest news outlet to shut down comments on most of its stories, following similar decisions by platforms including NPR, The Atlantic and NJ.com. The only content exempt from the decision are the Inquirer’s sports stories and Inquirer Live events. The paper says that just two percent of Inquirer.com visitors read the comments, with even less posting. Noting the amount of time spent on policing comments, the paper said, “We’d rather invest in vital local journalism than an endless and expensive game of comment whack-a-mole.” Readers will still be able to comment through letters to the editor and social media, and the Inquirer says it is “working on building new two-way connections with our existing audience and with new audiences we hope to reach.”
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The New European, a British pro-EU weekly newspaper that started up in 2016, has been purchased by its management and investors. The buyers include Mark Thompson, the former BBC director-general and chief executive of the New York Times and Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times. Matt Kelly, former head of content at Archant, the publishing company that launched the paper, will be majority owner and serve as chief executive and editor-in-chief. Launched in the wake of the Brexit referendum as a “pop-up,” the New European was expected to have a print run of just three or four weeks. However, it is still publishing, with a combined weekly print and online circulation estimated at around 20,000. “Since the referendum, The New European has shown that there is a significant market for high-quality, informative, provocative and entertaining journalism written for an audience who cares deeply about both Britain and Europe’s future,” said Kelly.
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Microsoft is offering to fill in the digital gap that would be created in Australia if Google pulls its search engine there, a Reuters report says. Google’s search engine currently has 94 percent of the country’s search market, according to industry data. Australia has introduced laws that would force Google and Facebook to negotiate payments to domestic media outlets whose content links drive traffic to their platforms. Both companies say the laws are unworkable and they would withdraw key services from Australia if the regulations went ahead. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told him the company was ready to grow the presence of its search tool Bing, the distant No. 2 player, to make up for any loss of Google’s services.
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.
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. 
