WaPo

The Washington Post’s opinion pages may soon be home to commentary from such sources as other newspapers around the country, contributors to Substack and nonprofessional writers. A New York Times report says that Ripple, as the new program is being referred to inside the Post, would not be subject to the paper’s paywall. It is intended to “appeal to readers who want more breadth than The Post’s current opinion section and more quality than social platforms like Reddit and X.” That quality boost, it appears, will likely come from AI. The Post is said to be developing an AI writing coach, Ember, that it could start testing this fall. Early versions of Ember guide neophyte opinion writers through the process of putting their piece together, with such helpful hints as adding “solid supporting points” and supplying a “memorable ending.”

VOA

Voice of America will become a mere shadow of its former self if the Trump administration has its way. A letter obtained by AP says planned cuts at the state-run news organization would reduce its headcount from over 1,000 people to 81. Most of VOA’s employees have already been on administrative leave since mid-March. While an April ruling in federal court said that VOA had been illegally shut down, a later appellate decision said a lower court did not have the authority to order that employees be brought back to work. Not that VOA staffers would have a place to work, anyway. The building where it has been operating has been put on the market, and a lease for a new building has been canceled.

Newsweek

Newsweek acquires Adprime, a healthcare-focused advertising platform. A press release says that combining Newsweek’s editorial and research offerings in healthcare with Adprime’s data-driven media products will allow the platform to “offer a category-leading solution to healthcare marketers." During an integration period, Adprime will still operate independently as Adprime by Newsweek. Newsweek says it will expand the platform’s reach, developing deeper integrations across its sales, engineering and data teams. “Together with Adprime, we offer a single destination for thought leadership, lead generation, research, rankings, and now, highly targeted media delivery,” said Newsweek chief revenue officer Danielle Varvaro.