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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.”
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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.
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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.
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.
