Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Mastodon adds email newsletters, letting writers send their posts directly to subscribers' inboxes, even to readers without a Mastodon account  —  Mastodon, the open, decentralized alternative to Big Tech apps like X and Threads, is betting that email could help solve the open social web's biggest problem: audience growth.

Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Email: BBC says commissioning spend will be reduced by £80M by March 2028 and TV development budget will be slashed by 15% annually  —  Now, the corporation's content chief has written to independent producers to shed more light on how they will be impacted by the changes.

Muvija M / Reuters:
The UK CMA orders Google to provide greater transparency on how its search rankings work and to let users transfer their search data to authorized third parties  —  Britain's competition watchdog ordered Google to provide greater transparency on how its search rankings work …

Angelique Chrisafis / The Guardian:
Reporters Without Borders and French journalists unions complain that billionaire Bernard Arnault has bought up almost all the country's business media outlets  —  Arnault's addition of leading weekly to stable of publications raises concerns about media ownership in France

Ellise Shafer / Variety:
Memo: the BBC says it will cut 550 jobs including in its news and content divisions by the start of FY 2027-2028 in the first phase of a plan to save $670M  —  New BBC director general Matt Brittin has outlined the first phase of his savings plan for the broadcaster, which includes cutting jobs …

Zoe Engels / Mediaite:
Kara Swisher says she'll leave CNN as soon as she can if the Ellisons acquire WBD, the network's parent company; she's under contract until the end of 2026  —  CNN's Kara Swisher said she'll depart CNN as soon as she can if the “incompetent” Ellison family successfully acquires the network's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Thomas Escritt / Bloomberg:
Viktor Orban's media empire collapses two months after his election defeat; about 400 journalists at Mediaworks outlets have been given notices of termination  —  Viktor Orban's vast media empire, which played a key role in sustaining the Hungarian nationalist leader in power for the past 16 years …

Miles Klee / Wired:
Freedom of the Press Foundation says Paramount refused to air an ad criticizing Paramount's merger with WBD during the stream of the UFC White House event  —  The commercial was submitted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation to run during Donald Trump's UFC event.

Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Silk White, whose movies and TV shows, which have grossed ~$2M in the year to February, are distributed by Filmhub to online platforms like Tubi  —  Silk White's D.I.Y. movies and TV shows are profiting from growing audiences on free streaming services like Tubi and Roku

Matt G. Southern / Search Engine Journal:
Kapwing: in tests, ~60% of the first 500 TikTok For You videos shown to a new account were AI slop, ~3x the slop shown to a new user in the YouTube Shorts feed  —  In a fresh-account test, Kapwing found 59% of TikTok For You videos were AI slop, roughly three times the rate on YouTube.

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Analysts: UK social media ban is likely to cause £1.3B in digital ad cuts in 2027, with streaming services poised to benefit as advertisers seek to reach teens  —  TV streamers and family shows set to benefit as brands cease marketing to teenagers on sites such as YouTube

Rebuild Local News:
The 2026 Local Journalist Index shows a persistent shortage of local journalists; states with fewer local journalists face higher municipal borrowing costs  —  MIAMI and BROOKLYN — The 2026 Local Journalist Index, a landmark annual study by Muck Rack, the AI communications platform …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
WordPress survey: 60% of US consumers say “AI” in a brand's messaging is a turnoff, and 86% always or sometimes check the source after receiving an AI summary  —  Getting cited by AI is easier than earning consumers' trust, according to a new report from WordPress VIP …

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says it is “not interested” and has no plans to pursue Lionsgate; Lionsgate shares closed up 13.85% on Tuesday before falling ~4% after hours  —  Shares of the Hollywood studio jumped 13% after Semafor reported the streamer was interested in a potential acquisition

Mitchell Armentrout / Chicago Sun Times:
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signs a state budget that levies taxes on social media giants, digital advertising, and prediction and crypto markets  —  The eighth state spending plan of Pritzker's tenure includes additional funding for food assistance in the wake of deep federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump.