When 2,529 people were offered a free subscription to their local newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Philadelphia Inquirer, only 44 accepted — less than 2 percent — according to an academic study set to be published this year in the American Journal of Political Science.  more

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said a prisoner exchange would probably lead to the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but he declined to give a time frame for the deal and said Gershkovich was caught committing espionage in Russia. more

Will Lester, a longtime reporter and editor for The Associated Press who played a critical role in the news organization’s 2000 election-night decision not to call the presidential race, died Wednesday, Feb. 7. He was 71. more

CNHI, parent company of The Daily Star in Oneonta, New York, announced Thursday, Feb. 8, that Valerie Secor has been promoted to publisher of the newspaper. more

February 8, 2024 - Google is joining Microsoft, Meta and Adobe in supporting a standard for labeling media that can describe who created an image or video, when and how it was created, and the credibility of its source, the company announced Feb. 8. more

Those who get news on social media name a variety of things that they like about it, including convenience, speed and the element of social interaction. But some social media news consumers also express concerns about news there being inaccurate, low quality and politically biased. more

February 8, 2024 - Drawing on 134 interviews with news workers at 35 news organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany and 36 international experts from industry, academia, technology and policy, this report examines the use of AI across editorial, commercial and technological domains with an eye to the structural implications of AI in news organizations for the public arena. more

A reporter for a weekly Kansas newspaper that police raided last year filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against its hometown and local officials, saying the raid caused her physical and mental health problems. more

February 7, 2023 - Public notice legislation introduced so far in 2024 suggests state legislatures are growing increasingly comfortable having news websites serve as an alternative source of official notice. And that comfort seems to have cooled their ardor for moving notices from newspapers to government websites. more

February 6, 2024 - Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Tuesday it is ramping up its capability to detect and label images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of elections in the U.S. and abroad. more

Commercial partnership provides engaging sports betting content in dedicated online section separate from news staff sports coverage. more

Jane Ashley Pace, Paxton Media Group regional advertising director and publisher of both the Henry County Local and Oldham Era, is now president of the Kentucky Press Association, a newspaper industry trade group established in 1869. more

Crystal Miller, publisher of the Albert Lea Tribune and the Austin Daily Herald, was elected president of the Minnesota Newspaper Association during the association’s annual meeting at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park. more

A Muskogee County jury has awarded a man $25 million in damages after finding The Oklahoman defamed him in 2021 when it incorrectly identified him as the speaker of a racist rant during a high school basketball playoff game. more

Ron Nixon, vice president for news, investigative, enterprise, and grants and partnerships with The Associated Press, has announced that Mary Rajkumar and Jeannie Ohm will co-lead AP's award-winning investigative team and work across the organization to develop and produce in-depth investigative projects. more

Starting in March, The Sumter (South Carolina) Item will print newspapers twice a week, a weekday edition on Wednesday and a weekend edition on Saturday. more

Microsoft is launching several collaborations with news organizations to adopt generative AI. more

It’s no secret the news industry has suffered from declining revenues for years, with the situation so dire that many newsrooms across the country have shut down. Now, three state Democrats are trying to help local newsrooms in Wisconsin with a set of three bills aimed at paying for journalists, reporting projects and subscriptions.  more

The Seattle Times' Brier Dudley asked members of Washington’s delegation where they stood on the need for Congress to help save local journalism. All but two, U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, responded with thoughtful comments and pledges to help. more

Gannett Co., Inc. and the USA TODAY Network have announced a multi-year agreement to become the official content partner of the Big Ten Conference, the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. more