The Guardian·2026-02-12
Lisa Nandy refers Telegraph sale to watchdogs over rightwing media plurality concernsLisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has referred the Telegraph’s proposed sale to the publisher of the Daily Mail to the competition and media watchdogs, weeks after she raised concerns about the consolidation of rightwing newspapers. Nandy said she was using her powers to refer the £500m deal for the Telegraph titles, which include the Daily Telegraph and its Sunday sister paper, to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the media regulator Ofcom. She revealed she was minded to make the move last month, with officials saying Nandy had concerns that “there is potential for loss in the plurality of voices, especially in the UK’s right-leaning market”. It marks the latest obstacle to be thrown in the path of what has become a three-year saga in the Telegraph’s sale, during which deal
The Guardian·2026-02-12
BBC to pursue cuts of up to £600m as bosses point to fall in licence fee incomeThe BBC is to pursue cuts of up to £600m that will result in job losses and the end of some programming, amid concerns at a decline in the number of households paying the licence fee. Tim Davie, the outgoing director general, told staff that the broadcaster was not a “protected species” and that 10% of the BBC’s costs would have to be cut over the next three years. It is understood the savings are sufficiently steep that job losses and changes to output will have to form part of the plans. Davie said the broadcaster was “holding our own” despite huge changes in the media world with the rise of digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and of streaming platforms. He said the BBC was more needed than ever as media groups around the world cut back their coverage. However, he said it now h
The Guardian·2026-02-12
Guardian nominated for more than 20 honours at 2026 Press AwardsThe Guardian has been nominated for more than 20 honours at this year’s Press Awards, including for website of the year, daily newspaper of the year and newspaper of the year (daily and Sunday). Twenty-seven entries from the Guardian have been shortlisted across 21 different categories by the judges of the UK’s prestigious journalism awards. Three Guardian journalists are nominated for broadsheet interviewer of the year: Charlotte Edwardes, Donald McRae and Simon Hattenstone, who is also shortlisted for broadsheet feature writer of the year. Malak A Tantesh, the Guardian’s former Gaza correspondent, is nominated for young journalist of the year. Missing in the Amazon is nominated for news podcast of the year. Hosted by Tom Phillips, the six-part investigative series uncovers the disappeara
The Guardian·2026-02-12
Inside Will Lewis’s tumultuous two years as publisher of the Washington PostStanding on the seventh floor in the center of the Washington Post’s open newsroom on the morning of 3 June 2024, publisher Will Lewis decided to deliver some tough love to a news organization he had taken charge of five months earlier. Lewis, a veteran of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, had replaced Fred Ryan, a former Ronald Reagan aide who had presided over some of the Post’s profitable years – during the first Trump administration – but lost the confidence of some staffers after clashing with employees during a late 2022 town hall. “We are going to turn this thing around, but let’s not sugarcoat it: it needs turning around, right?” Lewis said. “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. I can’t sugarcoat it any more
