Massive Layoffs at WaPo, MS NOW’s Podcast Deal, Axios Local News Expansion | Media News Recap for February 2026

February may be a short month, but the past weeks were packed with major media news. Long-anticipated cuts at the Washington Post hit, and they were brutal. Publishers made or extended deals with AI and podcast companies.

We’ve been watching the headlines and have compiled some of the biggest stories you might have missed. Keep reading to catch up.

Washington Post makes sweeping layoffs amid financial distress

The nearly 150-year-old Washington Post laid off a few hundred employees, nearly 40% of the staff according to some reports, in early February as a drastic cost-saving measure. The Post’s award-winning international desk, as well as its sports and metro coverage, were hit particularly hard, if not nearly eliminated. The cuts also impacted its daily podcast “Post Reports,” its ArcXP tech arm and other business and tech teams.

“This is a tragic day for American journalism, the city of Washington, and the country as a whole. I’m grieving for reporters I love and whose work upheld the truest and most noble callings of the profession,” said Jeff Stein, chief economics correspondent for the Post.

The cuts were the latest blow to the historic newspaper since the hiring of a controversial new management team in 2024 and opinion section changes driven by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos, which have disrupted the paper’s culture.

Matt Murray, the paper’s executive editor, said in a statement following the announcement, “Our organic search has fallen by nearly half in the last three years. And we are still in the early days of AI-generated content, which is drastically reshaping user experiences and expectations.” (Axios)

Check out some of the fallout from the Post’s layoffs and other personnel news from February:

• Within days of the cuts, the Post’s CEO, Will Lewis, announced he would be stepping down. (New York Times)
• Interim Post CEO, Jeff D’Onofrio, said he’s “going to fight like hell for this institution.” (TheWrap)
• The Post’s losses topped $100 million in 2025. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Walt Disney Company named its new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, who will succeed Bob Iger. (Axios)
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced it would eliminate 50 positions, about 15% of its headcount. (AJC)
• Anderson Cooper will be leaving his role as a correspondent for CBS’s “60 Minutes” after a nearly 20-year run. (New York Times)
• New York Public Radio named Christy Tanner, a former CBS News Digital and TV Guide Digital executive, as its new president and CEO. (Current)

Americans’ Complicated Relationship With News

Newly released data from Pew Research Center found that while most Americans (80%) think being informed about the news is essential for voting, many are worn out by the news (52%) or find the news they come across to be irrelevant to their lives (48%).

“It is so easy to access information,” a man in his 60s said during one of the focus groups conducted by Pew. “But that doesn’t mean you’re well informed.”

In terms of actively seeking out the news, Americans are now evenly divided between those who mostly get news because they are looking for it (50%) and those who mostly happen to come across it (49%).

The survey and focus groups found that relatively few Americans (9%) say they follow the news just because they enjoy it. By comparison, 24% say they do so only because they feel like they should. (Pew Research Center)

Other interesting findings released in February include:

• A new Gallup survey looked at ethics ratings of various American professions – journalists are among the jobs with the strongest negative tilt. (Gallup)
• Another survey found that a majority of Americans (57%) have low confidence in journalists to act in the public’s best interests. (Pew Research Center)
• One new survey found that in local news deserts in the U.S., residents rely heavily on social media and other non-journalistic sources to stay informed. (Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University)
• Gallup announced it will no longer track presidential approval ratings. (The Hill)
• Pew also found that three-in-ten Americans at least sometimes get news from newsletters, but 62% say they don’t end up reading most of the newsletters they receive. (Pew Research Center)

MS NOW Inks Deal With Crooked Media to Air ‘Pod Save America’ and More on TV

Crooked Media, which is home to shows such as Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It and more, will air highlights from the week’s podcast episodes on MS NOW on Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET.

Each episode will feature a compilation of clips from Crooked Media shows. MS NOW is the only place on linear TV where the clips will air. Clips and full episodes will still be available on YouTube.

The move to bring outside podcasts to linear comes as video podcasts gain popularity – Netflix and CNN have recently made their own deals to bring video podcasts to their streaming services. (The Hollywood Reporter)

In other podcast news:

• Kaleidoscope, a science and technology media company, is acquiring a podcast company and filling out its executive ranks. (Semafor)
• Red Seat Ventures has acquired Supercast, a subscription platform for podcast creators. (Editor & Publisher)
• The Guardian announced its plans to launch a daily video podcast later this year, the next step in its U.S. expansion. (Semafor)
• Apple will bring “advanced video capabilities” to Apple Podcasts this spring. (Variety)
• More than half (53.6%) of Americans listen to or watch podcasts each month, according to Triton Digital’s 2025 U.S. Podcast Report. (Radio Online)

Axios, OpenAI expand partnership to scale local news

‍Through its expanded partnership with OpenAI, Axios is expanding its local news coverage in 2026 to nine new local communities, bringing it to a total of 43 communities across the U.S. It’s also hiring additional reporters in Colorado, Arizona, Florida and Ohio.

“Local journalism has been in critical decline, but Axios is determined to reverse that by using the powerful combination of expert journalists and major technological breakthroughs from companies like OpenAI,” said Axios COO Allison Murphy.

OpenAI’s technology will be used to help journalists streamline workflows, surface local trends and reduce time spent on administrative tasks. They will also participate in OpenAI Academy training and education programs. (Axios)

Also announced in February:

• Government regulators approved ESPN’s acquisition of multiple NFL Media assets. (Sports Business Journal)
• Candle Media sold a majority stake in digital media company ATTN: back to its co-founders. (Axios)
• Axel Springer, the owner of Politico and Business Insider, has joined a rival bid for the Telegraph. (The Guardian)
• Reversing earlier criticism of the deal, President Donald Trump endorsed Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna. (AP)
• The bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery reached a new stage when WBD said it would reopen deal talks with Paramount Skydance, which raised its offer to $31 per share. (CNN) Netflix then declined to raise its offer, effectively removing itself from the fight. (PR Newswire)

ICYMI

Here are a few more big headlines from February that you shouldn’t miss:

• Fox News Media will produce a new 90-second news brief that will air on Fox’s owned-and-operated television stations and will be available to all Fox Affiliated Stations across the country. (TV Tech)
• Courier, a progressive local and national news group, is expanding to nine additional states, bringing it to 20 states total. (Axios)
• Berkshire Hathaway has taken a $351.7 million stake in The New York Times. (CNBC)
• New York Magazine revived its classified ads with a modern twist to help subscribers who live in New York City sell items to other New Yorkers. (NiemanLab)
• This summer, ESPN will launch “Women’s Sports Sundays” — a first-of-its-kind, weekly primetime programming franchise focused on women’s sports. (Editor & Publisher)
• The Tampa Bay Times has started a monthly “book club” for news stories. (NiemanLab)
• A record-setting snowstorm caused managers of The Boston Globe to not print their daily newspaper for the first time in its 153-year history. (AP)

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