Journalists and press freedoms are under sustained attack across the European Union,  according to the fifth annual media freedom report from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties), The Guardian reports. “A healthy, pluralistic media system is a litmus test and mirror of democracy,” said Eva Simon, the group’s senior advocacy officer. “Where the rule of law weakens – through deliberate government action or neglect – media freedom is undermined.”

Cumulus Media Operations has published a playbook for how local advertisers should be using AI, Radio Ink reports. The guide, published through the Audio Active Group, lays out five best practices for using platforms like ChatGPT to form media plans and buying decisions. 

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to Verizon against T-Mobile over “literally false” advertising with regard to pricing, Yahoo Finance reports. The preliminary injunction could influence how carriers frame price comparisons, savings claims and switcher promotions going forward.

Business Insider has announced the launch of Valued, a weekly newsletter providing product picks and shopping advice, Talking Biz News reports. The newsletter is written by Bronwyn Barnes, reviews deputy editor, and edited by Sally Kaplan, reviews executive editor. “Our team rigorously tests and researches products across tech, home, style, travel, and more, to help readers make smarter, more confident buying decisions,” said Kaplan in a statement.

Journalists in Washington, DC are accustomed to chasing stories. But on Saturday night, the story came to them, Associated Press writes. Many ducked for cover as an assassination attempt was made on President Donald Trump. “We were under the table before we knew what was happening,” wrote The Atlantic magazine’s Missy Ryan, Matt Viser and Michael Scherer.

Stagwell has expanded its partnership with The Trade Desk to include the DSP’s agentic AI in its media planning and buying, MM&M reports. This will be rolled out in a global, multi-stage effort across the Stagwell agency network.

Comcast beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1, adding 5 million paid subscribers, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Legendary February showcased the strength of our Media portfolio, leveraging the unmatched reach of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl to drive record advertising and strong Peacock growth,” says Brian L. Roberts and Mike Cavanagh, co-CEOs of Comcast.

Andreessen Horowitz has invested in MTS (“Monitoring the Situation), a live-stream-driven platform designed to interpret and place context on rapidly developing news across the internet and the broader media ecosystem, Pulse2 reports. MTS provides steady analysis, blending elements of journalism, commentary, and real-time signal aggregation.

McClatchy Publishing is using artificial intelligence to write entire articles, add real reporters’ names to the stories even if they did not work on them, Straight Arrow News reports, sourcing The Wrap. McClatchy -- which publishes the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer and other regional newspapers -- is facing scrutiny over this alleged practice, and observers fear it could erode trust in the news.

Deutsche Telekom is in talks to merge with T-Mobile US in what would be a telecommunications giant, Reuters reports. Deutsche Telekom already owns a 53% stake in T-Mobile. The potential deal could create a company with a market capitalization of nearly $300 billion and serve more than 200 million mobile subscribers.