PressReader, one of the leading digital platforms for newspapers, magazines and books, has released a new report predicting 2026’s major digital news publishing trends. Its Year of Intentional Media report predicts a growing shift away from attention-chasing, click-driven headlines. Instead, it envisions calmer, trust-building experiences that inform and add value to readers’ everyday lives. 

 The Globe Media Group, the advertising arm of The Globe and Mail, has become the first Canadian publisher to adopt Mobian AI contextual intelligence. The new AI-powered solution enables contextual measurement and targeting – including brand safety and suitability, emotion, sentiment, tonality, themes, genres, and more. This enables brands to appear in environments more closely aligned with their values and messaging. The technology also provides a more transparent approach to targeting across the Group’s digital assets. 

 

The Atlantic Magazine has introduced Premium Plus – a new subscription model that includes family-sharing and friend-sharing, among other exclusive benefits. This is the first new tier the publication has introduced since it launched digital subscriptions in late 2019. After years of subscription growth, The Atlantic is now one of the largest news magazines in North America, with over 1.4 million subscribers.

 Politico has cut about 3% of its 750-person global staff, a reduction that included well-known bylines like Michael Schaffer and several former top editors. While a blow to a publication that has prided itself on financial stability, the company’s restructuring was not unexpected to close observers. Late last year, the politics and policy publication offered buyouts to its video staff. 

 

Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao Daily News is closing its Canadian operations, laying off 60 employees. Ming Pao has newsrooms in Richmond, B.C., and Toronto, Ontario. A letter from Ming Pao Newspapers (Canada) to the B.C. Labour Ministry said it’s permanently closing “for financial reasons.” The date of termination for the staff is January 31, 2026. Its final Vancouver and Toronto editions were published on January 16.

 

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has released the names of 128 journalists and media workers who lost their lives in 2025. The list includes 9 accidental deaths. The updated list underscores a deadly year for journalism and the continued prevalence of selective impunity.  Since the launch of its Annual Killed List in 1990, the IFJ has recorded 3,173 deaths worldwide, an average of 91 deaths per year, and 876 in the last 10 years. The Federation has also released its list of 533 journalists in jail, with China as the world’s No.1 jailer.

 

Evan Smith is joining The Atlantic’s staff as Managing Director overseeing events. Smith will lead one of the most influential and long-running events practices in today’s media, alongside Managing Editor Krystle Champagne-Norwood, and Director of Events Jess Edkins. The Atlantic convenes dozens of annual in-person and virtual events that reach thousands of people every year, anchored by its flagship Atlantic Festival.

 Key dates released for Aid to Publishers funding