What We’re Reading

We keep an eye out for the most interesting stories about Labby subjects: digital media, startups, the web, journalism, strategy, and more.

Google / Duncan Osborn

Google launches “Preferred Sources” in Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode →

“Setting it up is simple: just visit source preferences in Search personalization settings to find and add your favorite sources. Any website that publishes fresh content is eligible. We’ve found that people are twice as likely to click through to a Preferred Source, and people have already selected more than 345,000 unique sources.” —AD

What else we were reading on May 27

The Guardian’s U.S. revenue for the fiscal year ending 3/31/26, according to an internal presentation obtained by Axios. “Digital reader donations make up most (70.7%) of the annual revenues for The Guardian U.S., according to the presentation.” (Axios / Sara Fischer) —LO

The Wall Street Journal / Alexandra Bruell

Newspaper magnate Donald Newhouse dies at 96 →

“Together with his brother Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., known as Si, Donald oversaw and expanded [Advance Publications], the sprawling media company that was founded by their father more than a century ago. They built up the newspaper and magazine holdings and took stakes in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit.” —LO

The Hollywood Reporter / Katie Kilkenny

Condé Nast and union reach settlement over “fired four” →

“As part of the deal, the status of three of the four workers was changed from fired to being allowed to resign as active employees. They were each given nearly two years’ pay and furnished with positive letters of recommendation … As for the suspended workers, the settlement deal provides them with backpay for the days they were suspended and their disciplinary records have been erased.”

The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum

Sharyn Alfonsi, the 60 Minutes journalist who accused CBS of political meddling, loses her deal →

“CBS News declined to renew its contract with the 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, six months after her segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the air abruptly by the news division’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss…

‘It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,’ Ms. Alfonsi said. ‘I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.'” —LO

TechCrunch / Sarah Perez

Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions, with more to come, including AI plans →

“For a few dollars per month, consumers subscribing to Instagram Plus ($3.99/mo), Facebook Plus ($3.99/mo), or WhatsApp Plus ($2.99/mo) will gain access to extra features, like profile customization, super reactions, and story insights, among other things.” —LO

The Associated Press

AP adds OpenAI as elections customer →

“As part of the agreement, AP will provide OpenAI with vote count results data for national, state and local races in major American cities from today through the 2028 general election.” —LO