The talks, only active for about a week, have focused on combining the companies and raising money that would fuel the acquisition of other media businesses able to charge for subscriptions and premium advertising. Going public via a special-purpose acquisition company is one fundraising option under discussion. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Short-form news broker Axios was reportedly profitable last year, with US$60 million in revenue, while The Athletic’s burgeoning sports-media empire generated roughly US$80 million last year; its growth has been venture-fuelled, and it flaunted a US$475-million valuation when it closed its last raise in January 2020. The two are among a host of digital-media companies looking to mergers and SPAC deals as potential paths to stability, even if it means losses for investors. The Logic’s founder David Skok forecast the consolidation trend in the 2021 edition of his annual media predictions for Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab. Meanwhile in Canada, Facebook is pledging $8 million over three years to extend a Canadian journalism fellowship program and to provide as-yet-undetailed payments to Canadian publishers and support for underrepresented voices. It’s a carve-out from the US$1 billion it pledged to pay news publishers globally over the next three years after a hullabaloo in Australia.