Former colleagues pay tribute to Pick, who broke into male-dominated world of foreign affairs journalism in 1950s

Hella Pick, the Guardian’s esteemed and pioneering former foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor, has died at the age of 96.

Her career spanned more than seven decades, during which she covered geopolitical upheavals and tectonic shifts in global power, and met numerous world leaders. Her last article , on the war in Gaza, was published in January.

Attempts at mischief-making fall flat as the PM adopts his man of the people act to be questioned by Harry Cole

The Sun newspaper’s politics show, Never Mind the Ballots, leans heavily on the great soft-comedy moments of golden British TV men-talking, its name pilfered from the Buzzcocks, its graphics from Have I Got News for You.

This was a smart idea, because it looks fun, but it was also a dumb idea, because it was not fun. Even Rishi Sunak’s eyebrows flagged surprise, yet it was not surprising. Harry Cole kept promising that they were running out of time, yet time did not run out.

Exclusive: Russian bot attempt to stir up Islamophobia also part of course on misinformation and disinformation

Fabricated stories in the Sun blaming Liverpool fans for the Hillsborough stadium disaster are among examples that will be used in a parliamentary initiative to teach MPs to recognise misinformation and disinformation.

Other examples include a Russian bot campaign on Twitter, now X, that tried to use a photograph taken in the aftermath of the Westminster Bridge attack to stir up Islamophobic hatred.

Despite the polls, the leader wants them on side for an endorsement. Yet why bother if it would make little difference to voter numbers?

• Archie Bland is the editor of the Guardian’s First Edition newsletter

Last week, I called a senior Labour figure loyal to Keir Starmer and asked him about his leader’s efforts to court the Sun and the Times. He spoke for 15 minutes about the risks of letting a possible endorsement from the Murdoch press influence Labour, and how far the media landscape has shifted since the Sun could claim to be wot won it . As I thanked him for his time, he interrupted me. “Can I just check,” he said, a little sheepishly. “Have you heard anything?”

My source admitted the contradiction: arguing for a new settlement in his party’s relationship with the press, but unable to shake off the habits of the old one. He is not alone. “Every other conversation with a shadow cabinet minister at conference last year came back to whether the Times would back Starmer,” a Guardian colleague says. “They are obsessed.” A reporter for News UK, the title’s owner, says junior Labour staffers regularly ask for updates on their newspaper’s stance. A rival lobby journalist grumbles that Labour gives News UK outlets “special treatment”. A thinktank staffer mentions a special adviser with a Google alert for “the Sun says” and “Starmer”.

Traditional affinity between Conservatives and the newspaper has given way to a complex, splintered drama, and the attempted acquisition by Gulf-backed RedBird IMI lies in limbo

With the Conservative party trailing Labour by nearly 20 points in the polls, it needs all the help it can get if it is going to have a fighting chance at the next election.

So Downing Street strategists privately wonder why the Daily Telegraph – arguably the UK’s most staunchly rightwing paper – is not being more supportive of Rishi Sunak in its coverage.

Media companies to combine publishing and advertising platforms to target gen Z and millennials

The Independent will take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK and Ireland with the intention to create “Britain’s biggest publisher network for Gen Z and millennial audiences”, the publishers have said.

The two media companies will combine their publishing, data and advertising platforms “to allow commercial partners to seamlessly buy across their sites”.

Job losses, declining circulations and local newspaper closures could mean spread of misinformation in pivotal election year

As the election battle between Donald Trump and Joe Biden begins, there are growing fears around the health of the US news media which has been struck by job losses, declining circulations , the closure or crippling of well-known brands and rise of new threats such as fake or AI-generated information on social media.

Evidence of this state of crisis abounds. Last year, more than 21,400 media jobs were lost, the highest since 2020, when 16,060 cuts were recorded when print was still in the process of being succeeded by digital news distribution. Major names including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Vice have taken serious hits, alongside scores of smaller brands and the total collapse of newcomers such as the Messenger.

The Princess of Wales’s video was intended to calm the fevered speculation about her but may just spark yet more incessant coverage

When she met Prince William, the heir to the British throne, more than 20 years ago at St Andrews University, Catherine, the Princess of Wales had her first taste of the appetite for news about her life and her budding romantic involvement with the young prince.

Since their marriage in 2011, the desire for news, any news, about Catherine has only grown. Her every movement has been tracked, every outfit remarked upon, every decision – around her work, her children, the way she spends her free time, the way she moves – has been endlessly analysed, assessed, lauded or judged.

In the run-up to this year’s election, President Joe Biden has warned that American democracy is at stake. But when it comes to the democratic process of an entire nation, might the solution be local?

In an age of declining print media, losses of local newspapers and journalists are creating ‘news deserts’: areas bereft of a local paper. But does this matter, or is local news just a collection of obituaries and classifieds? Especially when rolling news coverage can be found online?

This week, Joan Greve speaks to the journalist and local news campaigner Steven Waldman, who argues that in an election year of increasing polarisation, we need local news more than ever. They will discuss why local journalism is a fundamental part of building communication, scrutiny and trust – and what can be done to save it

Archive: Fox News, PBS Newshour, WKBN, Deadspin, ABC