Evan Gershkovich still in Russian jail, Telegram’s block in Spain – weekly news digest

Welcome to The Fix’s weekly news digest! Every week, we bring you important news stories? from the world of media – and try to put them in a wider context

A Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich by another three months, a year after he was arrested on bogus spying allegations. Gershkovich has covered Russia for The Wall Street Journal and became the first US journalist detained in Russia on spying allegations since the Cold War.

The US government designated Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” and is working to secure his release. Russian leader Vladimir Putin previously hinted at the possibility of Gershkovich’s release as part of prisoner exchange, but no deal had materialised yet.

The Wall Street Journal has dedicated extensive resources to support Gershkovich, ranging from working with the US government to providing emotional support, assistant editor Paul Beckett told Press Gazette.

Spain’s High Court ordered to block Telegram Messenger and then quickly reversed its decision.

The initial order was issued on Friday following the allegations of copyright infringement by major Spanish media companies. Following public criticism of the decision as disproportionate to the scope of alleged violations, the court paused the block’s enforcement and ordered a police report on the platform.?

Telegram is the fourth most-popular messaging service in Spain, used by some 19% Spaniards, Reuters notes citing competition watchdog CNMC. The platform has 900 million users globally, its founder Pavel Durov recently told Financial Times.

G/O Media, an American media company that owns a set of digital news brands, is continuing to sell off its portfolio.

The company sold film and TV website The A.V. Club to Paste Magazine, which recently also acquired feminist publisher Jezebel from G/O Media . The food website The Takeout has been sold to internet company Static Media, ADWEEK notes citing an internal memo.?

The Onion, an iconic satirical publisher, is also up for sale, New York Post reports. A few weeks ago G/O Media sold sports news website Deadspin to an obscure European media company.