By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
Welcome to the media review from Francia24 and Radio Centrale Milano: radio, artificial intelligence, publishing, large media groups, and finance: two news items for each topic.
Radio
Radio Northern Europe International announces first broadcast
Radio Northern Europe International has confirmed and published the announcement regarding its first broadcast. The signal will be available on the 1467kHz frequency with a power of 500kW.
Source: mediumwave.info
Agcom initiates proceedings on DAB contribution criteria
The Communications Authority has initiated the process to define the criteria relating to contributions for the use of national and local DAB rights. The decision maintains the expiration of the exemption on August 4, 2027, rejecting requests to extend the benefit to ten years from the full implementation of the plan. The Authority considered the exemption independent of the market’s development status.
The system is moving towards the ordinary contribution regime, with the assignment of rights already consolidated for three national networks and 80 of the 96 planned local networks. Agcom will establish the criteria, while the responsibility for determining the amounts due from operators will lie with MIMIT. The process will conclude within 180 days of publication, barring justified suspensions and extensions.
Source: Newslinet
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is transforming the dating world
The use of artificial intelligence is changing dating dynamics: according to a Match Group survey of 3,000 British singles, 39% have used AI for romantic purposes. This percentage rises to 66% among Generation Z and 53% among millennials. Users utilize chatbots to receive advice, plan dates, write profiles or messages, and verify the authenticity of photos and profiles.
Sam, 27, living in Stoke-on-Trent, uses AI to improve his messages, but according to reports to the Guardian, he fears that replacing his own humor with technology means dying as a person. A single mother in New Zealand used ChatGPT as a mentor to gain confidence, while a 51-year-old man from Melbourne used AI to speed up interactions. However, one-third of British singles would end a date if they discovered the use of chatbots to write messages.
Source: The Guardian
Agentic artificial intelligence accelerates business processes
Four major Italian companies—Generali, Grenke Italia, Unipol, and Sada Cavi—have implemented agentic artificial intelligence solutions to automate operational activities. In the Italian AI market, which reached 1.8 billion euros in 2025 with a 50% growth rate, the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of Politecnico di Milano notes that 71% of large companies have started at least one technological project.
The recorded performance is significant: according to the report published by AI4Business regarding the Politecnico di Milano 2026 Use Case Session, Generali achieved results exceeding 90% in claims testing, while according to company testimony reported by AI4Business, Grenke Italia reduced contract management times by 90%. For Unipol, according to the case study published by IBM, the response time to events dropped from 20 minutes to 90 seconds, with incident management 90% faster. Finally, according to Quanture, Sada Cavi reduced the analysis of commercial requests from approximately 20-45 minutes to just a few minutes, with an automatic recognition rate between 85% and 90%.
Source: AI4Business
Publishing and Large Media Groups
Publishing and Large Media Groups
Lula’s digital army secured victory in Brazil
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s electoral victory in Brazil was determined by the action of a WhatsApp group called “Lula’s Army”. The group, led by Deputy André Janones, grew from 60,000 to nearly 11 million followers, assigning daily “missions” to promote pro-Lula content and increase organic engagement on social media.
According to Janones, who called the group fundamental to the outcome of the vote, the strategy bridged the digital divide compared to Bolsonaro. The strategy included the use of national symbols and the creation of a sense of community. Researcher Raquel Recuero observed that the channel offered voters the opportunity to channel their energy to help the president.
Source: The Guardian
Layoffs surge in the media and entertainment sector
The entertainment sector is facing a wave of layoffs. Netflix has begun a 6% reduction in global staff, approximately 1,000 jobs. Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to more than a quarter of its staff, approximately 60,000 people, to offset costs related to artificial intelligence and data center expenses, while the Xbox division announced new layoffs following the 3,200 worker cuts in July.
Other entities are also affected: Disney anticipates cuts that will impact several hundred employees across various sectors, including Pixar and National Geographic, while the BBC faces reductions in its Media Tech unit. E.W. Scripps has reduced its workforce by 12%, attributing the choice to the artificial intelligence “revolution,” according to CEO Adam Symson. Other cuts involve Meta, with approximately 8,000 employees leaving, and Snap, which will reduce staff by 16%.
Source: Deadline
Finance
Managed futures as an alternative to bonds
Andrew Beer, co-founder of DBi, stated that bonds have been “dead money” for the entire decade. According to the expert, the managed futures strategy could offer a modern touch to traditional 60/40 portfolios, acting with agility while other portfolios remain static. ETF funds following this strategy can position themselves ahead of turbulent market events through long and short operations in global markets.
The fund managed by Beer, DBMF (iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF), has recorded a near 19% increase so far this year. However, Nate Geraci of NovaDius Wealth Management believes that investors should not give up on bonds, calling fixed income the most challenging area of current investment. Geraci suggests that alternatives should be included in well-diversified portfolios, emphasizing that it is necessary to wait for such strategies to work in the long term.
Source: CNBC
Radio Nizza and Francia24
You can find all the news regarding Nice and the Côte d’Azur at radionizza.it
You can find all the news regarding France at francia24.com and franciaoggi.com
Closing.
Online, on BlueSky and Mastodon, on all smart speakers and on the medium waves, this is the media review from Francia24 and Radio Centrale Milano.
And now for our French-speaking listeners, a brief recap of today’s news in French.
Dans l’actualité des médias, Radio Northern Europe International prépare sa première émission sur la fréquence 1467kHz avec une puissance de 500kW, tandis que l’Agcom en Italie définit les critères de contribution pour le DAB, maintenant l’échéance d’exemption au 4 août 2027. Concernant l’intelligence artificielle, un sondage de Match Group révèle que 39 % des célibataires britanniques utilisent l’IA pour leurs rencontres, un chiffre grimpant à 66 % chez la génération Z. Par ailleurs, l’IA agentique transforme le secteur industriel italien : des entreprises comme Generali, Grenke Italia, Unipol et Sada Cavi enregistrent des gains d’efficacité majeurs, avec des réductions de temps de gestion allant jusqu’à 90 %. Dans le domaine de l’édition, la victoire de Lula au Brésil est attribuée à une stratégie numérique massive sur WhatsApp, l’armée de Lula étant passée de 60 000 à près de 11 millions de membres. Ce secteur subit une vague de licenciements, notamment chez Netflix avec 1 000 départs, Microsoft proposant des départs volontaires pour 60 000 employés, ainsi que chez Disney, la BBC, Meta ou encore Snap. Enfin, en finance, Andrew Beer de DBi promeut les managed futures comme alternative agile aux obligations, son fonds DBMF ayant progressé de près de 19 % cette année, bien que certains experts conseillent la prudence pour la diversification des portefeuilles.
Sign-off.
Online, on X and Mastodon, on all smart speakers and on medium wave, this is FranciaOggi with Centrale Milano 1575 kilohertz.
Source: AudioVisione – AM 1575 News