Top News:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
The New York Times is buying online consumer guide The Wirecutter, founded by former Gizmodo editor-in-chief Brian Lam; sources say NYT will pay more than $30M — Brian Lam sells his online consumer guide to the paper of record. — The New York Times is buying The Wirecutter, a five-year-old online consumer guide.
Discussion:
New York Times, The New York Times Company, @wirecutter, @nicknotned, Ad Age, Nieman Lab, TechCrunch, Boing Boing, @ericries, Gizmodo, @bankoff, @choire, @anildash, @justinwolfers, @ejacqui, @blam, @mangan150, @financialsamura, @recode, @mathewi, @nickbilton, @jkottke, @blam, @jwherrman, @tomgara, @reckless, @markgurman, @basche42, @shellen, @choitotheworld, @robpegoraro, @bxchen, @msquinn, @miradu, @arainert, Mashable, @tonyromm, @jbenton, @gaberivera, @jsnell, @hblodget, @rrhoover and @hunterwalk
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson vows to maintain CNN's independence if AT&T-TWC merger succeeds, following concerns from ex-CNN president Tom Johnson — The chief executive of AT&T has pledged to maintain the journalistic independence of CNN if his company's $85 billion purchase of CNN's parent company, Time Warner, is completed.
Discussion:
Politico, @alexweprin, @politico, @robenfarzad, @politico_media, @brianstelter, @moorehn, PressThink and Talking Biz News
RELATED:
Politico:
In Washington, AT&T-Time Warner deal could struggle to gain regulatory approval as both Trump and Clinton campaigns and congressional lawmakers express concern — An ambitious bid by AT&T to buy Time Warner could face major political obstacles in merger-wary Washington …
Discussion:
@margarethmcgill, @byersalex, Consumerist and @politico
Kara Swisher / Recode:
Resistance from Time Warner execs like Jeff Bewkes, head of HBO at the time, doomed the AOL merger, which raises questions about the prospects of the AT&T deal
Resistance from Time Warner execs like Jeff Bewkes, head of HBO at the time, doomed the AOL merger, which raises questions about the prospects of the AT&T deal
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Forbes, Business Insider, Broadcasting & Cable, CNBC, @brianstelter, Techdirt, Fortune, Quartz, The Wrap, VideoNuze Analysis, Variety, New York Times, Reuters, Fast Company, TVNewser, VatorNews, RexBlog.com, @amyklobuchar, @danprimack, @mcuban, @karaswisher, Time Warner Inc., TechCrunch, @reddy and @dangillmor
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
If Trump loses, news organizations should break their ratings-driven habit of giving him heavy coverage — In the final pages of Richard Ben Cramer's seminal book about presidential politics, “What It Takes,” Michael Dukakis looks around in wonderment at the scene outside his Massachusetts home less …
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
MTV President Sean Atkins steps down after little over a year in the role, as the channel failed to reverse trend of downward ratings — EXCLUSIVE: Sean Atkins is stepping down as president of MTV a little more than a year after joining the network. I've learned that Atkins opted to leave …
Discussion:
Adweek, Crain's New York Business, Ad Age, Business Insider, The Wrap, @pkafka and Variety
James Ball / BuzzFeed:
How WikiLeaks and Assange haven't changed, even though they're now darlings of the alt-right instead of the left — The Wikileaks founder is out to settle a score with Hillary Clinton and to reassert himself as a player on the world stage, says BuzzFeed News special correspondent James Ball, who worked for Assange at Wikileaks.
Discussion:
@jamesrbuk, @buzzfeedben, @miriamelder, @oliverburkeman, @nayteer, @stuartmillar159, @williamjordann, @studentactivism, @raju, @kyleworton, @jamesrbuk, @paulfidalgo, @janinegibson, @mattleys, @sturdyalex, @pinboard, @daaronovitch, @michaeldweiss, @pjux, @dabeard, @paulwaugh, @chrisgeidner and The Week
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Business Insider launches Markets Insider, a markets data and news site with a global focus, powered by data from Finanzen.net, Axel Springer's finance portal — The publisher's relationship with the German media conglomerate is growing closer — Business Insider's partnership …
Discussion:
@stevekovach, @realbengilbert, FishbowlNY, @rafat and @sarahmarshall
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Trump's alt-right supporters have adopted a term popular during the Nazi regime, “lügenpresse,” meaning “lying press” in German, to discredit the media — “A sly reference,” says a white nationalist leader. — It's become a familiar routine by now …
Discussion:
The Inquisitr News, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
Neil W. McCabe / Breitbart:
Former ESPN analyst Curt Schilling gets daily talk show on Breitbart.com, starting Monday, broadcasting weekdays from 9am-11am ET — The pitching hero of the 2004 Red Sox World Series championship season told Breitbart News: Sunday Edition he launches his daily Breitbart.com talk show Monday.
Ken Doctor / Politico:
Newsroom memo: Gannett to lay off another 2% of its workforce, about 350 or more positions in total — Layoffs come ahead of long-simmering Tronc deal — Gannett, the largest U.S newspaper company, is cutting another two percent of its workforce. That cut, which should total about 350 …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Newsonomics, @kdoctor, @politico, @politico_media and @amandaccoyne
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix says it plans to raise $800M in debt, bringing total long-term debt to $3B, says it will use the new debt for general corporate purposes — Netflix said it plans to raise $800 million through a new debt offering, which would bring its long-term debt load to more than $3 billion.
Discussion:
Forbes and VentureBeat
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Bustle hires Viacom's VP of digital business development Kate Robinson to lead content distribution and partnerships as senior VP of business development — Bustle has tapped Kate Robinson, a nine-year Viacom veteran, to lead content distribution and partnerships for the women's lifestyle …