Mediagazer: Chicago Tribune parent tronc enters into nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Wrapports Holdings, owner of rival Sun-Times; Sun-Times to operate independently (Rick Kogan/Chicago Tribune)

10:20 AM ET, May 16, 2017

Top News:

Chicago Tribune parent tronc enters into nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Wrapports Holdings, owner of rival Sun-Times; Sun-Times to operate independently — Tronc, owner of the Chicago Tribune, has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent to buy the Chicago Sun-Times.

Discussion: Chicagoist, Robert Feder, HuffPost, tronc, inc., Chicago Business, @ourmaninchicago, @walldo, Los Angeles Times, @walldo, @michaelroston, @andrewhayespr, @annecw, @mdoukmas, @jeffcercone and @felixsalmon

U.S. Department of Justice:
Justice Department's antitrust division says it is investigating possible acquisition of Chicago Sun-Times by Chicago Tribune owner tronc

Discussion: Chicago Sun Times, Law360, @kurtgessler, Financial Times, The Wrap and Poynter

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is suing the Associated Press for libel over its reporting on his relationship with Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort — A Russian aluminum magnate with ties to President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is suing The Associated Press …

Discussion: @amy_siskind, @joshgerstein and @csmcdaniel

Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Disney CEO Bob Iger says hackers claiming to have access to an upcoming movie have demanded a ransom; the company is refusing to pay it — He says the hackers are demanding a ransom, which the company won't pay. — Have real-life pirates taken aim at Disney?

Discussion: Deadline, Vanity Fair, Fortune, Featured Articles, The Guardian, Business Insider, Softpedia News, Daily Mail, Mashable, The Verge, The Next Web, Engadget, Fast Company, The Wrap, TechCrunch and @kfile, more at Techmeme »

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Ousted Fox News host Bill O'Reilly joining Glenn Beck on his radio show for a weekly slot, every Friday — Former Fox News titans Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck will be reuniting for a weekly spot on Beck's radio show. — “We're going to do that every Friday until Beck gets tired of me,” …

Discussion: Mediaite

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Amazon launches 4K Alexa-powered Fire TVs with voice remote, available for preorder now, starting at $449 for the 43" model, $899 for 65" — Amazon's war with Roku enters its next phase — Like Roku before it, Amazon is working with TV makers to release smart televisions …

Discussion: Multichannel News, Variety and Fortune

Kate Stanhope / Hollywood Reporter:

Bravo to air a six-part drama about former New Yorker editor Tina Brown and Vogue US's Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, examining their rivalry and friendship — ‘All That Glitters’ will examine the friendship and rivalry between the two women. — Two of publishing's biggest names are getting the small screen treatment.

Discussion: @alexweprin, @juliehinds, @morgan_stewart, @alisonwillmore and The Wrap

Tom Dotan / The Information:

Sources: Apple is hiring a head of programming; company executives met with HBO's former President of Programming Michael Lombardo earlier this year — HBO's former programming head Michael Lombardo met with Apple executives earlier this year to discuss Apple's video programming strategy, says a person familiar with the talks.

Discussion: VentureBeat, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and Fortune

Vulture:

During the 2016-17 season, 27 returning TV shows suffered a 25% or larger decline in ratings, as viewers switch to streaming services — Almost every year since 2013, Vulture has published a chart illustrating the performance of veteran TV shows during the most recent season.

Discussion: Fortune, @dkthomp, @civiily, @vulture and @alexsburton

Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:
As cord-cutting picks up pace, media companies are competing to make it into skinny bundles, with channels like Nickelodeon and TNT finding themselves left out

Discussion: Light Reading and Fortune

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ESPN says it's ready to strike deals with advertisers based on live viewing figures across TV, mobile, and digital screens — ESPN hopes to score a touchdown in a growing competition: measuring audiences who are watching TV programming in ways other than using a TV.

Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:

Profile of Crinkling News, an Australian weekly paper that aims to improve kids' news literacy, says its readership is ~30K, and is raising funds to stay afloat — Creating a newspaper for kids means “allaying fears while at the same time explaining in the most basic terms what's going on.”

Discussion: @andydw_, @crinklingnewsau, @niemanlab and @niemanreports

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Mexican journalist and CPJ awardee Javier Valdez Cárdenas murdered — The Mexican prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression in Mexico should swiftly investigate the murder of Javier Valdez Cárdenas and bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Discussion: Snopes.com, Xinhua News Agency, The Daily Caller, Mexico News Daily, insightcrime.org and HuffPost

Corey Hutchins / Columbia Journalism Review:

Colorado passes law making independent voters' voting records during primaries public, which some fear could be used to discredit journalists for political bias — A NEW COLORADO LAW, passed by legislators at the end of the 2017 session, will allow the state's politically unaffiliated voters …

Discussion: @cjr and @coreyhutchins

Mike Fleming / Deadline:

Brad Grey, the former CEO and Chairman of Paramount Pictures, has died of cancer at age 59 — In a shocking development, it saddens me to report that Brad Grey has died at age 59. His death, from cancer, comes months after his exit as chairman/CEO of Paramount Pictures, a job he held for 12 years.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, EW.com, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, IndieWire, Rare, Variety, The Wrap and TVWeek.com

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Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
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Kent Walker / The Keyword:
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