Mediagazer: Ex-Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett joins political media startup ATTN: in a similar role; she says she'll help connect the company with policymakers (Valerie Jarrett/ATTN)

11:00 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, Los Angeles Times, @walldo, @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

Valerie Jarrett / ATTN:

Ex-Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett joins political media startup ATTN: in a similar role; she says she'll help connect the company with policymakers — I'm thrilled today to announce my partnership with ATTN: as a senior advisor to their incredibly talented team.

Discussion: mikeallen, @goldman and @hilaryr

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?

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

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: AppAdvice.com, VentureBeat, @amir, @jessicalessin, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and Fortune

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

At ESPN's upfront, President John Skipper defended the network's recent layoffs to advertisers, saying the current environment forces execs to be “realists” — “The current environment forces us to be realists as well as optimists,” he assured media buyers at the network's May 16 upfront.

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, more at Techmeme »

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

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

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.

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

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More News:

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

Discussion: @cjr and @coreyhutchins

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
The New York Times says A.G. Sulzberger will take over paper's opinion section from his father, expanding his role beyond deputy publisher

Discussion: Adweek, @poynter and @cnnmoney

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
US agencies under Trump have removed or hidden information, including workplace violation and animal welfare data, which was once easily accessible

Discussion: IJR, @globalecoguy, @eilperin, @dkthomp, @zdboren, @stevesilberman, @rebeccaballhaus and The Week

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Snap pilots ads for world lenses, its AR filters for the rear-facing camera, which sources say cost 30% more than the $300K-$700K promotional lenses

Discussion: The Verge, @caseynewton, @sarahfrier, TechCrunch, @alexeheath, Adweek, Recode, @larakiara and Digiday, more at Techmeme »

Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
Two experts say Gizmodo's phishing test for members of Trump's team may invite prosecution under CFAA

Discussion: @pblest and @nattgarun

Earlier Picks:

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook updates live streaming policy to ban videos using static images and polls with inanimate material

Discussion: Radio & Television …, VatorNews, Adweek, Facebook, Engadget and @kantrowitz, more at Techmeme »

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
UK PM Theresa May says that fake news is a “concern” and that she was a victim of misleading information on social media during her party's leadership campaign

Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Brad Grey, the former CEO and Chairman of Paramount Pictures, has died of cancer at age 59

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

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
Vox and ProPublica partner to create one-year fellowship for a video producer, based in Vox's newsroom, making videos based on ProPublica's reporting

Discussion: Digiday, Adweek and @ezraklein

From Techmeme:

Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Apple removes three AI image generation apps from the App Store after a 404 Media probe found the apps advertised being able to create nonconsensual nude images

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: China's muted response to TikTok bill reflects the view that TikTok is of less strategic value than Huawei; China prefers TikTok US closure to sale

Kate Kelly / New York Times:
Congress considers legislation to block DJI drones from running on US communication networks, effectively killing the Chinese company's US commercial business

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