Mediagazer: Alden says it is bidding for full control of Tribune Publishing, in which it has a ~32% stake, with an offer that values the newspaper chain at about $520.6M (Michael J. de la Merced/New York Times)

2:25 PM ET, December 31, 2020

Top News:

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Boards of RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia and their chairman Michael Pack have added binding contractual agreements that they can't be removed for the next two years — Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad — including Voice of America — appears to be coming to a close.

Discussion: @urielepshtein, @mollymckew, @mandacollins, @anneapplebaum, @digiphile, @npr, @davidfolkenflik and @petersoa840

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Letter signed by leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's news division and editorial board says Michael Pack appointed a board of “inexperienced” partisans — - Leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty blasted the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. federal media agency.

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, @davidfolkenflik, @gkates, @27khv, @kevinrothrock, @nprinskeep, @joshgerstein, @micheleberdy, @ckummer, @schwartzbcnbc, @schwartzbcnbc and @nickschifrin

Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:

Alden says it is bidding for full control of Tribune Publishing, in which it has a ~32% stake, with an offer that values the newspaper chain at about $520.6M — Alden Global Capital, which is already Tribune's biggest shareholder, valued the company at about $520.6 million.

Discussion: Axios, MediaPost, @garyaharki, @fenitn, @laurakeeney, @ctguild, @megreenwell, @kdoctor, @courantguild, @kbui1, @royalpratt, @scottshanenyt, @dicktofel, @w_katz1, @pwoodreporter, @robillard and @marcatracy

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Alden Global is seeking to buy Tribune Publishing, in which it already owns a 32% stake — Hedge fund already owns 32% of the Chicago Tribune publisher — A hedge fund that owns a big stake in Tribune Publishing Co. is seeking to buy the newspaper chain behind titles including …

Discussion: Media Nation, Talking Biz News, @thenewsan, @mattdpearce, @carriemelago, @cerconejeff, @vellastrations, @andrewgiambrone, @garywhite13, @benbradleytv, @fineout, bookforum.com and The Wrap

About Amazon:

Amazon plans to acquire podcast network Wondery, which will join Amazon Music — We've signed an agreement to acquire Wondery, a top-rated podcast creator and producer that entertains and educates listeners. — We're pleased to announce that Wondery—an innovative podcast publisher …

Wall Street Journal:

Top nine streaming services to end 2020 with combined US subscribers up 50%+ YoY; US households now subscribe to 3.1 services on average, up from 2.7 in 2019 — From Hulu to Disney+, largest streaming services are expected to end the year with 50% more U.S. subscribers

Discussion: Business Insider, @wsj, @jbflint, @drewfitzgerald, Fast Company, New York Post and Context is King

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Over Christmas holiday, Apptopia says HBO Max had ~554K app signups; Sensor Tower says Disney+ had ~2.3M global app installations, up 28% from prior weekend

Discussion: ScreenRant, The Desk, DIRT, The Streamable, TechCrunch and @edmundlee

Steve Inskeep / NPR:

Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki on not letting the briefing room become a “platform for propaganda”, engaging with right-wing media, dealing with leaks, more — Toggle more options — President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition.

Discussion: Al Jazeera, @mr_mxyplyzyk, @jrpsaki, @mbaram, @aravosis, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @austan_goolsbee, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep, @quintforgey, @lisasabinwilson, @redeye11055 and @blakehounshell

Rachel Olding / The Daily Beast:

The 5 female anchors at NY1 who sued for age and gender discrimination say they have mutually agreed to leave the local news station after settling their suit — STARS DEPART — Five female anchors at NY1 said Thursday they have “mutually agreed” to leave the local news station after settling …

Discussion: @erinmdurkin, @vanya42nd, @mcbc and @specificny

Todd Spangler / Variety:

ESPN Plus is raising the annual subscription for new subscribers by 20%, from $49.99 to $59.99, and increasing the price of UFC pay-per-view events to $69.99 — UFC fans are going to pay more to catch the promoter's premiere fights on Disney's ESPN Plus streaming sports package next year.

Discussion: The Streamable, Sports Business Daily, @trentreinsmith, @seansheehanba, @jevan_bay, @mrmwellsart, @yoda, @thenotoriousmma, @yay_yee, Gizmodo, The Verge, Awful Announcing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:

Nielsen: Fox News tops all news and basic cable channels for the fifth consecutive year, averaging 1.9M viewers/day; CNN had its most-watched year in history — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ratings for Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel topped all news and basic cable channels for a fifth straight year in 2020 …

Discussion: TVNewser

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Interviews with 15 longtime Fox News loyalists on why they switched to Newsmax, often seeking programming that denies Joe Biden's victory

Discussion: Mediaite, @seanspicer, @dcdianadc, @kirktousaw, @evilgalprods, @kimmasters, @chessninja, @poniewozik, @elise_jordan, @donal_okeeffe, @ericbolling and @jayrosen_nyu

Ken Symon / Insider.co.uk:

JPI Media, owner of The Scotsman and other newspapers, has been sold for £10.2M, or around $13.9M, to a new group set up by industry veteran David Montgomery — The sale takes place after JPI Media has seen a turbulent two years with its predecessor company going into administration

Discussion: The Guardian, BBC and Yorkshire Post

Reuters:

Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been detained in Ethiopia without charge; police say they are investigating allegations of spreading false information — NAIROBI (Reuters) - Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a week without charge …

Discussion: @reuterspr

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Judge rules Viacom shareholders can pursue claims of fiduciary duty breach against Shari Redstone and board members representing Viacom in the merger with CBS — A Delaware Chancery judge rejects a motion to dismiss after reviewing Shari Redstone's role in the transaction.

Discussion: The Wrap, @eriqgardner, Deadline and Variety

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:25 PM ET, December 31, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Accounting Specialist Editor, Remote US — Reuters

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Asia Credit Reporter, Seoul — Bloomberg

Senior Editor, DC — National Geographic

Sr. Social Media Specialist, NC — espnW

Associate Editor - Aviation, TN — Firecrown

Assistant Editor - Digital, NC — SBJ

Video Producer - YouTube, NY — Morning Brew

Senior Managing Ed. - Daily Desk — The Athletic

Content Managing Editor — Freedom Forum

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Associate Editor, Remote — Tech Policy Press

Retail Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Data Editor, DC — U.S. News

Managing Ed. - Berks County, PA — Spotlight PA

News Editor - UK, Remote — The Verge

Staff Writer, TX — Dallas Observer

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Service Journalism Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Content Director, Remote — Campaigns & Elections

Sports Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Los Angeles Issues Reporter, CA — CalMatters

Reporter - Middle East — Rest of World

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Lexington County Reporter, SC — The State

Reporter - Offshore Wind — Canary Media

General Assignment Reporter, FL — County Record

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:
Acting attorney general says WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl's accused killer could be prosecuted in the US if Pakistani courts fail to keep him in jail

Discussion: @bgrueskin, @rohded, @jessepesta, @schoofsfeed, @alanmillernlp, USA Today, CBS News, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Hill and Associated Press

Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Association of American Publishers: audiobooks revenue is up 17%+ YoY, e-book sales are up 16%+; NPD BookScan says US print book sales are up ~8% in 2020

Discussion: @hermionehoby, @sejorg, @nytimesbooks, @pamelapaulnyt, @likaluca, @fidmart85, @bobproehl, @jldelbourgo, @scalzi, @magiciansbook, @mariskreizman and bookforum.com, more at Techmeme »

John Hopewell / Variety:
Comscore: global box office fell between 57%, in the Netherlands, and 76%, in UK, vs. 2019, depending on length of closure and strength of local movie industry

Discussion: Variety

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
FactSet: Amazon's “other” business unit, which is made up almost entirely of its ads business, will make $21B in revenue in 2020, up 47% YoY

Discussion: @raju, @financialtimes, @tonytassell, @read_cap, @juokaz and @hughhewitt

Earlier Picks:

Wall Street Journal:
Unredacted draft version of the lawsuit filed by 10 states earlier this month details a Google-Facebook ad deal that allegedly constituted illegal price fixing

Discussion: @bowknowsbiz, @greglinden, @phyllisstein, @bowknowsbiz, @johnvoorhees, @repkenbuck, @jonspaihts, @bikehugger, @moonalice, @halsinger, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and New York Post

Inside Radio:
Univision sale to Searchlight Capital is formalized, and Wade Davis becomes CEO; FCC granted an exception to a cap on foreign ownership, as Televisa holds 36.1%

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Awful Announcing and Radio & Television …

DW.COM:
A sustained cyberattack over Christmas forced several German newspapers published by The Funke Media Group to cancel or curtail editions; the attack is ongoing

Discussion: @davidgerard

From Techmeme:

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
X starts rolling out an update to let users see public posts, and following and followers lists, of users who block them; blocked users still can't engage or DM

Financial Times:
Sources: Meta's plans to build a US nuclear-powered AI data center were thwarted in part after a rare bee species was found on land earmarked for the project

Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with GM SVP Baris Cetinok on having a “high conviction” that ditching CarPlay and Android Auto is the right call, building autonomous cars, and more

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page