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Soon-Shiong family denies WSJ reports about plans to sell LA Times, and both Union-Tribune's COO and publisher say no plans exist to sell the San Diego paper — Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to the news organization.
Discussion:
@drpatsoonshiong, @brittny_mejia, @latlands, @408nate, @drpatsoonshiong, @steffdaz, @jayrosen_nyu, New York Post, @ckrewson, @busblog, @gerrickkennedy, @melissamdaniels and Bloomberg
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Sources: Patrick Soon-Shiong is exploring a sale of LA Times and considered transferring management of The San Diego Union-Tribune to Alden's MediaNews Group — Patrick Soon-Shiong seeks exit after less than three years at the helm, as losses mount — Billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong …
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, @latguild, @drpatsoonshiong, @sewellchan, @chaykak, @katie_robertson, @edmundlee, Los Angeles Magazine, Media Nation, The Wrap, @brooklynmarie, @suhaunah, @doree, @bigblackjacobin, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @anniesciacca, @elanazak, @jimfriedlich, @sewellchan, @ckrewson, @pottsmark, @mattdpearce, @marcosantana, @petersterne, @edmundlee, @jeffjarvis, @pauledroberts, @ggreeneva, @timmarchman, @seungminkim, @bobshrum, @johnjcook, @alex_roarty, @loisbeckett, @mollymotoole, @johnmyers, @froomkin, @benfritz, @benfritz, @karavoght, @jbenton, @sarahsholder, @hshaban, @nycsouthpaw, @kenli729, @jbflint, @jbenton, @maxwelltani, @mikeisaac, Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles, Mediaite, The Hill and Reuters


Study of New Jersey's local news finds communities in the lowest income bracket are twice as likely to be news deserts as news oases — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — The findings below are simplified for the purpose of clarity; please see the full paper for definitions and variable operationalization.
Discussion:
@sarahstonbely, Columbia Journalism Review, @nikkiusher, @ga_adamson, @fionamorgan, @vwpickard, @nancysolomon2, @joshuadarr, @kljdavis, @cjr, @niemanlab, @niemanreports, American Press Institute, @jgksf, @centercoopmedia, @jesseholcomb, @emilybell, @mediathoughts, @cjr, @emilyroseman1, @jmhaigh, @sarahstonbely and @sarahstonbely


App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …
Discussion:
@lucasofri, @matthewstoller, @caseynewton, Deep Dive News, @glenngabe, @jason_kint, @nathanblawrence, Vox, @neerajka, @rustyshelf, @digiphile, @javierpallero, @caseynewton, @cameronwilson, @brooklynmarie, @threatresearch, @brianboyer, @parismarx, @dhh, @karlbode, @umabp, @umabp, @jbenton, @rasmus_kleis and Known Knowns, more at Techmeme »
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Facebook's Australia ban is acute for people in places like Fiji, who rely on phone plans with cheap Facebook access as going to news websites costs more data — Media experts fear that communities reliant on the site for information will suffer significant impact


In a media diversity hearing, ex-PM Kevin Rudd said that Australian politicians are afraid of Murdoch media; a News Corp exec dismissed Rudd's claims — Former PM says his fear of the Murdoch empire persisted during his time in office and only subsided after he left


Fort Worth Report, a nonprofit news outlet, will launch in the spring and start with coverage of education, government accountability, and arts and culture — Fort Worth, Texas is a special place. — Cowtown, as its lovingly known among residents, is an hour west of Dallas and is a city of just under a million people.
Discussion:
Poynter and Columbia Journalism Review


Interview with CNBC anchor Jon Fortt on the GameStop news cycle and countering a crystallizing narrative, framing financial news for viewers, and more — On this week's Decoder, I sat down with CNBC anchor Jon Fortt to talk about GameStop, how the media covered it, what happens next for the market …
Discussion:
@reckless


MIT's student paper The Tech will no longer publish ads by individuals seeking egg donations from students of a particular race, urges others to do the same — Most ads fail to disclose the risks of egg donation process while offering vast financial compensation
Discussion:
@universalhub


Disabled people are poorly represented in newsrooms and lack resources, like formal talent pipelines, leading to lower quality coverage of disability — Disabled people make up 20% of the U.S. population but take up little space on mastheads and in coverage. Why? — ARTICLE BY
Discussion:
@ericmgarcia, @spj_tweets, @greatlakeskaye, @ncdj_asu and @mich_mcq


Sources: Meredith, which sold Time to the Benioffs, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to try to stop Time from moving its bookazines from Meredith to Bauer — Print magazines may be a struggling business, but a recent cease-and-desist aimed at Time magazine suggests the business of churning …
Discussion:
@harrymccracken and MediaPost


Column, a startup that charges a small fee to process the placement of public notices, has partnered with McClatchy, Wick Communications, and Ogden Newspapers — Five months after launching with the goal of modernizing public notices in newspapers, the startup Column has formed partnerships with McClatchy …
Discussion:
@columnpbc, @jakeseaton0 and @niemanlab