Top News:
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
EU charged Apple with antitrust violations, alleging it squeezed rival music streaming apps by requiring them to use Apple's in-app payments system — EU accuses Apple of forcing many apps to use its in-app payment system on which it takes commissions, saying it ‘distorted competition’ in music streaming
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Source: Stewart Bainum offers to double his stake to $200M in a bid for Tribune and would tap $100M in debt financing; he seeks a partner to buy Chicago paper — - Stewart Bainum offers to include $200 million of his own money — Bid partner Hansjoerg Wyss dropped out of an earlier proposal
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Julie Reynolds / DFM Workers:
Alden has said it will pay $375M to buy remaining Tribune shares, but its financial issues indicate it may force Tribune to take on debt to finance the purchase — Cash-strapped and banished from its luxury offices, Alden Global Capital has crafted a Faustian bargain to buy the publisher
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@darrendcarroll, @lillianereed, @theoreticalb, @darrendcarroll, @ctguild, @mcallguild and @darrendcarroll
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Jeff Bezos says Prime Video streaming hours are up over 70% YoY, with more than 175M Prime members having streamed TV shows and movies in the past year — Amazon knocked the cover off the ball again in the first quarter of 2021 — and released a new data point: More than 175 million Prime members …
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Ina Fried / Axios:
Coalition of groups including Pen America, EFF, and more call on Biden to form a task force to combat deliberate disinformation without limiting free expression — A coalition of groups is calling on President Biden to create a task force that can explore ways to crack down on deliberate …
Discussion:
@jillgeisler, @rossgarber, @oliverdarcy, @jenniferm_q, @blackamazon, @blackamazon and @cendemtech
@usatoday_pr:
[Thread] In a letter, Gannett disputes specific wage and demographic data shared by the NewsGuild after a study of 14 unionized Gannett newsrooms — .@Gannett issued a response to @newsguild and their misinformation campaign re: the ‘study’ of 14 out of our 250+ newsrooms. We address the facts that were not disclosed. Gannett is on a journey. We've been transparent about our goals. #facts https://usatodaynetworkcareers.com/ ...
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Reuters:
Sources: Forbes Media, bought by Integrated Whale Media in 2014, is in talks to go public via merger with a SPAC; it also is taking bids from private investors — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Business news and information publisher Forbes Media LLC is in talks to go public through a merger …
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@kenli729, @bmorrissey, @jyarow, @bmorrissey, @readkrystalhu and Talking Biz News
Iris Chyi:
Study on COVID-19's impact on 20 US newspapers: digital subscriptions grew 64% between 2019 and Q3'20, print fell 21%, and the median digital sub was $181/year — What happens When Digital Transformation Finally Works — A persistent problem facing U.S. newspapers is users' lukewarm response to their digital offerings.
Bloomberg:
Endeavor, owner of UFC and WME, rose 5% in its trading debut after raising $511M in its IPO; shares opened at $24 and closed at $25.20 — - Shares of media-talent company up 5% in first day of trading — Silver Lake to control most of media firm's voting power
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Roku has removed YouTube TV from its channel store after Roku and Google failed to come to a distribution agreement; existing users will continue to have access — YouTube TV has been removed from Roku's channel store, after Roku and YouTube TV parent Google failed to come …
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Variety, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Protocol, The Verge, 9to5Google, @richlightshed, FierceVideo and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
WWD reporter Kali Hays was let go, sources say because she refused to delete a document where staff discussed newsroom issues, including lack of diversity — Already depressed morale at “fashion bible” WWD hit a new low when a reporter behind a forum letting staffers vent their grievances …
Thomas Moore / The Hill:
Survey of 1,762 non-satellite TV stations: 20.5% of TV newsroom leaders said staff had been physically attacked in 2020; 39% in top-25 markets reported attacks — More than one in five U.S. television newsrooms reported that their journalists were violently attacked last year and even more stations …
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