Mediagazer: The failure of local investors to block Alden from buying Tribune Publishing was a failure of civic leadership, especially by Chicago's class of plutocrats (Margaret Sullivan/Washington Post)

11:40 PM ET, May 21, 2021

Top News:

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Tribune shareholders vote to approve Alden's $633M purchase of the chain; Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns a 24% stake in Tribune, abstained from voting — The bid by Alden, which already owns about 200 local newspapers, had faced resistance from Tribune staff and a last-ditch rival offer.

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The failure of local investors to block Alden from buying Tribune Publishing was a failure of civic leadership, especially by Chicago's class of plutocrats — It didn't have to turn out this way. — Local investors — especially in a prosperous town like Chicago — could have stepped forward …

Orlando Sentinel:

While a spokeswoman for Patrick Soon-Shiong said he abstained, Tribune officials said his ballots lacked a check in the “abstain” box and were tallied as “yes” — Shareholders of the parent company of the Orlando Sentinel, Tribune Publishing, voted Friday for the company …

Laura Wagner / Defector:

Both CNN's treatment of Chris Cuomo and the AP's treatment of Emily Wilder show media institutions siding with the powerful over the ethical — On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Chris Cuomo, CNN's star anchor and brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, had participated …

Discussion: New York Magazine, @onesarahjones, @laurawags, @froomkin, @lolonghi, @andrewjfhoward, @janinezacharia, @cherijacobus, @grossdm, @amandabecker, @thehungryhutch, @elisewho, @rauchway, @_gaffknee, @jessicavalenti, @jcameronpeters, @adrienne_dunn and Columbia Journalism Review

Ray Stern / Phoenix New Times:

AP has fired reporter Emily Wilder after conservative media wrote about her prior pro-Palestinian activism; AP told Wilder she violated social media policy — The Associated Press' Phoenix bureau fired former Arizona Republic writer Emily Wilder this week following negative articles …

Eric Ting / SFGATE:

Emily Wilder, fired by AP after harassment from conservatives prompted a review of her social media, says her firing was “selective enforcement” of AP's policy — Emily Wilder, a journalist and 2020 graduate of Stanford University, started a new job as an Associated Press news associate based …

Washington Post:
Sources: Chris Cuomo took part in Governor Cuomo's strategy sessions on how to respond to harassment allegations; CNN says his involvement was a mistake

Discussion: @jdawsey1, Fox News, Mediaite, Clax, CNN, New York Post, ToMorrow's View, @smitabarooah, Off The Mall, @ron_fournier, The Daily Beast, Politico, Media Matters for America, Vanity Fair, The Hill, TVNewser, @genepark, nexttv.com, @torriangray, @caro and New York Times

The Information:

Sources: Axios is in talks to be acquired by Axel Springer, which owns Insider and is an investor in Group Nine Media — German media conglomerate Axel Springer is in talks to acquire Axios, according to people familiar with the matter, continuing a consolidation of the digital media sector.

Discussion: MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, @martinsfp, @travisbernard, @benmullin, @mathewi, @marcelweiss, @niubi, @will_bunch, @mathewi, @rafat, @davewiner, @fosadam and @markdistef

Columbia Journalism Review:

A Harvard study of link rot of “deep links” in NYT.com articles from 1996 to mid-2019 showed that 25% were completely inaccessible — Hyperlinks are a powerful tool for journalists and their readers. Diving deep into the context of an article is just a click away.

The Information:

Sources: Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into video games, as it considers options including an Apple Arcade-like games bundle — Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is stepping up its efforts …

Discussion: Game World Observer, @zhugeex, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @genepark, @loudmouthjulia, @rameeztase, @alexhern, ScreenRant, Insider, Paste, Cord Cutters News, Kotaku and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Interviews with 18 people reveal details of the Discovery-WarnerMedia deal, including stock structure change and an awkward talk with WarnerMedia's Jason Kilar — An early-morning meeting at a Greenwich Village townhouse, under the watchful eye of Steve McQueen, was part of a monthslong campaign.

Discussion: The Wrap, @reckless, @grynbaum, @edmundlee, @shannonpareil, @editorialiste, @jakesherman, @karlbode, @oliverdarcy, Vanity Fair, @mattbelloni, @brentalang, @annehummert, @karlbode, @dylanbyers, @karlbode and Wired

Marina Hyde / The Guardian:

Fleet Street's condemnation of the BBC over the Bashir interview is hypocritical given UK tabloids' own terrible behavior around Diana and her family — The BBC makes a convenient scapegoat when in reality all of us were part of the ecosystem that destroyed Diana

Discussion: @alexvtunzelmann, @proftimbale, @funmilola, @aljwhite, The Week, @marklittlenews, @doctor_oxford, @nickboles, @marinahyde, @anstey_harris, @pickardje, @barthsnotes, @campbellclaret and @ayeshahazarika

Ben Quinn / The Guardian:
UK justice secretary says the government has to investigate “whether the governance of the BBC does need reform” after report on Bashir interview with Diana

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, @pippacrerar, @mafevema, @tonyonthephone, @guardiannews, New York Post, @justinmadders, Financial Times, The Independent and Associated Press

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept accuse each other of endangering journalists, and Intercept staff say he's cynically creating controversy for more subscribers — It all ended badly last October when Glenn Greenwald, the pugnacious, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, quit the investigative news site …

Discussion: @bgrueskin, @oliverdarcy, @sonnybunch, @sonnybunch, @silvermanjacob, @karlbode, @karlbode, @antinewdems, @farhip, @aweiss, @ehananoki, @maxboot, @markszaidesq, @4evernevertrump and Glenn Greenwald

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Twitter will soon let US users with 1,000+ followers who've hosted three Spaces in the past 30 days apply to host Ticketed Spaces, with Twitter taking a 20% cut — After Apple and Google's cut — Twitter's getting ready for the launch of its Ticketed Spaces feature, and today …

Discussion: @larakate, @benthompson, @nbtjacklyn, @yashar, @vijayshekhar, hotpodnews.com, @johngary, The Madison Leader Gazette, @mikeysmith, @joannastern, 9to5Mac, @evoterra and ScreenRant, more at Techmeme »

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