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Alden and Tribune Publishing's board bent the rules for acquisitions, including misrepresenting Alden's cash and failing to disclose a secret investor meeting — The ink wasn't dry, but the hushed deal to finance Alden Global Capital's takeover of Tribune Publishing fell quickly into place in May.
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Sources: the FTC will review Amazon's proposed acquisition of MGM, just as the commission gets a new chairwoman who has been critical of Amazon's expansion — Commission secures antitrust review after talks with Justice Department, and as Amazon critic Lina Khan takes the FTC's helm


Twitter opens applications to test Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows for a small number of users, who will keep 97% of revenue after the IAP cut if making <$50K — Users initially keep 97 percent of their revenue — Twitter is opening applications for a limited test of its Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces features.
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media.twitter.com, Engadget, Gizmodo, Social Media Today, @seyitaylor, @jacknicas, @carnage4life, @kayvz, TechCrunch, Variety, @dangillmor, @thesmarmybum, @arainert, @arthouse, @derjarjour, @mattnavarra, @wongmjane, 9to5Mac, @digiphile, @libshipwreck, @adriana_lacy, @esthercrawford and @twittermedia, more at Techmeme »


Biden said good reporters must be negative, a common misunderstanding of reporters' roles; the industry has many reporters who are decent, tough, and fair — Journalism has never been the most admired of professions, and in recent years the rap on its practitioners has only gotten worse.
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@ryansabalow, @ryansabalow, @ryansabalow, @gwenflorio, @danielleiat, @sulliview, @digiphile, @ibishblog, @pieterdutoit and The Scrum


European Commission says it has opened an antitrust investigation into whether Google favors its own display ad tech over rivals — Brussels to examine whether US group broke rules by giving an advantage to its own services — The EU has announced a formal investigation …
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European Commission, Wall Street Journal, Protocol, Axios, euronews, MediaPost, @jason_kint, @eu_commission, @sarafischer, @samschech, AdExchanger, @valentinapop, @satariano, @hkanji, @vestager, New York Post, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Engadget, TechCrunch, AppleInsider, The Verge, Insider, CNBC, Ad Age and Adweek, more at Techmeme »


Dean Baquet defends Maggie Haberman after a Fox News article accused her of being fixated on Trump and failing to properly cover Joe Biden — - Fox News article says Pulitzer winner biased against Trump — Bacquet salutes ‘one of the finest journalists of her generation’
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@nytimespr, Fox News, @benyt, @sallygold, @by_cjewett, @seanhannity, @bgrueskin, @nicolefcarr, @woodardcolin, @bencjacobs, @annatarkov, @mattsheffield, @nycsouthpaw, @ron_fournier, @ericboehlert, @hunterw, The Wrap, Fox News and Mediaite


The Belarusian Ministry of Justice has demanded the Belarusian Association of Journalists turn over membership lists, meeting minutes, and more from 2018 on — The Belarusian Ministry of Justice has just ordered an inspection of the activities of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ).


Ramesh Ponnuru to replace Rich Lowry as editor of The National Review print edition; Lowry will continue to oversee editorial policy, focus on strategic efforts — Rich Lowry, the longtime editor of the conservative opinion magazine National Review, is stepping down from his role overseeing …
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@jaywillis, @sarafischer, @jtlevy, @ellencarmichael, @philipwegmann, @philipaklein, @jbenton, @eclecticbrotha, @bradwilcoxifs, @smarick, @markskrikorian, @prchovanec, @heathmayo, @tpcarney, @scottmgreer, @rameshponnuru, @jaywillis, @davidafrench, @brucemirken, @michaelrstrain, @esotericcd, @mattyglesias, @ewerickson, @mzhemingway and The Hill

Iranian news agencies say the US government has seized several Iranian media websites and sites for groups affiliated with Iran, like Yemen's Houthi movement — Notices appeared on Tuesday on a number of Iran-affiliated websites saying they had been seized by the United States government as part of law enforcement action.
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CNN, Insider, Mediaite, @presstv, @maasalan, New York Times, Associated Press, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, @kevinghall, @mmasnick and @jasonmbrodsky


Quartz co-founders Kevin Delaney and Jay Lauf and NYT's Erin Grau launch a new media and services company, Charter, centered around the future of work — Quartz co-founders Kevin Delaney and Jay Lauf, along with New York Times veteran Erin Grau, are launching a new media and services company called …
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@ghoshworld, @keithgrossman, @stevelevine, @yinkawrites, @siobhannyc and @jlauf


Source: C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully, put on leave in 2020 after falsely saying his Twitter account was hacked, departs for the Bipartisan Policy Center — Longtime C-SPAN political editor and on-air host Steve Scully is leaving the network on July 2, Axios has learned.
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Fox News, The Wrap, @drleanawen, The Hill, @hotlinejosh, @kevinmaddendc, @axios, @calebjhull, @pdad, TVNewser and @michaelsteele


Sources: the owner of The Hill, Jimmy Finkelstein, has ramped up efforts to sell the DC-based publication; one source says The Hill has held talks with Nexstar — The Hill, a Beltway-based print publication that receives significant national traffic to its digital website …
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@jonmunitz, @thezedwards and @kylekulinski