Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Profile of Robert Allbritton, son of a Houston TV mogul and now among the top media investors of the century after Axel Springer agreed to buy Politico for ~$1B — From “son of” to mogul in his own right: Robert Allbritton just became the unlikeliest winner of the new media sweepstakes.
Discussion:
@yayitsrob, @chactivist, @nicdawes, @jakesherman, @jeremymbarr, @benyt, @haedenwright, @owillis, @jeffjarvis, @mattgrossmann, @azi, @joshsternberg, @tonyajoriley, @anitakumar01, @ron_fournier, @wajahatali, @brooklynmarie, @tom_nuttall, @hotlinejosh, @laurenshirsch, @jessicalessin, @blakehounshell, @mlcalderone, @normcharlatan, @jordanzakarin, @greenhousenyt, @noamscheiber, @edroso and @john_hudson
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
How Western news outlets are grappling with how to continue their Afghanistan coverage, amid a chaotic US withdrawal and the departure of many staffers — The chaotic withdrawal and ongoing security threats, along with the departure of many Western and Afghan journalists …
Discussion:
@jimlaurie_asia, @juliaioffe, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @wolfe321, Chills, @fawfulfan, @lizzieblove and Fox News
RELATED:
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Q&A with Maria Salazar Ferro, director of CPJ's Emergencies team, on its work to help journalists leave Afghanistan, and on its support of those who remain
Q&A with Maria Salazar Ferro, director of CPJ's Emergencies team, on its work to help journalists leave Afghanistan, and on its support of those who remain
Discussion:
@pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @jahootsen, @pressfreedom and @pressfreedom
Pulitzer Prize Office:
Pulitzer Prize Board issues special citation to honor people in Afghanistan who create and support journalism, along with a $100K emergency relief grant
Pulitzer Prize Board issues special citation to honor people in Afghanistan who create and support journalism, along with a $100K emergency relief grant
Discussion:
Poynter, @danieljjonesus, @giacomonyt, @robertmmahoney, @joelcpj, @risj_oxford, @pulitzerprizes, @pressfreedom, @kathleencarrll and @sbg1
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
Digital media, as a business, is broken because outlets are being SPAC'd into vague network blobs publishing the same content, not because people no longer read — Thanks for reading Garbage Day! If you subscribe, you'll get Discord access and bonus content every Thursday. And it's pretty cheap! $5 a month!
Discussion:
Fingers, @hkesvani, @kyurieff, contextisking.com, @pdglenn, @broderick, @derektmead, @shockleysmith, @caseynewton, @stokel, @jahhills, @markgongloff, @markgongloff and @mediaevan
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
A look at the numbers behind Apple's reduced 15% commission for its Apple News partners, and how the changes could benefit NYT — For the vast majority of news outlets, Apple's cut of a subscription sold on an iPhone will now drop from 30% to 15%. Will that change any publishers' minds?
Andrea Wenzel / Poynter:
Report details The Philadelphia Inquirer's work to be inclusive and antiracist after the paper published the infamous “Buildings Matter, Too” headline last year — After the infamous ‘Buildings Matter, Too’ headline, the paper launched its ‘Inquirer for All’ project to rebuild to be inclusive and antiracist.
Discussion:
@mattyglesias, @andreawenzel, @poynter, @dlboardman, @poynter, @poynter and Temple University
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Penske Media calls SPACs “an investor fad” as sources say it rejected eight SPAC approaches; Bustle is still pursuing a SPAC deal and Vox is considering one — - There's disagreement among digital media founders about whether or not to pursue SPACs as the market has soured.
Discussion:
@sherman4949, @sherman4949 and @sherman4949
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
How Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney could change Hollywood dealmaking and entertainment contracts, which traditionally accepted some ambiguity — In the past, a little ambiguity in entertainment contracts wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Disney's reaction to Scarlett Johansson …
Discussion:
@gracerandolph, @jasonhirschhorn, @entlawpartners, @mtfiii, @redpenoflex, @aliaaaloha and @scarlettjo4ever
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
By constantly engaging with Peter Doocy during press briefings, Biden and Psaki are trying to fight right-wing misinformation while getting airtime on Fox News — In a sense, Peter Doocy's arrival in the White House press briefing room has been to his employer's detriment.
Discussion:
@dangillmor, @djrothkopf, The Hill, @johnjharwood, @johnjharwood and Fox News
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The Sun pays damages and apologizes to the England cricketer Ben Stokes and his mother, for publishing details of a family tragedy in a 2019 front page story — Tabloid apologises to cricketer and his mother and says 2019 article should not have been published
Discussion:
@minhtngo, @jimwaterson, @damonwake, @barneyronay and @davidkirkham3
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: ESPN has held talks to license its brand to sports betting companies including Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings, seeking $3B+ over several years — Sports-media giant has held talks to license its brand to sportsbooks including Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings
Associated Press:
Belarusian Association of Journalists forced to close in a ruling by the country's supreme court on Friday amid a crackdown including jailing of ~30 journalists — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus has ordered the closure of the country's largest independent journalists' organization …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @pierrecrom, @tsihanouskaya, belsat.eu and European Federation …
Brett Arends / MarketWatch:
Bari Weiss says her Substack has 14K subs paying $5/month, effectively a yearly gross revenue of $800K+, and her previous job was “really ugly” in retrospect — If you're fed up with your employer and you want to quit your job, you probably don't want to do it the way Bari Weiss did it.