Mediagazer: Interview with The Athletic co-founder Alex Mather as sources say the NYT did not reach a deal to buy the outlet after assessing its value at under $500M (Bloomberg)

8:25 AM ET, November 23, 2021

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Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Alden Global Capital offers to acquire Lee Enterprises for about $140M, or $24/share, a ~30% premium on its November 19 closing price — The hedge fund has developed a reputation for slashing staff in newsrooms and other departments and selling off real estate at outlets it owns.

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Gizmodo:

Gizmodo plans to publish the Facebook Papers in batches, redacting sensitive information with help from NYU, UMass Amherst, Columbia, Marquette, and the ACLU — Independent experts from NYU, UMass Amherst, Columbia, Marquette, and the ACLU are partnering with Gizmodo to responsibly publish this historic leak.

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Wall Street Journal:

Sources: NBCUniversal, which owns one-third of Hulu, is considering removing most of its content from Hulu early next year and making it exclusive to Peacock — NBCUniversal unit has a window allowing it to remove shows that appear on the Disney-controlled streaming service

Discussion: @jbflint, @great_katzby, @carnage4life, @modestproposal1, @tvgrimreaper, @mmmmurf, @asharma, @skinnypunch, @alchemistmuffin, @pkafka, @stevekovach and Reuters

Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times:

Two former Netflix employees at the center of protests over Chappelle's special, one who just resigned, withdraw their NLRB charge against the company — Two former Netflix employees who raised concerns about transphobic remarks in Dave Chappelle's latest special “The Closer” …

Discussion: rainofterra.com, The Daily Beast, @latimes, Hollywood Reporter, HuffPost, NBC News, The Week, Associated Press, Newsweek, Gizmodo and Reuters

Bloomberg:

Interview with The Athletic co-founder Alex Mather as sources say the NYT did not reach a deal to buy the outlet after assessing its value at under $500M — The sports-media startup has laid off staff, scrapped a documentary unit and canceled some podcasts while seeking new avenues of growth.

Discussion: Sports Media Guy, @lucas_shaw, @gerryfsmith, @timothyrryder, @ajs, @jmcguiremlb, @ckrewson, @trengriffin, @aquinas82nd, @draglikepull, @scottbrodbeck, @byalfrancisco, @jblock49, @pkafka, @crayton_h and @lucas_shaw

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Walmart will be the first to test Twitter's livestream shopping platform, with a Cyber Deals live event on November 28 — Twitter's e-commerce initiatives now include livestream shopping and Walmart will be the first retailer to test the new platform. Over the past year …

Discussion: Twitter, Ad Age, Gizmodo, @kurtwagner8, @johnkoetsier, Waivly, Tubefilter, Sourcing Journal, CNET, Bloomberg and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

Robert Feder:

Chicago's Better Government Association, a nonprofit watchdog, receives $10M grant from McCormick Foundation to expand its investigative journalism staff — Chicago's Better Government Association, the nonprofit investigation journalism and government watchdog organization …

Discussion: @localnewsini, @robertfeder, Chicago Business, @colinjmcmahon, @timafranklin, Better Government Association, @louisekiernan and Daily Herald

Jillian Deutsch / Bloomberg:

EU lawmakers approve measures in the draft Digital Markets Act, including banning ad targeting to minors and mandating messaging or social app interoperability — - Competing messaging apps may have to be interoperable — Companies would have to stop targeting some ads to minors

more at Techmeme »

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Regional sports networks search for a viable path forward amid pay-TV cord cutting; Sinclair, a majority owner of 21 networks, hopes for industry consolidation — - Regional sports networks are trying to find a viable path for survival as viewers ditch pay-TV.

Discussion: Sportscaster Dan's Newsletter, @jabarijyoung, @trengriffin, @sherman4949 and @sportstvratings

John Rice / Associated Press:

Fernando González, AP head of Caribbean news who spent decades covering major stories across Latin America, dies in Cuba at 60 — MEXICO CITY (AP) — Fernando González, who spent decades covering and directing major stories for The Associated Press across Latin America …

Discussion: @eecastilloap, @chrisshermanap, @dlbiller, @juliepace, @bcarovillano, @ap, @peterprengaman, @byrnepaulj, @bhop12 and @newley

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

Jessica Lessin says The Information has 225,000 “active users”, including paid subscribers and newsletter readers, as it launches a weekend lifestyle edition — Website aimed at Silicon Valley proves value of subscription model for journalism — The Information …

Discussion: What's New in Publishing, @mohamed, @clockwerks, @aservais1, @jakesherman, @markdistef, @annaknicolaou, @pressgazette, @rafat and Talking Biz News

Brian Welk / The Wrap:

Netflix acquires visual effects studio Scanline VFX, whose work includes Stranger Things 3; Scanline will continue to operate as a standalone VFX business — Netflix is acquiring the visual effects studio Scanline VFX, which has been behind special effects work for Netflix's recent series …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Deadline, Variety and Los Angeles Times

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