Mediagazer: Alden Global Capital offers to acquire Lee Enterprises for about $140M, or $24/share, a ~30% premium on its November 19 closing price (Rick Edmonds/Poynter)

7:20 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.

Discussion: New York Times, @seandkennedy, Business Wire, Nieman Lab, Washington Post, @annaknicolaou, @mckaycoppins, CNN, @marcatracy, @dw_grant, Associated Press, @sarafischer, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, @kimberlyforiowa, @saragregory, @maxkennerly, @itsren, @ben_baby, @gagemiskimen, @joshuadarr, @robcurley, @poynter, @dmregister, @jeremylittau, @ofirahy, @davidfolkenflik, @edmundlee, @ashleyinnrv, @meghin_, @aishas, @washingtonpost, @markstenberg3, @ellengerst, @johncasperjr, @cnn, @jimfriedlich, @katereports, @jessieopie, @sarahfenske, @existentialfish, @tripgabriel, @nelsonforwi, @markreardonkftk, @nancylcoleman, @bystevereilly, @dlboardman, @katereports, @davidfolkenflik, @rczullo, @jayrosen_nyu, @charlesornstein, @sabrinaamorenoo, @bwjones, @poynter, @aliaconleyowh, @zdroberts, @shahlafarzan, @rickhasen, @tedgenoways, @buffaloguild, @andrewgraham88, @brennanmgilmore, @lylemuller, @raleighreporter, Charlottesville Community …, Wall Street Journal, Editor and Publisher, Press Gazette and MediaPost

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Fox News contributors Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes resign from the network in protest of Tucker Carlson's streaming special on the January 6 Capitol mob — Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes, stars of a brand of conservatism that has fallen out of fashion, decide they've had enough.

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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

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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” …

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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 …

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Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Nielsen says it will overhaul its commercial ratings in 2022, with plans to measure the audiences for individual ads — Nielsen has a new proposal for TV networks that have been threatening for months to find other means of measuring their audiences: Stick with the yardstick you already use.

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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 …

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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Paul Dacre is reappointed as DMG Media EIC, less than three weeks after leaving the advisory role that does not involve day-to-day editing — Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is returning to his advisory editor-in-chief position at Mail publisher DMG Media, just three weeks after leaving the same role.

Discussion: @andyoakes, @kevin_maguire, @direthoughts, The Guardian, The Independent, Financial Times and Politico

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

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, @pkafka, @jmcguiremlb, @ckrewson, @byalfrancisco, @trengriffin, @aquinas82nd, @scottbrodbeck, @jblock49, @draglikepull, @crayton_h and @lucas_shaw

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

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