Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Private equity firms Apollo and Standard General buy local TV giant Tegna, which owns 64 stations in 51 markets, for $5.4B, giving it a ~$8.6B valuation — Standard General and Apollo will pay $24 share for the company, which owns 64 stations in 51 markets.
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Polk Awards: The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The New Yorker win two awards each; WSJ's Facebook Files wins the business reporting prize — The Times was honored for coverage that revealed a plot behind the murder of the Haitian president and for investigations on the toll of America's air war in the Middle East.
Discussion:
Long Island University, @polkawards, @katie_robertson, TVNewser, @columbiajourn, @newley, @eliotwb, American Press Institute, @ewidera, @georgia_wells, @robertanglen, @evanhill, @kakape, @helenbranswell, @ktumulty, @jasonrdean, @cheesemanab, @lilahass, @ian_urbina, @emilyglazer, @meslackman, @jkbjournalist, @asmamk, @cliffordlevy, @jbarbassa, @zalmayzia, @bzubyk, @clarissaward, @azmatzahra, @david_philipps, @abihabib, @francesrobles, New Yorker, Reuters, Tampa Bay Times, Washington Post, Talking Biz News and The Guardian
Associated Press:
NBC's decision to spend $7.75B on Olympics rights through 2032 looks shaky after Beijing, a buzz-free, hermetically sealed event, saw viewers staying away — NEW YORK (AP) — There were many reasons to think NBC made a savvy business deal in 2014 when it locked up the American media rights …
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC Sports Pressbox, Junghoon's Direct Media …, Slate, TV Technology, Green Light, @barneyfarmer, @situate, @japatrick200, Quartz, @ericboehlert, OutKick, @cbrennansports, @kebrightbill, @tom_fowdy, @slate, The Athletic, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, Awful Announcing, Columbia Journalism Review and Poynter
RELATED:
Knight Foundation:
Knight Foundation will invest $3.2M over three years to help 26 Black-owned media outlets become financially sustainable — With Knight's commitment of over $4 million, legacy publishers and startup networks will become more financially sustainable to better serve communities of color
The Atlantic:
Maria Ressa, Rappler CEO and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, joins The Atlantic as a contributing writer covering democracy, press freedom, and the social web — As The Atlantic continues its editorial focus on exposing the crisis facing democracy and the rise of global authoritarianism …
Discussion:
@adriennelaf, @blackamazon and @mckaycoppins
Emily Atkin / HEATED:
Emily Atkin, who launched Heated with a $20K Substack advance in 2019, says the climate newsletter is going on hiatus as she takes “a big digital break” — Why HEATED is going on temporary hiatus. — I've been thinking a lot lately about resilience: the ability to remain strong in the face of difficulties.
Discussion:
@emorwee, Too Much TV Newsletter, @brittwray, @sorayaroberts, @mattbrownep, @petedominick, @kendallbaker, @kelcsimpkins, @annehelen, @emorwee, @hyltonanne and @pkafka
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Netflix signs a three-year deal to invest 4% of its annual revenue in France, at least €40M, in French and European films that will premiere in French theaters — Netflix has signed a three-year agreement with French film guilds to invest a minimum of €40 million ($45 million) …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Deadline, Media Play News and Advanced Television
Tali Arbel / Associated Press:
Howard University receives a $2M donation to digitize its Black Press Archives, which date back to the 1970s and contain over 2,000 newspaper titles — Howard University has received a $2 million donation to digitize a major collection of Black newspaper archives in hopes of making …
Discussion:
@nickimayonews and @alexalisitza
Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:
ABC report: The Economist's digital subscribers grew 14% YoY to 995,228 in 2021, accounting for nearly half of all digital magazine subscriptions in the UK — The Economist retained its spot as the UK magazine with the largest digital edition circulation, reaching nearly one million subscribers in 2021 …
Discussion:
abc.org.uk
Wall Street Journal:
Mexico's president calls reporters “mercenaries” and asks them to reveal their salaries over investigations of his son's use of an oil executive's $1M residence — In one of the biggest crises of his term, the president rails against media's reporting of possible conflict …
James Fallows / Breaking the News:
After Dean Baquet dismissed criticism from “unnuanced voices on Twitter”, The New York Times urgently needs to re-hire a public editor to avoid future missteps — For the New York Times, that means a public editor. — This post started out several days ago as a follow-up to …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Swiss outlets were excluded from an investigation, involving 47 publications, into Credit Suisse to protect them from the vague wording of a banking secrecy law — Switzerland-based news organisations were excluded from the Suisse Secrets investigation into Credit Suisse's banking practices over fears of punitive legal punishment.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Euractiv and OCCRP