Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
PE firms Apollo and Standard General buy local TV giant Tegna, which owns 64 stations in 51 markets, for $5.4B, valuing Tegna at $8.6B — Standard General and Apollo will pay $24 share for the company, which owns 64 stations in 51 markets. — Local TV giant TEGNA is selling itself to a pair …
Discussion:
insideradio.com, The Wrap, The Streamable, TEGNA, Bloomberg, MediaPost, New York Post, Adweek, Next TV, Poynter, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, @burnettgracem, @brianstelter, @johncolucci and @melissakxly4
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
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, Slate, Quartz, USA Today, Fox News, @barneyfarmer, @situate, Hollywood Reporter, Awful Announcing, @japatrick200, Wall Street Journal, @ericboehlert, @cbrennansports, @kebrightbill, @tom_fowdy, @slate, The Athletic, Axios, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter, Sports Illustrated and NPR
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Helen Davidson / The Guardian:
Foreign Correspondents' Club of China criticizes reporting conditions at the Winter Olympics, saying reporters were tailed and manhandled despite IOC assurances — Foreign Correspondents' Club of China says reporters tailed and manhandled by security despite assurances from Games officials
Discussion:
@johnsimpsonnews, @glynmoody, @sharrond62 and The Hill
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, American Press Institute, @katie_robertson, @jbarbassa, @asmamk, @meslackman, @newley, @lilahass, @eliotwb, @jasonrdean, @david_philipps, @clarissaward, @cheesemanab, New Yorker, @ktumulty, @jkbjournalist, Tampa Bay Times, @francesrobles, @ewidera, @georgia_wells, @abihabib, @bzubyk, @robertanglen, @evanhill, @kakape, Reuters, Talking Biz News, Washington Post, @ian_urbina, @azmatzahra, @zalmayzia, @emilyglazer, @cliffordlevy, @helenbranswell, The Guardian and CNN
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
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 …
Timothy McLaughlin / The Atlantic:
Profile of Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association and an editor of Stand News, which closed after two editors were charged with sedition — In the summer of 2019, Ronson Chan, then an editor for the independent news outlet Stand News, took a delayed honeymoon to Germany with his wife.
Discussion:
@tmclaughlin3, @stand_with_hk, @jeffreygoldberg, @tmclaughlin3 and @theatlantic
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Netflix signs a three-year deal to invest 4% of its annual French revenue, at least €40M, in French and European films that will be released in French theaters — Netflix has signed a three-year agreement with French film guilds to invest a minimum of €40 million ($45 million) …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Advanced Television and Media Play News
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
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Meta makes Facebook Reels available in 150+ countries, following its US launch in September 2021, alongside new creative tools and ad formats — After publicly launching in the U.S. this past September, Facebook Reels today is becoming globally available in over 150 countries.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Reliance and Viacom are in talks to add Lupa and Comcast to a consortium bid for Indian Premier League TV telecast, expected to cross $5.3B — Mukesh Ambani's conglomerate is bringing together a consortium aiming to outbid entertainment giants Amazon.com Inc. …
Discussion:
@unnique and @pranavmukul