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.
Discussion:
TEGNA, insideradio.com, Awful Announcing, Bloomberg, The Streamable, New York Post, Deadline, @amandamatwell, Insider, Light Reading, @brynstole, @shawnreynolds_, @brianstelter, @dangillmor, @johncolucci, @melissakxly4, Wall Street Journal, Poynter, TVSpy, Cord Cutters News, @burnettgracem, MediaPost and Adweek
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, @leah_rosenbaum, @kendallbaker, @brittwray, @annehelen, @emorwee, @kelcsimpkins, @hyltonanne, @pkafka, Too Much TV Newsletter, @petedominick, @sorayaroberts and @mattbrownep
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, Junghoon's Direct Media …, OutKick, Green Light, TV Technology, NPR, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, NBC Sports Pressbox, @tom_fowdy, Quartz, @slate, @barneyfarmer, @cbrennansports, @kebrightbill, @situate, @japatrick200, @ericboehlert, The Athletic, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, Awful Announcing, Columbia Journalism Review and Poynter
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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
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, Media Play News, Deadline and Advanced Television
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 …
Sam Kille / Report for America:
Permanent community news funds, formed by community foundations working with local news leaders, are a major new trend for supporting local news — READ THE ‘COMMUNITY NEWS FUND’ REPORT — Report for America today released a report that identified a major new trend - the creation of …
Discussion:
@report4america
Ben Terris / Washington Post:
An update on some of the amateur sleuths, including Claude Taylor and Louise Mensch, who built large social media followings with unfounded claims about Trump — For years, the actor Tom Arnold occupied himself with a singular goal: ending Donald Trump's presidency. And what does he have to show for it?
Discussion:
@bterris, @isaacdovere, @devlinbarrett, @aseitzwald, @sjdemas, @stphnfwlr, @saramorrison, @z_everson, @timothypmurphy, @qjurecic, @blackamazon, @tomarnold, @chrismegerian and @washingtonpost
Brier Dudley / The Seattle Times:
Working paper: private equity firms, which in 2019 owned 23% of US newspapers, reduced local coverage more than other owners but drove more digital subscribers — A provocative new research paper confirms many of the fears about private equity firms buying up America's newspapers.
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @jimfriedlich, @notaaroncraig, @larryryckman, @dlboardman, @lenfestinst and @jeffjarvis
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Meta rolls out Facebook Reels to over 150 countries, following the feature's 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.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Facebook, The Indian Express, CNET, Ad Age, Protocol, MediaPost and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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:
@polkawards, Long Island University, @katie_robertson, @drewharwell, @columbiajourn, TVNewser, American Press Institute, @robertanglen, @kakape, @helenbranswell, @evanhill, @newley, @eliotwb, @ewidera, @georgia_wells, @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
Lauren Harris / Columbia Journalism Review:
How The Marshall Project's Testify, a collaboration with Cleveland news outlets, distribution partners, and residents, reimagines criminal justice coverage — Even as the financial models of traditional for-profit journalism have been crumbling at the local level, groups across the US …
Discussion:
@marshallproj
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