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.
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 …
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New York Times, NBC Sports Pressbox, Slate, OutKick, USA Today, Quartz, @barneyfarmer, @situate, Hollywood Reporter, @japatrick200, Wall Street Journal, @ericboehlert, @cbrennansports, @kebrightbill, @tom_fowdy, @slate, The Athletic, Axios, Fox News, Awful Announcing, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter and Sports Illustrated
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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
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
Emily Atkin / HEATED:
Emily Atkin, who launched climate newsletter Heated with a $20K Substack advance in 2019, says the newsletter is going on hiatus as she takes a 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, @emorwee and @annehelen
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, TVNewser, @katie_robertson, American Press Institute, Long Island University, @jbarbassa, @asmamk, @meslackman, @newley, @lilahass, @eliotwb, @jasonrdean, @david_philipps, @clarissaward, @cheesemanab, @ktumulty, @jkbjournalist, @francesrobles, @ewidera, @georgia_wells, @abihabib, @bzubyk, @robertanglen, @evanhill, @kakape, @ian_urbina, @azmatzahra, @zalmayzia, @emilyglazer, @cliffordlevy, @helenbranswell, New Yorker, Reuters, Tampa Bay Times, Washington Post, Talking Biz News and The Guardian
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
The Atlantic:
Maria Ressa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and CEO of Rappler, joins The Atlantic as a contributing writer on 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:
@blackamazon, @mckaycoppins and @adriennelaf
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
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
Tali Arbel / Associated Press:
Howard University receives a $2M donation to digitize its Black Press Archives, which date back to the 1970s and contain more than 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:
@alexalisitza