Mediagazer: Fox News appeals a ruling letting Smartmatic sue for defamation, questions Smartmatic's $2.7B claim in damages, and seeks relief under New York's anti-SLAPP law (Jonathan Stempel/Reuters)

Top News:

Jennifer Maas / Variety:

Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator — Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM first announced last May, the companies said Thursday. — “MGM has a nearly century-long legacy …

Leah Nylen / Politico:

Sources: the FTC will not challenge Amazon's MGM Studios acquisition as Lina Khan decided not to call for a vote, anticipating opposition from GOP commissioners — The Federal Trade Commission will not challenge Amazon's acquisition of MGM Studios after the agency's commissioners split on bringing a suit …

Discussion: The Information, @ryangrim, Variety, @parismarx and @eriqgardner, more at Techmeme »

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Gannett moves the printing of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and 10 other Wisconsin dailies 220 miles to Illinois' Peoria Journal Star, cutting 180 jobs — The move will result in the shuttering of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's printing plant and the loss of 180 jobs.

Discussion: members.charlesriverchamber …, @greg_reibman, @peterrobison and @bradhoylman

Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:

Gannett closes at least 19 print weekly newspapers in Eastern Massachusetts and merges nine weeklies into four — Gannett is closing at least 19 print weekly newspapers serving at least 26 communities in Eastern Massachusetts, according to notices posted on those papers' websites.

Discussion: @karynregal, @downballotfocus, @karynregal, @karynregal, @johnguilfoil and @downballotfocus

Shraddha Chakradhar / Nieman Lab:

Interview with Amethyst Davis, founder of the six-month-old Harvey World Herald in a Chicago suburb, on her non-traditional journalism route and building trust — Tales of local news dying are abundant, but against the odds of today's media landscape, there are many new ventures taking root.

Discussion: @apurple_reign, @niemanlab, American Press Institute, @ckrewson, @pilhofer and Newmark J-School

Pjotr Sauer / The Guardian:

Food blogger Veronika Belotserkovskaya, who lives in France, is one of the first three Russians charged under the country's fake news law for anti-war posts — Socialite and food blogger Veronika Belotserkovskaya says she is both amused and shocked to be charged

Discussion: NPR, Daily Mail, @brianstelter, @pjotrsauer, @pjotrsauer, The Week and New York Times

Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:

The Times says it crossed 400K digital subs earlier this year after gaining 60K in 2021, and added an average of 1,000/day during Ukraine war's first two weeks — The Times gained an average of 1,000 new digital subscribers a day during the first two weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of its highest ever growth rates.

Discussion: @pressgazette and @benwhitelaw

Washington Post:

How Volodymyr Zelensky and associates from his former TV production company, now in government jobs, are using media expertise for strategic war communications — When President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, aired a video documenting the human toll of Russia's assault …

Discussion: @fabiochiusi, @seanmcfate, @paulsonne, The Nation, @aaronblake, @appcpenn, @lrozen, @oknox, @tim_hayward_, @tim_hayward_, @nycjim, @thedeshbhakt, Today's Edition Newsletter and The Daily Beast

Sara Fischer / Axios:

A study by The Advertising Research Foundation found 36% of Americans share their Netflix passwords with relatives, while 13% share them with friends — Streaming companies are cracking down on password sharing, as the number of quarterly subscription cancellations in the U.S. grows.

Discussion: About Netflix, Tubefilter, Forbes, Breitbart, Variety and @ashleyrgold

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Fox News appeals a ruling letting Smartmatic sue for defamation, questions Smartmatic's $2.7B claim in damages, and seeks relief under New York's anti-SLAPP law — Fox News on Thursday appealed a judge's decision to let voting systems company Smartmatic pursue a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit alleging …

Discussion: Insider, TVNewser, Bloomberg, The Hill and Deadline

Manori Ravindran / Variety:

Vice takes full control of UK production company Pulse Films, and co-founders Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford have left the company — Vice Media Group has taken full control of “Gangs of London” producer Pulse Films. — Pulse co-founders Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford …

Discussion: Deadline and The Wrap

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Magna hires NewsGuard to give “nutrition labels” for 20+ networks and 100+ news programs, to be used by parent company Interpublic's media clients like J&J — Anchors like Don Lemon, Joy Reid and Sean Hannity have long looked at Nielsen ratings as one of the primary measures of their performance on air.