Mediagazer: Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator (Jennifer Maas/Variety)

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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 — A Democratic vacancy on the Federal Trade Commission leaves Chair Lina Khan without the votes she would need to sue to block …

Discussion: Variety

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: @johnguilfoil

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.

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

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

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.

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

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

ITV announces an £80M Diversity Commissioning Fund to be spent over the next three years on shows produced by or related to BAME or disabled people — ITV has forged an £80M ($105M) Diversity Commissioning Fund to be spent over the next three years on shows produced by or related to Black …

Discussion: Variety and Hollywood Reporter

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Meta plans to test tools that let brands prevent their ads appearing next to improper Facebook and Instagram content in H2 2022 and roll them out in early 2023 — Meta, formerly known as Facebook, says it will begin testing new content tools designed to give advertisers control over where their ads …

Discussion: Facebook, Social Media Today, Zefr, AdExchanger and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

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: Forbes, The Mary Sue, The Verge, Variety and @ashleyrgold, more at Techmeme »