Top News:
New York Times:
The NYT announces plans to disband its sports desk and rely on coverage from The Athletic online and in print; NYT sports journalists will move to other roles — Coverage of games, players and leagues will now primarily come from The Athletic, the sports website that the company bought last year.
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Company, Nieman Lab, Front Office Sports, USA Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, @mattstephens, @jbenton, @mpolymer, @theseantcollins, @marcpdumont, @mikebarnicle, @megreenwell, @genepark, @pkafka, @sulliview, @aagave, @mattkatz00, @fox29philly, @elaheizadi, @jakejakeny, @jbenton, @hammbear2024, @arnoldcommajon, @chrisdeville, @rafat, @bgrueskin, @jessimckenzi, @katierosman, @sportingtrib, @alexweprin, @timfernholz, @jbflint, @zwoolfe, @eugenefreedman, @zeppelin_tours, @jamestylerespn, @rwesthead, @mrwaltershapiro, @byjameswagner, @jakesherman, @mikebeauvais, @richlightshed, @danbarrynyt, @rickyjmarc, @albaneselaura, @dcsportsbog, @ppistone, @lmoses, @feralvarez, @loudmouthjulia, @digitalshields, @jackcurryyes, @jasonshevrin, @bkoo, @tim_bays, @sherman4949, The Information, TVNewsCheck, Fox News, HuffPost, Media Nation, Newser, CNN, Sportico, CBS News, MediaPost, The Big Lead, The Wrap, New York Post, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, Press Gazette, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Awful Announcing, Variety, @jackmirkinson.bsky.social, The Daily Beast, Deadline and Washington Post
RELATED:
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of The Athletic's publisher, David Perpich, who helped the NYT grow into games, cooking, and more, as he tries to make The Athletic profitable by 2025
A profile of The Athletic's publisher, David Perpich, who helped the NYT grow into games, cooking, and more, as he tries to make The Athletic profitable by 2025
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, @beachwoodreport, @mathewi, @danpfeiffer, @goodmanharrison and @alexbruell
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family sell the San Diego Union-Tribune to an affiliate of MediaNews Group, the newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital — Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family have sold the San Diego Union-Tribune to competing publisher MediaNews Group …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, Voice of San Diego, Orange County Register, The Wrap, San Diego Union-Tribune, @maxwelltani, Los Angeles Times …, @megjameslat, @abby_aguirre, @cmarinucci, @silasallen1, Axios, @awinston, @mediaevan, Times of San Diego, @tyska, @anissadmedia, @dickyoungsghost, @froomkin, @cbellantoni, Variety, @margotroosevelt, @jbenton, Associated Press, @jbenton, Awful Announcing and Bloomberg
James Gregory / BBC:
In a letter to the BBC, a lawyer for the teen allegedly paid £35K by a BBC presenter for sexually explicit photos says the claims made in The Sun are “rubbish” — Claims made by the mother at the heart of the BBC presenter scandal are “rubbish”, a lawyer representing the young person has said.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Press Gazette, BBC, Daily Mail, Deadline, @jameskelly, @krishgm, @anna_soubry, @craigoliver100, @oldenoughtosay, @stevenicksmith, New York Post, @stehoare, @fisseha_tegegn, @semaforben, @elliemaeohagan, @charl_h79, @paoloiskandar64, @tomdunn26, @aameranwar, @owenjones84, @marcsettle, @edwinhayward, @jomichaels17, The Sun, NPR, Fox News, New York Times, Press Association and Washington Post
Rachel Ohm / Press Herald:
US nonprofit The National Trust for Local News plans to acquire all Masthead Maine's assets, including five of Maine's six daily newspapers and 17 weeklies — The National Trust for Local News has agreed to purchase 5 of the state's 6 daily papers and 17 of its weeklies in an effort to preserve local journalism.
New York Times:
A look at a planned Fox News defamation case by Ray Epps, a Trump voter who attended January 6 and Tucker Carlson named in a conspiracy theory in ~20 episodes — Tucker Carlson, before he was sidelined by Fox, repeatedly endorsed a conspiracy theory about an Arizona man, who may sue for defamation.
Axios:
Source: Instagram plans to add branded content tools to Threads, offering marketers paid promotion; Threads won't introduce ads before reaching a critical mass — Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, a source told Axios, giving marketers a way to get involved …
Discussion:
Ad Age and The Drum, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Financial Times leans into its B2B business with FT Professional rebranding, citing that 75% of the FT's paying readers come from B2B subscriptions — B2B subscriptions account for 75% of the FT's paying readers. — The Financial Times is targeting growth in its B2B division …
Discussion:
Media Voices, @nsmgmedia, City A.M., @pressgazette, @pressgazette, Talking Biz News, @danfaggella and @seangriffey
Michael Lipin / Voice of America:
Q&A with CPJ's Yeganeh Rezaian on jailed female Iranian journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloufar Hamedi and how Iran handles high-profile political prisoners — WASHINGTON - A U.S. media rights group says Iran has kept two jailed female journalists in legal limbo for more than a month …
Discussion:
@pressfreedom, @voadirector and @michael_lipin
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Los Angeles Times debuts De Los, a free, standalone vertical to reach English-dominant Latinos on its website and young news readers on Instagram and TikTok — “There is no future for the L.A. Times without Latino subscribers, because that's who lives here.”
Discussion:
@yvonnewingett, @sarahscire, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Times
Clarrie Feinstein / Toronto Star:
Postmedia Network, the publisher of the National Post and Toronto Sun, and Nordstar Capital, which owns Toronto Star and Metroland Media, call off merger talks — Talks called off due to regulatory and financial uncertainty around the deal and because parties were unable to agree on terms.
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, @rickanderson, @richardwarnica, @drjacobsrad and Reuters
Reuters:
Meta told an Australian inquiry on foreign interference that it plans to build “state-affiliated media” and “fact-checking” labels on Threads “expeditiously” — Social media giant Meta Platforms (META.O), owner of Facebook and Instagram …
John Ourand / Sports Business Journal:
To fight back against cord-cutting, Charter plans to offer a lower-cost programming tier without RSNs and league-owned networks in Q3, likely for $10/month less — The nation's second-largest cable operator has developed a new programming model to deal with the regional sports network crisis.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, CNBC, Sportico, @ourand_sbj, Deadline, Next TV, The Hollywood Reporter and The Streamable