Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Jeff Zucker acquires a minority stake in newsletter startup Front Office Sports; source: the deal values the startup at ~$40M, up from $25M at the end of 2021 — - The sports business outlet is now valued at about $40 million — Zucker will become co-chairman of the company's board
Discussion:
Axios, Variety, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Adweek, Front Office Sports, @mmccarthyrev and @lucas_shaw
Carly Thomas / The Hollywood Reporter:
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoes a WGA- and SAG-AFTRA-backed bill that would have given unemployment benefits to striking workers like writers and actors — The legislation was an attempt by Democratic state lawmakers to help striking actors, writers and Southern California hotel workers.
Discussion:
California Governor, Associated Press, The Wrap, Pasadena Star News, @danination.bsky.social, @atherton.bsky.social, @cara.city, Variety, Fox News, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @rogerniello, @qwongsj, @californialabor, @lara_korte, @kmay, @latimes, @zavalaa, The Hill, New York Times, New York Post, ABC7, Deadline, California Governor, Los Angeles Times and The Messenger
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
National World, run by ex-Mirror boss David Montgomery, buys Midland News Association, which was UK's largest independent regional publisher before the deal — National World also bought technology solution Press Computer Systems. — David Montgomery's National World has bought Midland News Association …
Discussion:
@pressgazette, @josiahmortimer, @provnewshistory, expressandstar.com and HoldtheFrontPage
Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
A profile of More Perfect Union, a nonprofit labor-advocacy publication with a $5.5M annual budget, 28 employees, and a video-first approach on social media — In behind-the-scenes planning talks, More Perfect Union played a role in the president's visit to a picket line.
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Profile of Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who has been SAG-AFTRA's executive director and chief negotiator since 2021, as talks with the studios begin again on Monday — Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the lead negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, will be a key player as the guild begins talks with the studios again on Monday.
Discussion:
Variety
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Q&A with YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe on NFL Sunday Ticket “exceeding expectations”, Multiview interest, the Charter-Disney dispute, and more — - YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe On NFL Sunday Ticket “Exceeding Expectations”, Unexpected Disney-Charter Plugs & More
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Streamable and Cord Cutters News
Phyllis Zorn / Marion County Record:
The mayor of Marion, Kansas suspends the police chief who led the raid on the Marion County Record — Six and a half weeks after raids on the Marion County Record — and six weeks after warrants for those raids were taken back — Marion mayor David Mayfield has suspended police chief Gideon Cody.
Discussion:
Associated Press, KBSL-TV, USA Today, @steven_zac, Washington Post, Poynter, The Messenger, New York Times, Media Nation, CBS News, Newser, The Hill and Boing Boing
New York Times:
The number of fact-checking sites has declined worldwide, as social media platforms reduce disinformation efforts and false AI content keeps fact-checkers busy — The momentum behind organizations that aim to combat online falsehoods has started to taper off.
Jeff Baumgartner / Light Reading:
Filing: LG suspends including IP-based broadcast signaling standard ATSC 3.0 in its 2024 lineup of US TVs due to a “challenging and uncertain patent landscape” — Citing a ‘challenging and uncertain patent landscape,’ LG has suspended the inclusion of ATSC 3.0 tech in its 2024 TV lineup.
Discussion:
@alexhcranz@threads.net, TechRadar, @matthewkeyslive, FCC, The Verge, Radio & Television … and TVNewsCheck, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Byron Allen, one of the many parties trying to acquire ABC from Disney, says Disney's internal deliberations are the main factor delaying a formal sale process — - ‘May December’ Writer Samy Burch Finally Boards Promo Train Post-Strike At New York Film Festival; Director Todd Haynes …
Financial Times:
French billionaire Xavier Niel plans to put his 40%+ stake of Le Monde in a foundation in 2023 and says he wants the newsroom “to be as independent as possible” — Billionaire to place shares bought from Czech tycoon Daniel Křetínský in foundation by year end
Discussion:
@labboudles
Reuters:
Vertex, a SPAC backed by Singapore's Temasek, plans to acquire live streaming service 17LIVE for ~$676M; 17LIVE had revenue of $363.7M in 2022 and is profitable — Singapore's Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp (VTAC) (VERT.SI) will buy live streaming platform 17LIVE Inc for up to S$925.1 million …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »