Mediagazer: [Thread] In a meeting, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis told staff that the paper lost $77M over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020 (Max Tani/@maxwelltani)

5:25 PM ET, May 22, 2024

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Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

[Thread] In a meeting, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis told staff that the paper lost $77M over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020 — Washington Post CEO Will Lewis is introing the paper's new “Build It” plan today. In a meeting with staff, he noted that the paper lost $77 million over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020: “To be direct, we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.”

Discussion: Washington Post, @maxwelltani, @alttag.bsky.social, @worknowitzki.bsky.social, @cocktailhag.bsky.social, @natalieweiner.bsky.social, @missingthept.bsky.social, @atherton.bsky.social, @markshatraw.bsky.social, @vortexegg.regretfully.online, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @wilson__valdez, @macktubs, @maxwelltani, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @thatweissguy.bsky.social, @atherton.bsky.social, @jonastraxler.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @852dude.bsky.social, @cfaller96.bsky.social, @andrewsshi.bsky.social, @erinannmcc.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @froomkin, @karlbode.bsky.social, @nslayton.bsky.social, @benharris1.bsky.social, @mcoatney, @maxwelltani, @darrylmason, @estarianne.bsky.social, @socio-steve.bsky.social, @scarylawyerguy, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @dextrosity.bsky.social, @jaycockburn, @reubenr80027912 and @eleanorofs.bsky.social

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

WBD and ESPN strike a five-year deal letting WBD's TNT carry two first-round college football playoff games in 2024 and 2025, adding two quarterfinals in 2026 — In a move to strengthen its sports offerings, Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a five-year sublicensing deal with Disney's ESPN …

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STLPR:

Big Lou Media has sold The Riverfront Times, an alt weekly in St. Louis, Mo, to an undisclosed buyer, and the entire writing and editing staff has been laid off — The Riverfront Times, St. Louis' alt-weekly newspaper, is no more, at least in its current state.

Discussion: MediaPost, KSDK-TV and @kallieecox

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

SEC filing: Vivek Ramaswamy owns shares and call options worth ~$4M in BuzzFeed, or a 7.7% stake, and seeks a shift in its strategy; BZFD jumps 10%+ — Ramaswamy has acquired just under 8% of BuzzFeed, with plans to push for “a shift in the company's strategy.”

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, The Guardian, @silviakillings, @tomgara, @qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @sherman4949, @highyieldharry, CNBC, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Axios, Variety, @seangriffey, The Wrap and Benzinga

Wall Street Journal:

As TV audiences get older, media executives are focusing more on the mass-market reach of TV, and playing down the importance of age for advertisers — With viewers in their 60s, networks aren't pretending to have youth appeal; they're touting the virtues of older audiences

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Sara Guaglione / Digiday:

How sending fewer emails and giving paid subscribers early access to content improved The New Yorker's onsite page views and time spent from newsletter users — The New Yorker has refocused its newsletter strategy in an effort to retain its cohort of 1.2 million paid subscribers and grow …

Bloomberg:

Sources: Tata Group took full control of subscription TV broadcaster Tata Play after buying Disney's 29.8% stake, valuing Tata Play at about $1B — - Tata Group gains full control of Tata Play after Disney deal — Tata bought out Temasek's stake in platform earlier this year

Chris Kerr / Game Developer:

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Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Nexstar's NewsNation adds an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network — NewsNation is adding an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network.

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David Shepardson / Reuters:

US FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposes requiring the disclosure of content generated by AI in political ads on radio and TV, citing the use of deepfakes — U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday proposed requiring disclosure of content generated …

Discussion: TechCrunch, CNN, Inside Radio, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, @aram@aoir.social, Dave Gregorio on LinkedIn, FCC, UPI and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

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