Top News:
Mark Walker / New York Times:
Block Communications says The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will cease publication on May 3; the closure will not affect its sister newspaper, The Toledo Blade — The family-owned company that operates the newspaper cited mounting losses and labor constraints. A final edition is expected on Sunday, May 3.
Discussion:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, USA Today, WTAE, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, Editor and Publisher, The Hill, Poynter, Newser, John Pastor on LinkedIn, Courthouse News Service, The Wrap, @sulliview, @pghguild, Gina Vensel on LinkedIn, Plain Dealer, 90.5 WESA, Angela S. Jones on LinkedIn, Dow Jones Newswires, @byerussell.com, Keith Reed on LinkedIn, Stacy Skiavo on LinkedIn, @victorpickard.bsky.social, MLive.com, @stephenthompson.bsky.social, Daily Caller News Foundation, CBS News, Awful Announcing, Fox News, Barrett Media, @steve@s.yelvington.com, @kevincollier.bsky.social, @lrearick.bsky.social, @colinbwilliams.com, Bloomberg and r/Journalism
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Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
The Post-Gazette closes in five months, leaving time for Pittsburgh institutions to react, maybe by growing a replacement or helping its owner start a nonprofit — One of the country's oldest newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, says it's shutting down in May. Not going digital-only — just disappearing.
Discussion:
@timothynoah.bsky.social, Poynter and @joshuabenton.com
Josh Sisco / Bloomberg:
Filing: the US DOJ opened an in-depth review of Paramount's hostile tender offer for WBD on December 23; Netflix has said it's also talking with the DOJ and EC — The heated battle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has expanded from the boardroom to the US Justice Department …
Discussion:
Financial Post, IndieWire, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, The Wrap, Telegraph, Sky News, Agence France-Presse, The Independent, Screen Rant and WPXI-TV
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Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
WBD's board unanimously rejects Paramount's amended $108.4B acquisition offer, saying the bid still has “significant” risks compared to Netflix's $83B offer — The board says the revised $108.4 billion bid continues to offer “significant costs, risks and uncertainties” compared to its $83 billion deal with Netflix
Discussion:
Mediaweek, Advanced Television, TradingView, Business Plus, Warner Bros. Discovery, Business Insider, Deadline, Variety, CNN, @scottnover, Wrestling Inc., B&T, Mumbrella, @lucas_shaw, Forrester, @sarafischer, @danprimack, Ars Technica, @luiz_fernando_j, @lwsresearch, @pkafka, @brianstelter, adnews.com.au, @sarafischer, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, The Times, MediaPost, MS NOW, Los Angeles Business Journal, StreamTV Insider, Washington Examiner, Proactive, TV Tech, GamesIndustry.biz, New York Times, The Independent, Cord Cutters News, The Standard, UPI, TechCrunch, BERNAMA, World of Reel, GameSpot, The Streamable, Far Out Magazine, Plain Dealer, Barron's Online, Türkiye Today, Engadget, Fortune, BBC, Dow Jones Newswires, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Screen, Barrett Media, The Guardian, TTV News, Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, CNBC, Media Play News, Capital Brief, Broadband TV News, Telecompaper, CBS News, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk and Realscreen, more at Techmeme »
Katie Arcieri / Bloomberg Law:
The US House Judiciary Subcommittee scrutinizes the WBD-Netflix deal, and Rep. Jamie Raskin expresses concern over Trump's influence on Paramount and Netflix — House lawmakers Wednesday questioned the proposed tie-up between Warner Bros. and Netflix Inc., with some weighing the competitive tradeoffs …
Discussion:
TalkAndroid.com, Screen, Irish Examiner, Reuters and Comic Book
Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD's board chair indicates WBD remains open to a Paramount acquisition, saying David Ellison “stepped up to the table” but “ultimately didn't raise the price”
WBD's board chair indicates WBD remains open to a Paramount acquisition, saying David Ellison “stepped up to the table” but “ultimately didn't raise the price”
Discussion:
CNBC, Business Insider, CNBC, Front Office Sports, The Movie Blog, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, Media Play News, Vanity Fair, NBC News, CBS News and Mediaite
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney announces it is adding vertical videos to Disney+ later this year, following the launch of ESPN's “Verts” in the ESPN app last August — Other new offerings include a new “brand impact” metric and a new video generation tool that helps advertisers create high-quality …
NPR:
Libraries scramble to find another print book provider after Baker & Taylor, once the largest US distributor of print books to public libraries, shuts down — It's been a tough year for public libraries. — In March, President Trump issued an executive order to dismantle the Institute …
Discussion:
Education Week, The Independent, Canadian Press, @glennf.com and Chicago Tribune
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
Experts examine the potential effects of the end of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: one sees opportunity and another sees a catastrophic event — The parent organization of NPR and PBS, already defunded, is shutting down—and claims that's for the best. But there are dangers ahead.
Discussion:
Digital Music News, @scottnover, Black Enterprise, @freepress.bsky.social, Washington Post, al.com, @joshshepperd.bsky.social, @columjournreview.bsky.social, Esquire, Public Notice, Inside Radio, AfroTech, Baller Alert, Crooks and Liars, Techdirt, The American Spectator and The Movie Blog
Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
Semafor raised $30M at a $330M valuation after generating $2M in EBITDA in 2025, its first profitable year, and plans to expand its annual CEO gathering in DC — The digital media outlet, which aims to inform the ‘global leadership class,’ plans to expand its events business and add journalists
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Fox is launching Fox Creator Studios to work with social content creators on multiple platforms and has made development deals with several food personalities — Digital-first division starts with a focus on food through deals with Gordon Ramsay and social media stars Rosanna Pansino …
Carolina Abbott Galvão / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with John Cusack, a longtime press freedom advocate, on how FOIA-based reporting shouldn't be behind paywalls and how walls hurt those most affected by news — The movie star says that by selling their public-records-based reporting, news outlets are compromising one of journalism's essential civic roles.
Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg:
Polymarket agrees to supply Dow Jones outlets like the WSJ and Barron's with prediction market trading data for online and in print, its first media partnership — Polymarket will supply Dow Jones with trading data under a new partnership, the latest in a string of deals between exchanges …
Discussion:
Benzinga, Cointelegraph, Coinspeaker, Bitcoin Magazine, Blockonomi, Business Wire, Watcher Guru, Reuters, The Block and Crypto Briefing, more at Techmeme »
