Member Announcements:
Tribune Publishing rejects Gannett’s bid (USA Today)
Tribune Publishing, which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and nine other daily newspapers, said Wednesday its board of directors has rejected Gannett’s $815 million offer to buy the company.
Tampa Bay Times buys and folds the Tampa Tribune (Poynter)
The Tampa Bay Times announced Tuesday afternoon that it acquired The Tampa Tribune, ending a 29-year competitive battle in the bay region and creating the fifth-largest Sunday circulation newspaper in the nation.Tribune subscribers will begin receiving the Times today.
Times rebrands R&D studio, promotes VR video at NewFront(Politico)
The New York Times is rebranding its research and development lab as “Story[X]” and will more closely integrate it with its newsroom and advertising teams. Kinsey Wilson, the Times’ editor for innovation and strategy, will be in charge of Story[X].
Austin American-Statesman Launches New Technology Website(Editor & Publisher)
The Austin American-Statesman has launched 512tech.com, a website that will cover all things in the city’s tech world, from startups and established companies to new ventures with a focus on detailing the industry’s culture.
WSJ launches “Media Mix” podcast (Talking Biz News)
The Wall Street Journal has launched another podcast, a weekly show called “Media Mix,” covering companies and topics across media and marketing. The podcast is hosted by CMO Today vertical reporters Jack Marshall and Steven Perlberg.
Staff Announcements:
McClatchy: Janet Santostefano has been named publisher of the Centre Daily Times in State College, PA.
Morris Communications: Delinda Fogel has been promoted to CFO for Morris Publishing Group. Previously, she was the publisher of The St. Augustine Record and staugustine.com.
News Media Alliance Announcements:
Upcoming Webinar: Mobile Programmatic, and How to Capitalize on it! Members: Join us on Thursday, May 19 from 1-2 pm EST for a webinar led by Mike Smith of Centro, who will demystify the programmatic space, and demonstrate how publishers around the country are getting bigger shares of their local advertiser’s digital budget by leveraging programmatic technology. Members only; log-in required.
Political Study: Newspapers’ Role in the Local Political Landscape This survey uncovers how consumers use their local community’s media resources for political information and voting decisions, as well as whether local newspapers have a strong impact on “Opinion Leaders” and how various types of media compare with respect to consumer trust, depth of coverage and influence.
What We’re Reading:
CNHI achieves 20 percent eCPM increase with TownNews.com iQ(TownNews.com)
With the help of TownNews.com’s new data management program, TownNews.com iQ, CNHI has seen substantial increases in CPMs and digital revenue.
Why Facebook Messenger bots haven’t caught on with publishers (Digiday)
Several publisher developers said they suspect Facebook wasn’t prepared for the barrage of bot submissions while building bots also can conflict with publishers’ other priorities, namely, video.
Conde Nast is betting on virtual reality too (Digiday)
Dawn Ostroff, video head at Conde Nast, is producing a six-episode VR series called “Invisible,” due out in September. Conde Nast is joining the ranks of publishers that are spending on VR and 360-degree video on the belief that advertisers are ready to get on board.
How social media curation can help improve audience engagement(Journalism.co.uk)
Julian Johns, international vice president of Crowdynews, explains how his organization is enabling publishers to take stories “beyond the hashtag.” Johns says that by using social media curation, news organizations can remove the need for readers to look elsewhere by automatically pulling in relevant social content from around the internet onto their websites.
What We’re Tweeting:
@NAAupdates: Good news, publishers: People will read long stories on their phones, for 2 min., anyway » Nieman Journalism Lab – http://bit.ly/1WL20K8
@NAACEO: I love this journalism: At Tampa Bay farm-to-table restaurants, you’re being fed fiction:http://bit.ly/1SMMPL1
Lindsey is Director, Communications at the News/Media Alliance. She has over 15 years of experience working in communications for nonprofits.
