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You might have heard: Gannett offered $815 million in cash to buy Tribune Publishing, an acquisition that some say is likely to be successful
But did you know: Tribune’s second largest shareholder wants the company to explore a sale, whether that’s to Gannett or another buyer (Reuters)
Oaktree Capital Group LLC, Tribune’s second-largest shareholder, wants Tribune Publishing to explore a sale, possibly helping Gannett’s bid to buy Tribune for $815 million. Reuters reports that Oaktree is not in favor of selling for $815 million, but it does want Tribune to talk with Gannett and other potential buyers about an even higher price. Gannett’s $815 million bid is already 60 percent higher than Tribune’s trading value.
+ Gannett is encouraging Tribune shareholders to withhold votes at Tribune’s annual meeting on June 2 as a way to send a “clear signal” that they’re interested in exploring the sale (Wall Street Journal), while Tribune issued a statement on Monday, saying: “Gannett has no path to control for Tribune Publishing and their tactics clearly demonstrate a desperate and opportunistic attempt to steal the company” (CNN Money)
+ Noted: The New York Times rebrands its research & development lab as Story[X]: It will be led by Kinsey Wilson and will also be integrated more closely with editorial and advertising (Politico Media); Paxton Media Group buys Indiana’s The Elkhart Truth from Federated Media, adding to its 10 other newspapers in Indiana (Elkhart Truth); Medium senior editor Evan Hansen is joining Periscope as its editor in chief (Medium)
How hyperlocal news outlets can use smartphones as a tool for newsgathering and distribution (Journalism.co.uk)
Hyperlocals may have struggled to keep up with traditional news outlets in terms of equipment and technology in the past, Caroline Scott writes, but now everyone has a viable alternative in their pockets: Smartphones. Phyllis Stephen, who founded U.K. hyperlocal news site The Edinburgh Reporter, explains how smartphones are a core part of the Reporter’s workflow and how hyperlocals and other smaller news outlets can use their smartphones for reporting and distribution.
While other publishers cut the comment section, the Financial Times believes readers are paying to be a part of its community (Digiday)
Financial Times is making an important shift in its comment strategy, head of audience engagement Renee Kaplan says: It’s moving from “damage control” to being more proactive about fostering a community and using comments as a tool for engagement. Kaplan says: “For other media companies, the comment strategy is more about growth. For the FT, we have a unique commitment to make something of these comments, the readers are entitled to being part of the quality conversation and what the community has to offer.” Kaplan explains the key parts to that strategy, which include getting the newsroom’s journalists to care and using comments as a way to bring in new readers.
A well-designed chatbot gives people a personal connection (Fast Company)
Exploring chatbots as a part of web design, UX designer Adrian Zumbrunnen redesigned his personal website to run off a chatbot. Instead of navigating menus, visitors to Zumbrunnen’s website could chat with a bot that would do things like give them links to curated design stories around the internet and let them send Zumbrunnen an email. In just 48 hours, Zumbrunnen’s traffic was up 48 percent: “What I discovered building a chatbot was that I could actually convey something that a traditional personal website never could, which is my character and personality.”
+ More on chatbots: While U.S. chatbots are mostly designed to perform specific tasks through a conversation, the most successful chatbots require more action from the user
ACES president: ‘The news industry can’t cut its way to quality’ by cutting copy editors (Poynter)
According to ASNE data, copy editors have been cut drastically at legacy media organizations, but ACES president Teresa Schmedding writes that this isn’t the way to go. Research shows that good copy editing increases your credibility with readers, and Schmedding says the business world is recognizing this: Copy editors in corporate communications is a fast-growing group, and legacy media copy editors are now less than 25 percent of ACES’ membership.
Why Sree Sreenivasan is boycotting all-male panels at journalism conferences (Poynter)
In a post on Facebook, Sree Sreenivasan says he’s done with participating in and attempting all-male panels at journalism conferences: “I have been saying no all-male panels for me and talked myself out of several appearances as a result. I have decided the only way to do something is to call out the organizers who put these on. I call them out privately, but I am trying to make a point.” For those organizing panels, Sreenivasan says women and people of colors shouldn’t just be used as placeholders, and they should speak about more than just diversity issues or panels focused on issues women face.
+ As Digiday announces the launch of fashion-focused publication Glossy (Nieman Lab), Digiday says its “revenue is well into eight figures, and profit is well into seven figures,” and its revenue will grow by 50 percent this year (Fortune)
The post Need to Know: May 3, 2016 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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