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Tribune Media has terminated its merger agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group and sued Sinclair for breach of contract. The $3.9 billion deal would have added Tribune’s 42 TV stations in 33 markets to Sinclair’s 192 current stations. Last month, the FCC voted to refer the proposed merger to an administrative law judge to review questions about the amount of control Sinclair would maintain over several stations it was divesting in order to comply with FCC regulations. “To maintain control over stations it was obligated to sell, Sinclair engaged in unnecessarily aggressive and protracted negotiations with the Department of Justice and the FCC over regulatory requirements,” Tribune said. Wednesday was the first-day Tribune was allowed to pull out of the deal, per the merger agreement. Tribune is expected to look for another buyer. One source inside Sinclair told CNN that a possible buyer could be Fox.
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HBO is teaming up with news and information website Axios for a documentary series of news-oriented specials set to debut in time for the midterm elections. Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz, both of whom have won Emmys for their work at HBO, will collaborate with Axios journalists on the programs, which are expected to combine breaking news content, exclusive interviews and short profiles. The new series will join “Vice News Tonight” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” in HBO’s lineup of programs covering news and politics. Axios was started in 2016 by Politico co-founder Jim VanderHei, Politico's former chief White House correspondent Mike Allen and former Politico chief revenue officer Roy Schwartz. “We see this combination of HBO, Axios and award-winning storytellers as a powerful way of bringing clarity and meaning to the most consequential topics,” said VanderHei.
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Kate Lewis is stepping into the chief content officer role at Hearst that was vacated by Joanna Coles on Monday. Lewis has been with Hearst Magazines Digital Media since 2014, most recently as senior vice president and editorial director. In that position, she managed content groups across the company’s 21 websites for such brands as Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire. Before that she was senior vp, editorial director & content operations at digital publisher Say Media. Her resume also includes considerable print experience, including a 10-year stint as managing editor at Self. “Kate has built a team of first-rate editorial talent that is focused on publishing exceptional feature and service journalism in words, images and video,” Young said in a company statement announcing Lewis’ hire. “She has played an integral role in growing our digital organization into the fast-moving, profitable business it is today.”
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
