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Voting-machine company Dominion has added Newsmax Media and Herring Networks (the owner of One America News Network) to the list of those it has sued regarding claims that the company rigged the 2020 election in favor of president Biden. Dominion also sued former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, who has made similar accusations. Earlier this year, the company filed lawsuits against Fox News, Rudolph Giuliani, attorney Sidney Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell over their roles in spreading election fraud claims. According to the Wall Street Journal, Newsmax said that its coverage of the 2020 election cited allegations made by public figures, including former president Trump, his advisers, and members of Congress, while One America said that the statement and claims made in “Absolute Proof,” a documentary produced by Mindell which claimed to show “100 percent” manipulated votes in President Joe Biden’s favor, were presented “as opinions only.”
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The New York Times posted positive numbers for Q2 2021 as regards both subscription and advertising revenue. Subscription revenue grew 16 percent over last year’s second quarter, “the largest year-on-year subscription revenue gain in more than a decade,” according to president and chief executive officer Meredith Kopit Levien. The paper says it added 142,000 net digital subscriptions in Q2, and now has more than eight million paid subscriptions across its paid and digital products. It expects total annual net subscription growth for 2021 to be “in the range of 2019.” Advertising revenues rose 66 percent overall year-on-year. Digital ad revenue fueled much of the growth, increasing 80 percent over Q2 2020 and 22 percent over Q2 2019’s pre-pandemic figures. Print ad revenue, while up by 48 percent over Q2 2020, was down 33 percent from Q2 2019. The company’s adjusted operating profit was $93 million, up 78 percent from the same period last year.
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| Eric Ludgood |
The E.W. Scripps Company hires former CNN International vice president for editorial Eric Ludgood to lead Newsy, its national news platform. Currently available on over-the-top and connected TV platforms, Newsy will launch over the air in more than 90 percent of U.S. television homes on Oct. 1, carried primarily over Scripps-owned broadcast stations' spectrum. Ludgood comes to Scripps from WAGA-TV, the FOX-owned and operated channel in Atlanta, where he was executive producer of the investigative team. At CNN, he played a pivotal role in such stories as the election of Nelson Mandela and the events of Sept. 11 and led the CNN World Report unit. In this newly created role, Ludgood will be responsible for the overall leadership, editorial identity and programming for Newsy.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
