Media Insider: New York Times Buys Wordle, Apple News Launches Local Newsletter

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the week.

Exterior photo of New York Times office - Media news recap 

CNN | JENNIFER KORN
The New York Times Buys Popular Word Game Wordle

The New York Times has acquired Wordle, the explosively popular game that gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word daily. The Times is adding the puzzle to its portfolio of word games such as The Crossword, The Mini and Spelling Bee. Purchased for a price “in the low seven figures,” Wordle will initially remain free to new and existing players. “We don’t have set plans for the game’s future,” said Jordan Cohen, executive director at The Times. As of December 2021, the Times had over 1 million Games subscriptions.

The Times also announced it surpassed 10 million paid subscriptions, a milestone for the publisher.

THE HILL | REBECCA KLAR
Media Groups Divided Over Bill Targeting Google, Facebook Digital Ad Market Power

A proposal aimed at giving news publishers the power to bargain with dominant tech platforms over the distribution of their content is dividing media groups, with some advocates arguing the proposed solution could actually hurt the small and local outlets it aims to help. Members of the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee also clashed over the proposal during a hearing this week, despite a version of the bill being introduced last year with bipartisan support. Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said the proposal would help ensure the survival of local news outlets, but ranking member Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) bashed the proposal as a misguided effort and said the proposal could lead to a news “cartel,” a concern also raised by public advocates who sent a letter to the senators warning against the bill.

In Canada, the country’s heritage minister said the digital giants must pay Canadian media outlets for reusing their news content.

NIEMANLAB | SARAH SCIRE
Capital B, Written for and by Black People, Launches as a Nonprofit Newsroom

The new nonprofit newsroom Capital B launched on Monday with a national hub and one local newsroom in Atlanta. The news startup plans to publish investigative journalism alongside practical information (including “how to find affordable housing, apply for benefits, and vote”) that’ll remain accessible (unpaywalled) to all. Capital B’s team in Atlanta — where roughly half of residents are Black — will be the first of a network of local newsrooms anchored by the national hub. It expects to add another local newsroom before the end of the year and another two local newsrooms before the end of 2023.

ICYMI: Univision, Televisa Close Deal, Forming Spanish-Language Media Giant

TECHCRUNCH | AISHA MALIK
Apple News Launches Its First Daily Local Newsletter, Targeting Bay Area Readers

Apple News is introducing its first daily local newsletter for the Bay Area and is actively exploring expanding the offering to other cities. The Bay Area daily local newsletter, which is reminiscent of a daily local paper, includes top stories across local news, sports, politics, dining and more. The stories are compiled from numerous publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, Eater San Francisco, KQED, The Oaklandside and others. All of the stories included in the newsletter are curated by Apple News editors, as opposed to being selected by algorithms — a decision that should cut down on the recirculation of clickbait and other low-value content.

Read next: The Austin American-Statesman removed monthly articles limits for non-subscribers.

POYNTER | RICK EDMONDS
Hearst Newspapers Plans a New Data and Product Hub for 2022

Hearst Newspapers is kicking off the new year with plans for a shared development hub, hiring 12 product and data specialists and another eight interactive graphic artists. The company says that it’s the single largest digital expansion ever for the newspaper group. The company closed the year with more than 300,000 paid digital-only subscriptions, an increase of 100,000, or 50%, from the year before. It is targeting 100,000 more this year. Tim O’Rourke, who is heading what the company calls its DevHub from San Francisco, says the team will be geographically dispersed and that hiring is not expected to be completed until midyear.

In more newspaper news, CherryRoad Media is acquiring a group of newspapers in Texas and Oklahoma.

Subscribe to Beyond Bylines to get media trends, journalist interviews, blogger profiles, and more sent right to your inbox.

Maria Perez is director of web operations at Cision. In her spare time, she enjoys playing word games, watching too much TV, and chasing squirrels with her dog Molly.

You may also like...

40 Responses

  1. I’m often to blogging and i really appreciate your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your web site and maintain checking for brand spanking new information.

  2. I do not even understand how I ended up here, but I assumed this publish used to be great

  3. Payton Brock says:

    Very well presented. Every quote was awesome and thanks for sharing the content. Keep sharing and keep motivating others.

  4. This was beautiful Admin. Thank you for your reflections.

  5. George Nunez says:

    I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.

  6. Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post

  7. Alice Greer says:

    Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites

  8. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites

  9. I like the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great content.

  10. There is definately a lot to find out about this subject. I like all the points you made

  11. nimabi says:

    Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks. nimabi

  12. There is definately a lot to find out about this subject. I like all the points you made

  13. Koen Acevedo says:

    very informative articles or reviews at this time.

  14. I really like reading through a post that can make men and women think. Also, thank you for allowing me to comment!

  15. Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post. Many thanks for providing these details.

  16. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites

  17. Myla Shannon says:

    I like the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great content.

  18. I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.

  19. Kylee Newman says:

    I just like the helpful information you provide in your articles

  20. Warren Frost says:

    Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post

  21. Aldo Peck says:

    Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post

  22. I am truly thankful to the owner of this web site who has shared this fantastic piece of writing at at this place.

  23. George Nunez says:

    For the reason that the admin of this site is working, no uncertainty very quickly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.

  24. Jessie Price says:

    Great information shared.. really enjoyed reading this post thank you author for sharing this post .. appreciated

  25. Laura Moran says:

    I like the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great content.

  26. Kylee Norton says:

    There is definately a lot to find out about this subject. I like all the points you made

  27. Aliyah Cline says:

    You’re so awesome! I don’t believe I have read a single thing like that before. So great to find someone with some original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!

  28. naturally like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth on the other hand I will surely come again again.

  29. Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post

  30. Very well presented. Every quote was awesome and thanks for sharing the content. Keep sharing and keep motivating others.

  31. Koen Acevedo says:

    This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!

  32. This was beautiful Admin. Thank you for your reflections.

  33. Ivy Bell says:

    I very delighted to find this internet site on bing, just what I was searching for as well saved to fav

  34. Mira Banks says:

    I’m often to blogging and i really appreciate your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your web site and maintain checking for brand spanking new information.

  35. Heidy Mercer says:

    I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.

  36. Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.

  37. papa's games says:

    This is exactly the information I wanted to hear, thank you.

  38. I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.

  1. March 31, 2022

    […] example, when we used reverse search for the header image from a recent Media Insider post, we received a number of hits for other articles that use the same […]

  2. March 31, 2022

    […] instance, once we used reverse seek for the header picture from a recent Media Insider post, we acquired plenty of hits for different articles that use the identical […]

Leave a Reply