For the Record

Apple Plans Service Bundle:

Gerry Smith  and Mark Gurman of Bloomberg have reported that Apple "is considering bundling its paid internet services, including News+, Apple TV+ and Apple Music, as soon as 2020, in a bid to gain more subscribers, according to people familiar with the matter." News+ subscriptions have stalled since the company unveiled the "Netflix of news" in March, while TV+ head of programming Kim Rozenfeld resigned Monday after the platform's initial slate of shows debuted to lackluster reviews.

McClatchy Embraces "Digital Saturdays":

According to Marc Tracy of The New York Times, McClatchy "[plans] to eliminate Saturday print issues at all its daily newspapers by the end of 2020, though a new slate of articles will continue to appear digitally." In its Q3 earnings call Wednesday, CEO Craig Forman announced that the media company has already implemented "digital Saturdays" at four newspapers. Forman also confirmed that a 2020 $124 million contribution to the company's pension plan will present a "significant liquidity challenge" unless it receives a bailout from the federally chartered Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Atlantic Launches Redesign:

The Atlantic unveiled its first digital redesign since 2015 and a new iOS app Tuesday. Non-subscribers may only view headlines in the feature. In an interview with Editor-in-Chief and former Pulitzer Prize juror Jeffrey Goldberg, Creative Director Peter Mendelsund reflected on the new design's historical influences:  "[I]n the late ’60s and ’70s you get the bubble type and a sort of funky, 'At the Carwash'–style Atlantic. Some of my favorite covers are from the ’60s and ’70s, when we really just focused on a single image and a simple headline."

Gannett/GateHouse Shareholders Approve Merger:

Shareholders of Gannett and GateHouse Media parent company New Media Investment Group approved the long-gestating merger of the media companies Thursday. According to Rick Edmonds of Poynter, it "will create the nation’s largest newspaper company as measured by the number of daily titles (266) and circulation (8.7 million in print)." The value of New Media shares has fallen sharply since influential hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman expressed skepticism about the proposed company's profit estimates and rate of revenue loss on an October 31 conference call.

Times Launches Impeachment Podcast:

The New York Times has launched The Latest, a podcast that will cover the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. "We're hoping that we'll be able to take one or two specific moments from the public hearings each day and go deep into those moments," said Theo Balcomb, the series' executive producer. Each episode, which will range from 5 to 10 minutes in length, will be released after the daily hearings conclude.

McClatchy's Pension Woes:

According to Lukas I. Alpert of The Wall Street Journal, McClatchy announced Wednesday that "it has begun talks with its creditors and federal authorities about a possible [...] takeover of its pension fund" by the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation "as it tries to relieve considerable liquidity pressure due to its pension responsibilities and debt load." The company, which is the third-largest newspaper publisher in the United States by circulation, "also said it was talking with its debtholders about restructuring its loans," most of which stem from its $4.5 billion acquisition of Knight-Ridder in 2006.

Allbritton to Launch Tech Site:

Politico owner Robert Allbritton will launch Protocol, a technology news site oriented toward "C-suite kinds of folks," in early 2020. Although coverage of the tech industry has proliferated among legacy news organizations in addition to such stalwarts as Wired and Recode, Albritton believes that the site will find its niche. "I think there are a ton of guys out there who cover tech from a [venture capital] or gadgets or even a governmental point of view, but I don't think there's anyone who covers it for its own sake," he said to Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo. Tim Grieve, Protocol's executive editor, said: "I don't think anybody is, in a regular way, focusing on the people, power and politics of tech."

Tribune Closes Hoy:

Tribune Publishing announced Tuesday that it is shuttering Hoy, its Chicago Spanish-language newspaper. "We anticipate providing all affected employees the opportunity to take open positions inside the company," the company said in an emailed statement. The Chicago Tribune Guild said it was "deeply disappointed that Tribune Publishing is shutting down" the publication, "which has gone beyond stereotypes and provided meaningful news to the vast body of Spanish-speakers in our region." This is a disservice to our journalists, our readers and our company." As of the 2010 census, 22.1% of the Chicago metropolitan area's population is of Latino descent.

Opening the Compensation Curtain:

More than 400 journalists have contributed to Real Media Salaries, an open, anonymous Google document modeled after a crowdsourced 2017 spreadsheet on allegations of sexual misconduct in media. The form allows employees of media organizations to share their title, organization, salary, gender identity/ethnicity, location and job description. "In the long run, we would probably all be better off if the salary list sparked a healthy conversation about who is paying whom how much, and for what," said CJR Chief Digital Writer Matthew Ingram.

Daily Northwestern Apologizes for Sessions Coverage:

According to Jacey Fortin of The New York Times, the editors of The Daily Northwestern apologized Sunday for "coverage of an event that featured former Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a speaker last Tuesday and was attended by scores of protesters." Staffers at the Northwestern University-based newspaper, which operates independently of the institution, shared photos of the demonstrators on social media and employed the Northwestern directory for interview requests.