The Pulitzer-prize-winning New York Daily News was just bought — for $1

Tronc Inc., owner of newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and Chicago Tribune, agreed to pay $1 and assume pensions and liabilities for the New York Daily News and NYDailyNews.com to expand its digital business and add coverage of the biggest media market in the U.S.
Chicago-based Tronc assumed operational and pension liabilities for the New York Daily News in a deal that includes 100 per cent ownership of the New York newspaper’s printing facility in New Jersey, Tronc said in a statement late Monday. The pensions and liabilities Tronc is accepting under the deal total more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because financial terms are confidential.
Acquisition of the almost 100-year-old paper marks the highest-profile media deal for Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro, a former software entrepreneur and investor, since he bought into the company last year through his Merrick Ventures LLC. The newspaper group will now operate in 10 major U.S. markets and have more than 80 million unique monthly digital visitors, it said in the statement. (Bloomberg)
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New CRTC chief will face several unusual issues

Here are three out-of-the-ordinary files Ian Scott will have to deal when he starts his job as head of the CRTC today writes Christine Dobby, the Globe's Telecom reporter:
-A new model for cheaper wireless service?
-Bell's Super Bowl ads Hail Mary
-A test of support for original Canadian programming
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Arnold Amber has died

Arnold Amber

Longtime CBC producer Arnold Amber has died at age 77, his family has announced. He had two strokes during the summer and also suffered from cancer. Arnold was a long-time producer of CBC election coverage and of many specials and was a major figure in the Canadian Media Guild.
A tribute to Arnold Amber from the CMG's Lise Lareau.
CBC obit

The face of North Korean TV: The emotional news anchor who announced the nuclear test

The announcement that North Korea had carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, fell, almost inevitably, to Ri Chun-hee.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Mrs Ri has been reading the news on North Korean state television since 1971 and appeared on Sunday to announce the regime's latest military breakthrough.

In front of a backdrop of Mt Paektu, the dormant volcano on the Chinese border that is the fount of Korean nationhood, she trembled with excitement, smiling broadly as she pronounced the test's "perfect success".Mrs Ri's appearance was the latest landmark in a remarkable TV career. She is believed to be 73-years-old.
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Canadian Press marks 100 years

CP's John Ward writes:
The Canadian Press, the national news service that was created during the First World War to bring home stories from the European front — and went on to become the country's go-to, real-time source — turned 100 Friday.
But even dedicated news junkies might not know where to send a birthday card.
Described by some scholars as a cornerstone of Canadian history, CP remains a mystery to many, a low-profile but central part of the news landscape. Its news stories, photos, videos and radio broadcasts, in both official languages, appear in almost every media outlet in the country, yet readers or listeners are often unaware of their source.
The agency was established in 1917 by an Act of Parliament, as newspaper publishers looked to share stories across a massive, thinly populated country. With the war raging in Europe, Canadians were hungry to hear about their troops. Coverage of the Canadian military has remained a top priority for CP, the only news outlet to have a reporter stationed in Afghanistan throughout the duration of that conflict.
As it grew into a non-profit co-operative owned collectively by member newspapers across Canada,
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