I recently spoke with Salt Lake Tribune editorial cartoonist, Pat Bagley (Pat and I drew political cartoons for BYU's Daily Universe campus paper back in the 1970s). Pat filled me in on his trip in the last few days back to Washington, D.C., where he was answering questions posed by Congressional staffers, as federal investigators hone in on matters involving the Mormon Church, the Deseret News and the role and flow of information behind the Zion Curtain.

(I will be meeting up with Pat in a few weeks in SLC, where we will be able to continue our conversations on this matter, ones that have in the past included getting together in Salt Lake with him, a former Trib reporter and other interested parties).

It appears that LDS Inc.--Navuoo Expositor style--may be attempting to kill bad press through disingenuous and devious attempts to strangle the Salt Lake Tribune--in order for the Mormon Church's compliant theocratic organ, the Deseret Snooze and Schmooze, to emerge as essentially the sole and uncontested source of "news" in Salt Lake City, where major independent newspaper counterweights to the Mormon Church-owned and -controlled press would be rendered extinct.

It's a very fishy deal that the U.S. Justice Department is now looking into.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It Here--then spread the word (before the Mormon Church kills the word).
_____


From the Columbia Journalism Review:

"A deal reached last fall between Salt Lake City’s two main newspapers is unraveling into an angry controversy as the Justice Department looks into allegations that the Salt Lake Tribune, in return for a lump-sum cash payment, is quietly ceding the market to the Mormon Church-owned Deseret News.

"The deal, an amendment struck last fall to a longstanding Joint Operating Agreement, would give the News 70 percent of the print revenues generated by the two papers, in return for the payment, the amount of which is undisclosed. The one-time payment, critics claim, would benefit the New York parent, Digital First Media, owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, while choking off revenue needed to sustain the Tribune’s newsroom.

[NOTE: Pat Bagley told me that the alteration to the JOA is not an "amendment" but, rather, a fundamantal reconstruction of the JOA itself].

“'The hedge fund guys get what they want, which is a big pile of cash,' says Jim Dabakis, a Utah state senator who this week started an online petition asking the Justice Department to reverse the deal. 'And the Deseret News gets what it wants, its generations-long dream [fulfilled] to extinguish the other voice in the community. And they get a monopoly from now on.'

"Joan O’Brien, an ex-Tribune reporter who now teaches has taught media law and runs a local group opposed to the amended JOA, wrote a detailed letter to the Justice Department saying the pact will cripple the Tribune, 'drastically intensifying the media monopoly power of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northern Utah.'

"Earlier this month, the Tribune reported that the Justice Department has begun reviewing the deal. Dabakis and O’Brien both say they’ve been contacted about the deal by DOJ lawyers. A department spokesman declined to comment.

"The chiefs of both Digital First and the Deseret News reject the idea that the JOA will undermine the Tribune and said the opposite was the case.

"In an email, Digital First’s chief executive, John Paton, declined to comment, but referred to recent remarks he made to the Tribune:

"'We continue to believe the recent revisions to the joint-operating agreement are important to The Salt Lake Tribune’s continued success and are consistent with our strategy of controlling our digital future while limiting our exposure to legacy costs and practices. We are also confident that under the restructured JOA, The Tribune will continue to be a strong independent voice, which has been and remains the goal of both parties to the JOA.'

"Clark Gilbert, chief executive of the Deseret News’ parent, sent a statement saying that the deal was reviewed by the Justice Department last fall and includes substantial benefits for the Tribune, including the fact that the paper pays no rent for the use of the plant and presses bought by the Deseret News as part of the deal.

“'The Deseret News is committed to the market’s demand for multiple editorial voices and the amended JOA upholds that commitment,' the statement said.

"The fierce struggle over the deal has deep roots in the history of the two newspapers, a rivalry that dates to 1873 when three Kansans bought the Tribune and promptly launched a campaign of anti-Mormon vitriol. While the language has tempered over the years, the Tribune has remained a formidable rival to the Deseret News and an important independent check on its owner, the powerful Mormon Church. In the 1950s, the papers, which had been fierce commercial as well as journalistic competitors, struck a deal under which they would share distribution and other business costs, an agreement later made into a formal Joint Operating Agreement and sanctioned under the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970. Traditionally, the Tribune has been the larger paper (and remains so today with 2012 circulation of about 107,000 to 76,000 for the Deseret News). As a result, the Tribune received the larger share of revenues, 58 percent, under the original JOA.

"Despite the JOA, the editorial rivalry remained fierce. And for non-Mormons, the Tribune is a potent symbol of independence in a state where the media is dominated by church-owned outlets. A Church spokeswoman declined to comment on the dispute.

"The larger backdrop behind the JOA amendment is the shifting landscape of the newspaper industry, which, after its dramatic plunge in the last decade, is gearing up for what insiders predict will be a year of consolidation as financial players who entered the business during the crash now seek to exit. Earlier this month, for instance, media analyst Ken Doctor reported that Digital First Media’s parent, Alden Global, was planning to put its newspaper holdings on the auction block. Representatives of Alden Global didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.

"The amendment to the long-standing JOA was quietly reached last October when, according to the Deseret News’ statement, Digital First approached the paper to renegotiate the deal. The new agreement was sent, as is required under the Newspaper Preservation Ac, to the Justice Department for review.

"Terry Orme, a longtime Tribune reporter and editor who was named editor and publisher around the time the deal was struck, says Paton, Digital First’s CEO, told him about the deal in general terms but wouldn’t discuss details of the new arrangement. 'John Paton was pretty clear he wasn’t going to get into specifics,' Orme said in a telephone interview.

"After receiving a tip about the deal, Tribune reporters asked the Justice Department for the JOA, a public record, and reported the details shortly afterwards.

Orme says he expressed his concerns to Paton at the time. 'When you get your revenue cut in half, that’s concerning,' he says. 'How can you not be concerned about that?' The new deal gives the Tribune the operation’s digital revenues, but that’s a much smaller number. Orme also says the lump sum, which he didn’t disclose, was used to pay down Digital First debt, but “to my knowledge, none of that debt was our debt. That grates as well.”

"Orme says, though, that Paton has been very explicit about his strategy of moving away from print and toward digital revenue, and that the strategy should be given a try. He added that 'we’re going to know soon, no later than June, what the impact is going to be.'

"In an email, Paton declined to comment on Orme’s remarks.

"Opposition has built steadily lately. O’Brien, who is married to Tribune reporter Tom Harvey and is the daughter of the late Jerry O’Brien, a longtime publisher of the paper until his death in 1994, formed a group calling itself the Utah Newspaper Project, now numbering about 50 and including several ex-Tribune staffers. In February, O’Brien wrote a 14-page letter of complaint to the anti-trust division’s litigation chief, alleging that the deal violates both antitrust law and the Newspaper Preservation Act and 'threaten(s) an indispensable journalistic voice.' The new 70-30 split represents a dramatic reversal of the previous arrangement that, the opposition group says, 'denies the Tribune revenues sufficient to finance its essential editorial and newsgathering functions.' The group says the new JOA amounts to an 'acquisition scheme' by which the Deseret News can achieve what the group says is a longstanding goal: the elimination of the Tribune.

"The controversy gained steam this week when a local radio station, KUER, broadcast a discussion of the deal that included Orme. In a segment quoted in a Tribune story on the discussion, Orme publicly expressed misgivings about the deal and said the smaller cut from print operations had made the paper’s financial future less certain:

“'It doesn’t make it any better, let’s put it that way,' Orme said. Print revenues continue to be “the biggest single source of income.”

“'We’ve been relying on this stream of income for 60 years and to all of a sudden change it isn’t a small thing; it’s a big thing,' Orme said. 'You better know where you’re going and you better have a high level of confidence in where you’re going before you do that.'

"O’Brien says she pleased the Justice Department has begun what appears to be an extensive review. 'I am a reluctant activist,' she says. But few people in Mormon-dominated Utah are in a position to challenge this publicly. I sort of have to.'"

("A Newspaper Deal Threatens Utah’s Main Non-Mormon-Owned Daily, Critics Say--And the Justice Department is Looking Into It," by Dean Starkman, "Columbia Journalism Review," 25 April 2014, at:
http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/a_newspaper_deal_threatens_uta.php?page=all#sthash.n4KOHM9I.dpuf)
_____


From the Salt Lake Tribune's own reporting:

"The U.S. Department of Justice is scrutinizing a deal between owners of Salt Lake City’s two daily newspapers, at least in part for its apparent similarity to a past attempt by the Mormon church-owned Deseret News to buy The Salt Lake Tribune.

"Two sources confirmed the DOJ’s inquiry, which comes as Utah’s largest newspaper faces another round of budget cuts mandated by its corporate parent, New York-based Digital First Media.

"The leader of a group of community members and former Tribune employees challenging the latest joint-operating pact between The Tribune and the News said she had been interviewed at length by a senior antitrust attorney.

"Attorney Justin Dempsey also sought legal background from a nasty fight over Tribune ownership more than a decade ago, said Joan O’Brien, a former Tribune reporter and editor and daughter of the late Tribune Publisher Jerry O’Brien.

"'I’m encouraged and gratified that they are looking at this deal,' she said. 'I hope they actually do something, but at least they’re looking at it.'

"A second source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the federal review, also confirmed the DOJ’s interviews. A spokesman for the DOJ declined to comment on its review of the joint-operating agreement, or JOA, which took effect between the two newspapers Oct. 18, 2013.

"Since last fall, the community group led by O’Brien has launched utahnewspaperproject.org and held several community meetings in an effort to draw attention to its cause.

"One prominent Salt Lake City resident who joined the effort, retired University of Utah administrator Boyer Jarvis, said he welcomed signs the DOJ was getting involved.

"'What’s at stake here is an institution that is one of the most significant, important and valuable organizations in Utah,' said the 90-year-old community activist. 'It would be a tragedy of the first order if The Tribune doesn’t continue to be independent.'

"Attempts by The Tribune in recent days to reach several Utah officials connected with the News and the JOA were unsuccessful.

"According to an Oct. 15, 2001, court deposition by L. Glen Snarr, then-chairman of Deseret News Publishing Co., the plan involved the News buying additional shares of the newspapers’ revenue split and greater management control of joint operations.

"The strategy was developed, Snarr testified at the time, because the Federal Communications Commission appeared likely to challenge the News’ purchase of The Tribune, given the LDS Church’s existing ownership of other Utah broadcast and print outlets.

"The scenario came to light as former Tribune owners in the McCarthey family fought a protracted legal battle with newspaper magnate Dean Singleton, then CEO of the MediaNews Group chain, over The Tribune’s ownership. Singleton took over The Tribune after the News’ own efforts to buy the paper failed.

"Beginning in 2010, The Tribune and other newspapers owned by MediaNews Group came under management by executives at Digital First, which controls some 280 daily and weekly U.S. papers on behalf of Alden Capital.

"Considered an innovator in adapting to news industry challenges from the Internet, Digital First has struggled in recent years in the face of shrinking advertising revenues.

"Last September, The Tribune, as a precursor to the renegotiated JOA, laid off nearly 20 percent of its staff, a loss of 17 full-time and two part-time reporters. Then-Tribune Editor Nancy Conway and editorial page editor Vern Anderson also stepped down.

"Last week, Paton announced further cuts at Digital First, including closure of Project Thunderdome, a company initiative launched in late 2011 to centralize portions of national news gathering and production functions for the chain.

"In addition to eliminating Thunderdome and its 52-member staff in New York, Digital First is seeking another 10 percent reduction in costs at its newspapers. Tribune Editor and Publisher Terry Orme said Tuesday managers were continuing to explore reductions in purchased content, newsprint and staffing to achieve those cost reductions."

("Feds Scrutinize Salt Lake Newspaper Deal: New Pact Eyed in Light of Past Bid by LDS Church-Owned D-News to Buy Tribune," by Tony Semerad, Salt Lake Tribune, 9 April 2014, updated 5 June 2014, at: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57791269-78/tribune-news-digital-deal.html.csp)
____


NOTE: A key lawsuit has recently been filed to stop this deal, as significant additional efforts are being made to save the Salt Lake Tribune from the press-destroying jaws of the Mormon Church.

Watch this space.



Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2014 11:52PM by steve benson.

Open the books and Pass the popcorn

It was announced here yesterday, but a bit belatedly; rodolfo who's usually in charge of these things has been really busy with his day job.

Several of us who post here were there, and as soon as the YouTube video is available, I'll post a link. I also sent Pat an e-mail hoping he could do something similar in the future, and I would guarantee a lot more publicity and advance notice.

Pat spoke to this subject, and he noted "The Deseret News doesn't want to kill the Tribune; they just want to make it a two page insert in the D-News twice a week."

Translation: they want the Trib to become an Alan Colmes to their Sean Hannity.

He noted the hedge fund that now owns the Tribune cut a deal with the D-News that changed the terms of the JOA (Joint operating agreement) so that the News now receives 70% of the income from Newspaper Agency Corporation even though the Tribune still provides the bulk of its income.

I'm up to speed on the ownership story of the Tribune since the Singleton takeover, and it's a stinkeroo story. And Singleton unloaded the newspaper to the New York hedge fund without management knowledge.

Oh well, at least in Utah one can spend time with Pat Bagley on Wednesday night and have lunch with brother Will on Thursday.

Have to, in order to keep one's sanity...

When Pat and I spoke recently by phone, it was clear from his vantage point that folding the Trib into the Desperate News like some kind of ad insert was tantamount to killing it. He had told me as much in a previous conversation we had had at a downtown Salt Lake bar during last year's Association of American Editorial Cartoonists national convention, held in SLC, where Pat demonstrated his impressive abilities as host. He has also told me that reducing the Trib's revenue stream to online ad dollars is a scheme deliberately and deceptively designed by Mormon Church interests to kill the Trib in a matter of a few short years and that no one is fooled by that ploy. Pat knows what's fundamentally at stake and he knows the propaganda from LDS Inc. that he is fighting against. He has been quite involved in efforts to save the Trib from the Morgue and has more things planned in that regard. (We, in fact, have discussed some possibilities that he is now considering).

I told Pat in our phone chat just how much I respect him, how much I admire his current efforts to fight the good journalism fight, how much I appreciate the way he cares about his local community and how much I have enjoyed being a colleague and friend of his for over three decades. We're talking about meeting up at his home for some interesting dinner conversation. I also told him that I am confident he will bring home his own Pulitzer prize in the not-too-distant future, him having been a finalist this year in that contest where, in my opinion, he clearly deserved to win.


Pat Bagley is one brilliant and brave dude.



Edited 17 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2014 01:03AM by steve benson.

As far as the Pulitzer goes, he wuz robbed...

At the presentation, I asked Pat how he would characterize the "Singleton Years" (where, IMHO, the Tribune became a shell of its former self). He lumped it into the "corporatization of American news media" and noted that the Tribune had always "made a profit" and "family-owned newspapers fared better than the corporate ones." Certainly it was a corporate decision by AT&T to sell the newspaper to MediaNews rather than allow the McCarthey family to regain ownership. And the Deseret News was involved in that miasmic deal as well. And I particularly remember Dean Singleton holding up a cartoon of Pat's that poked fun of the LDS Church and declaring that he was ending this sort sacrilegious attack on a religion... /insert whoopee cushion noise

Anyway, despite being friends with Will for a dozen years (and Pat's crime compadre Robert Kirby for over 40), I was only privileged to meet Pat a few weeks ago.

Hayduke did the introduction because apparently Will was off at the gym; I'd stopped in his office right before and he wasn't there.

We honestly walk with giants, folks.

You're exactly right. Everyone's focused on the Trib's folding. That would open the doors for a new newspaper to hire Trib employees & start a new platform, which "the " church would not want.
I think that the church does NOT want to kill the Trib- they just want to turn it into D-News Lite. That way, they control the info, while still keeping "the other voice" in Utah.
The DOJ better pay close attention here.

Hello? That is killing.

I have talked at length with a former Trib employee who emphasized repeatedly that the financial model being proposed by the Desperate News is indeed designed to kill the Trib, and that this death would most likely occur, given the extreme drop in revenues that it would entail, before this new plan's implementation time frame was even completed. That is why there are proposed efforts to convert the Trib into a publicly-owned, independent-run community newspaper in which shareholders would buy stock.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2014 05:43PM by steve benson.

No, that is not killing. It's sucking the good out while still keeping it on life support. I realize that you're in the biz. This is not a financial, rational business plan. The church can afford to keep a watered down Trib on life support (including employing current staff) to thwart new competition from entering the market.

. . . independent thinking, along with independent watch-dogging.

Sucking the voice out of the Trib is what the Morgue is up to. It is a cult, powered by pyramidal, hierarchal control from the top down, which twists and redfines reality, replacing it with its sanitized, immunized brand of fiction. If you don't get that, then you don't understand what fiercely-practiced, accountability-demanding journalism is all about. Thank goodness there are those in this fight who do.

The Mormon Cult may be able to keep a muzzled, neutered, watered-down Trib (indeed, at the very least, that's what it wants to do). An open society, on the other hand, cannot afford to put up with a cult masquerading as a source of reliable information.

This is more than just a bad business plan. This is bad for the truth business. I don't know what your "biz" is, except maybe fizz.



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 01:47AM by steve benson.

Geez Benson. You're repeating exactly what I've been saying. The church doesn't want to kill the Trib. It wants to keep them as "another news voice", wink, wink. It wants to keep them in check-and is willing to spend (and lose) money to make that happen. It's a bad business plan to be profitable. It's a great business plan to water it down & keep competition at bay.

Geez Benson. You're repeating exactly what I've been saying. The church doesn't want to kill the Trib. It wants to keep them as "another news voice", wink, wink. It wants to keep them in check-and is willing to spend (and lose) money to make that happen. It's a bad business plan to be profitable. It's a great business plan to water it down & keep competition at bay.

You said that the Trib is not being killed.

I am saying that the Trib is being killed.

You need a good editor to help you in your reader comprehension of what you have written.

Watering down the Trib would kill the Trib. The financial model proposed by the Desperate News for amending the JOA would do exactly that--both by the revenue numbers as well as by the restricted news. It's a one-two punch: Rein in the Trib and drain out the Trib.

You don't understand journalism and you definitely are not in the journalism business. Back to your fizz biz.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 02:33AM by steve benson.

Drop me a note, neighbor... If you misplaced my contact info, you can use SL_Cabbie@yahoo.com....

There’s an episode of Trib Talk dealing with this issue, and a lawsuit filed a few weeks ago seeking to block the contract.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogstribtalk/58075085-231/tribtalk-tribune-controversy-deseret.html.csp

It would be a shame if the Tribune doesn't survive or becomes subsumed into the Deseret paper.

It's such an evil church. I know that newspapers are struggling to stay in print these days. I hope the evil empire doesn't get their hands on it. Please keep us posted.

But in todays internet world, the church cannot ever supress information or spin their own story in town to keep the masses. THere are too many outside new sources, and people can get news from anywhere virtually, at any moment. Let the trib die...let the church spend money on shit that means nothing. Let the church chase it's own media tail...only to find that information is still out there, and the internet is still systematically killing the church.

It's devouring the heart and soul of trusted, independent, community-centered journalism.

As to the Internet rushing in to save the day, the best sources of reliable news on the Internet are professional organizations with journalism-trained editor/reporter crews, guided by strictly adhered-to ethics policies. (That, therefore, automatically eliminates the Mormon Cult-owned Desperate News). With the Trib's independent voice removed from the Net should the DN be successful in its effort to eliminate meaningful, countervailing journalism from the Salt Lake market, that simply means one more reliable news source is removed from the Internet.



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 01:54AM by steve benson.

steve benson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> professional organizations with journalism-trained
> editor/reporter crews, guided by strictly
> adhered-to ethics policies.


This doesn't exist anywhere anymore.

Who even reads the news in print anymore?

nomonomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Who even reads the news in print anymore?

I do. I read my local paper and when I retire, I may add a national newspaper. When I travel, I enjoy reading local papers, including the Salt Lake Tribune. For some reason I explore a wider variety of articles when they are laid out right in front of me. I feel more restricted in my selections when I read online.

Even in this digital age, some kids still like to read the paper as well. Some boys in particular really enjoy the sports section.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 12:00PM by summer.

I hate seeing newspapers die.

When I was growing up, we had The Inquirer (morning distribution), The Evening Bulletin, and The Daily News. The Daily News is kind of news-lite.

The newspapers started dying. People we very, very upset when the Bulletin went under. The Inquirer is letting some of its best copy editors go. One was hired at The Atlantic City Press, which isn't a bad paper, but it's kind of meh.

IMHO, the 24-hour news cycle is doing a lot of damage to print media. Most of the stuff on cable news is entertainment rather than reporting.

I hate to see independents, undergrounds, and fanzines die. Going to J-school tends to leave people in crippling debt and maybe, if they're lucky/unlucky, blogging for Nick Denton, asshole extreme.

Read newspapers are good fly swatters, pet cage liners, kites, pirate hats...every kid needs a newspaper pirate hat. They don't make good boats, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 01:40PM by Beth.

. . . reliable news info published on the Internet.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 01:46PM by steve benson.

I thought you were responding to me. Sorry about that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2014 02:09PM by Beth.

I hope that the Justice Department does the right thing by the people of (increasingly diverse) Salt Lake City and its environs and kills this deal. I also hope that the Tribune is able to find a responsible owner. The Tribune is a respected daily newspaper. The DN is simply a church organ. That much has been evident to me on my visits to Utah. Keeping the Tribune independent and strong is a worthy goal.

As a professional communicator, I agree with Steve. The internet is wonderful in getting info out to the masses, but it needs good, reliable ethical sources with professional journalists, editors and news crews to do it best.

That's not to say that all the social media posts on sites like this aren't also very useful in information dissemination, but we still need the SL Tribunes, along with other professional print, broadcast and online media.

Let me add the word "independent" to my post above. Some media, such as DN, may be professional -- but they are far from independent!

Newspapers all across this country are in trouble.
But we do have the internet.
Are there good local blogs where local news is covered?
I would rather read them than a bought and sold newspaper that has to color the news in one shade just to stay in business.
Do we have to start a local news-based blog?
Look at Breitbart's London, Texas and California for models.
http://www.breitbart.com/breitbart-london
http://www.breitbart.com/breitbart-texas
http://www.breitbart.com/breitbart-california

Thanks, Steve, for putting this serious matter in the spotlight again.

Too many mormons like to live a mormon bubble. Tamping down the voice of the Salt Lake Tribune would strengthen bubble.

Sure, there are sources of news on the internet, but many mormons will still rely on local or regional sources for the most part. A stronger mormon bubble will lead to further degradation in regional politics, educational policies, women's rights, and other cultural issues.

Also, it really irks me that it looks like LDS Inc. paid wads of cash to New York financiers to push this "amendment" forward. The New York financiers used the wads of cash to pay off debts that were not related to the SL Tribune. Straight up bribe, if you ask me. At the least, it's a power play by the mormon church.

Breitbart cannot replace truly excellent local journalism. See excerpts below.

"That old adage applies to Andrew Breitbart, the right-wing-media hit man previously best known for manufacturing a charge of racism that forced the heroic Shirley Sherrod to resign from the Department of Agriculture and for publicizing a highly edited sting videotape supposedly showing employees at the now defunct community organization ACORN advising a prostitute on how to avoid paying taxes. "
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2011/06/breitbart_right_on_weiner_wrong_on_everything_else.html

"In fact, it wasn’t even a rumor, it was a joke. When investigated by real reporters it was learned that Friends of Hamas does not even exist. But upon being revealed as a hack who never bothered to look into the claims of his alleged sources, BreitBrat Ben is now stiffening his back and defending his journalistic incompetence."
http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=9142

http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/07/21/big-falsehoods-an-updated-guide-to-andrew-breit/168051

"On June 3 ABC News published a map -- also cited by Breitbart.com -- which was "purportedly published" by ISIS and "widely shared on Twitter." According to ABC, the "terrifying" map was "published at the same time that ISIS announced the creation of a caliphate."

But ABC News didn't actually trace the image to ISIS, and instead relied on a tweet of the image from American Third Position (A3P). ABC didn't disclose that A3P is a white nationalist political party in the United States."
http://mediamatters.org/tags/breitbartcom

I'm not stupid, but I can't wrap my head around why there would be an agreement signed anywhere that sent revenue from one newspaper to another owned by another corporation.

Is this an American thing, or a Wall St thing?