Joe Ricketts, TD Ameritrade founder, billionaire, and father of Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, shut down the local news network of DNAinfo and Gothamist sites today, a week after the writers voted to unionize. Anyone attempting to reach one of the sites was redirected to this letter: November 2, 2017 Dear DNAinfo and Gothamist Readers: Today, I’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue publishing DNAinfo and Gothamist. Reaching this decision wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t one I made lightly. I started DNAinfo in 2009 at a time when few people were investing in media companies. But I believed an opportunity existed to build a successful company that would report unbiased neighborhood news and information. These were stories that weren’t getting told, and because I believe people care deeply about the things that happen where they live and work, I thought we could build a large and loyal audience that advertisers would want to reach. A lot of what I believed would happen did, but not all of it. Today, DNAinfo and Gothamist deliver news and information each day to over half a million people’s email inboxes; we have over 2 million fans across our social channels; and each month, we have over 15 million visits to our sites by over 9 million people. But more important than large numbers of visits and fans, we’ve reported tens of thousands of stories that have informed, impacted, and inspired millions of people. And in the process, I believe we’ve left the world a better place. But DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure. And while we made important progress toward building DNAinfo into a successful business, in the end, that progress hasn’t been sufficient to support the tremendous effort and expense needed to produce the type of journalism on which the company was founded. I want to thank our readers for their support and loyalty through the years. And I want to thank our employees for their tireless effort and dedication. I’m hopeful that in time, someone will crack the code on a business that can support exceptional neighborhood storytelling for I believe telling those stories remains essential. Sincerely, Joe Ricketts Chief Executive Officer A DNAinfo spokesperson essentially admitted to the New York Times that the writers’ union drive was a “competitive obstacle” making it more difficult to be “financially successful,” so Ricketts’s explanation reads like horseshit covering up a malicious, calculated move. With the sites’ articles functionally locked, the reported 115 newly jobless writers now have no clips as they search for work, either. CNN’s Tom Kludt reports that the employees will be paid through February:
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Barcelona, his boyhood club, and Arsenal are among those who reportedly have his name on their summer shopping lists.
Hiddink, asked on the eve of the last four clash with Spain whether all the attention was distracting Arshavin, shook his head and replied: Not at all, it s good for him.
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Mikel Arteta is concerned by Arsenal s reliance on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but believes it is pure maths they will start to score if they perform as they did against Wolves.
The Gunners were beaten 2-1 at home to Wolves on Sunday and sit 14th in the Premier League table after 10 matches.
Arteta s side have scored just 10 goals in this time, with captain Aubameyang the Premier League Golden Boot winner the season before last netting only twice from 18 shots.
The forward drew another blank at Emirates Stadium last time out, yet Arteta was encouraged by Arsenal s attacking intent.
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Real Madrid fired another blank as their LaLiga title hopes were further dented in a goalless draw away at Real Betis.
The reigning champions knew there was no real margin for error at Estadio Benito Villamarin following Barcelona s narrow 1-0 home win over Valencia earlier on Sunday.
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Karim Benzema had a first-half goal ruled out by VAR, but Carlo Ancelotti s side were otherwise subdued as they could only close the gap on leaders Barca to nine points.
sit points clear at the top of !! |
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN)
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Egypt winger Salah beat Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the prize at a CAF gala in Accra and succeeds Leicester City and Algeria star Riyad Mahrez as the continent s leading player.
Mane finished as runner-up, with Aubameyang in third.
I have always wanted to be here, Salah told reporters at a news conference before the ceremony.
I put myself under pressure and take risks. Right now I have the ambition to be the best Egyptian player in history.
Mohamed Salah is the African Player of the Year 2017
— CAF (@CAF_Online)
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Gueye lasted seven minutes longer than his team-mate and should return to training within 10 to 12 days after also sustaining a left hamstring injury.
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