Welcome to your morning bulletin, brought to you by Chris.

Journalism’s Gates keepers — www.cjr.org

We've joked about setting a Media Voices speed dating service for newspapers looking to meet eligible billionaire philanthropists for hot steamy ownership action. Chance the Rapper's ownership of The Chicagoist made it a reality, but there are plenty of other wealthy entrepeneurs who have yet to take the plunge and, um, buy a newspaper for the purposes of keeping it alive.

At the time of the Chicagoist purchase it was pointed out that reliance on the goodwill of individuals is - at best - a crutch, and likely to be a temporary reprieve at best if the paper continues losing money. But as this article points out, there is also the potential danger that newspapers might feel beholden to their owners, and that might lead to less than objective coverage. Of The Gates Foundation's donations to NPR, the article states:

"From virtually any of Gates’s good deeds, reporters can also find problems with the foundation’s outsize power, if they choose to look. But readers don’t hear these critical voices in the news as often or as loudly as Bill and Melinda’s. News about Gates these days is often filtered through the perspectives of the many academics, nonprofits, and think tanks that Gates funds. Sometimes it is delivered to readers by newsrooms with financial ties to the foundation."

Bauer closes dozens of regional radio stations in England and Wales — www.theguardian.com

Local communities are being starved of relevant news in print, and the closure of radio stations that are picking up the slack is being described as "cultural vandalism".

Facebook tests linking your account to your news subscriptions — techcrunch.com

Facebook is testing a new feature that could help news publishers create a better experience for paying subscribers on the social network. In theory, in theory, in theory.

A final episode for the TV listings — www.nytimes.com

The New York Times will no longer include the programming lineup in its print edition. It's a timely reminder that newspapers need to keep up with its readers' consumption habits - in and out of print.

Today's throwback:

Nature Chief Magazine Editor Helen Pearson on the journal's 150th birthday — voices.media

Speaking of publications evolving, in this week’s throwback Helen Pearson, Chief Magazine Editor for Nature, tells us about what consumer-focused publications can learn from the journal.

Make us happy with a virtual coffee 😄😄😄 — ko-fi.com

Buy the three of us a coffee equivalent. It makes us happy and when we're happy we do newsletter and podcast stuff better. Really, you should think of it as an investment 🤔