Publishers in search of a new subscriptions platform or video app have new options from The Washington Post.

The Post's Arc Publishing is now offering Arc Subscriptions, a commerce platform that "equips publishers, broadcasters, and brands with real-time capabilities designed to accelerate digital monetization and grow revenue," according to the Post.

An agreement has been reached for the Tribune Chronicle to acquire The Vindicator's subscription list, The Vindicator masthead and the Vindy.com domain, according to Mark Brown, general manager of The Vindicator. John Cribb, Cribb, Greene & Cope, represented the Mark Brown Family and The Vindicator in the transaction.

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) has shut down its comments section.

The Pilot has been undergoing several changes after its sale to Tribune Publishing last year. One of the changes is an overhaul of PilotOnline.com, which will debut later this month. As part of that overhaul, which will change the look and feel of the website, the comments section is being removed.

In response to feedback from readers, the Sun Herald of Gulfport, Miss., is adding back pages to the newspaper.

In a recent column to readers, Executive Editor and General Manager Blake Kaplan said that a task force of newsroom personnel, marketing executives and circulation leaders surveyed and interviewed readers. Then the group talked about what they learned.

"Rarely was the feedback about the quality of journalism the Sun Herald produces," Kaplan wrote. "The biggest issue we heard was that readers wanted back things we had taken away over the years as we moved news and information from the paper to our website."

Last week, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) held its annual meeting in Miami. The meeting was held amid increased attention to the role of black journalists in the United States and recent changes to black-oriented news media organizations, such as a decision by the Chicago Defender, a black newspaper founded in 1905, to cease printing (though it will remain available online).

Pew Research Center has studied black Americans' attitudes toward the news media – as well as their news consumption habits – for years. It also has examined minority representation within U.S. newsrooms. To coincide with the NABJ conference, here are seven key facts about black Americans and the news media:

With reader habits changing, The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) and Beaufort (S.C.) Gazette have announced that, starting Nov. 9, they will no longer produce a printed newspaper on Saturdays. Instead, they will launch a Weekend Edition that includes expanded newspapers on Fridays and Sundays.

A federal bankruptcy judge in Oregon has approved the sale of the Bend (Ore.) Bulletin and Redmond (Ore.) Spokesman to EO Media Group. EO Media also recently acquired two other newspapers from Western Communications: the La Grande (Ore.) Observer and the Baker City (Ore.) Herald.

Dirks, Van Essen, Murray & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, N.M., represented Western Communications in the transaction.

The Guam Daily Post is not only the most distant independent newspaper among SNPA members, it boasts circulation and digital gains that mainland peers would envy.

Mindy Aguon, CEO and editor-in-chief of the 17,000 circulation newspaper, calls its growth in the last two or three years "massive."

"In December 2016, The Guam Daily Post was available for purchase at 70 locations," she said. "As of July, the newspaper is now available at 260-plus locations around the island. We are adding more subscribers each week and many of the subscribers tell us they switched from our competitor because of our local news content."

"In July 2016, the Post website had 151,925 page views," Aguon added. "In June 2019, the Post website had over 1.4 million page views. Our Facebook followers have grown from 9,257 in 2016 to over 32,706. Staff has grown from 30 to 52."

All this is on an island about 7,800 miles from SNPA's traditional headquarters in Atlanta. By comparison, it's about 4,407 miles from Atlanta to Hawaii.

As we celebrate joining together SNPA and Inland, it is worth at least a moment to honor the first principles of the newspaper industry that gave rise to both groups. And those, without a doubt, are freedom of the press and the parallel right to know and to distribute news.

Honoring those principles requires some reflection on the industry's singular role in building America's First Amendment foundation. And it is safe to say that SNPA's and Inland's member newspapers can fairly take credit for shaping the free speech and free press tradition of the republic like no other industry and, for that matter, like no other country on earth.

New Media Investment Group Inc. and Gannett Co., Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which New Media will acquire Gannett for a combination of cash and stock.

The merger brings together the portfolios of two leading local newspaper companies, and includes USA TODAY, Gannett's flagship brand, and its more than 160 brands in the U.K., which will significantly expand the existing USA TODAY NETWORK.

This combination will create a broad network of talented, experienced journalists poised to deliver unique and award-winning content for local communities and national audiences. The breadth and depth of each company's digital offerings will make the combined company a leading digital media player. Additionally, the joining of New Media's UpCurve and GateHouse Live businesses with Gannett's ReachLocal and WordStream subsidiaries will provide multiple, diversified marketing and revenue solutions and position the combined company as a stronger partner for advertisers and small businesses in the markets served.

Keep up to date with the latest Gannett and GateHouse merger news, including perspectives from newspapers and media experts around the country, at this link.