 Laurene Powell Jobs |
BuzzFeed’s news division may be the latest target of the Emerson Collective, the non-profit organization led by Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. A report in Thursday’s Financial Times cites two sources who say that BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith has had discussions with an Emerson representative concerning a possible investment by Emerson in the company. Emerson already has substantial investments in other media organizations, including The Atlantic, news and information website Axios, film production company Anonymous Content, and non-profit journalism endeavors ProPublica and the Marshall Project. BuzzFeed has been going through a difficult period. A November Wall Street Journal report said that the company expected to miss its 2017 revenue target by approximately 15% to 20%, and it subsequently laid off several dozen employees and engaged in a series of organizational changes.
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Viacom’s board of directors has formed a special committee of independent directors to evaluate a potential combination with CBS Corporation. According to a Viacom press release, the committee has retained independent legal counsel and independent financial advisors in connection with this evaluation. If the union takes place, it will bring back together the two companies that Sumner Redstone split up in 2006. The companies had explored a merger in 2016 on the recommendation of Redstone and his daughter Shari, who control CBS and Viacom through privately held National Amusements Inc. The press release warned that “there can be no assurance that this process will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.” News of the possible merger sent Viacom shares up 1.5 percent to $33.70 in after-hours trading, and CBS shares rose 0.5 percent to $59.25.
 Siobhan O'Connor |
Siobhan O’Connor, who was most recently executive editor at Time magazine, is heading to Medium, the online publishing platform founded by former Twitter CEO and publisher Evan Williams. She will take the position of vice president of editorial at the company. O’Connor leaves Time in the wake of Meredith’s takeover of Time Inc., which was finalized on Feb. 1. Time has also seen the recent exits of editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs and deputy managing editor Michael Duffy. At Medium, O’Connor will be charged with commissioning paid writers to generate content that will encourage readers to pay $5 to get past the site’s paywall.
 Asif Satchu |
Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, dick clark productions and film and television studio MRP have joined forces and will now be known as Valence Media. Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, the co-founders and co-CEOs of MRC, will serve as co-CEOs of Valence, and Todd Boehly will serve as chairman. Each of the other two divisions within Valence will maintain its individual brand and current leadership team. At dcp, Allen Shapiro will become executive chairman, and Mike Mahan will become CEO. Billboard-Hollywood Reporter president John Amato will become CEO. The combined company will have divisions or investments in television, film, live entertainment and digital media, and an enterprise value approaching $3 billion. Valence anticipates growing both organically and through acquisitions. WPP, an early investor in MRC, will remain a strategic investment partner in Valence.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
