 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.
 |
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.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
