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Vice co-founder and CEO Shane Smith is stepping down from the company’s top role and handing over the reins to current A+E Networks president and CEO Nancy Dubuc. Smith will assume the role of executive chairman at Vice, focusing on strategic deals and content development. In her new job, Dubuc will still be involved with A+E, which jointly owns the Viceland channel with Vice Media. Until Dubuc’s successor at A+E is named, Abbe Raven, the company’s chairman emeritus and former CEO, will serve as acting chair, overseeing the transition. Vice has been in the midst of an executive shakeup, mostly precipitated by sexual harassment claims against chief digital officer Mike Germano, who left the company following allegations against him, and president Andrew Creighton, who has been on leave while the company’s board investigates a $135,000 settlement involving a former employee’s sexual harassment allegations.
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Apple has signed an agreement to acquire digital magazine subscription service Texture. The service, which has been dubbed the “Netflix of magazines,” gives users access to over 200 magazine titles—including People, Forbes, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic and Rolling Stone—for one monthly subscription fee. It was launched in 2010 by Next Issue Media, which is currently owned by Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rogers Media and KKR. In 2016, Texture was chosen by the App Store editorial team for the annual Best Of selections, which celebrate the most innovative apps and games for iOS users. “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.
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The Church of Scientology has launched its own television network, which went live on March 12. The network is available on AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Google Chromecast, with an app for the network available through either iTunes or Google Play. Programming on the network includes the shows “Meet a Scientologist” and “L. Ron Hubbard: In His Own Words.” The launch follows a wave of media scrutiny for the religion. “Scientology and the Aftermath,” an A&E series hosted by “King of Queens” actress Leah Remimi and “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” a 2015 Peabody and Emmy-winning documentary, both take the church’s actions and philosophy to task. “It’s TIME for us to tell OUR story…” reads a tweet from ScientologyTV. The tweet includes a video telling prospective viewers, “The only thing more interesting than what you’ve heard…is what you haven’t.”
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.
