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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.”
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.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
