 Michael Brunt |
The Economist Group has combined its sales and circulation teams to form a new publisher team. This structure brings together the circulation division, now the largest contributor of profits to The Economist Group, and the sales, marketing solutions, events and analytics divisions into one cross-functional team. Michael Brunt has been appointed chief operating officer and publisher of The Economist and will lead the new team. Brunt, who has been with The Economist Group since 2006, most recently served as managing director and chief marketing officer for circulation. “The publisher team combines the strongest parts of our business to ensure that we are creating the best products and services for our readers as well as our clients and that The Economist will be here for the next 175 years,” said The Economist Group CEO Chris Stibbs.
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Talent agency ICM Partners is now representing global media platform HuffPost (formerly known as the Huffington Post). ICM Partners will work with HuffPost to create multi-platform opportunities for its intellectual property. In addition to its client list in the film, television and music worlds, ICM represents many authors and journalists, including Thomas Friedman and Ken Auletta. “ICM’s partnership with HuffPost will allow us access to their impressive roster of great writers, thinkers, and thought leaders,” said Rich Green, head of media rights for ICM Partners. HuffPost says it serves an average of 155 million viewers on a monthly basis, spanning 17 editions around the world. It is part of Oath, the Verizon Communications digital content subsidiary that includes Yahoo! and AOL.
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The National Press Club on April 11 featured three trauma surgeons who made their case for a ban on assault-style weapons such as the popular AR-15, which was the gun used by the Parkland, FL, shooter. Dr. Ernest “Gene” Moore, Dr. Tom Scalea and Dr. Dennis Vane, all former presidents of the Western Trauma Association, discussed why the physician's group unanimously passed a resolution calling for a ban last year. “They’re not designed to hunt,” said Vane, former chair of pediatric surgery at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. “They’re designed to hurt people." Moore, editor of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and a former NRA member, emphasized that such weapons are meant for military use. Scalea, physician-in-chief at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, said the wider injury caused by assault-style weapons means more blood loss, and that a person shot only in an arm or leg can bleed to death in as little as four or five minutes. The doctors said they are not seeking to restrict other weapons or change the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which the Supreme Court has said guarantees Americans the right to own firearms. The National Rifle Association opposes restrictions on assault-style weapons and is challenging state bans in court.
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.
