 Michael Pack |
The White House plans to nominate Michael Pack, conservative filmmaker, to head the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
If confirmed by the Senate, he will succeed John Lansing, the former Scripps Networks president, who took the BBG helm in 2015.
The BBG is the broadcasting arm of the US government, the entity that oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Middle East Broadcasting Network, Radio Free Asia and Radio and TV Marti (Cuba). Those units broadcast in more than 60 languages
Pack, who ran the Claremont Institute, has made two documentaries with president Trump’s former strategist and Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon.
He also served as publisher of The Claremont Review, which the New York Times dubbed the “bible of highbrow Trumpism."
Foreign Policy magazine notes that Pack is a sharp critic of what he views as the “politically correct agenda” on universities across the US. He claims liberal professors “indoctrinate” students with classes on environmental filmmaking and gay culture.
FP notes that critics worry that Trump could use turn the Pack-led BBG “into his own personal propaganda machine.”
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.
