Media Maneuvers

Ryan Lizza

Ryan Lizza, the former New Yorker Washington correspondent who was ousted from his job following a sexual misconduct scandal, has been named chief political correspondent for Esquire. In the wake of the December scandal, Lizza also lost positions as a CNN contributor and faculty member at Georgetown University. CNN reinstated him in January after an investigation found no reason to keep him off the air, and he is currently listed as adjunct faculty on Georgetown’s website. Lizza’s New Yorker coverage of Anthony Scaramucci played a major role in the financier’s exit as White House communications director after only ten days in the position. “Lizza will be a must-read, offering rare insight and intelligence,” Esquire editor-in-chief Jay Fielden said in a Twitter post.

Staff employees at The New Yorker and Fast Company are opting to pursue union representation. According to the New York Post, 90 percent of the 115 union-eligible employees at The New Yorker have signed union cards, while an “overwhelming majority” of Fast Company’s 40-member staff have done the same. The union drive at The New Yorker comes amid a wave editorial downsizings at parent company Condé Nast, which is estimated to have lost $100 million in 2017. A Wednesday tweet from @newyorkerunion said that the decision to unionize was based on the fact that the magazine’s “atmosphere of deliberation and care and its devotion to exceptional reporting, factual accuracy, careful prose and expert design” were increasingly vulnerable to Condé Nast’s economic priorities. A statement from Fast Company’s union said that it was looking to secure salary floors for all positions, as well as a commitment to diversity and an end of gender wage gaps. The magazine is owned by Mansueto Ventures, which is owned by Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto.

Penthouse, which filed for bankruptcy in January, has been purchased for $11.2 million by the owner of Bang Bros, a Miami-based pornographic film studio. Larry Flynt’s Hustler and Dream Media, a company formed by High Times owner Adam Levin, also placed bids for the magazine. At one point, Penthouse boasted circulation of 5 million. Its most recent claim to fame is the interview with Stormy Daniels that ran in its May/June issue. The assets of Penthouse Global Media include all of the magazine’s back content, as well as “Caligula,” the infamous film adaptation of the Gore Vidal novel that Bob Guccione co-produced in 1979.

Rubin “Bob” Goldberg, co-founder of Feature Photo Service, has died. Founded in 1985 by former Associated Press staffers, Feature Photo Service was one of the first companies to transmit commercial photos. Currently, 1,300 AP newspapers, magazines and other media in all 50 states have agreed to receive FPS photos. “Bob was a creative visionary, photographer and businessman who generously mentored many in the public relations and photography industries,” said an FPS statement. “His many contributions to photojournalism and the public relations industry will live on in the memories of those who knew and worked with him.”