new RS logo

Rolling Stone is going monthly. The change comes six months after Penske Media bought a controlling interest in Wenner Media, which publishes the magazine. In addition to reducing its frequency, Rolling Stone is also hiking its cover price from $5.99 to $9.99. That increased cover price is part of what Wenner Media president and COO Gus Wenner sees as an emphasis on the print magazine as a luxury product. The magazine is going back to its old oversize format, and will also be printing on thicker, higher quality paper. “We want to put a premium quality product in the marketplace,” Wenner told Minnesota Public Radio’s website marketplace.org. “I don’t think that we can truly build great businesses around it unless our core DNA product is as strong as it needs to be and should be.” In addition to the changes to the print magazine, Rolling Stone has revamped its website, and redesigned its corporate logo.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will go from seven print editions per week to five, starting August 25. “We have decided that becoming a digital news organization is our future,” Post-Gazette HR manager Linda Guest wrote in a June 26 letter to Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh president Mike Fuoco. On days when there is no print edition, the paper will be delivered digitally as a PDF. That PDF version does not include ads, inserts, coupons or the Sunday comics. The company’s other digital products include PG NewsSlide, an interactive app for tablets and smartphones that was launched last year. “We are maintaining our news department and the quality of the Post-Gazette,” said Allan Block, chairman of the Block Communications, which owns the paper. “We will remain flexible as to how we implement the digital future.” The days on which the paper will not be print have not yet been specified.

Brian Ross
Brian Ross

Brian Ross, who was suspended last year as chief investigative correspondent by ABC News following a faulty report on former national security adviser Michael Flynn, is exiting the network. Ross and his executive producer Rhonda Schwartz announced their departure in a statement released Monday, along with an announcement of the move by ABC News president James Goldston. Ross’s suspension followed a special report in which he incorrectly said that president Trump had directed Flynn to make Russian contacts during the 2016 presidential campaign. The report was said to have caused a 300-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average before ABC issued a clarification saying that Trump’s instructions to Flynn had actually been made following the election. After Ross’s suspension, he and Schwartz were assigned to Lincoln Square Productions, ABC’s in-house production unit. “While we are signing off from ABC News, we are hardly leaving investigative journalism,” they said in their statement. “There is much more to do.” Ross had been with ABC since 1994.

Uzabase

Tokyo-based business intelligence and media company Uzabase is planning to acquire Quartz, the news site founded and owned by Atlantic Media. Uzabase is expected to pay between $75 million and $110 million for the site, with the final figure being dependent on Quartz’s financial performance for the remainder of 2018. As part of the deal, Quartz will run the English-language version of NewsPicks, a subscription news service owned by Uzabase. Quartz’s co-presidents, editor-in-chief Kevin J. Delaney and publisher Jay Lauf, will become co-CEOs. Quartz will continue to operate from its New York City headquarters, with no layouts anticipated, according to Delaney and Lauf. Last year, Atlantic Media owner David G. Bradley sold a majority stake in The Atlantic to Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective. After the departure of Quartz from its portfolio, Atlantic Media’s properties will still include National Journal and Government Executive.