Joshua James
Joshua James

Valence Media has made an investment in news startup Zig, joining such previous investors as Live Nation, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, Universal vice chair Ron Meyer and Quincy Jones. Zig, which was launched earlier this year, offers users a personalized news feed, incorporating content from such providers as the New York Times, CNN, TMZ and People magazine. It can be accessed either by website or mobile app. Zig CEO Joshua James says that the app, which had just 48 users at launch, now has an audience of over 1 million users. Valence Media was launched in February, merging the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, dick clark productions and television and film studio MRC.

BizBash

BizBash, a trade media company that focuses on event and meeting professionals, is bringing back the print magazine it killed in 2016, starting with its 2018 Holiday/Fall Venues issue. In addition to the relaunched magazine, the company has a digital presence that includes a podcast, an augmented-reality app and a website. BizBash CEO and founder David Adler says that print offers a welcome contrast to what he calls the “chaotic mess” of the online world. “Our new print issue brings to life a trend we have seen in the event industry over the past few years—people are craving offline, in-person, real life experiences,” he said.

Clifford Levy
Clifford Levy

New York Times Metro section editor Clifford Levy told staffers in a memo last week that “engaging readers (and listeners and viewers) on our digital platform” has become a major priority. Pursuing that engagement is leading the section to take a look at the approach of its current staffers to determine “the extent to which Metro’s current staffing addresses those needs.” The memo goes on to says that staffers whose work and vision don’t align with the section’s new mission will be offered buyouts—if they are Guild-represented reporters and editors who have worked at the section for a least a year. The memo comes in the wake of a WWD report that said Hearst chief content officer Troy Young was in the process of evaluating the digital savvy of editors at Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar.