 Gerry Baker |
Gerry Baker, former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief and currently editor-at-large at the paper, is launching a Fox Business show Nov. 30. “WSJ At Large With Gerry Baker,” will air Fridays at 9:30 p.m., immediately following Maria Bartiromo’s “Wall Street.” Fox says that the show will feature “in-depth conversations with business titans and other financial influencers.” When Baker stepped down in June, it was announced he would get a Journal-branded program on Fox Business, which, like the Journal, is part of the Murdoch family’s media holdings. Fox Business is in the process of revamping its primetime schedule, having also recently added “Trish Regan Primetime” to its lineup.
 Jacqueline Gifford |
Meredith Corporation has promoted Jacqueline Gifford to editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure, effective immediately. Gifford, who succeeds Nathan Lump, has been with Travel + Leisure since 2013, most recently serving as travel director. She was previously, travel editor at Brides as well as features and travel editor at OK! She reports to Meredith VP, group editorial director Stephen Orr. Meredith picked up Travel + Leisure when it acquired Time Inc. and has decided to keep the title as one of its lifestyle, celebrity and entertainment brands. Meredith says that Travel + Leisure’s global audience is more than 16 million.
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New York Media, the company that owns New York magazine, says that it plans to institute a paywall for its websites, which include NYMag.com; Vulture, which focuses on pop culture; fashion-news site The Cut; and the politically focused Intelligencer. The charge for access to the company’s sites will be $5 per month or $50 for annual subscriptions. For another $20, subscribers will also receive the print magazine, which publishes every other week. The charge will not apply to The City, an upcoming vertical that is to provide local coverage of New York City. The new policy is to go into effect the last week of November, according to the company.
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Tribune Media rode a boom in political advertising to an unexpectedly strong third-quarter profit. Political ad revenues for the company were up 90 percent from the last midterms in 2014, and up 36 percent from the presidential cycle in 2016. Tribune Media CEO Peter Kern says that the end of the midterm election cycle does not mean an end to money from political ads. He predicts that net political ad revenue in the fourth quarter will hit $99 million, up 80 percent over 2014 and 29 percent over 2016. “We may be seeing the start of an always-on political cycle,” he said. Tribune withdrew from a $3.9 billion deal for a takeover by Sinclair Broadcast Group in August.
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.
