 Glenn Beck |
The Blaze and CRTV are combining to form Blaze Media, which they say will reach 165 million people via television, digital platforms and social media—making it “the largest independent, traditionally conservative multiplatform media company in the United States,” according to a report on TheBlaze.com. The Blaze was founded by Glenn Beck after he parted company with Fox News, and CRTV was started up by current Fox News host Mark Levin in 2014. The new company will be led by Tyler Cardon, who served as president of TheBlaze, and Gaston Mooney, who was president of CRTV. Effective immediately, subscribers to CRTV and TheBlaze Premium will have access to streaming content from both entities.
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Nexstar Media Group has entered into a merger agreement with Tribune Media. The $6.4 billion deal would make Nexstar the largest local television station owner in the country, with 216 stations in 118 markets. However, Nexstar has said it intends to divest or swap stations it has in 13 of the 15 markets in which its current stations overlap with those of Tribune. Following the merger, which is set to be completed in the third quarter of 2019, Nexstar would have stations in eight of the top 10 U.S. television markets (including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) and in 37 of the top 50 markets. Tribune terminated its previous merger deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group in August following regulatory difficulties. According to Variety, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook told analysts that he has already discussed the Nexstar/Tribune transaction with FCC chairman Ajit Pai. Perry also said he would quickly deliver a “comprehensive plan for compliance with regulatory requirements” to the FCC.
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The News Group, which controls about two-thirds of the magazine wholesale market, is being sold by media conglomerate Jim Pattison Group to New Jersey-based hedge fund Chatham Asset Management in a deal expected to close by the end of the year. TNG will become part of American News Group, a newly formed Chatham portfolio company, joining Comag Marketing Group, which is the national newsstand distributor for such publishers as Hearst Magazines, Condé Nast and American Media Inc. According to Bloomberg, Chatham also has a majority stake in American Media, owner of the National Enquirer as well as a string of such recent acquisitions as Us Weekly, Men’s Journal, and InTouch. The announcement added that approximately 1,500 TNG employees will make the transition to American News Group.
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.
