 Pamela Wasserstein |
New York Media, the parent company of New York magazine, is shedding 16 staff employees and 16 freelancers as part of what chief executive Pamela Wasserstein is calling “an effort to most effectively organize our resources around our business strategy.” Wasserstein said that the cuts, which represent about five percent of the company’s staff, are primarily affecting the company’s video department, audience development teams and copy and fact checking staffs. New York magazine implemented a paywall on its website in November. In addition, company staffers unionized with the NewsGuild in December and longtime editor Adam Moss announced his departure in January. While the company said in August that it was exploring “strategic options” that included a possible sale, any plans for a sale are off for now, according to a report from Business Insider.
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The Yankees, Amazon and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached a deal to buy the YES Network from Disney for $3.47 billion, according to the New York Post. The Yankees already own 20 percent of the network. YES is one of the regional sports networks that Disney must unload to secure regulatory approval for its purchase of 21st Century Fox. The Post reports that Amazon is seeking to extend its reach into streaming sports events, and the deal will let it stream Yankees and Brooklyn Nets basketball games. It also cites a source that says Sinclair plans to use YES to help it sell other programming it owns, such as the Tennis Channel, to New York cable companies. The YES deal won’t need Federal Communications Commission approval.
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Facebook is lining up a roster of publishers including BuzzFeed, Complex Networks and Condé Nast to produce shows for its Facebook Watch video-on-demand service, according to a report on online trade magazine Digiday. Tentatively called “Facebook match,” the new project will fund collaborations between publishers and video creators. The videos are to feature a range of celebrities and influencers including singer Keke Palmer and actress Angela Kinsley. While Facebook says it intends to spend up to $200,000 per show, the company will not own the videos that result from the venture. Rather, it will license the programming for a specified period of time, after which producers will be permitted to distribute their content on other platforms.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
