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The last print edition of ESPN the Magazine will come out in September, according to a report on TheWrap. ESPN said that the decision reflects changing “consumer habits” and that the same content would continue to be available online. The company also says that no immediate layoffs are planned. “The only change here is that we are moving away from printing it on paper and sending it in the mail, following September’s release of The Body Issue,” ESPN’s statement said. “Our data shows the vast majority of readers already consume our print journalism on digital platforms, and this approach will maximize our reach and impact. In the future, we will explore releasing tentpole collections such as Body in special, differentiated print formats.” ESPN the Magazine started up in 1998.
Amazon and Sinclair Broadcast Group may be joining forces to purchase the 21 Fox regional sports networks that Disney is auctioning off. Disney was required to sell off the RSNs as part of its acquisition of numerous Fox assets. The New York Post cites sources who say that the conservative TV station owner is looking for Amazon to provide enough cash to fill in the gap between Sinclair’s $4 billion market cap and the roughly $9 billion deal it is said to be preparing for the networks. Other potential parties to the deal include Major League Baseball, which is said to be considering a stake as a minority equity partner with Sinclair following the abandonment of its own plans to take control of the RSNs.
The Economist Group has announced that Lara Boro will become its new chief executive. She is to take up the position later this year, when current chief executive Chris Stibbs will step down. Boro comes to The Economist Group from Informa, where she is currently CEO, Informa Intelligence. She was previously CEO, International at Top Right Group (formerly EMAP) and has held senior roles at CPA Global, the Financial Times and Mondex International. The Economist Group chairman Lord Paul Deighton said that Boro “has great experience in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business information markets, and is ideally suited to leading the Group through its next phase of development.” In addition to The Economist magazine, the company’s businesses include research and analysis division The Economist Intelligence Unit.
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.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
