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Meredith’s acquisition of Time Inc. is not paying the big dividends hoped for, according to a report on Bloomberg. While the merger made Meredith the biggest magazine publisher in the country, the combined company is not as profitable as had been expected. Meredith stock closed at 33.63 on Sep. 5, down 46 percent from its 52-week high of 62.40. Meredith CEO Tom Harty said on a conference call that ad sales for the former Time Inc. titles that remain under Meredith’s control (People, InStyle and Real Simple) have been sluggish. For the coming year, Harty predicts an increase in the mid single digits for digital ad sales, with print ad sales expected to decline slightly. Following the merger, Meredith unloaded Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. The company is still trying to sell FanSided, the Sports Illustrated blog that remained behind after Meredith’s deal with Authentic Brands for the magazine.
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Editor & Publisher, which narrowly averted closure almost a decade ago when Nielsen was shedding titles, has been purchased by multimedia consulting firm Blinder Group. The magazine’s October issue will be the first under its new management. Nu Yang, who has served as managing editor, will take over the editor-in-chief spot from Jeff Fleming. Fleming is remaining with Duncan Macintosh Co., which acquired E&P in 2010. While Blinder Group founder and president Mike Blinder says he will continue to publish the monthly print magazine, he adds that he will pursue more opportunities that focus on online platforms, podcasting and events. He also told Folio that the editorial scope of the magazine will shift to include “anyone who needs to create news, create an audience around that news, and then monetize that audience.” E&P’s offices will remain in Los Angeles.
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| David Cuillier |
The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida has launched the Journal of Civic Information, an open-access, interdisciplinary journal that publishes peer-reviewed research related to the field of public information accessibility. The online quarterly will publish articles from both scholars and practitioners, addressing such topics as access to public records and meetings, court transparency, access to public employees and elected officials, open data and technology, and other related matters, with an emphasis on issues relevant to the state and local levels of government. The journal’s inaugural editor is David Cuillier, associate professor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism and former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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.
