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| Kevin Delaney |
Quartz editor-in-chief and co-CEO Kevin Delaney, one of the business news platform’s founders, is stepping down. His departure is part of an overall realignment of Quartz’s executive team. Co-CEO Jay Lauf will now serve as chairman of Quartz, while Zach Seward moves from chief product officer and executive to the CEO position. Chief commercial officer Katie Weber will be president. Quartz, founded in 2012 by Atlantic Media, was purchased last year by Japanese company Uzabase for between $75 million and $100 million, according to the New York Times. While Quartz says that it averages about 20 million unique views per month, that has not yet resulted in profits. The Times says that financial filings indicate that the platform has lost $16 million on nearly $12 million in revenue in the first six months of 2019. Delaney will remain at the company through the end of the month and subsequently become an adviser to the company. A replacement as editor-in-chief has yet to be named.
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Thomson Reuters is moving into the events sector with its acquisition of FC Business Intelligence. The London-based company will rebrand as Reuters Events and operate as part of the Reuters news division. FCBI, founded in 1990, is a global producer of exhibitions and conferences in such sectors as pharmaceuticals, energy, transport, insurance and technology. It has worked with such clients as MasterCard, Pfizer, Best Buy and Target. According to Reuters president Michael Friedenberg, FCBI has 130 employees and is growing at a rate above the industry average. He indicated that Reuters is open to other acquisitions in the events business, as well as pursuing organic growth by expanding into additional sectors.
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When Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, makes its debut on Nov. 12, that debut may not include Amazon’s Fire TV streaming device. According to the Wall Street Journal, a battle over ads is a major reason why Amazon has yet to sign a deal to carry the new service. Amazon wants the right to sell what the Journal calls a “substantial percentage” of the ad space for the Disney apps that run on the platform. While Disney+ will not carry advertising, several of the other Disney apps currently available via the Amazon Fire TV device (including those for ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel) do, and that could lead to a decision to ban all of the company’s apps from the device. Apple’s new entry, Apple TV+, which is set for a Nov. 1 release, hasn’t firmed up a deal to appear on Amazon’s device, either. According to Apple, Apple TV+ will appear on Amazon Fire TV, LG, Roku, Sony and VIZIO platforms “in the future.”
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.
