 |
Twitter has released the details of the political ad ban that was announced by CEO Jack Dorsey on Oct. 30. The ban will apply to campaigns, government officials, political action committees and 501(c)(4) groups (what the IRS refers to as “social welfare organizations”). It prohibits content that makes reference to “a candidate, political party, elected or appointed official, election, referendum, ballot measure, legislation, regulation, directive or judicial outcome,” according to a post on twitter.com. What’s not prohibited: issue-based ads that address such topics as “economic stewardship” or “economic growth”—as long the ad is placed by someone, not in one of the prohibited categories. For-profit companies will be allowed to run issue ads as long as those ads do not call for specific political outcomes. News publishers can be exempted from the ban if they meet a set of criteria that includes having a minimum of 200,000 unique monthly visitors and not being dedicated to advocating on a single issue.
 |
Sports Illustrated is going monthly, the second time the publication has cut its print frequency in the past two years. SI went from publishing weekly to publishing every other week in January 2018. “We’re refining the exact schedule,” co-editor Steve Cannella told the New York Post, “but it will be essentially a monthly with four season-preview issues and the SI Swimsuit for a total of 17 issues.” The publication will continue to put out issues of SI Kids and SI Presents, as well as print editions tied to such events as the Super Bowl and World Series. Cannella said there will be no staff cutbacks as part of the change. Meredith sold SI to Authentic Brands Group in May for $110 million. ABG subsequently handed over SI’s media operations to Seattle-based tech and digital publisher Maven.
 |
McClatchy, which owns such newspapers as the Miami Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Charlotte Observer, is going to stop printing Saturday editions of all its papers by the end of 2020. Editorial content will still be produced for Saturday, but it will only run online. The policy has already taken place at four of the chain’s newspapers. McClatchy reported a net loss of $304.7 million for the third quarter. It is also in talks with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the U.S. government’s pension insurer, with the goal of having the PBGC assume control of its pension fund assets and its obligations. As of March, the fund was underfunded by $535 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company says that the $124 million contribution it is required to make to its pension fund next year would create “a significant liquidity challenge.”
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.
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. 
