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| Mike Bloomberg |
Bloomberg News is suspending its editorial board following Mike Bloomberg’s announcement of his entrance into the 2020 presidential campaign. The site is suspending all unsigned editorials for as long as Bloomberg remains a candidate. David Shipley and Tim O'Brien, executive editors of Bloomberg Opinion, are taking leaves of absence as they join the campaign. “Members of the editorial board will write and edit in other capacities within Bloomberg Opinion,” said Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait. He also said that Bloomberg would "continue our tradition of not investigating Mike (and his family and foundation) and we will extend the same policy to his rivals in the Democratic primaries."
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| Derek Jeter |
The Players’ Tribune, the website which was founded by ex-New York Yankee Derek Jeter and features first-person stories from professional athletes, has been acquired by Minute Media, an Israel-based digital publishing platform. According to a post from Jeter on the site, he will remain involved in its operations, maintaining his seat on its board of directors. “We will continue to operate independently,” he said, “powered by Minute Media’s technology and global scale.” Minute Media is behind such sites as the entertainment-focused 12up.com; esports-centered DBLTAP.com and 90min.com, which covers soccer. It also acquired sports site the Big Lead from Gannett earlier this year and purchased mentalfloss.com last year. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has raised $116 million from such investors as Goldman Sachs and Battery Ventures, though it is not yet profitable.
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Condé Nast is getting rid of the non-recyclable plastic wrapping it uses for magazine subscriptions and newsstands. The move is part of a pledge the company has made as part of its participation in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Condé says it started to remove the plastic wrapping this year and plans to do the same for all its US publications in 2020. The company’s goal is to totally eliminate the use of plastics or to replace it with recycled and bio-based alternatives. Condé Nast has also signed on to the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. According to industry website Packaging Gateway, the company said both of those partnerships are part of an overall drive to push higher standards and systemic change in addressing climate change.
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.
