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Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group is unloading Spin and Stereogum, two of its music publications. The two were acquired, along with Vibe, from SpinMedia in 2016. Vibe is remaining part of the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter stable. Spin, which was founded by Bob Guccione, Jr. in 1985, has been sold to Next Management Partners, which bills itself as “a private equity firm solely focused on acquiring and scaling digital publishing and advertising technology businesses and building leadership teams.” Stereogum founder and current editor-in-chief Scott Lapatine is buying back the daily internet publication, and will serve as CEO. Valence Media, owner of the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, let go of seven editorial staffers across Spin, Vibe and Stereogum last September.
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| Glenda Bailey |
Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey is stepping down, Hearst, the magazine’s publisher, announced on Jan. 15. Bailey, who has helmed the publication for almost 20 years, will stay on as global fashion consultant. Her move comes as Hearst president Troy Young continues to emphasize digital know-how when staffing the top position at the company’s publications. Rumored to be on the shortlist to replace Bailey, according to WWD, are Joyann King, currently the executive editorial director at harpersbazaar.com; Stella Bugbee, the editor-in-chief at New York magazine’s fashion vertical The Cut; and Kristina O’Neill, editor-in-chief at WSJ magazine and former Harper’s Bazaar executive editor.
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NBCUniversal unveiled its Peacock streaming service on Jan. 16. The new service will be available for subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex services on April 15 (Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal), and it will launch nationwide on July 15. It includes two ad-supported services, Peacock Free and Peacock Premium, and will offer an ad-free option for an extra $5 per month. Peacock Premium be available to Comcast and Cox subscribers at no extra charge, and will cost $4.99 per month for other customers. Perhaps one of the new service’s biggest draws will be the live sports programming it will offer, kicking off with exclusive coverage of the Tokyo Olympics and also including soccer’s Premiere League and golf’s Ryder Cup. It will also stream NBC’s two late-night chat shows—“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Myers”—three-and-a-half hours before they air on NBC. Also set to be offered as part of the NBC News programming on Peacock is a proposed partnership with Sky News to create an international news network.
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. 
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. 
