 |
The entire editorial staff of Men’s Journal is getting the ax, according to a report in the New York Post. American Media, which has owned the publication since 2017, will be merging its editorial operations with those of the Carlsbad, CA-based Adventure Sports Network, which it acquired last year. The magazine will cut its frequency from 10 issues a year to six, and will drop its circulation from 1.25 million to 1 million. The Men’s Journal ad staff will remain in New York. An American Media spokesman told the Post that the move “ensures the continued growth and success for Men’s Journal.”
 |
Fox Corp. is looking into acquiring advertiser-supported streaming service Tubi, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal report says that Tubi, which claimed to have 25 million monthly active users in December, could fetch a price of more than $500 million. Fox would be the latest media company to get into the ad-supported streaming game. Before merging with CBS, Viacom picked up Pluto TV, while Comcast is said to be negotiations to buy Xumo. NBC’s Peacock streaming service also includes an ad-supported option. The ad-supported services are seen as a way for these media companies to both broaden their reach and hopefully provide an additional ad revenue stream.
 |
The California Times, the company that owns both the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, announced on Feb. 19 that it is offering voluntary buyout packages to employees who have worked at the company for last two years. Staffers were told that the company is not planning for any layoffs, according to a report on CNN Business. “We need to move swiftly to make our product more digital, more nimble, and more attractive to loyal and new audiences,” a company internal memo said. “Buyouts will help us accelerate that process.” Biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong assumed control of the papers in June 2018 from Tribune Publishing (then known as tronc). Times employees voted to form a union in January 2018 and ratified their first contract in October.
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. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
