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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.”
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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.
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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.
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.
