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| Shepard Smith |
Shepard Smith, who exited Fox News last October, has moved to CNBC, where he will host “The News with Shepard Smith,” a one-hour program running weekdays at 7 p.m. Smith will also serve as CNBC’s chief general news anchor. He had become an increasingly vocal critic of president Trump while at Fox and had criticized fellow Fox host Tucker Carlson. Smith had been with Fox News since it started up in 1996, and served as managing editor of its breaking news division in addition to anchoring “Shepard Smith Reporting,” “The Fox Report” and “Studio B.”
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| Michael Pace |
Voice of America CEO Michael Pack has indicated that VOA does not plan to renew the J-1 visas of up to 100 foreign citizens who translate its content into such languages as Swahili or Mandarin, as well as report in those languages, according to reports in the New York Times and on NPR. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which operates VOA, says the move is part of an effort to “determine that hiring authorities and personnel practices are not misused.” Pack assumed his new position in June, following Senate confirmation, and has since fired the heads of several USAGM news organizations. He also dismissed its board of directors. Among the employees who could lose their visas are Chinese, Cambodian and Thai nationals, and there are concerns that they could face retaliatory measures on returning to their home countries. Before coming to the VOA, Pack ran Manifold Productions, a film and television production company. He also produced, wrote and directed Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, which was broadcast on PBS in May.
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Omnicom Media Group is making a big bet on the future of podcasting. According to the Wall Street Journal, OMG is planning to spend $20 million over the second half of 2020 on ads to run in podcasts available on Spotify. Podcast spending still lags far behind that of digital video, with tech site Axios reporting that 2022 ad revenues for podcasts are expected to reach $747 million, versus $127.4 billion for Internet, and $74.9 billion for TV. But it’s podcasting rate of growth that has ad buyers interested, with an expected 102 percent jump from 2018-2022, topping all other media.
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. 
