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| Megyn Kelly |
Former Fox News and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly has launched Devil May Care Media, a self-funded venture which will produce content including podcasts and other shows discussing news, current events, legal and cultural issues. Its first production is “The Megyn Kelly Show,” a podcast debuting at the end of September. A release from the company says that the company is intended to give Kelly “a new platform for connecting directly with her audience without the constraints or political agendas of other media outlets.” Kelly was released from her NBC News contract in 2019, receiving a payout that was estimated at between $25 and $30 million. She came to NBC in 2017 from Fox, where she had been for over a decade.
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Meredith Corp. is proposing a change to its charter that could pave the way for the company to split up its magazine holdings and TV stations into two separate businesses, according to a report in the Des Moines Register. Meredith’s board of directors has already approved the charter amendment, which will be voted on by investors at a Nov. 11 meeting. The company says that while a breakup of the divisions is not necessarily in the cards, it wants to ensure a “tax-efficient separation” in the event that it does take place. Meredith acquired Time Inc. in 2017, and it currently owns publications including People, Real Simple and Better Homes and Gardens. Its TV division includes 17 stations in such cities as Atlanta, Phoenix, and Portland, OR.
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| Asad Syrkett |
Hearst Magazines has named Asad Syrkett editor in chief of Elle Decor, effective Sept. 14. He succeeds Whitney Robinson, who stepped down in April. Syrkett comes to the magazine from Hem Design Studio, where he served as business development lead. Before that, he was deputy editor at real estate and urban design web site Curbed and has held editorial positions at Architectural Digest and Architectural Record. Former Hearst Magazines president Troy Young resigned in July after employees spoke out about what they called a racist and sexist work environment at the company.
WNET, the nation’s largest public media company, names Edward O’Keefe its next president and CEO, effective September 21. O’Keefe succeeds Neal Shapiro, who becomes president emeritus and will retire at the end of the year... The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, which would empower news publishers and other content providers to defend themselves by mandating transparency for all bots crawling their sites, in introduced in the House by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC)... Google gets socked by European Union regulators with a $1 billion fine for using the platform’s dominance as a search engine to illegally undercut competition.
Boston Globe Media acquires InstaTrac, a company that provides subscription-based services aimed at making government information easier to find, track, and understand... AARP names former New Republic CEO and publisher Michael Caruso as its SVP and chief content officer, unifying the organization's portfolio of media, live events and digital platforms... The Fund for American Studies, an educational nonprofit, awards its inaugural Journalism Excellence Fellowships.
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.
