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AT&T is spinning off its DirecTV business, following the sale of a 30 percent stake in the unit to private equity firm TPG. TPG is paying $1.8 billion for its stake in DirecTV, which the deal values at $16.25 billion. AT&T paid $49 billion when it purchased the unit in 2015. After the transaction, the U.S. services of both DirecTV and AT&T TV will form an entity jointly run by AT&T and TPG. AT&T says that almost all current employees will be unaffected. AT&T executive Bill Morrow will be CEO of the new unit, in addition to serving on its board along with two representatives from each of the owners. AT&T finance chief John Stephens told the Wall Street Journal that “the disruption in pay TV” (i.e. massive cord-cutting) led DirecTV’s performance to fall far short of original projections. One benefit for AT&T: spinning off the unit means that losses from the company’s video operations will no longer be included in its consolidated financial reports.
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Twitter is launching what it calls a “super follow” feature later this year. The feature will allow Twitter account holders to charge for exclusive additional content not seen on their regular feeds. The company says that the extra content can include subscriber-only newsletters, videos, deals and discounts. Users would pay a monthly subscription fee to access the extra content. In a statement, Twitter said that such funding opportunities as the super follow feature “will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audience and will incentivize them to continue creating content that their audience loves.” The company did not detail what percentage of the revenue it would share with those who sign up paying subscribers.
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| Cameron Barr |
The Washington Post names Cameron Barr, one of its four managing editors, to be acting executive editor following Marty Baron’s Feb. 28 exit. Barr, managing editor in charge of news and features, is thought to be a leading candidate for the top job. Before joining the Post in 2004, he served as Tokyo bureau chief and Middle East correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. He has also worked at the American Lawyer magazine and NBC News. Publisher Fred Ryan said that “the search for the next Executive Editor is actively underway with a broad and diverse group of exceptional journalists.”
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.
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. 
