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Microsoft is spending $68.7 billion in cash to acquire Activision Blizzard, the game development company behind such high-profile games as “Warcraft,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush.” Microsoft says that after the deal closes, it will be the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue, trailing Tencent and Sony. The company has nearly 10,000 employees, with studios around the world, and has nearly 400 million monthly gaming users. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in his role, reporting to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. With Washington pushing to limit the power of tech giants, the deal may face some headwinds from legislators.
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| Jodie Ginsberg |
The Committee to Protect Journalists appoints Reuters veteran Jodie Ginsberg as president. Ginsberg was most recently CEO at Internews Europe, a nonprofit organization that supports independent media. Before that, she was CEO at Index on Censorship, a UK-based organization that reports on and campaigns against threats to free expression. Ginsberg was at Reuters for over a decade, holding positions that included bureau chief, UK and Ireland. She replaces Joel Simon, who has led CPJ since 2006. “We wanted to find someone who had experience as a journalist and as an advocate,” CPJ chair Kathleen Carroll said in an interview with the New York Times. “You really need granular on-the-ground experience if you are going to be the head of an organization protecting journalists.”
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| Goli Sheikholeslami |
Politico names New York Public Radio president and CEO Goli Sheikholeslami to succeed Patrick Steel, who stepped down last year, as its chief executive. Sheikholeslami will take the company’s reins in February. Politico was purchased for more than $1 billion in 2021 by German publishing company Axel Springer, part of an effort to raise its profile in the American news media. Before arriving at New York Public Radio in 2019, Sheikholeslami was president and CEO of Chicago Public Media, and she has also served as chief product officer at Everyday Health; vice president and general manager, digital at the Washington Post; and a senior vice president and managing director at Condé Nast. Her arrival will “further our vision to build the global news and information leader on politics, policy and regulation in power center across the world,” according to Axel Springer president of news media Jan Bayer.
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.
