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Vice Media is moving forward with a deal to be acquired by a group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group, one of the company’s lenders. A bankruptcy auction that had been set for June 22 was called off. While several bidders competed for the company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, Fortress’s offer was the only one that met the criteria Vice had set for potential buyers, according to a report in the New York Times. Vice co-CEOs Hozefa Lokhandwala and Bruce Dixon wrote in a Thursday memo to staffers that they would forward the bid to bankruptcy court for approval. Fortress recently upped its initial $225 million bid to $350 million—a far cry from the $5.7 billion valuation Vice had in 2017. The Fortress deal beat out an offer from Latino digital media company GoDigital. The Times says that Fortress has already received buyer interest in several of Vice’s business units, the proceeds from which could cover its investment.
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| Zenia Mucha |
TikTok has signed up former Disney chief communications officer Zenia Mucha as chief brand and communications officer. Since leaving Disney last year, Mucha has led communications consultancy company ZM Strategies. She has also worked as a consultant for TikTok. Before coming on board at Disney in 2001, Mucha led communications for New York Governor George Pataki and Sen. Alfonse D’Amato. “Zenia will focus on advancing the strategic vision of our brand and advising key businesses,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in an announcement to employees.
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Meta is responding to a law passed by Canada’s Senate on June 22 by ending the availability of news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The Online News Act requires Meta, along with Google, to enter into agreements with news publishers to pay them for news content appearing on their sites if that content generates revenue for the company. “We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, which was passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” said Lisa Laventure, head of communications for Meta in Canada.
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.
