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The Washington Post‘s latest step in creating a “refined product vision” for its publishing technology unit Arc XP includes shedding 54 employees. The axing of the staffers, who are not members of the Post’s union, follows the layoffs of seven Arc XP employees earlier this year. Set up in 2015 by Post owner Jeff Bezos to provide a customizable set of tools for content and site management, Arc XP had been viewed as a potential profit center for the paper. However, a Wall Street Journal report from 2023 said that it was not profitable, falling behind in meeting its goal of $200 million a year in revenue annually by 2027. Arc XP provides its services, which include content creation, workflow orchestration, asset management and live streaming, tobrands including Reuters, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo and France’s Le Parisien.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a bill mandating that state agencies develop plans to increase their advertising spending in media outlets serving California's diverse populations. AB 1511, authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by the Latino Media Collaborative, requires agencies to annually report on their progress to ensure transparency and accountability. The bill's provisions will remain in effect until July 1, 2028, ensuring that these vital investments continue for the next several years. "California's ethnic and community media are essential to keeping our diverse populations informed through independent journalism," said Latino Media Collaborative president Arturo Carmona. "This law ensures that state advertising investments will go where they are needed most, creating an economic lifeline for these media outlets while also connecting more Californians to critical state programs. “
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| Minhee Cho |
Guardian Media Group appoints Minhee Cho as communications manager for the Guardian US. She reports to Matt Mittenthal, head of communications. Cho joins the Guardian from Fountain House, a national nonprofit supporting people living with serious mental illness, where she was director, media strategy. Before that, she served as media relations manager at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Ethel Kennedy's social justice organization, and director of public relations for ProPublica, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.
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.
