EIC moves at Time and in Atlanta, Messenger acquires Grid: TBN Ticker for March 31

This week’s ticker covers changes in top positions at prominent media outlets. We also recap a key business deal in the news startup space and bring you a roundup of the media moves and news that rounded out March in fine style.

Journal-Constitution makes a top editorial promotion…The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has appointed Leroy Chapman Jr. editor in chief. Recently, serving as managing editor, Chapman has been with the Journal-Constitution since 2011. In his new role, Chapman replaces Kevin Riley, who has announced his retirement. Stepping into his new role will make Chapman the first Black top editor in the newspaper’s 155-year history. “The AJC should stand on the side of what is right,” Chapman said, “and that’s how history is going to judge us.” Chapman has shepherded coverage of a number of high-profile stories, including efforts to undermine Georgia’s 2020 election results.

Meet Time’s new interim EIC… Time has named Sam Jacobs its interim editor in chief as Edward Felsenthal steps down. Felsenthal will remain at Time in his current capacity as executive chairman and will become a contributing editor. During a decade at Time, Jacobs has worked with Edward and senior leadership on driving the strategic direction of the editorial team and leading journalism across all platforms. Felsenthal has led Time’s global expansion over the last ten years and has pushed the company into new editorial verticals including business, health and climate. Read more here.  

Digital news startup The Messenger acquires Grid…Jimmy Finkelstein, former owner of The Hill, his new venture The Messenger has bought Grid. The acquisition takes place just before Messenger’s launch in May. Finkelstein said, “Grid has built a successful and impressive news brand that reaches an influential audience and we are thrilled to be associated with their brand and talented team. Merging Grid’s brand and exceptional editorial and business teams into The Messenger will significantly strengthen our position when we launch in May.” He added, “Although we will always be looking at news sites to acquire, there are very few brands that are of this high quality.” Read more here.

Talking with Reuters’ Young… Talking Biz News columnist Dawn Wotapka interviewed Reuters’ Lauren Young about how she got into journalism, the mentors who helped her along the way and her “career blip.” When asked about how she works to increase revenue – a thing journalist’s usually don’t do – Young said, “My official title is Digital Special Projects Editor, which is one of those kitchen-sink roles that includes a lot of different things. A key part of my job straddles the editorial and business sides of Reuters where I help create sponsorship opportunities around editorial coverage on the Reuters.com website. For example, I helped our business team develop a set of Editorial Franchises, including the World at Work and The Future of Money.” Read the full interview on Talking Biz News.

…and another Reuters star talks… Leika Kihara of Reuters talks about covering the Bank of Japan and the Japanese economy. When asked how she developed such a rich coverage file, Kihara replied, “It is about making use of the day-to-day reporting. Covering economic news differs from covering something like war or a big natural disaster in that many events are timed and pre-scheduled. This means that you need to be prepared to understand where the news lies. … When you look at my file, you would think that my day is predominantly meeting my BOJ sources and writing stories about the BOJ, but that is only part of what I do,” she added. “A big chunk of my time is spent managing my team and brainstorming story ideas with them and the broader bureau. This is good because it gives me a broader perspective.” You can read more here.

Axios expands congressional coverage… Axios is set to launch a new daily newsletter centered on Congress, called Axios Hill Leaders. The newsletter will debut April 17. It will be sent out while Congress will be in session and offer “readers an insider’s guide to the most powerful people shaping Capitol Hill with exclusive reporting illuminating the process and personalities behind policy,” reports Axios. Juliegrace Brufke will join as a congressional reporter and co-author Axios Hill Leaders with Axios senior politics reporter Eugene Scott. More details can be read here.

Politico bolsters its politics coverage… As part of its plans for the 2024 election cycle, Politico has added one journalist to its White House team and two to its politics team. David Siders is moving from national political correspondent to politics editor. David has been with Politico since 2016, starting with California Playbook. Sally Goldenberg is moving from New York’s City Hall bureau chief to a role as politics reporter, focused on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the 2024 primary season. She joined in 2013, covering everything from city hall to real estate. Jen Haberkorn is joining from the Los Angeles Times as part of the White House team. Previously, she spent eight years at Politico covering health policy since before the launch of Politico Pro.

Hearst makes an exec promotion…Rachel Kay has been appointed senior vice president and chief people officer at Hearst. In her new role, Kay will be Hearst’s most senior human resources executive, leading companywide strategy, programs and human capital management support. Recently, she served as the vice president of talent for Hearst, a role in which she developed and led strategic initiatives. Prior to Hearst, Kay spent 15 years at McKinsey & Company. Commenting on her new role, Kay said, “Leading Hearst human resources is an exciting role at this time of growth and change across our diverse businesses, and I look forward to building upon the many distinctive strengths of our company in promoting it as a top workplace.”

Bloomberg is not far behind… Bloomberg has appointed Alan Goldstein executive editor of Global Weekends, reporting to senior executive editor Matthew G. Miller. Goldstein has been with Bloomberg since March 2007, recently serving as a senior editor on Bloomberg Today. He also spent over 12 years at The Dallas Morning News and has worked at The Tampa Bay Times and the Los Angeles Times. Goldstein has a M.S. in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Financial follies in May, Big Apple style… The New York Financial Writers’ Association’s 80th Financial Follies will take place May 19. The money raised will be used to fund scholarships for the next generation of financial journalists, media awards and educational and networking events for active business journalists and public relations professionals. Tables and individual seats are on sale now on the NYFWA’s website. More information about this year’s event can be found at nyfwa.org/follies.

Cincy Biz Courier appoints new editor… The Cincinnati Business Courier has named Tom Demeropolis its editor. Recently, Demeropolis served as managing editor.  Demeropolis began working at the Business Courier in 2010. In 2013, he mainly covered commercial and residential real estate industries. Previously, he was a reporter at the Dayton Business Journal. Demeropolis is a University of Cincinnati graduate and has a master’s in journalism from Ball State University. Jamie Smith, market president and publisher of theBusiness Courier, praised Demeropolis’ skills as both a reporter and editor “as well as his deep relationships within the community.”

Williams takes on advisory role at Axios… Ted Williams, general manager for Axios Local, is leaving his full-time role to take on an advisory role at Axios. His tweet reads, “I’m leaving my full-time role at Axios next week and I’ll become an advisor to the company through the end of this year. The last 10 years in local media have been an amazing ride and I’m excited to watch Axios Local’s growth over the next decade.” Williams was the founder and CEO of Charlotte Agenda, a local news media company acquired by Axios and rebranded as Axios Charlotte. A graduate of Washington and Lee University, Williams also worked at The Charlotte Observer.

WaPo’s tech restructuring… As part of an editorial restructure on the business desk, the Washington Post has made some changes to its technology team. Christina Passariello will become deputy business editor for technology and personal finance and will continue to oversee the technology team, helping to set strategy, guide coverage and advance our most ambitious projects. Laura Stevens will become technology industry editor, driving news coverage across the tech team, which encompasses nearly half the Business staff and has outposts in Washington, New York, Florida and Texas. Yun-Hee Kim, personal technology editor and the founding editor of Help Desk, will continue to oversee personal tech coverage. Lisa Bonos will continue to provide editing support on a range of stories, from breaking news to features. Mark Seibel, tech policy editor, will remain focused on the intersection between tech companies and government regulation, privacy and surveillance, digital threats and election security. Finally,Alexis Sobel Fitts will become tech enterprise editor, leading coverage of artificial intelligence and coordinate reporters across the staff.

Magazine exec departs mainstream journalism… John Simons, executive editor at Time magazine is joining communications firm Brunswick Group next week. “What excites me most about Brunswick is the broad range of advice it delivers to its clients,” said Simons in an email to Talking Biz News. “After 30 years as a business journalist, I feel like a lifelong sportscaster who gets to move out of the press box and onto the sidelines, where I can see the game from a different point of view and perhaps have more direct influence on how it’s played.” Previously, he has worked at The Wall Street Journal, at The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and U.S. News & World Report.

Departing for a Massachusetts startup… Sam Mintz will join Brookline.News, a soon-to-launch nonprofit news startup covering Brookline, Mass., as founding editor. Recently, Mintz was a New England correspondent at RTO Insider, where he covered the electric grid and climate policy. He has also worked at the Boston Business Journal and E&E News. Mintz graduated from Brandeis University in Massachusetts. You can connect with him on Twitter.

CNN’s Cooper to helm new Sunday news magazine… Variety reports, “Anderson Cooper, a regular correspondent at “60 Minutes,” will now lead CNN’s attempt to mount a Sunday-evening challenger. Cooper will lead a new Sunday newsmagazine, “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” that will present one-hour deep dives into specific topics, interviews, profiles and investigations. The show will debut Sun. April 16 at 8 p.m.and in many ways attempts to build off of a series hosted by Lisa Ling or W. Kamau Bell that took viewers to a specific part of the country or inside a particular topic over the course of an hour.” You can read the details here.

Veteran Democrat-Gazette journalist departs after 16 years… Frankie Frisco, an assistant sports editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, will leave after 16 years. Frisco said, “I didn’t retire; I just got out of the business. I’m out of journalism.” Previously, Frisco has held the posts of sports operation editor, news editor, sports manager and designer. He also served as director of sports information for Arkansas Aeros-American Basketball Association. Previously, Frisco has held the posts of sports operation editor, news editor, sports manager and designer. He also served as director of sports information for Arkansas Aeros-American Basketball Association and The Herald-Leader newspaper in Siloam Springs.

Variety journalist Dore retires… Shalini Dore, a news features editor at Variety overseeing production in the features department, is retiring. She joined Variety in 1998. As a news features editor, Dore oversaw production in the features department. She also served as an internship coordinator for Variety’s editorial needs. Previously, she worked at various daily newspapers, including the Torrance Daily Breeze in California and the Los Angeles Daily News. Dore has a bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University and a master’s degree from Northwestern University.

Mariam Ahmed is Talking Biz News’ content correspondent. For tips on the Friday TBN Ticker, email her at mariam@talkingbiznews.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.