Time to end the week with TBN’s ticker, which brings you Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah talking about her first month as CEO. Meanwhile, The New York Times newsroom has embraced TikTok to expand its news coverage, while Vox Media landed a $100 million investment. Thomson Reuters Corp. and Dow Jones Co. also revealed their latest earnings.
A day in the life of Texas Trib CEO… Sonal Shah gives us an exciting insight into her first month being appointed CEO of the Texas Tribune. Shah said, “In my short time with the Tribune, I’ve been moved to see the staff’s dedication to our readers, members and supporters, and the power of our journalism to inform and engage the people of Texas. I have already had the pleasure of meeting some of you at our events, and I look forward to meeting even more Tribune readers, members, donors and sponsors through the year as we continue to host conversations on issues that affect everyday Texans.” You can read the full article here.
NY Times newsroom picks TikTok… We’ve seen many notable outlets using TikTok as a means to engage audiences and expand news coverage. Now The New York Times has launched an official news account on TikTok, joining NYT Cooking, Wirecutter and the Hard Fork Podcast. “The new channel will share some of our best journalism through short news updates, culture takes, lifestyle segments and original stories from the field. We plan to experiment with a variety of subjects and formats, including animation and journalists delivering their reporting firsthand,” reports The New York Times.
Vox Media lands $100 million investment… Vox Media has received $100 million from Penske Media. Benjamin Mullin and Katherine Rosman of The New York Times report, “In addition to raising funds, Vox Media has met with other media companies to discuss potential acquisitions or sales of some of its media properties, according to two other people familiar with the matter. Vox Media could use the money to make acquisitions to expand its business, one of the people with knowledge of the deal said, adding that the company doesn’t plan to raise additional money.” You can read more here.
Thompson Reuters rallies… Thomson Reuters Corp. on Thursday reported higher-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter, helped by cost cuts and gains on divestitures. Nick Zieminski and Kenneth Li of Reuters report, “Four of the company’s five business segments showed higher sales and operating profit, but those were lower in the Global Print business. The company completed its two-year Change program to save on costs. After it completes a $2 billion share repurchase program in the second quarter, the company said it planned to return $2 billion in capital to shareholders and possibly conduct a share stock split.” Read the full details here.
… and Dow Jones revenue jumps… Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s and MarketWatch.com, reported an 11 percent increase in revenue for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, but a slight drop in earnings due to higher employee and marketing costs. Revenues in the quarter increased $55 million, or 11 percent, while EBITDA earnings fell 3 percent to $139 million. Digital revenues at Dow Jones in the quarter represented 76 percent of total revenues compared to 72 percent in the prior year. Circulation and subscription revenues increased $61 million, or 17 percent. The complete details can be found here.
How Skift survived the pandemic…Peter Bale of the International News Media Association writes about how travel industry site Skift thrived during the pandemic. “[Rafat] Ali and his co-founder Jason Clampet moved fast, firing more than a third of staff (many of whom had only been hired relatively recently and were part of an ambitious growth programme) and closing physical offices everywhere — offices they’ve decided they’ll never return to,” reports Bale. “It really was touch and go, and Ali acknowledges Skift might not have made it.” The full article can be accessed here.
Business Insider’s Berke debuts cannabis newsletter… Former Business Insider cannabis reporter Jeremy Berke has started a newsletter called Cultivated, which will cover the industry.“While I believe my primary audience will serve those who work in the cannabis industry, I want it to be generally interesting for those that don’t, or just want to learn more about it,” wrote Berke on Cultivated. Around 250 people have subscribed to the newsletter’s first issue.
NAREE opens entries for real estate journalism contest… The National Association of Real Estate Editors has issued a call for entries for NAREE’s 73rd Annual Journalism Competition. NAREE’s journalism competition is for work published or aired in 2022. NAREE’s journalism competition is open to reporters, columnists, writers, editors, and freelancers covering commercial and residential real estate, mortgage finance, sustainable development, and related real estate fields, including home building and design. Winners will be announced at NAREE’s 57th Annual Real Estate Journalism conference. Deadline: Enter on www.naree.org between Feb. 1 and March 1, 2023, 11:59 p.m. EST. Read the full details here.
WSJ makes a YouTube hire… Richa Naik has joined The Wall Street Journal as an executive producer to help establish the editorial and creative vision for the Journal’s YouTube presence and lead a video journalist team. She comes from CNN, where she worked for 10 years in various roles, including associate producer for CNN Business and senior producer for CNN+ and CNN Digital. Naik has a B.A. from New York University.
FT’s key data hire… The Financial Times has hired Amy Borrett as a data journalist to work on economics and financial data. Her tweet reads, “Sad to be leaving @SkyNews and all my amazing colleagues but excited to be back at the pink paper.” Previously, she was a data journalist at both Sky News and the New Statesman. She was also a tech fellow at Business Insider and an interned at the Financial Times. Borrett holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from City University of London.
Semafor names WSJ’s Solomon as global security editor… Jay Solomon, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who was fired for what the paper believed was an unethical business dealing with a source has been hired by Semafor as global security editor. He has been senior director at public relations firm APCO Worldwide for the past five years. Solomon joined the Journal in 1998. During his career as a journalist, Solomon was honored by National Press Club on numerous occasions for his foreign policy and diplomatic reporting. He was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize on three occasions.
An Axios homage to former WSJ reporter… Jim VanderHei of Axios writes about former Wall Street Journal reporter David Rogers. VanderHei wrote, “David redefined for me what it takes to be truly great; uncommon work ethic, diligence and domain expertise. You can read the details of each point here.
Honoring NY Times biz editor Pollock… The New York Financial Writers’ Association will hold a special evening March 8 to honor the 2021 recipient of the Elliott V. Bell Award, Ellen Pollock. The business editor of The New York Times, Pollock is the 46th annual recipient of the award, which honors journalists making a significant contribution to the field of financial journalism. The honor is named for NYFWA’s inaugural president, Elliott V. Bell. The award committee recognized Pollock for her longtime commitment to financial journalism and significant impact on determining the direction of news coverage for some of the biggest stories over the past few decades. Read more here.
Olander joins CW Network for unscripted programming… Heather Olander has joined The CW Network, now controlled by Nexstar Media Group, as head of unscripted programming. “I’m incredibly honored to join Brad and the team at this exciting time of transformation for The CW,” said Olander. “I’m looking forward to developing a fresh slate of non-scripted programming and collaborating with non-scripted producers on new innovative and creative content that can break through and resonate with viewers.” Recently, Olander served as executive VP of alternative development and programming at NBCUniversal for Peacock, USA and Syfy. Read more here.
ONA names Bunting CEO and exec director… The Online News Association has appointed LaSharah S. Bunting as CEO and executive director, making her the first woman of color to hold these posts. She begins March 13. Bunting will join from Simon & Schuster, where she served as VP and executive editor. “It is my privilege to join the incredible team at the Online News Association, whose work inspires innovation and excellence in journalism,” Bunting said. “I have been part of the ONA community for more than a decade, and I have experienced firsthand the inclusive and collaborative spirit of the organization. As journalism continues to evolve, I believe ONA’s mission is more vital than ever. I look forward to partnering with our staff, board of directors, members and supporters to grow the organization and expand our impact across the industry.”
A maybe merger in Scotland… Dailybusinessgroup.co.uk reports that “News UK is proposing to turn The Times Scotland and Sunday Times Scotland into a single seven-day operation in a move that may have implications for jobs. The Times and Sunday Times newsrooms in London currently share certain desks, including travel, property and sport, and have journalists working across both titles. There is speculation that the two editors – Magnus Llewellin at The Times Scotland and Jason Allardyce at the Sunday title will have to compete for the top role in the new set-up.” Read more here.
Remembering fashion journalist Alexander… New Zealand-born British journalist Hilary Alexander passed away on Feb. 5, her 77th birthday. Alexander was the fashion director of the Daily Telegraph for 26 years. She became the honorary president of the Graduate Fashion Foundation in 2019 and was named the British Fashion Awards’ journalist of the year twice, in 1997 and 2003. She was also a fan of he leopard skin print, as evidenced in this photo. Read more at the Business of Fashion.
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.
