Looking for a great way to end the week and stay up to date? TBN content correspond Mariam Ahmed brings you the best of media news and moves with a weekly Friday roundup that recaps what you may have missed, with updates and fresh insights.
A News Corp. double scoop … News Corp. enjoyed a profitable chunk from its digital side with Dow Jones reporting 83 percent of subscriptions as digital-only at the end of Q1 and The Wall Street Journal’s subscriptions increasing by more than 350,000 year-over-year. News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson said, “With its panoply of premium products, Dow Jones has renewed focus on bundling our premium content, including the Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, and Barron’s. These valuable combinations have already exceeded 200,000 subscriptions and we have begun to roll out a bundle featuring WSJ, Barron’s and IBD.”
And a News Corp. profit melt … Although News Corp. reported an increase on its digital side, its Q1 revenue and profit fell short of Wall Street estimates. The company’s shares fell by 2.5 percent and total revenue decreased 1 percent to $2.48 billion. Additionally, net income plummeted 75 percent to $66 million. Chief financial officer Susan Lee Panuccio said, “Turning to the upcoming quarter, we continue to expect higher costs due to supply chain and inflationary pressures. Advertising conditions and mix and visibility remains limited across the businesses.”
An investigative hire…The Associated Press has hired Del Quentin Wilber as Washington investigations editor. Wilber was a White House editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he also served on the enterprise and investigations team, focused on criminal justice.
Another strike in the making?…The New York Times Union staff members may schedule a walkout if their long-delayed contract is not signed by the end of the year. The NewsGuild has demanded a 6 percent increase over the span of the contract. Read the full details here.
Tech in demand…Freelancer Thomas Maxwell has joined Business Insider as a reporter to cover big technology. Maxwell begins in January. A graduate of Berkeley City College, his work appeared in PBS NewsHour and he was a technology reporter for Bustle Digital’s Input.
Celebration of a century…Popular financial services podcast Bankadelic marked its 100th episode this week with a show that celebrates its niche in fintech coverage. The banking podcast was started by editor and publisher of Talking Biz News Lou Carlozo at the onset of the pandemic. “I never thought I’d make it to 10 episodes, let alone 100,” Carlozo said. “It’s a super milestone for us. It will mean even more if we can keep making a difference in the industry, to help folks in financial services and fintech laugh, think and act for the greater good.”
A biz reporter’s job… Axios Raleigh reporter Zachery Eanes talked about his job with UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor Andy Bechtel. “I view my job as launching a new media product in the Triangle and getting it to a sustainable place. On a daily basis that means reporting on a variety of news,” Eanes said. “A standard day involves multiple conversations with sources, my partner Lucille as well as my editor Jen Ashley and Axios Southern Bureau Chief Michael Graff. My office is currently at home, but I try to leave it to work from different parts of the Triangle as much as possible, often to meet with sources or to do reporting. Some days begin really early — around 5:45 a.m. — if I am the reporter who will be going through final edits with our copy editor in the morning. Lucille and I usually rotate that task.”
Back in the wall…Insider’s plan to move some of its reporters outside the paywall have “hit a wall.” Insider editor in chief Matthew Turner wrote, “We’ve now been advised that there should be no stories in front of the paywall from [subscription] writers as a result of the proposed changes from now on. If you need language to share, it would be, ‘We are still bargaining with the union over this and cannot make any changes at this time.’’
A new EIC for WSJ?… Maxwell Tani of Semafor reports that Emma Tucker, editor of The Sunday Times is expected to replace Matt Murray in the top editorial post at The Wall Street Journal. Tani reports, “A seasoned editor with stints at the Financial Times and the Sunday Times, Tucker has been on the shortlist for the job in the past. Murray declined to comment on the plans in a brief telephone conversation and Tucker didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. A spokesperson for Journal parent Dow Jones declined to comment.”
A political promotion…Politico has appointed Sam Stein managing editor for Politics. Stein will lead the 2024 election strategy across the newsroom and will be responsible for coordinating election coverage among other tasks. Previously, Stein worked at The Hill, The Huffington Post and MSNBC.
Tech’s shutter down…Technology news website Protocol will shutter later this week after operating for more than two years with dozens of workers losing their jobs. President Bennett Richardson and executive editor Jamie Condliffe write, “All of our newsletters, apart from our flagship, Source Code, will no longer be sent. Source Code will be published and sent for the next few weeks, but it will also close down in December. Building this publication has not been easy; as with any small startup organization, it has often been chaotic. But it has also been hugely fulfilling for those involved. We could not be prouder of, or more grateful to, the team we have assembled here over the last three years to build the publication. We also thank you, our readers, for subscribing to our newsletters and reading our stories. We hope you have enjoyed our work.”
Dive into the world of finance…Ed Moisson, associate editor for Ignites Europe at the Financial Times, has written a book about the fund management industry called, “The Economics of Fund Management.” “Most books on the industry focus on how fund managers invest or tips that others can glean for investing. But I wanted to write about all the other aspects of a fund management business – sales and marketing, revenues and profitability, scandals and corporate culture, as well as purpose and sustainability,” Moisson said.
Another tech-friendly update…The Washington Post is launching a technology newsletter called “Tech Friend,” led by Shira Ovide. Ovide writes, “Maybe you smiled or groaned at that name. Yes, great! Know that I am your tech friend at The Post. Twice a week, I promise that you’ll leave your inbox with at least one tangible thing you can do to take command of technology to nudge your life in a more positive direction. I am also your conscience to prod technology companies and bosses to do better for you.”
No more embedded tweets…Technology news site Techdirt plans to discontinue embedding Tweets in stories due to the uncertain future of Twitter. “I’m disappointed that we need to do this, as embedding is a nice feature, and a core part of how the internet should work. And while I’m not expecting Twitter to just disappear overnight (or, really, disappear at all), the odds of it happening have jumped up to a degree that we need to plan ahead, and this is how we’ll be doing it going forward,” Mike Masnick wrote.
Dow Jones Newswires celebrates 125th birthday…Dow Jones Newswires has turned 125. Dow Jones & Co. CEO and Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour wrote to staff, “Today, our Newswires business plays a pivotal role in the Dow Jones ecosystem. Millions of investors around the globe rely on our trusted, real-time news and information to make critical business decisions. With our rich heritage and innovative teams across the globe, we are poised to write our next great chapter as an indispensable source of news and insights to the professional community.”
SABEW opens entries on Dec. 1… The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s Best in Business Awards will open for entries on Thursday, Dec. 1. Non-member students who submit an entry will receive a free one-year student membership (a $25 savings). Please contact Tess McLaughlin, tmclaughlin@sabew.org, with any contest or membership questions.
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.
