Top News:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The Guardian posts £800K profit for FY 2018-2019, its first since 1998, with 655K monthly supporters and £223M in revenue, of which 55% comes from digital — Record online traffic and financial contributions from readers play key part in putting GNM on sustainable path
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Recode officially joins Vox, which purchased it in 2015, with Samantha Oltman, formerly of BuzzFeed News, as editor in chief — A letter from the editors-at-large. — Over the past year, the two of us switched coasts. Kara took up part-time residence in Washington, DC. Ezra moved to Oakland, California.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Vox, @clockwerks, @michellemanafy, @media_evan, @ow, @voxmediainc and @katienotopoulos
Sara Jerde / Adweek:
Medium has hired four editors in chief to launch new publications focused on power, black women, personal development, and business — The site hired 4 new editors in chief to lead those new verticals — Medium is expanding the scope of its editorial efforts with the hiring of four …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News and @willoremus
Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:
Vice to consolidate its 12+ digital brands under Vice.com with some, like Broadly, folded into the site and others, like Motherboard, with dedicated verticals — It's also rolling out its own audience measurement and new blacklist policy — As part of a larger redesign and streamlining …
Discussion:
Variety, @megancarpentier, @kelseymsutton, @readdanwrite, @kelseymsutton, @derektmead and @djrbtr
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Indian media group Times Internet reports 450M+ monthly users across its ~36 news, video, and music properties, says its biggest challenge is increasing revenue — Media group now claims 450M users across services including news, video and music — The aggressive push by Silicon Valley companies …
Discussion:
Times Internet and exchange4media, more at Techmeme »
Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed News:
Source: Sophie Schmidt, Eric Schmidt's daughter, plans a nonprofit site about tech effects on the non-Western world and has hired media strategist Amy O'Leary — Sophie Schmidt, a tech industry veteran and the daughter of Eric Schmidt, the former Google and Alphabet executive chair …
Discussion:
CNET, @bernstein and Search Engine Land
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Sources: Quibi execs are seeking upfront ad commitments, prioritizing larger deals, and are planning a $5 ad-supported subscription and an $8 ad-free tier — Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi is spending big bucks on original content as the company hopes to build the next big thing in mobile streaming video.
Discussion:
Business Insider, @reckless, Adweek and TechCrunch
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Hulu says it has 26.8M paying subscribers in the US, up from 23M at the end of 2018, not including the 1.3M users signed up through promotions like free trials — Of those members, 1.3 million people are signed up for Hulu through promotions like free trials.
Discussion:
Deadline, MediaPost, TechCrunch, Variety, CNBC, Observer, Forbes, Reuters, Engadget, @xpangler, @natjarv, Exstreamist and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »
Tony Wan / EdSurge:
McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage plan to merge, creating a textbook publisher with an estimated value of $5B, second biggest in US behind Pearson at $8.5B — Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education plan to join forces in an all-stock merger. The news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Cincinnati Business Journal and @ericstoller
Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:
In a letter to creators, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says YouTube wants to have half of the videos in its trending tab come from YouTube creators — YouTube wants to have half of the featured videos in its trending tab come from streams originating on the company's own site going forward …
Discussion:
Adweek, Variety, YouTube Creator Blog, TorrentFreak and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Amy Pascal's production company, Pascal Pictures, signs a first-look deal with Universal Pictures, ending her three-decade association with Sony Pictures — EXCLUSIVE: Ending a three decade run at Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal is moving her Pascal Pictures into a first look deal with Universal Pictures.
Discussion:
The Wrap and @gracerandolph
Max Willens / Digiday:
Slate's 30 podcasts had 180M listens in 2018, a 78% increase YoY; Slate's president says audio could represent “nearly half” of the company's revenue in 2019 — Last year, Slate bet big on audio as a way to drive advertising and membership revenue.
Carl O'Donnell / Reuters:
Sources: Meredith is exploring a sale of its 17 local TV stations and has received interest from Apollo Global Management; deal could value the stations at $2B+ — (Reuters) - Meredith Corp, best known for its lifestyle magazines such as “Better Homes and Gardens”, is preparing to explore …
Discussion:
@jyarow