Media Insider: Outlets Expand Gaming Coverage, New Yorker Festival Goes Virtual, The Atlantic Gains 20,000 Subscribers in a Week

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media stories from the week.

CNN BUSINESS | KERRY FLYNN
Bloomberg and The Washington Post are betting big on gaming.

The gaming industry has always been vast and profitable but it’s even more so now that the pandemic has limited entertainment options. Major media outlets, such as The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Wired, are looking to capitalize on this boom by expanding into gaming journalism. Since several niche publications already specialize in gaming commentary and reviews, the big outlets are planning to investigate the business and culture of the gaming industry and focus on stories that speak to a wider audience. Mike Hume, editor of The Washington Post’s new gaming vertical, Launcher, shared his thoughts on creating gaming verticals at The Post: “We have ongoing conversations with a number of gaming sites. It’s been a very accommodating community so far, a lot of people interested in collective success rather than insane competition.”

ICYMI: Here are the 24 news projects selected for the Google News Initiative Startups Lab Boot Camp.

THE NEW YORK TIMES | SARAH BAHR
Virtual New Yorker Festival Will Host Chris Rock and Elizabeth Warren

The New Yorker Festival will be livestreamed from Oct. 5 to 11 and available for on-demand replay. As usual, the virtual event will be packed with appearances from talented and influential figures. Given ongoing protests about racial justice and the upcoming election, this year’s event also will include a political sector. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be interviewed by The New Yorker’s Andrew Marantz. Dr. Anthony Fauci will also speak with Michael Specter, who covers global public health at The New Yorker. Another bonus to this year’s event will be the premiere of Regina King’s directorial debut, “One Night in Miami,” at the Queens Drive-In.

Condé Nast Traveler helps its readers travel again with a new editorial initiative called The New Standard.

PUBLISHERS DAILY | SARA GUAGLIONE
Gannett Names Mayur Gupta As Chief Marketing And Strategy Officer

Gannett has named Mayur Gupta to the newly created position of Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer. Gupta is responsible for driving strategy as Gannett shifts focus to become a subscription-led content business. He will also lead the marketing and growth functions at the company, connecting data, technology, and storytelling to deliver original content through Gannett’s multiple channels. Gupta previously served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Freshly and Global Vice President for Growth and Marketing at Spotify. Michael Reed, chairman and CEO of Gannett, said Gupta’s experience “building content driven subscription models and his ability to execute on a vision and strategy with speed and agility align well with our goals for this role.”

Related: Simone Oliver named the next top editor of the women’s lifestyle site Refinery29.

BARRON’S | AVI SALZMAN
ViacomCBS’s New Deal With iHeart Shows Podcasting’s Promise

iHeartMedia announced it is partnering with ViacomCBS for a reimagined audio reboot of the classic TV program Yo! MTV Raps. The partnership will also result in podcasts from other ViacomCBS brands like Comedy Central, the Smithsonian Channel, CMT, and VH1. Sticking with iHeartMedia’s strategy to avoid the “paywalled” experience in order to gain revenue, the partnership will not be exclusive to one platform; listeners can find the shows on various apps, giving advertisers the widest possible reach. ViacomCBS and iHeartMedia plan to announce more details in the future.

More in podcast news: NPR & Member Stations Turn ‘Consider This’ Into First Localized News Podcast.

CNN BUSINESS | KERRY FLYNN
The Atlantic gained 20,000 subscribers after Trump dismissed it as a ‘dying’ magazine

In response to The Atlantic’s viral article last week, “Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers,'” President Trump went on a Twitter rant calling The Atlantic a “dying” magazine. The Atlantic went on record assuring readers that the company is thriving and added that the article and public rant led to a boost of 20,000 new subscribers. Since introducing a paywall a year ago, The Atlantic has added 325,000 paid subscribers. More than 20,000 of those new subscribers signed up just over the past weekend after The Atlantic published the explosive story about Trump allegedly disparaging Americans who died in war. According to Atlantic Media President Michael Finnegan, the company has greatly surpassed its original goal, which was to add approximately 110,000 in the first two years of the paywall. The Atlantic also attributed the success of its paywall to its digital transformation and coverage of the pandemic becoming a “must-read.”

Continue reading: The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief says his story about Trump calling vets ‘losers’ is just the beginning.

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Erin Wade is a Senior Customer Content Specialist with PR Newswire. She is also an animal lover and aspiring world traveler. Tune into her insights as a social curator at @TotalCSR.