Media Insider: 6 Magazines End Print Editions, CNN Staffers Want Answers, Rogan Sticks with Spotify
Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the week.
NEW YORK TIMES | TIFFANY HSU & KATIE ROBERTSON
Entertainment Weekly, InStyle and other magazines owned by Barry Diller’s group will end print editions
Dotdash Meredith announced on Wednesday that six of its magazines would stop publishing their print editions immediately. Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español will be moving online. The switch to digital-only will lead to 200 layoffs. “Naysayers will interpret this as another nail in print’s coffin. They couldn’t be more wrong — print remains core to Dotdash Meredith,” Neil Vogel, the chief executive of Dotdash Meredith, wrote in a memo to staff. Other Dotdash Meredith properties like People and Food & Wine will remain in print.
The digital-only model seems to be working for the Daily Wire. The conservative media outlet is now a $100 million company, according to its CEO.
NPR | DAVID FOLKENFLIK
CNN anchors grill CEO over ouster of ex-news chief Jeff Zucker as sale looms
The fallout from Jeff Zucker’s shocking resignation from CNN continued this week when some of the network’s biggest hosts pressed WarnerMedia Chief Executive Jason Kilar for details. In his memo to staff last week, Zucker acknowledged that he did not disclose a romantic relationship with a senior colleague, as required by corporate policy. But CNN staffers are wondering if the punishment fits the crime and if there is more to the story. OutFront host Erin Burnett compared Zucker’s departure to a death in the family, saying “We’re grieving.” CNN Newsroom host Alisyn Camerota said if what has been reported proves true, “that they can’t have a private relationship feels wrong.” Throughout a series of meetings with Kilar and staffers, Kilar has offered few direct answers.
Discovery is in the process of acquiring CNN and the rest of WarnerMedia, which could lead to a more toned-down network.
PRESS GAZETTE | ANDREW KERSLEY
‘Relaxed’ BBC Three two-minute news bulletins aim to ‘bring back’ TikTok generation
News channel BBC Three, which went digital-only in 2016, relaunched this week and debuted The Catch Up, a nightly two- to four-minute news bulletin. The show uses short-form video that mimicks social media in the hopes of “bringing back” viewers in the 16-24 age range. The Catch Up runs at a different time every night, depending on the channel’s schedule. The small team consists of one producer, one director and one presenter. The show’s launch editor Amanda Goodman says, “We want to create relatable news for young people that doesn’t necessarily sound like the BBC, or the BBC they think exists at present.”
Short-form video may help attract younger audiences, but nearly 80% of journalists say that social media has negatively impacted the journalism industry, according to a new survey from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
INSIDER | KATIE CANALES
Joe Rogan reportedly turns down $100 million offer to move his podcast
During a fan Q&A this week, Joe Rogan said his controversial podcast would remain on Spotify. “No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably. Let’s see what happens,” he said. The response comes after the conservative-leaning video site Rumble offered Rogan $100 million to move his podcast there. The offer matches the reported price tag of the deal Spotify and Rogan signed in 2020. Spotify CEO Daniel Elk has said that although he doesn’t agree with many of Rogan’s comments, he doesn’t believe silencing him is the answer. The site has pulled more than 100 episodes of the show.
Related: The news of Rogan’s decision to stick with Spotify lead to a 15% drop in Rumble SPAC’s stock.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | ALEX WEPRIN
Alfred I. duPont Awards: PBS Leads Pack With Four Wins
This week, Columbia University named the winners of its 2022 Alfred I. duPont Awards, honoring excellence in broadcast and digital journalism. “With the evolving challenges we are all facing, it only serves as a reminder about how important our work as journalists really is to inform the public and hold the powerful accountable,” CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said during the ceremony’s opening remarks. PBS led all honorees with four awards, including a win for Philly D.A., the docu-series about Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner. CBS News, The New York Times and Vice News were also among the winners, as were local stations from Sacramento, Phoenix and Minneapolis.
Read next: Some local newspapers are finding success (and hope) in growing online subscriptions.
