For the Record

Reuters Institute: Daily News Podcasts Punching Above Weight:

Daily news podcasts "make up less than 1% of all podcasts produced but account for more than 10% of the overall downloads in the United States, according to a new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism," Sarah Scire of NiemanLab reported Friday. The report also found that 37 new podcasts have launched in the genre in the last year, including a variety of "pop-up" coronavirus programs. Overall, under-35s "four times more likely to consume a podcast when compared with over-55s" in the United Kingdom, while the "deep dive" (a format "in which one episode examines a single story in detail" for about 25 minutes) remains the most popular variant.

Ad Council Plans $50 Million COVID Vaccination Campaign:

The nonprofit Ad Council "will start rolling out public service announcements across airwaves, publications and social media" in conjunction with a $50 million COVID-19 vaccination campaign "when vaccines are expected to be approved and made available to the public," Tiffany Hsu of The New York Times reported Monday. "Frankly, this is the biggest public health crisis we’ve ever faced, and we don’t have time to waste," said Lisa Sherman, the marketing group's chief executive. “We're working in advance, so that once those vaccines are proven to be safe and approved by all the right people, we're ready to go.” A poll "conducted last month by Ipsos and the World Economic Forum found that 85% of Chinese adults, 79% of British adults and 76% of Canadian adults planned to be vaccinated, compared to 64% of Americans," Hsu added.

Klein Joins Times Opinion:

Past Pulitzer juror Ezra Klein will join The New York Times' opinion pages as a columnist and podcast host, the newspaper announced Friday. "[W]e're confident that Ezra, in his columns and on his podcast, will be able to help our readers and our listeners navigate the political future as Washington moves into a new era," said Acting Editorial Page Editor Kathleen Kingsbury and Managing Producer Paula Szuchman. "We can't wait for him to get started in January." Klein was a blogger and columnist for The Washington Post and an associate editor at The American Prospect before co-founding Vox in January 2014.

DOJ Investigating Penske Hollywood Reporter Deal:

The Department of Justice "is investigating antitrust concerns surrounding Penske Media's deal to buy The Hollywood Reporter" amid concerns that "it would put three of the four major trade publications that cover Hollywood under a single roof," Alexandra Steigrad and Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported Thursday. The proposed $225 million merger between Penske and Hollywood Reporter parent company MRC also would place music-oriented magazines Billboard and Vibe under Penske's control, adding to a roster that includes Variety, Deadline and Rolling Stone. 

BuzzFeed To Acquire HuffPost:

BuzzFeed "has agreed to acquire Verizon Media’s HuffPost in a stock deal, the companies said Thursday, uniting two of the larger players in digital media as companies across the sector search for ways to jump-start growth," according to Benjamin Mullin and Keach Hagey of The Wall Street Journal. Under a larger deal between BuzzFeed and Verizon Media, the latter company will make an "undisclosed cash investment" in BuzzFeed, while both companies "will syndicate content on each other's platforms and look to jointly explore advertising opportunities." BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti will lead the combined company.

Ringer Celebrity Contributors Foster Staff Dissent:

The hiring of more than 20 external celebrity podcasters (including Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors and former "Bachelorette" star Rachel Lindsay) at sports and pop culture news site The Ringer "has raised concerns among many full-time employees, who say it may close off their opportunities for advancement and weaken the company's union," Noam Scheiber of The New York Times reported Friday. Employees have alleged that founder Bill Simmons "showed signs of trying to marginalize the union dating back to when it was formed last year" and unfollowed four staffers on Twitter after they expressed support for the union. "Throughout 2020, The Ringer has continued to hire new employees, increase the compensation of existing staff, prioritize diversity and invest in our business," a spokesperson said in a statement.

Gustus To Edit Salt Lake Tribune:

Past Pulitzer juror Lauren Gustus will become executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune in December after emerging as the unanimous choice following a national search, the newspaper announced Wednesday. "We have got to pay attention to the signals and to the conversations that are available today if we are going to be relevant for years down the road," said Gustus, who is currently president of The Sacramento Bee and previously served as The Tribune's assistant sports editor from 2004 to 2007. "[T]hat has very little to do with digital or print. It has to do with the quality of the story that we choose to write on the day we have the opportunity." Gustus will report to the newly nonprofit publication's board, which is chaired by owner Paul Huntsman.

Verizon Media Group Pursues 'Aggressive Strategy':

In an interview with Max Willens of Digiday, Verizon Media Group Head of Consumer Revenue Joanna Lambert asserted that the division's "commerce revenues are up more than 250% year-over-year through November" due to the growth of such content brands as In the Know and the cultivation of "direct relationships with some 30 brands and retailers, including Adidas, Best Buy, Banana Republic and QVC." The division's media holdings include Yahoo, HuffPost, TechCrunch and Engadget. "We've been able to be a powerful partner to the retail, grocery and lifestyle categories," said Lambert. "When we looked at this 12 months ago, we were looking at an aggressive strategy to build on the strengths we have."

Globe Owner Becomes CEO:

Co-owner Linda Pizzuti Henry has become chief executive of Boston Globe Media Partners, Katie Robertson of The New York Times reported Thursday. The holding company encompasses The Boston Globe, Boston.com and STAT News. "I feel really lucky to be able to work every day at a place that I love, doing work that I know is critically important and impactful to a community I care deeply about," said Henry, who has served as managing director of the company since she and her husband, investment manager John W. Henry, acquired it in 2013. According to Robertson, the appointment comes "at a time of rising tensions between The Globe’s management and its union, which have been in negotiations over a new contract since the last one expired at the end of 2018."

Outbrain Premieres Newsletter Curation App:

Content recommendation company Outbrain is set to launch Listory, a subsidiary newsletter curation app, Sara Fischer of Axios reported Tuesday. With $4 million in seed funding, the app will feature more than 1,000 newsletters in free and premium iterations. Paywalled newsletters will not be included due to content restrictions. "There's an endless feed of stuff coming out you online," said Listory Active Chairman Yaron Galai. "The idea [of] Listory is [to] take as many signals about what might be interesting and refine until you get to [a] handful of items that are the best use of your time."