Talking Heds
LA Times Lops Subs (SCOOP): Last week, The Los Angeles Times laid off what remained of its consumer marketing team, eliminating seven roles after cutting at least as many this time last year, sources tell On Background. The news organization now has no one leading customer acquisition or lifecycle marketing for its subscriptions product, which, as I reported last year, had sunk to around 260,000 subscribers. Now, that number is even lower, closer to 225,000, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move is another myopic decision from the outlet, which is working to raise funds ahead of its ill-advised IPO, slated for the back half of the year. To that end, the paper has broadcast an exclusive opportunity for LA Times subscribers to buy shares of the company for $5,000 a pop, but, perhaps unsurprisingly, fewer than 100 investors have bought in.
Brooklyn Publisher Shuttered (SCOOP): Last May, the billionaire owners behind the Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Liberty launched a new media brand, called Type.Set Brooklyn, as part of a broader effort to “build the Brooklyn brand.” Now, Type.Set Brooklyn appears to have shuttered, having not published content on any of its channels since January. A spokesperson for the parent company, BSE Global, said that the company is focusing on Brooklyn Magazine, which it acquired in November 2024. The closure reflects the difficulty of standing up new media brands even when backed with the finances of an Alibaba cofounder.
CBS News’ Premature Annunciation (SCOOP): CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss announced in a memo Wednesday that Shayndi Raice would be joining the network as its new foreign editor, according to a copy of the email obtained by On Background. The news confirms earlier reporting, which pegged Raice as next in line for the role. The only problem? The current foreign editor, Claire Day, still has the role until her official departure on May 1. While not historically a stickler for decorum, Weiss’ decision to name Raice to the role before Day has left the building struck some staffers as the latest in a series of missteps.
Teenagers Embrace Spotify As YouTube Workaround (SCOOP): As YouTube works to eat the podcasting business, Spotify has responded by aggressively pushing into video. But in an unintended consequence of that push, children are now flocking to Spotify video as a workaround to avoid the limitations of Screentime, a setting parents can use to limit their kids’ access to certain sites, like YouTube. As a result, a quick scroll through the comments section of several Minecraft videos reveals a hive of prepubescent activity, all reveling in their cunning. “We got youtube on Spotify before gta 6,” reads one comment. Parents, naturally, are not happy, but I imagine Spotify is: If it can get gamers to migrate, a new theater in the video turf wars could be opening.
Pulled Quotes
“They also had another question: Having been there, did I think it was staged?”
Semafor’s Max Tani, on the skepticism about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
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