The Atlantic has a new C.E.O.
Journalists becoming executives is not entirely new or unusual.
Yesterday, Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of Wired, said that he’s moving out of the newsroom and into the corner office as The Atlantic’s new C.E.O.
This seems like a good fit, as Thompson has led The New Yorker into the digital age, and then has shepherded Wired over the last four years.
But I want to focus on the second graf of the New York Times story about Thompson’s move, as it frames the hire as “unusual.” Reader, it is not.
It is unusual for a journalist to take charge of a media outlet’s business operations, but Ms. Powell Jobs, whose Emerson Collective owns a majority stake in The Atlantic, and David G. Bradley, a minority owner, said in a joint email to the staff that Mr. Thompson was suited to the challenge.
In 2013, I wrote a story about how there was a curious trend of top editors making the jump to executive. Henry Blodget at Business Insider; Nick Denton at Gawker; Jason Pontin at MIT Technology Review; Isaac Lee at Univision; Jim VandeHei at Politico (now, at Axios).
In the years since, you can add more names: Edward Felsenthal at Time; Kevin Delaney at Quartz; Zach Seward at Quartz; Almar Latour at WSJ. And even Bob Cohn, who was an editor at The Atlantic before becoming its president, and is now the president of The Economist.
And I’m sure there are more. Apologies if I forgot you.
The point is this: covering media typically ends up as covering two ends of a spectrum, either the newsroom or the boardroom, often ignoring the spaces in between. The business of media, for instance.
This particular story lends itself to both ends, as we’re talking about a person who was in the newsroom and is now in the boardroom, but readers of the most prominent paper on the planet would be better served by a better frame. This happens when you have a fuller picture, beyond the C-suite and editorial leadership, of how the media business operates.
Take Axios’s frame, for example. Instead of adding unnecessary flourishes, it gets to the heart of the matter quickly, pointing out up top that The Atlantic has been seeking a CEO since 2019. The NYT piece, in contrast, takes several graphs to get there. (And I’d also be curious what business partners of both Conde and The Atlantic feel, but that requires more reporting; a day two story, perhaps.)
The other thing I find interesting: most outlets who would have covered this a few years ago barely covered the news. Adweek and MediaPost have a quick post; Ad Age and Digiday do not. The Daily Beast has a short graf on the announcement while Politico has a sentence in today’s Playbook.
What does it say about the media landscape when the editor-in-chief of one of the most respected magazines becomes the C.E.O of one the most influential magazines gets less coverage than when a notable journalist leaves their publication to start a Substack?
Making this one short today. Thank you for allowing me in your inbox, today and every day. If you have tips or thoughts on the newsletter, drop me a line. Or you can follow me on Twitter. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! See you Monday.
The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Some interesting links:
For podcasts:
What's next for America's favorite news podcast (CNN)
For streaming:
Why WarnerMedia’s Blockbuster HBO Max Play May Not Boost Its Leverage in Roku Talks (Variety)
WarnerMedia’s CEO explains why he’s blowing up the movie business (Recode)
For deep dive into Porhub:
The children of Pornhub (NYT)
For media criticism:
U.S. newsrooms are white. So are the critics and journalists that cover media (Poynter)
For media revenue streams:
All The Ways To Make Money In Media Without Ads (Medium)
Building a membership funnel (The Rebooting)
For ad tech:
Yes, the adtech bubble is going to burst anytime now (Branded)