By Tali Arbel, AP Technology Writer
BuzzFeed is buying HuffPost from Verizon as part of a bigger deal that has the wireless giant investing in the digital-media company.
BuzzFeed and Verizon did not disclose terms of the deal. Verizon will be a minority shareholder in BuzzFeed and the two companies will partner on content and ads.
A downturn in advertising due to the pandemic has hurt both traditional and digital-only media organizations, resulting in layoffs and furloughs. Digital newsrooms had been consolidating even before the pandemic, including Vox's purchase of New York Magazine and its digital arms. Facebook and Google get the majority of digital-ad dollars.
Verizon came to own HuffPost, co-founded by Arianna Huffington, through its acquisition of AOL in 2015. The country's biggest wireless provider also bought Yahoo in 2017 in an attempt to build a digital media business that could challenge Facebook. That Verizon Media business, which also includes tech blogs TechCrunch and Engadget as well as Yahoo, has struggled.
BuzzFeed is known for its quizzes and lists but also invested in its news division. Its founder and CEO, Jonah Peretti, also co-founded HuffPost, then known as The Huffington Post, in 2005. AOL bought it for $315 million in 2011.
"I have vivid memories of growing HuffPost into a major news outlet in its early years, but BuzzFeed is making this acquisition because we believe in the future of HuffPost and the potential it has to continue to define the media landscape for years to come," Peretti said in a statement. "With the addition of HuffPost, our media network will have more users, spending significantly more time with our content than any of our peers."
Peretti said in a memo to BuzzFeed employees that he expects the deal to close at the beginning of 2021.
Asked whether there will be layoffs because of the deal, Peretti said in an interview with The Associated Press that the deal "won't impact the BuzzFeed team at all." He said that BuzzFeed is profitable this year thanks to "discipline around costs" and new revenue initiatives at the company.
Peretti said he plans to have conversations with HuffPost to understand the business before making further decisions.
BuzzFeed's news division and HuffPost have different journalism brands and they will continue to have separate missions. Peretti said he wants "BuzzFeed News to be more BuzzFeedy and HuffPost to be more HuffPosty."
As part of the deal, Verizon will keep putting HuffPost stories on its Yahoo sites. BuzzFeed will be able to syndicate its content on Verizon properties as well.
Guru Gowrappan, the head of Verizon's media business, said the company is "fully committed to the growth of the media business" and has "no plans to sell" any other properties.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTEยฎ,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
โSMPTEโs membership has spoken,โ said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann DโAmato. โThese officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!โ
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More