Posted by: Tom Lowry on November 24
John A. Byrne, for years one of BusinessWeek's most prolific writers and later one its most admired editors, is leaving the magazine to launch his own digital media company.
Byrne, 56, an executive editor and editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com, said he will officially step down when the sale of the magazine to Bloomberg is completed, as expected, on Dec. 1. (see Byrne's full memo to staff below). In two separate stints, Byrne spent 22 years at the magazine. In between, he served as editor-in-chief of Fast Company magazine from 2003 to 2005.
He will be re-locating to the San Francisco area. Byrne was recently married to Kate Rodler, who resides in Marin County. Byrne did not elaborate on what kind of media company he was interested in launching, or whether he had any financial backers.
During his tenure as a writer at BusinessWeek, Byrne penned a record 58 cover stories while also authoring eight books. His last book was a collaboration with GE Chairman Jack Welch, Jack: Straight From The Gut. Former BusinessWeek Editor-in-Chief Steve Shepard once jokingly referred to Byrne as Johann Sebastian Byrne because of the substantive body of work he created while at the magazine. Byrne also earned a reputation as a patient mentor over the years to lots of young BusinessWeek staffers.
Byrne was instrumental in launching BusinessWeek's Best Business Schools rankings, and as executive editor, he and his team created three additional annual franchises, including the highly successful Customer Service Champions and the Best Places to Launch a Career. In addition, Byrne recruited to the magazine such weekly columnists as Jack and Suzy Welch, Maria Bartiromo, and renowned wine critic Robert Parker.
Under his leadership of BusinessWeek's web operations, which he assumed in 2007, traffic and user engagement, with monthly unique visitors has risen by 40% to 10.4 million (more than twice the size of the magazine’s audience). Under his leadership, BW.com has won two consecutive National Magazine Awards. What's more, Byrne was inducted last year by Media Industry News into the Digital Hall of Fame and this year min named him one of 21 “Superstars of Social Media.” Byrne has nearly 18,000 followers on Twitter, under the handle JOHNABYRNE.
“John brought his prodigious energy, credibility, and creativity to BusinessWeek.com after a stellar, award-winning career in print and truly outdid himself," says Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek who will be leaving the magazine as well on Dec. 1. "He leaves as one of the most exciting innovators in the entire digital world, and I’m eagerly awaiting his next venture.”
Not to be overlooked is Byrne's tireless support of the BusinessWeek softball team, which has appeared in all three championship games of the New York Media Softball League, which was formed in 2007. BW captured the crown in 2008 after a record-breaking undefeated streak.
Continue reading "Byrne Leaving BusinessWeek to Start His Own Digital Media Company"
Posted by: Ron Grover on November 23
How’s the modern day “data room” work? Forget the locked conference room in a law firm, where the dealmakers of old used to pour over reams of facts, figures and assumptions while contemplating whether to bid for a company. MGM, the fabled but debt-hobbled studio, has set up an online site with its data and is parceling out access as it prepares to launch an auction pressed by its debt holders.
A first round of bids are expected shortly after Thanksgiving from companies that have been given access to the online site – so far that’s Warner Brothers(TWX) and Fox (NWS), according to a source with knowledge of the bidding. But even if Warner and Fox submit bids, those bids aren’t likely to be the end of the MGM drama. Instead, holders of the studio’s $3.7 billion in debt are expected to use what are expected to be all-cash bids from those studios as the starting point in their decision as to the “strategic alternatives” they choose to take. An MGM spokeswoman did not return requests for comment.
MGM said on Nov. 13 that it was “beginning a process to explore various strategic alternatives, including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the company.” It also said that it had received an extension from Dec. 15 to Jan. 31 of the forbearance agreement from its lenders that has allowed MGM to postpone debt payment that threatens to throw the studio into bankruptcy. Sources with knowledge of the online data room say that MGM and its investment bankers haven’t as yet opened access to the wide range of parties that might consider bidding on the company, instead choosing to see how high competing studios might value the company. The studios are expected to value the company on the basis of its 4,100 film library and the rights to the James Bond, Pink Panther and other franchises.
Getting a potential price tag for the studio would enable the 140-odd debtor group to determine whether they might hang onto the studio or launch a formal auction process.
At least one private equity fund, Qualia Capital, is said to be interested in joining the bidding but would do so with a structured plan that would include injecting some capital into MGM, converting some of its debt into equity and operating the company as a standalone venture n hopes of increasing its value for a sale further down the road. Another studio, Lions Gate(LGF) is also said to be interested in taking a look at MGM’s financials and might try to structure a bid. Lions Gate declined comment. Media dealmaker John Malone(LMBIA) has said he’d like to look at the data. But the Liberty Media chairman says he isn’t likely to bid on the entire studio.
Posted by: Tom Lowry on November 17
Josh Tyrangiel, who was named this morning to be editor of a Bloomberg-owned BusinessWeek, says it's too early to lay out specific plans for the magazine but his goal is to create "a great indispensable business weekly."
In a brief interview, Tyrangiel, 37, says he plans to meet soon with BW staffers as a group and individually to gather their input so "we can formulate a strategy for the magazine together." Tyrangiel has been serving as a deputy managing editor of Time magazine and as the top editor of its online operations.
While he earned kudos for his work online at Time, Tyrangiel says he is committed to long-form journalism in print. "Listen, the big mistake magazines made was trying to imitate the Web," he said. "Magazines are read reclining, and that lends itself to longer, more in-depth stories."
Tryangiel has edited business stories in the past but he acknowledged that he is not a traditional business journalist. He says his background is an "opportunity" for the magazine. "I need help," he said, "and I am going to rely on the staff. I want the staff to stay in their lanes and be experts on their subjects."
He believes a big reason that Bloomberg LP Chief Content Officer Norman Pearlstine and Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler recruited him is that "I am a good person at bringing people together. We are going to work on this as a team."
Posted by: Tom Lowry on November 17
Josh Tyrangiel, a deputy managing editor at Time magazine and the top editor of its online operations, will become the first editor of a Bloomberg-owned BusinessWeek. The acquisition, announced Oct. 13, is expected to close in early December.
By selecting the 37-year-old Tyrangiel who is not a business journalist per se, Bloomberg clearly wants a leader for BusinessWeek who is not only a highly-regarded editor but someone who has demonstrated he knows how to reach a wider array of readers in both print and online. A major reason Bloomberg LP executives pursued BusinessWeek was to reach a broader audience beyond Wall Street and the professional investor communities.
“I saw Josh in a number of leadership positions as he took on increasing responsibilities at TIME," says Norman Pearlstine, Bloomberg's chief content officer and a former editor-in-chief of Time Inc., Time's parent. "Working closely with him .... I came to appreciate his intelligence, curiosity, energy, and integrity. Josh is recognized within Time Inc. and its parent, Time Warner Inc., as an ‘editor’s editor’ and a natural leader. His understanding of the ways in which print and online publications can work together will serve Bloomberg well as we expand our consumer media offerings.”
In some media circles, Tyrangiel was considered a leading candidate to succeed Time managing editor Richard Stengel. According to sources, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was so impressed with Tyrangiel that he tried to recruit him to be come the editor of CNN.com, the online arm of the 24-hour cable news channel, but Time Inc.'s current editor-in-chief John Huey intervened and convinced Tyrangiel to stay at Time with the promise that he might one day succeed Stengel.
During his tenure at Time.com, Tyrangiel boosted the Web site's traffic from 400 million page views in 2006 to what could be an estimated 1.8 billion page views this year. Previous to Time, Tyrangiel worked at Rolling Stone and Vibe magazines and served as a news producer at MTV.
“Josh Tyrangiel will be a tremendous asset as we build the market presence of BusinessWeek backed by Bloomberg’s global multimedia news organization, to create the most compelling business news for the most sought-after readers.,” said Bloomberg L.P. President Daniel Doctoroff.
Tyrangiel will report to Pearlstine, who in turn will report on editorial matters to Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg's editor-in-chief. "Norm and Josh are the ideal team to deliver a terrific business magazine that brings the most trusted, most influential and most important news to a global audience of thought leaders,” said Winkler.
Tyrangiel will work alongside BusinessWeek executive editors Ellen Pollock and John Byrne and managing editor Ciro Scotti. Pearlstine announced earlier that they would continue in their roles at the magazine. Tyrangiel succeeds Stephen J. Adler, who announced his resignation as editor-in-chief on Oct. 20.
Posted by: Tom Lowry on November 13
Walt Disney CFO Tom Staggs may soon get some on-the-job experience in another corner of the Mouse House. Disney’s top financial executive is expected to swap jobs with Disney theme park chief Jay Rasulo, according to knowledgeable sources. The swap comes at a crucial time for Disney, which is planning to build a theme park in Shanghai.
No announcement has been made yet, but Disney CEO Bob Iger is expected to describe the swap as a new policy by which he moves longstanding executives into new roles to expand their knowledge of the company.
However, longtime Disney observers say this could buttress Staggs’ chances to contend for a more senior role later on. The 19-year Disney veteran is believed to have wanted for some to become Disney’s chief operating officer, a position that currently doesn’t exist. Disney insiders say Staggs has been keen on that job ever since Iger was elevated to CEO in 2005. Rasulo, who has run the theme parks since 2002, was a highly-regarded strategic planner for Disney and then oversaw the Disney-managed theme park outside Paris before being elevated to his current role. The move is reminiscent of efforts by former Disney CFO Richard Nanula, who switched jobs to run Disney theme parks in the mid-1990s in order to bolster his own bid for a more senior job.
This post is from my colleague Ron Grover who is stuck in Los Angeles traffic
