Your Media Morning: The Atlantic’s Record Month, Meredith Cuts 40 Jobs, Time Inc Recognized, US Weekly Going to AMI? Apple Eyes Big Media Acquisition

MEREDITH REMOVES 40 PEOPLE FROM ITS PAYROLL Of the 40 people who were let go, half of them were in New York. This follows behind a record second quarter for Meredith and a report last month that they officially reached out to Time Inc informing that company's leadership and board that it is interested in a merger.  WAIT... SAY WHAT NOW? "There’s not a size that we would not do, based on just the size of it, It’s more of the strategic value of it." APPLE CEO TIM COOK ON POSSIBLY BUYING SOMETHING MASSIVE TIME INC BEING RECOGNIZED FOR ITS POWERFUL STORYTELLING The industry and consumer recognition of our engaging content across platforms in sight, sound and motion reinforce the resonance of our trusted brands,” said Alan Murray, Chief Content Officer of Time Inc. “This means a great deal to us following our placement in comScore’s top 10. Our goal is to continue to drive the conversation for our passionate audiences and advertising partners. AMERICAN MEDIA INC MAY BUY WENNER MEDIA'S US WEEKLY, STAFFERS ARE HORRIFIED The buzz in the industry is that David Pecker’s American Media Inc., owner of the National Enquirer and Star Magazine, has emerged as the lead suitor to buy Us Weekly from Jann Wenner ’s Wenner Media. However Wenner probably prefers to sell to anyone but Pecker, but may have to take AMI’s money if it is the best deal around, since Wenner Media still carries nearly $60 million in debt, one source noted. BLOOMBERG MEDIA INSTALLS GLOBAL HEAD OF SUBSCRIPTION REVENUE + STRATEGY Bloomberg Meda has many Global Heads in its management structure and the company has added another one. Bloomberg Media's Global Head of Digital Scott Havens has brought on Roma Vakil... OLIVIA NUZZI IS LEAVING THE DAILY BEAST FOR NY MAGAZINE I’ve been at The Daily Beast for three years. They hired me initially during Bridge-gate, which seems like ancient history now. I covered Chris Christie, and then I covered Rand Paul. Covering Rand Paul incidentally had me covering Alex Jones and InfoWars, and what became the alt-right, which became relevant in the Trump era. But The Daily Beast is primarily a website, there’s no print aspect to it, and so I think what’s going to change at New York is I’m going to be following more of the Gabe Sherman model of working on these long-form stories... OPRAH JOINS CBS' 60 MINUTES Oprah Winfrey will contribute several stories to the coming season of "60 Minutes," CBS announced Tuesday. The deal joins one of the most famous women in the world with the most prestigious newsmagazine on television. Winfrey will be a "special contributor," CBS said. This means she'll have several stories on the upcoming season of the newsmagazine. The first story will air sometime in the fall. SEX DRUGS AND CONDE NAST IS WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE PAGES OF A NEW TELL ALL BOOK FROM A FORMER MEMBER OF THE MASTHEAD OF LUCKY A former member of the masthead at Lucky, and an alum of Glamour and Teen Vogue, Cat Marnell came up in New York living the glossy dream at Condé Nast, roaming the halls designated by Queen Wintour and her ilk. Sure, it sounds like the typical "white girl works at a magazine" story, but when you start hallucinating rats under your desk, amid bags and bags of luxury skincare products, the perspective certainly shifts a bit. GIZMODO.COM GETS A NEW EDITOR IN CHIEF Kelly Bourdet will be the next editor in chief of Gizmodo.com, Katie Drummond — the former Gizmodo.com editor in chief who was promoted to Gizmodo Media Group executive managing editor late last year — announced in a memo to staff on Tuesday. Bourdet will start at Gizmodo in mid-Feburary. APPLE BOSS HINTS AT BIG MEDIA ACQUISITION...NETFLIX? Apple is constantly considering acquisitions and there is no size acquisition that would be too big, said CEO Tim Cook, offering a clear signal to Wall Street that nothing should be considered off the table. “There’s not a size that we would not do, based on just the size of it, It’s more of the strategic value of it.” AFTER TWO DECADES, ANN SLOWEY, FASHION NEWS EDITOR FOR ELLE MAGAZINE IS OUT, KINDA  “After an incredible 18 years as Elle’s witty and knowledgeable fashion news director, Anne Slowey will be transitioning to a new role as a contributing writer for the magazine and elle.com, while pursuing her interests in short-film and brand marketing.” YOU'RE EITHER WITH US, OR AGAINST US: IAB CHIEF CALLS FOR THE ERADICATION OF FAKE NEWS Randall Rothenberg, the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s chief executive, took a page out of former President George W. Bush’s old speech playbook when addressing the industry’s leaders on the subject of fake news. To paraphrase, Mr. Rothenberg essentially told attendees at the IAB’s annual leadership gathering that when it comes to fighting fake news, you’re either with us or against us. He urged marketers, ad agencies, tech firms and media companies to drop any sense of neutrality and carefully examine their business practices and those of their partners. RODALE'S MEN'S HEALTH ENTERS LICENSING DEAL FOR  ASIA, SOUTH PACIFIC CONSUMER PRODUCTS Developing consumer products that are backed by the global recognition that our brand portfolio offers will open new doors for our customers to accomplish their fitness goals and lead healthier lives,” said Rob Novick, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development at Rodale Inc. “We are delighted to be working with Global Icons and Asembl to create new Rodale brand experiences for the burgeoning health- and wellness-minded populations in Asia and the South Pacific. FACEBOOK PUTTING VIDEO FIRST WITH NEW TV APP The social network is developing a video-centric app for television set-top boxes, including Apple Inc.’s Apple TV, people familiar with the matter said, giving it a home for video content — as well as a new vehicle for video advertising. The app is one of several Facebook projects aimed at making it a “video-first” company that can compete for television ad dollars. THOUSANDS WANT DISNEY BOSS BOB IGER TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST TRUMP'S TRAVEL BAN More than 94,000 people — and counting — have signed a petition calling on Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger to speak out against President Trump’s executive order that bans travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. SumOfUs, an international corporate watchdog, started the petition which argues that by failing to speak out against Trump’s immigration ban and remaining on the new president’s advisory council, Disney and the other corporate CEOs are “complicit in the violence his administration is creating.” CABLE NETWORK BRAVO BUDDIES UP WITH BUZZFEED TO PROMOTE NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Bravo next week is debuting a new scripted series, Imposters, that follows the life of an alluring con-artist who draws in victims emotionally before using and robbing them. To promote the series, Bravo is partnering with BuzzFeed, which will include a custom 360 video experience and custom content that lives on buzzfeed.com. BuzzFeed continues to build out its branded content capabilities, but this is the first time they have partnered with a brand on a 360 video project. SLOW NEWS VS. FAKE NEWS? The BBC has created a centralized team dedicated to debunking false news stories, and the process is already shifting the newsroom workflow dynamics. Currently, there are six people assigned to the team, with plans to at least double that head count. We spoke to BBC editorial director Jamie Angus about the changes. HEARST MAGAZINES DIGITAL PRESIDENT TROY YOUNG  SAYS VIDEO WILL BECOME HALF ITS CONTENT FEED As president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, Troy Young oversees the online brands of storied titles including Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire and digital-only properties like Delish and BestProducts. He talked with us about making video profitable, an area he sees becoming fully half of Hearst’s content feed. -Good Morning SEND US NEWS TO INCLUDE IN THE NEXT ISSUE: [email protected] SUBSCRIBE HERE» MEDIAMORNING.TODAY

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