Pecker buying Time? Don’t hold your breath
MEDIA
Ink reported way back on Jan. 10 that American Media CEO David Pecker had designs on Time Inc. But jittery editors at Time Inc. can rest assured — our sources say a sale ain’t happening any time soon.
Jeffrey Toobin created a new firestorm when he said in an article published this week in The New Yorker that Pecker, the unabashed booster of Donald Trump, is still very interested in making a run at Time Inc. and its titles ranging from Time to People to Fortune.
But it turns out to be more hype than reality. AMI is not out trying to raise money for a new and unsolicited bid, sources tell us.
Said one financial player who is familiar with both companies, “He [Pecker] cannot handle Time Inc. on his own. He needs partners.”
AMI never even got around to bidding before Time Inc. in late April told the small handful of potential suitors still in the hunt that the publisher was not interested in selling and would stay independent.
Pecker cooperated with Toobin, who wrote a piece that was sharply critical of the Trump boosterism that pushed anti-Hillary Clinton stories and killed stories critical of Trump in the National Enquirer and other AMI publications.
But one insider said that the reaction among veterans of the Enquirer and Star was “it could have been worse.”
And Pecker himself was e-mailing copies of the stories around to some business associates, at least one source told us.
At Us Weekly, which is still getting used to the AMI way, following its $100 million acquisition from Wenner Media in April, an insider said that staffers found the cozy relationship between Pecker and Trump — and its impact on cover story selection — to be “shocking and embarrassing.”
An AMI spokesman said, “AMI does not comment on rumor and speculation. While Mr. Pecker is ac- tively engaged in ensuring that each brand has the resources necessary to deliver the strongest possible product at newsstand, editorial decisions are made by editors who are well-attuned to what their readers want.”
Latin dance
Latina Media, the 21-year-old publication aimed at Hispanic women, is apparently experiencing a cash crunch as the staff has not received pay in nearly a month and the acting president has resigned.
Since 2000, the company’s owner has been private equity firm Solera Capital.
Insiders say that the company is promoting two to be co-president, following the resignation of past President Brett Wright on June 14 — the same day that the company told staffers it was not going to be able to make payroll on June 15 due to a “miscommunication” between Latina and its parent company.
Robyn Moreno, head of editorial, and Asten Morgan, head of integrated marketing, were promoted to co-presidents on Tuesday and late in the day sent an e-mail to staffers.
“We are writing to let you know that you will receive a payroll de- posit on Friday,” Moreno and Morgan wrote. “We get how unsettling this has been for all of our employees and we are grateful and inspired by how you are hanging tough.”
But it was not clear to insiders if the “deposit” will be for the pay overdue from June 15 or will include pay for the two subsequent weeks, due June 30.
Paychecks are not the only things getting delayed. Insiders tell Media Ink that the company mailed its March/April issue to subscribers only last week and the May/ June has yet to mail — although a limited number were apparently printed.
In his resignation memo to staffers, Wright wrote that he expected the company to continue to be “challenged.”
“I appreciate you guys fighting to keep the business alive and your commitment and sacrifice,” he wrote in a farewell e-mail obtained by Media Ink. “I realize times have been difficult and no doubt they will continue to be challenged but you have each other and a strong brand and mission.”
Molly Ashby, CEO of Solera, did not return a call seeking comment.
Advance notice
New York’s forgotten daily paper, The Staten Island Advance, is going through yet another downsizing. Staffers who have been there at least 20 years have until Thursday to step forward for a voluntary buyout package that will give them two weeks’ severance pay for each year worked, up to a total of 52 weeks. Caroline D. Harrison, president of the SI Advance, did not return a call seeking comment but in her June 20 e-mail she wrote, “We need to continue our evolution — a challenge that requires reducing the size of our organization, continuing to innovate and to re-engineer our workforce, and building a team that possesses the progressive aptitude to ensure a sustainable model for the future.” The paper is owned by the billionaire Newhouse family, which also owns Condé Nast. The small daily was one of the family’s earliest acquisitions and is what gave the family’s giant media holding company its name, Advance Publications.