Kakutani, Risen among 100 NY Times buyouts

MICHIKO

Kakutani, the chief book reviewer for the New York Times, who spent 38 years at the Gray Lady, was among those who took the money and ran as part of the recently completed buyout program at the paper.

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Risen also took the buyout.

It is believed that when the dust settles, about 100 employees will have departed — some with more than a little arm-twisting.

Of the 76 NewsGuild members who applied for a buyout, 72 had been accepted by Thursday, according to Guild President Grant Glickson.

At least 16 nonunion members were said to have taken the deal.

News about Kakutani’s departure came the same day as the Times issued a generally favorable quarterly earnings report. In its results, the Times revealed that booming digital subscriptions reached the 2 million paid mark and its digital subscription revenue passed the slumping print ad revenue figure for the first time.

Overall revenue in the quarter was $407 million, up 9 percent from a year ago. Adjusted operating income was $67.1 million, up 23 percent.

Most of the those exiting are from the copy desk, which is being wiped out and replaced by a new brand of uber editor who will work on print, digital and video.

In all, 109 copy editors were told their jobs were goners — although a good number landed some of the 65 new super-editor jobs.

Times CEO Mark Thompson said in his talk to analysts, “Our newsroom is undergoing a process to streamline its editing function to match the speed and form of digital journalism, while freeing up resources to put more journalistic boots on the ground, to deliver more investigations and help us further develop our capabilities in visual journalism.”

Said one insider who survived: “The mood is grim acceptance. But also exasperation, that when the Times is putting up great numbers, it has chosen to undermine the product by eliminating the freestanding copy desk.”

High jinks

High Times, a private company that sold 60 percent of itself for $42 million last month, is about to be acquired by a publicly traded shell corporation for $250 million.

But shareholders of High Times Holding Corp., which is majority owned by Oreva Capital and 40 percent owned by many of the original founders, may want to wait before firing up a celebratory doobie.

For one, the deal is a cash-free stock swap — so no wheelbarrows of green are heading to the magazine just yet.

The buyer is Origo Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.

After a nearly 22-month search for an acquisition target, Origo announced Thursday it is going to take over the privately held High Times Holding Corp., hoping to tap into the booming legalized cannabis industry market.

Origo was originally known as CB Pharma Acquisition Corp. and was headed by Lindsay Rosenwald, M.D.

It raised about $42 million in its initial public offering in September 2015 — but Rosenwald and other top executives exited when the company was unable to find a suitable drug or pharma company to gobble up.

A new management team headed by Edward Fred took over in March, but by then its cash and marketable securities were down to $21 million as some of the original backers took their money out and departed.

In March, the new directors had to petition Nasdaq to extend the time in which it could hunt for an acquisition. Its new deadline to close a deal is Sept. 12, although sources said it may petition Nasdaq for one more extension.

Time moves on

Time Inc.’s selloff continues to gather momentum, and the biggest downsizing yet may be imminent.

The word from insiders is that the Tampa, Fla., fulfillment center — which handles important but mundane things like databases and subscription renewals — is going to be either sold or outsourced, with most of its 700 jobs going to Asia. A Time Inc. spokeswoman tells Media Ink, “We have hired a consultant to help us pursue potential partnerships and improve and modernize our technology, reduce our costs and improve our service to customers and clients.” That sure doesn’t sound like a denial. In the latest reversal, the company said it was selling its live event company, INVNT, that then-CEO Joe Ripp acquired in 2015 as a way to expand beyond a printbased business. It will be sold back to the founding partners, Scott Cullather and Kristina McCoobery. In recent days, Time acknowledged that it is seeking to sell three US-based titles — Coastal Living, Sunset and Golf — plus all of its UK magazine group (Horse & Hound, Wallpaper, et al.) and a majority stake in Essence.