‘INSIDER’ SCOOP
Blodget visit fuels buzz over fate of Daily Beast
Insider CEO Henry Blodget was spotted earlier this month at the Daily Beast’s offices, sparking rumors that Insider’s owner, Axel Springer, is in talks to buy the news site controlled by billionaire Barry Diller, The Post has learned.
According to sources, Blodget met with Daily Beast CEO Heather Dietrick and editor-in-chief Tracy Connor roughly two weeks ago at the beehive-shaped, Frank Gehry-designed headquarters of IAC, Diller’s tech and media conglomerate, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.
“It’s always a pleasure to visit the amazing IAC building and the charming and talented people inside!” Blodget told The Post in a Wednesday email.
‘In plain sight’
Indeed, while Blodget didn’t visit the newsroom, some staffers were taken aback at the apparent lack of discretion.
“No surprise here that reporters want to learn about what’s happening behind closed doors regarding sales talks,” a newsroom source told The Post. “Of course, that becomes much easier when Blodget’s spotted in plain sight.”
Daily Beast owner IAC didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Early Wednesday afternoon, a Daily Beast reporter told colleagues in a Slack message seen by The Post that management has told the newsroom’s union that “there is no sale in the works at this time.”
According to a source, “anxiety is high” among staffers since Blodget was spotted and sale rumors leaked out in January.
“Management is tight-lipped, but now there are rumors that even management thinks it’s only a matter of time before the Beast is sold off,” the source added.
Inside the newsroom, there’s also worry that Blodget would fold the scrappy, tabloid site into its datadriven behemoth, Insider, which is known for ranking stories by awarding them “impact points,” an inhouse measurement meant to reflect how prestigious a story is based on how much and where it is shared.
“Blodget at the Beast would be hilarious,” another source added. “‘Sir, sir, sir, can I please show you my impact points?’ ”
Last month, Dietrick scrambled to tamp down fears that the site is on the block after the New York Times reported that Daily Beast parent IAC has tapped advisory firm Whisper Advisors to explore a sale.
At the time, Dietrick told employees in a memo that was leaked to The Post: “I wanted to follow up on the New York Times story today. It isn’t surprising that — particularly after our successes of the last few years — other media companies may have expressed interest in The Daily Beast, or that IAC would be having conversations.”
The CEO added: “I know a rumor like this can be unsettling, but I can say with confidence that there is no cause for panic here.”
Some staffers hope Diller has become less interested in selling the site in recent weeks. In an interview with PBS earlier this month, Diller praised the Beast’s journalism and said he wanted to make sure there’s “always enough funding for that to happen.”
“It ain’t an easy path. But nevertheless, it’s what we got and we better treasure it and improve it … and not allow it to be captured by either side of extreme forces,” Diller said before addressing sale rumors.
“I hope very much that if we do sell it, we will be selling it into an enterprise that will grow it and not strip it. That I really don’t want to do. I think — I will resist that a lot.”
Axel Springer has made a slew of acquisitions in recent years, including its deal to buy Politico in 2021. Blodget sold Insider — then known as Business Insider — to Axel Springer for $343 million in 2015. Sources speculated that Axel Springer may also be weighing a deal to take a stake in the left-leaning site, allowing Diller to remain part-owner.
Last year, Insider under Blodget’s direction partnered with Axios to invest in podcast company Spooler, part of several joint investments between the two companies under the name “Axel Springer Insider Ventures.” At the time, Blodget said the new fund was on the hunt for investments.