NEW
YORK, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IAC
(NASDAQ: IAC) announced a new strategic partnership today with
Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles to lead The Daily Beast. Effective
immediately, Sherwood will serve as Publisher and CEO and Coles as
Chief Creative and Content Officer. As strategic partners, both
will share a substantial interest in the
company. Specific terms of the partnership were not
disclosed.
Embracing The Daily Beast's founding vision to deliver riveting
journalism with bite and flair, the combination of Sherwood and
Coles intends to revitalize the 16-year-old news and opinion
platform as an indispensable source of scoops and scandals for the
modern media age.
"These are tough times for digital journalism, but the combined
experience, expertise and energy of Ben and Joanna have made me an
optimist about their ability to make The Beast an enduring and
successful enterprise," said Barry
Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC.
"Timing is everything, and the current media hellstorm feels
like the ideal moment to jump back into journalism," said Sherwood
who left The Walt Disney Company in 2019 to start a sports
technology platform. "Yes, everything feels upside down right now
with busted business models and transformative technology. With so
much disruption—or maybe because of it—we believe this is the ideal
entrepreneurial opportunity to deliver on The Beast's insurgent
promise. We are excited to work with the dynamic team at The Beast,
cultivate and recruit great talent, and help unleash its populist
potential."
"Tina Brown's original vision of
The Beast as a sophisticated tabloid is even more relevant today,"
said Coles. "Our pirate mission is to cover the stories and people
that grab us and have fun along the way. Yes, these are serious
times and we will track the conflict flaring in the Middle East, but our arrival at The Beast also
coincides with the opening of the Trial of the Century and so you
can expect all out coverage at the courthouse with our Senior
Where-is-Melania Reporter and our Chief Hope Hicks
Correspondent."
Continued Coles: "We're bringing The Beast back to its rebel
roots and will build on its beloved DNA to make it even beastier.
Our fearless investigative team will break even more stories on the
end of democracy. And obviously our Chief Fruit and Vegetable
Correspondent is moving to Montecito and will be on 24/7 stand-by
for the launch of the American Riviera Orchard."
A veteran media executive, journalist and entrepreneur, Sherwood
served as co-chairman of the Disney Media Networks and president of
the Disney ABC Television Group, overseeing the company's global
entertainment, news and cable properties. He also worked as
president of ABC News, executive producer of Good Morning America
and Senior Broadcast Producer of NBC Nightly News. More recently,
he founded the award-winning youth sports technology startup MOJO,
which was sold to TeamSnap in December 2023.
After launching her news career on Fleet Street in London, Coles moved to the US as The
Guardian's bureau chief in New
York. She spent 10 years as Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan before serving as
chief content officer for Hearst Magazines, overseeing 300 titles
globally. Coles also executive produced the TV hit The Bold Type
and serves on the boards of SNAP and Sonos and the Fallen
Journalists Memorial Foundation. At SNAP, she helped build the
Discover platform.
The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 and, under founding editor
Tina Brown, quickly emerged as a
distinctive voice in digital journalism, blending in-depth
reporting with a sharp, defiant tone. Successive editors including
John Avlon, Noah Shachtman and Tracy
Connor have continued to carve out a unique space online.
The Daily Beast has won over a dozen industry awards in the last
year alone, including multiple Deadline Club, New York Press Club
and LA Press Club awards.
Jason Rapp at Whisper Advisors
represented IAC in the deal.
About The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast delivers
award-winning original reporting and sharp opinion in the arena of
politics, pop-culture, and power. With over a decade of breaking
impactful stories, The Beast's multi-media reach includes
chart-topping podcasts, millions of engaged social followers, a
dedicated app, heavily consumed newsletters, and an expansive
membership program. The Daily Beast is an IAC company.
About IAC
IAC (NASDAQ: IAC) builds companies. We are
guided by curiosity, a questioning of the status quo, and a desire
to invent or acquire new products and brands. From the single seed
that started as IAC over two decades ago have emerged 11 public
companies and generations of exceptional leaders. We will always
evolve, but our basic principles of financially disciplined
opportunism will never change. IAC is today comprised of category
leading businesses including Angi Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI), Dotdash
Meredith and Care.com, among many others ranging from early
stage to established businesses. IAC is headquartered in
New York City with offices
worldwide.
Contact Us
IAC Investor Relations
Mark
Schneider
(212) 314-7400
IAC Corporate Communications
Valerie Combs
(212) 314-7251
IAC
555 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212)
314-7300 http://iac.com
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