Good morning, everyone. Tom Jones is on vacation, but the team at Poynter is keeping tabs on the latest media news and analysis. 

New York Times adds 300,000 subscribers and ends most recent quarter in the black

The New York Times gained 300,000 digital subscribers and grew its adjusted operating profit by 13.6% last quarter, the company announced Wednesday.

The Times currently has 10.84 million subscribers and has set a goal of hitting 15 million by the end of 2027. That growth — much of it driven by subscriptions to a “bundle” of the Times’ news, cooking and games offerings — has helped the company stay profitable at a time when many news organizations are struggling. The Times ended its last quarter with an adjusted operating profit of $104.7 million and grew its total revenues 5.8% year-over-year to $625.1 million.

“Our high quality, increasingly diverse portfolio of products attracted tens of millions of people each week and engaged them deeply,” president and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien told investors during an earnings call Wednesday. “We’re showing that we can sustainably translate that interest into more direct relationships, more subscribers, growing revenue and increasing profitability even as the market continues to experience significant audience headwinds driven by shifts in the platform landscape.”

Among the newsroom initiatives Kopit Levien spotlighted during the call were expanded audio offerings and experiments with AI-assisted, Spanish translations of stories. She added that the company’s sports website, The Athletic, has made “substantial” growth in audience and revenue and highlighted its new multi-format series “Scoop City” covering the NFL. 

Since The Athletic was acquired by the Times in January 2022 for $550 million, it has continually lost money. However, it has shown notable signs of improvement. The Athletic generated revenues of $40.5 million last quarter, up 33.4% year-over-year. It posted an adjusted operating loss of $2.4 million, down from its $7.8 million loss during the same period last year. 

“All of that progress helps keep The Athletic on track for profitability by next year,” Kopit Levien said. 

Like many other media organizations, the Times experienced declines in print. But its digital growth — both in subscriptions and advertising — has kept the company in the black. The Times grew digital subscription revenues 12.9% year-over-year to $304.5 million, and it grew digital advertising revenues 7.8% year-over-year to $79.6 million.

The Times noted in its earnings report that it spent $2 million last quarter on litigation costs related to its lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI. The company sued the two tech organizations in December, alleging that they had used copyrighted work to train their AI models. The Times spent $1 million on the lawsuits during the first quarter.

New York Times shares were trading at $53.92 apiece Wednesday afternoon, up 3.43% from Tuesday’s close. 

By Angela Fu, media business reporter

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News sports streaming service faces scrutiny

Earlier this year, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. announced plans that could, in Poynter’s Tom Jones’ words, “change the way sports fans view sports. That’s not hyperbole.” Their plan: a joint venture that would combine their sports resources in a direct-to-consumer streaming service, which they later named Venu Sports.

The trio said the service would launch in fall 2024, would cost $42.99 per month and would include all of the games and sports-related programming from the three networks and their affiliates. 

But, on Wednesday, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Joaquin Castro sent a letter to the Justice Department, asking it to investigate and potentially prevent the service “if it violates antitrust or telecommunications laws or regulations.”

In their letter, Warren, Sanders and Castro noted that Venu is “poised to control more than 80 percent of nationally broadcast sports and half of all national sports content, putting it in a position to exercise monopoly power over televised sports. The market power of its three giant parent companies would enable it to discriminate against competitors and increase prices for consumers.”

Venu is already facing a lawsuit from Fubo, another streaming service popular with sports fans.

By Ren LaForme, managing editor

Poynter to honor Robin Roberts at Bowtie Ball

On Wednesday, the Poynter Institute announced it would honor Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Robin Roberts with the 2024 Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism at its 2024 Bowtie Ball.

A “Good Morning America” co-anchor since 2005, Roberts previously hosted ESPN’s SportsCenter for more than a decade and has won many awards over the years. “Roberts has enjoyed a distinguished career spanning four decades, renowned for her dedication to excellence in journalism and television broadcasting,” the press release reads.

In a written statement, Poynter President Neil Brown said few journalists connect so genuinely with their audiences the way Roberts does. “From her days as a local sports reporter to being in the anchor chair at ESPN and ABC, Robin has told stories with personality and purpose,” he said. “Her career, and the leadership she exhibits today at Good Morning America, are rooted in determination and empathy. With our Poynter medal, we are honored to recognize Robin Roberts and the journalism values she represents.”

Roberts was born in Alabama and raised in Mississippi. She is a survivor of breast cancer and of myelodysplastic syndrome. She has authored several books and in 2012 was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2018, she was honored with the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award, which honors an individual who has provided significant leadership as an advocate for college sports. 

Throughout the years, Roberts has interviewed high-profile figures like former first lady Michelle Obama and celebrities like Tom Hanks. She conducted the ABC News exclusive interview with then-President Barack Obama when he stated that he thinks same-sex couples should be able to get married. Most recently, she sat down with Brittney Griner after the professional basketball player was released from Russian imprisonment.

Two years ago, “Good Morning America” celebrated a major milestone with Roberts as an anchor for 20 years. A heartwarming montage aired, with glowing words from colleagues including Diane Sawyer, Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer. She married her longtime partner, Amber Laign, last year.

Roberts is set to receive the medal at the Bowtie Ball, Poynter’s annual fundraising gala, on Nov. 16, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. The signature event is considered a celebration of journalism excellence that also raises essential funds to support Poynter’s nonprofit mission.

By Amaris Castillo, contributor

Media tidbits and links

• CBS News will air an interview between Robert Costa and President Joe Biden as part of this weekend’s “CBS News Sunday Morning” programming at 9 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. It is Biden’s first interview since dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. 
• For Wired, veteran media critic Brian Stelter writes, “NBC’s Olympics Broadcast Isn’t Just Addictive. It’s a New Era of Streaming.”
• Columbia Journalism Review’s Kevin Lind with “The Home Front: California journalists on covering Kamala Harris.”
• For Nieman Lab, Randy Stein and Caroline Meyersohn with “Readers are more suspicious of journalists providing corrections than journalists providing confirmations.”
• The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher, Katie Rogers, Reid J. Epstein and Katie Glueck with “How Kamala Harris Trusted Her Gut and Picked Tim Walz.”

Today’s Poynter Report was written by Angela Fu, Amaris Castillo and Ren LaForme.

More resources for journalists

• Public media journalists: attend our Digital Transformation Project Q&A webinar Aug. 13.
• Try our free Grant Writing for Journalists self-directed course
• Lead With Influence is for leaders who manage big responsibilities but have no direct reports.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].