Yahoo Movies Ex-People Magazine Boss Set to Run New ‘WaPo-Daily Mail Hybrid’
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Media mogul Jimmy Finkelstein’s new venture, once billed as a WaPo-Daily Mail hybrid, appears to have settled on a name and top editor, three people familiar with the matter told Confider.
The former owner of The Hill is set to announce that Dan Wakeford, the former editor-in-chief of People magazine, will sit atop the masthead of the digital outlet, which was originally named The New Statement but will instead be called The Messenger—a change confirmed by a new trademark application.
Our sources explained that the original title too closely resembled British mag The New Statesman and thus had to go.
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Wakeford’s hiring comes after Finkelstein failed to convince a number of prominent journalists to take the gig, including former Daily Beast EICs Tina Brown and John Avlon, along with ex-Daily Mail boss Geordie Greig, and former Hearst magazines editor Joanna Coles, among others.
According to recent SEC filings reviewed by Confider, Finkelstein’s media company JAF Communications has pulled in nearly $37 million for the new venture, which was first announced in late 2021.
Multiple sources further told us there is still no official launch date and that The Messenger is struggling to attract top reporters, but JAF did recently hire one-time Bustle Digital Group flack Kimberly Bernhardt to handle media relations.
Both Finkelstein and Wakeford did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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