ADWEEK Daily media newsletter

Click here to view this email in your browser Howdy, and welcome back to On Background, my weekly media newsletter. This is senior media reporter Mark Stenberg, writing to you from the sunny ADWEEK offices in Union Square. I am back in town after traveling to Wimberley, Texas, for the wedding of a close friend, where the temperature rarely dipped below blistering and longhorn cattle roamed the grounds. Next week, Advertising Week New York kicks off, bringing with it an influx of industry folks set to attend programming, set up meetings, and find themselves seated alongside an adtech vendor for a multi-hour dinner. ADWEEK itself will be hosting several days of programming, including a handful of sessions moderated by yours truly, which you can find more information on here. And, should you happen to find yourself at the AWNY Main Stage on Thursday at 2:50, feel free to swing by my panel on sports media, featuring Togethxr CEO Nancy Dubuc and NBA Take2 CEO Andrew Perlmutter, alongside former professional athletes Megan Rapinoe and Joakim Noah. Finally, I will be hosting a private lunch on Oct. 7 in partnership with Realtor.com, although attendance is restricted to telecommunications leaders. We have one spot remaining, so if you are interested in attending, please reach out to Liz Kneebone at liz@adweek.com. For my feature story this week, I explored one of the more intriguing elements of the rapidly maturing creator economy, which is: How does institutional capital get involved? Creators are, by nature, far smaller, leaner operations than traditional startups, meaning venture capital and private equity firms have had to devise new approaches to work with them. Slow Ventures, a venture capital firm cofounded by Sam Lessin, has been one of the more pioneering entrants in this effort, a strategy largely spearheaded by partner Megan Lightcap. On Wednesday, Slow announced investments in three new creators, the structure and rationale of which I explore below. The financing comes from a $64 million fund that Slow raised last year, which, alongside the $250 million fund CAA and IMC announced in June, constitute some of the first serious attempts from institutional investors to stake their claim in the emerging industry. Speaking of creator-centric media companies, for Quote/Unquote I spoke with Rashida Jones, the former president of MSNBC, about her transition from old media to new. In March, Jones became the CEO of Uncensored, the blossoming media empire built entirely on YouTube by Piers Morgan, with a remit to launch new businesses, verticals, and partnerships. Just before that, I rounded up some of my most recent reporting, alongside some of the most consequential trends in the industry from the recent week. Among those: an eight-figure agency acquisition, the abrupt departure of Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch, a revolving door of news podcasting talent, and a savvy YouTube partnership from CNN. As always, at the bottom of the newsletter you will find my favorite stories from the week that was, including writing from Grub Street, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and GQ. Replies to this email go straight to my inbox, so feel free to reach out with tips, pitches, and feedback. You can reach me at mark.stenberg@adweek.com or on Signal at 210-705-3284. If you are not yet subscribed to On Background, you can click here to do so for free. MARK STENBERG, SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER, ADWEEK mark.stenberg@adweek.com | @markstenberg If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up here. TALKING HEDS Lynch Leaves: Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch announced his departure from the company on Wednesday, marking the end of a seven-year tenure with the legacy media operation. According to a note he sent to staff, Lynch is stepping away in order to become the new CEO of Mattel, and he will be replaced on an interim basis by board member Mike Perlis. Lynch, who joined Condé Nast from the music platform Pandora in 2019, presided ov