‘We’re all at Barry’s whims’: Will the everyday monster find a buyer?

back in february, Barry Diller The billionaire media mogul, was asked about him recently reports in the The New York Times that he was considering selling the Daily Beast, the news outlet he co-founded Tina Brown in 2008. “We can,” Deller told PBS. Margaret Hoover– her husband, John Avlon Run the site once. “I very much hope that if we sell it, we’ll sell it to an organization that grows it and doesn’t divest it. I’d very much fight that,” Diller continued. He called the Beast a “good product,” while admitting, “I hope it doesn’t cost a lot of money to run.”

In the times story, Ben Mullin I mentioned that IAC, the holding company that Diller founded that also owns the people, Better Homes and Gardens, And southern living, “hired consulting firm Whisper Advisors to explore selling The Daily Beast,” a process that, at the time, was “in the early stages” and “might not lead to a deal.” Mullen noted that the price the outlet might charge is not clear. Speculation about a possible sale intensified when a month after the release times story New York Post mentioned That’s the CEO of Business Insider Henry Blodgett He was spotted at IAC’s headquarters, where, according to sources, he met the CEO of the Daily Beast Heather Detrick and editor-in-chief Tracy Connor.

Nearly six months later, it’s unclear what the future holds for The Daily Beast, though I’m told talks about a sale are still very active. The employees I spoke to said they had not known about the sale in recent months. “There was uncertainty and a lack of information shared by the management, but the reporters didn’t jump out of the plane,” said one. “For the most part, I think management is up front in terms of what they know, and what they know isn’t much. Every media outlet is being exploited right now, so we just hope we’re stable,” said another. “We’re all into Barry’s whims and what he wants to do.” (IAC declined to comment.)

Sources familiar with the matter said a handful of entities have expressed interest in buying it, including, at one point, Michael Reinstein, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the private equity firm Regent. (Their portfolio includes some media properties, such as publisher DefenseNews. Reinstein did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) CEO of BDG Media Brian Goldberg—who has a date in gobbling up and then cavity Publications – It was said to have sought information on the sale, but the IAC retracted it. However, the BDG denied this: “BDG has never expressed interest or requested a deck,” said a BDG spokesperson.

“Barry always had a very strong soft spot for the beast is the truth,” Brown — who ran Vanity Fair Hence he was the editor-in-chief The New Yorker And He speaks Magazine before launching The Daily Beast – Tell me in an email. I’m not even sure he’ll end up selling it unless he can find a safe house. Finding a business model for digital news is quite confusing and I feel like it would be preferable to keep working in some way. She said the losses are a rounding error, after all for the airline. “With the election approaching, I hope to see them hire four great new investigative journalists and go as hard as they can. With so many news sites canceling reporters, there could be a real opportunity for Beast to grow subscribers.”

Since its founding, the Daily Beast has become known as a hoax site that often punches above its weight, with scoops across politics, media, and pop culture. After Brown, the site was led by Avalon, then Noah Shachtman who handed over the reins to Connor in 2021 when he left to take over Rolling Stone. Connor is a less crowd-facing character than her predecessors, but has maintained the mix of high and low location and poignant headlines. Someone I spoke to noted that brand influence has waned over the years with the loss of top talent such as Olivia Nuzzi Sam Stein Spencer AckermanAnd Max againAnd Sweepseng’s equals. Still, they continued to spread shovels, and gained particular attention for a series of bombs Roger Sullenberger on Herschel Walker last october and Lachlan Cartwright“Confider” weekly informational newsletter.