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(Image source: The New York Times)
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
High-profile magazine editor Tina Brown is stepping down from her post as editor of the
online news site The Daily Beast.
Brown, who gained celebrity status as the former editor of Vanity Fair and then The
New Yorker, confirmed her departure to The Daily Beast staff members Wednesday — announcing
that she and the Beast's parent company IAC media have decided not to renew her contract
when it expires in January. (Via The Wall Street Journal, CBS)
According to BuzzFeed, which broke the story, Brown leaving the site she helped found in
2008 has been rumored for a while as The Beast undergoes organizational changes in an attempt
to stay afloat.
Just a few weeks ago IAC media ended a joint venture between The Beast and money-losing
news weekly Newsweek. Brown was at the helm of both publications before Newsweek was sold.
The Wall Street Journal reports: "IAC's odyssey into journalism has already cost the company
tens of millions of dollars ... " with the company posting losses on News-Beast in 2012
between " ... $29 million to $44.8 million ... " before amortization.
USA Today notes The Daily Beast's traffic is up 22 percent so far this year with the
site is growing its advertising by around 23 percent year-to-year, but explains ...
" ... the site has struggled to break even, let alone make money,. The Beast could lose
as much as $12 million this year ... "
According to The New York Times, Brown says she will start Tina Brown Live Media, where
she will have complete editorial and business control.
Brown's new venture will focus on building up her popular Women in the World conferences.
She launched the project with The Beast several years ago, and is reportedly being allowed
to have the rights to the project to show her split with The Beast is friendly.
Brown will hold her position through the end of the year until her contract expires. The
Daily Beast has yet to appoint her replacement, but sources close to the situation have named
senior columnist and editor John Avlon as a potential front-runner.