Newsweek Daily Beast's Publisher, Managing Editor Out
Both the publisher and the managing editor of Newsweek and the Daily Beast are leaving the company, a spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap on Monday.
The moves appear unrelated, though both were recent hires at the year-old joint venture.
Ray Chelstowski came aboard as the publisher of Newsweek and the Daily Beast in January, but he is now out and Eric Danetz, formerly of CBS Interactive, will inherit his responsibilities as senior vice president of sales.
Tom Weber, the managing editor who took over in May, will leave in two weeks as the company restructures its editorial department.
Newsweek and the Daily Beast merged last November, and many will interpret Chelstowski’s ouster as a sign that the company is unhappy with ad sales thus far. Ad revenue both online and in print are down, according to a report in Adweek.
Also Read: Finances Still a Mess at Newsweek-Daily Beast
But Newsweek Daily Beast rejects the notion that its financial performance is troubling.
“We are in a period of tremendous momentum with all our metrics in the right direction,” said Rob Gregory, president of The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. “These changes position the Newsweek Daily Beast Company for continued rapid growth as a global, multi-platform news organization.”
The company points out that ad pages are up 10 percent year over year compared to last October and newsstand sales are up 20 percent.
It also pointed to a series of new editorial hires and the promotion of Nathan Geddie to assistant managaing editor.
That said, that same Adweek report indicated the company is still in the red, posting a combined $30 million in the last fiscal year.
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