The Media CEOs Betting Big on Journalism’s Future: Jim Bankoff & Meredith Kopit Levien

**Kara Swisher** (0:00)
We are doing a podcast, and we would ask you, if you fucking talk back there, I'm coming back and doing things to you that I used to do to Mark Zuckerberg before he stopped talking to me.
Hi everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is On with Kara Swisher and I'm Kara Swisher. On today's show, I'm talking to two huge names in the media business, Meredith Kopit Levien, President and CEO of the New York Times, and Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media, which produces this very podcast. Both Meredith and Jim have successfully led their companies through huge changes in the industry. Jim spent decades building Vox Media into a big media company, but now he's splitting it up. He's selling the Vox Media Podcast Network, Vox and New York Magazine to James Murdoch's company, Lupa Systems. Jim will serve as the CEO of a new company that carries the Vox Media name under Lupa. Penske Media Corporation is acquiring Vox Media's remaining brands. Meredith originally joined the New York Times as its head of advertising, but since becoming the company's CEO in 2020, she's led a huge expansion of the Times' digital products. Last year, the Times added nearly one and a half million digital subscribers. I really wanted to pair Meredith and Jim, not because I wanted to kiss up to someone who used to be my boss or someone who used to be my boss, both of them were in some ways, but because they're really at the cusp of real changes in media and actually are doing pretty well by being innovative and shifting over time. They're also people who have presided over pretty great media brands and brands that have a lot of high quality. I really want to talk about where things are. Both of them are on a trajectory that is strong while others suffer, so it's a good time to talk about that and more. All right, let's get into our conversation with Jim and Meredith. Our expert question comes from investigative journalist and author Theo Baker. This interview was recorded in front of a live audience at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France. It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of rosé, but it was also a really insightful conversation about how media companies can find success in a very challenging environment right now. I do want to focus on what works. At the same time, it's a very dicey situation, especially given the Trump administration's attacks on companies like the New York Times and many others. So stick around.
Jim and Meredith, thanks for coming on On.
Okay. We're going to cover a lot of ground in this conversation. We're going to talk about the changing media landscapes, which I think is important to everyone. Obviously, AI because you have to. And then rebuilding trust in journalism and where we are with mergers and acquisitions. But I want to start with some recent headlines for both of you.
Jim, you're selling Vox Media's podcast network, vox.com and New York Magazine to James Murdoch's Lupa Systems. The deal is reportedly worth more than $300 million. Penske Media Corporation is acquiring the remaining sites, Eater, PopSugar, SB Nation, The Dodo and The Verge. Now, I have to disclose, part of it came from ideas I had talking to you about splitting it all.

**Jim Bankoff** (3:16)
All the good things do.

**Kara Swisher** (3:17)
No, but we discussed it for a long time. So talk about why you think splitting the company is in the best interest and why this is the correct configuration.

**Jim Bankoff** (3:27)
It's about focus.
The media landscape, I think we're going to talk about a lot is changing. There was a time where we were building, building, building. We're proud of our legacy, I think, of the vintage of companies that were funded 15 years ago. We emerged as a leader. We had great brands. I won't rattle them off, but whether it's Eater or whether it's New York Magazine, The Cut, et cetera, we're proud of everything we built. But at one point, it was about scale, and it was about aggregating scale, and now it's about focus and getting the businesses in the right position to succeed. We think we have a lot of growth runway, and we want to get the podcast business, which we'll talk about New York Magazine, which we'll talk about in a position to succeed. I call them our talent platforms.
Then the publishing businesses which are merging in with the Penske publishing businesses are going to have a lot in common. We'll talk a lot about publishing, I'm sure, but they need to come together, they need to find common strategies where they can succeed, they need to find leverage. That business is going to be a very successful business. Jay will be the controlling shareholder of it, and then Ryan Polly, who currently works with us, is going to lead the operations of it. He's an amazing executive.