Advance Publications, which owns the Star-Ledger, the Jersey Journal, NJ.com and other New Jersey media properties, is diversifying.
The media giant is getting ready to spend nearly $10 billion on what the Wall Street Journal called a “global shopping spree” – purchasing a group of theaters in Europe, an esports analytics firm, and even a “rocket operator specializing in low-Earth-orbit satellite launches.”
“We’ve seen how disruption affects traditional media and the challenges that result,” Steve Newhouse, co-president of Advance Publications, told the WSJ. “We’re looking to diversify into different areas not as exposed to the vagaries of the advertising market.”
That doesn’t bode well for any cash infusions into their New Jersey newspapers.
Early this month, Advance Publications sold off the Times Picayune, a 182-year-old New Orleans daily newspaper. The new owners promptly sent layoff notices to all 161 employees.
Now one of the Star-Ledger’s sister properties is am Amsterdam-based theater company that produced “TINA- The Tina Turner Musical.”