In this week’s Five on Friday, Hearst Magazines makes dozens of leadership and staffing changes, WarnerMedia announces it will launch a direct-to-consumer streaming video service by the end of next year, Square’s CFO leaves to become CEO at social media platform Nextdoor, Facebook unveils its $200 video chat camera, and health news site Stat reaches out to big business for additional membership growth.

Hearst Magazines Makes Leadership and Staffing Changes

Hearst Magazines is the latest publisher to shake things up with management, staffing and organizational changes, under the leadership of new president Troy Young. According to an October 10 news release, the changes “reflect an evolution for the organization toward a unified approach to content creation, sales and marketing.” Many of the changes include the addition of digital content oversight and responsibilities in addition to print.

“Our magazines will always play an integral role and we are fully committed to them. The complementary strengths of our offerings are what gives us our unique position in today’s highly competitive media marketplace,” Young said. “Our teams are embracing cross-platform brand alignment, which will foster even greater idea sharing, more ambitious content creation and the development of strategic business initiatives, all of which benefit our audience, both consumer and commercial. As we continue to evolve, we will combine editorial intuition with audience insights and data to create unique and purposeful experiences for our readers.”

Some of the changes include the following:

• Men’s Health editor-in-chief Richard Dorment, in his current position since March 2018, will now be responsible for MensHealth.com in addition to his regular duties.
• Liz Plosser, editor-in-chief of Women’s Health, will be responsible for print and digital content for that magazine.
• Jessica Pels is now the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan.
• Joanna Saltz is the new editorial director of House Beautiful, including print and digital platforms.
• Redbook will become an online-only publication starting in January 2019.

In September, Young fired two executives including Jon Gluck, executive director of editorial talent, development and special projects and Flavie Lemarchand-Wood, vice president of communications, according to the New York Post.

Read more about Young’s most recent changes in the news release.

WarnerMedia to Launch Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service Next Year

WarnerMedia is the latest entertainment company to jump into the direct-to-consumer streaming video subscription market. On Wednesday, AT&T-owned WarnerMedia announced that it would launch a streaming video service by the end of next year, competing with Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney’s planned service.

“Today we announced plans to launch a new direct-to-consumer streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019. This is another benefit of the AT&T/Time Warner merger, and we are committed to launching a compelling and competitive product that will serve as a complement to our existing businesses and help us to expand our reach by offering a new choice for entertainment with the WarnerMedia collection of films, television series, libraries, documentaries and animation loved by consumers around the world,” said WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey in a statement.

“We expect to create such a compelling product that it will help distributors increase consumer penetration of their current packages and help us successfully reach more customers,” Stankey added.

WarnerMedia did not release any details about the service, including the name of the service, pricing or an exact launch date. The company currently licenses its films and shows to other streaming services, but it could choose not to renew those licenses when they expire, creating exclusivity and perhaps demand. It would lose that revenue source, however, reports The New York Times. WarnerMedia also owns streaming service HBO Now. 

Square CFO Leaves Company to Become CEO at Nextdoor

Tuesday must have been the day for leadership announcements. Square announced that CFO Sarah Friar will be stepping down to become CEO of social media platform Nextdoor. Friar will stay at the company into December to make a smooth transition. Meanwhile, David Viniar, the company’s lead independent director, will lead the search for Friar’s replacement.

“As Square’s CFO, Sarah steered us through an IPO and helped build a growing ecosystem of businesses that will scale into the future,” said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square. “Sarah leaves us having established a culture of entrepreneurship and discipline across the entire company. She has been an amazing leader, partner, and friend, and we are grateful for all she’s done for Square.”

Investors are not impressed. Since the announcement, Square’s stock is down. On Monday, October 9, Square stock was valued at $86.17 per share. As of 3:17 p.m. EDT yesterday, stock had dropped to $69.91.

This is likely a knee-jerk reaction to the unknown. Stock value could easily rebound once a replacement has been named. Read more about the change – stock drop – on PYMNTS.com.

Facebook Launches Portal, a Video Chat Camera, Starting at $200

If the data breaches haven’t scared you off yet, Facebook has a deal for you – a video camera and screen that allows users to chat with family and friends, reports the Washington Post. The new video camera is called Portal, and it offers hands-free video calling with Alexa. The basic model is $199 for a 10.1″ display or buy two for just $298. There is also a 15.6″ display Portal+ available for $349. Currently, the devices are only available for pre-order with estimated delivery of November 14. Shipping within the U.S. is free. The product offers a 30-day return policy and a one year limited warranty.

But what about those data breaches? Is it safe? Facebook says Portal is “private by design.” Users can completely disable the camera and microphone with a single tap or by using the lens cover on the camera. Also, the Portal camera does not use facial recognition and the smart camera runs locally on Portal, not on Facebook servers. Facebook says it doesn’t listen to, watch or save the contents of your video calls, and the Alexa features only respond to voice commands after you say, “Hey, Portal.”

Geoffrey A. Fowler, who wrote about Portal for the Post, said the camera is a good upgrade from Skype and Facebook. The product is similar to devices produced by Google and Amazon, but the quality of the video is better and it offers features that some of the other products don’t. Read more about Portal at the Washington Post or on the Portal website.

Health News Site Stat Looks to Big Business for Additional Growth

About three years in, health news site Stat is alive and well, reports Laura Hazard Owen for Nieman Lab, and Stat is looking for more corporate customers to become members. At $299 a year, or $35 if paid month-to-month, the Stat Plus membership is attracting biotech and pharmaceutical professionals. It is also attracting enough prospective groups that it has had to add staff on the operations side to handle them.

According to Nieman Lab, Stat won’t reveal subscription numbers, but it is way ahead of its goal to hit 10,000 subscribers in the first three years. One hundred of its subscriptions come from groups, starting at six people as well as large corporations, universities, government agencies and nonprofits. Thus far, about half of Stat’s content is free, including free newsletters, but the other half is available only to subscribers.

Marketing to groups is an opportunity for Stat to continue exploring into next year, as well as the possibility of a niche product the John Henry-owned company is exploring for next year. Read more about Stat and its plans for the future at Nieman Lab.