Meredith & The Media

Charlotte Howard has been named U.S. Editor, overseeing coverage of America at The Economist. She was previously The Economist’s executive editor. She is the first American to hold the position of U.S. Editor. Peter Hamby is joining Puck full-time as Chief National Correspondent.

This week, Meredith & The Media shines a spotlight on Shane Anderson, who built his photography practice under the name “Anderson” before founding a—son, acontent and production studio that applies the principles of luxury brand-building and celebrity logic to help modern brands produce high-impact content for the speed of the internet.

Paid Subscribers: Welcome to Media Musings, where I share my personal media industry observations, expert commentary and trend analysis as well as offer candid insights from both reporters and guest communicators about the industry. On my watch list: Breaking and Entering Media. And here’s why…

This week, I sat down with Brian Steinberg, senior TV editor at Variety. Did you always want to be a journalist? If not, what was the turning point or experience that made you choose the path of journalism? I was really into creative writing in high school and college, and thought that would be it, but it’s not an easy path to walk. I started a column on campus, and that got me more into journalism.

In honor of COMMS BESTIE DAY and the one-year launchiversary of Off the Record, Meredith & The Media shines a spotlight on Gab Ferree, founder and “Your Comms BFF” at Off the Record. You spent nearly two decades in comms, leading communications at Bumble, Slack, and Salesforce, managing crises, coaching executives, and building teams inside some of tech’s most recognizable brands. How did your career help shape the genesis of what would become Off the Record?

Last week, Sharon Goldman shared on LinkedInand AI Side Notes that she would be leaving Fortune. “After four years covering AI as a daily beat — first at VentureBeat starting in April 2022, then at Fortune starting in March 2024 — I’ve decided to do the thing many journalists whisper about but few do: go independent,” she said in AI Side Notes. Meredith & The Media reached out to Sharon to get the scoop on her next move.

This week, I sat down with Sabrina Escobar, geopolitics reporter at Barron’s. Did you always want to be a journalist? If not, what was the turning point or experience that made you choose the path of journalism? Growing up, I wanted to be a writer. I was that nerdy kid who loved to read a book in the corner at social events. My entry point to writing was fiction, but I came to really love the world of nonfiction and reporting and learned more about the work that goes into it.

It’s PR, not ER, isn’t always true. Sometimes, experiences CAN feel like an emergency. Who do you call? (Ok, 80s +90s babies, say it - Ghost Busters!) You call your comms bestie. But what if your bestie is part of the emergency? Or you’re dealing with something highly confidential, and you need to talk to someone off the record?

LinkedIn is launching Creator Marketplace, a new hub designed to help brands discover, evaluate, and partner with creators directly on LinkedIn. The move comes as 77% of B2B marketers say buyers need to know and trust a brand before engaging, while 82% say creators increase credibility with decision-makers.

One month ago, Eleanor Hawkins announced she was departing Axios. During her four years writing Axios Communicators, she helped make it one of the communications industry's most anticipated and unifying newsletters. She quickly earned the trust and respect of communicators and made us better informed at our jobs. While those are difficult shoes to fill, Axios gave Meredith & The Media an advanced look at the newest author of Axios Communicators—Simon Hernandez-Arthur. More below.