What we’re reading (7/10)
“An Exodus Of Investors Is Underway At Index Ventures On The Back Of A $2.3 Billion Fundraise” (Business Insider). “From the outside, things are looking rosy at Index Ventures. This week, the 28-year-old venture capital firm debuted a new pair of funds totaling $2.3 billion, a substantial sum during an abysmal time for the industry's fundraising efforts. However, a series of departures at the firm paints a darker picture of Index's state. Last week, the firm parted ways with five investors in its San Francisco office, including mid-level dealmakers and a senior dealmaker, according to four people familiar with the matter. The turnover came during management's midyear check-ins with staff.”
“Zucker Unbound! CBS News Change, Paramount Sale Points Former CNN Chief To Tiffany Network” (Showbiz 411). “Jeff Zucker is coming back! Sources tell me that today’s announcement that CBS News chief Ingrid Cipirian-Matthews is gone probably means one thing: the return of Jeff Zucker. What’s going on here? … in all likelihood, Ellison has purchased Paramount. And [Jeff] Shell [former NBC Universal chairman] is advising him. First project: give CBS some pizzazz with Zucker.”
‘“I’m Not Naive’: Inside Emma Tucker’s Rocky Wall Street Journal Reboot” (Vanity Fair). “Tucker, a personable and somewhat irreverent Brit, took over the Journal in February 2023. In a little over a year, the 57-year-old journalist has brought color, voice, and a renewed metabolism to America’s business newspaper of record. Sure, you’ll still find stories about interest-rate cuts and investment income. But you’ll also find investigations into Elon Musk’s unusual relationships with women at SpaceX and drug use, the succession battle for the luxury empire LVMH, and messages that Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar sent to compatriots and mediators. (An attorney for Musk told WSJ that he’s never failed a drug test at SpaceX.) Tucker’s goal is to make the paper ‘audience-first’ and ‘to grow and retain subscribers,’ she told me. It might not sound like the most visionary mission. But the Journal today is, well, better—a more compelling product that a wider swath of people might pick up and read.”
“Costco Hikes Membership Fee For The First Time Since 2017” (CNBC). “The membership-based warehouse club said Wednesday that it will increase its membership fee by $5 in the U.S. and Canada as of Sept. 1. That is an increase to $65 from $60 for annual memberships. Its higher-tier plan, called ‘Executive Membership,’ will increase to $130 a year from $120.”
“The Age Question Looms Over America’s Bosses” (Wall Street Journal). “Leadership and cognitive decline are pressing issues throughout America’s aging workforce. High-powered professionals increasingly work past traditional retirement ages, even as ageism pushes others to leave careers early. There will be twice as many workers 75 and older in 2030 as there were in 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects.”
