The New York Post continues to report on the alleged impending firing of Adweek Editorial Director Michael Wolff. The last time the newspaper speculated on Wolff’s demise, comments at AdScam noted a probable vendetta, as Wolff has been highly critical of NY Post owner Rupert Murdoch—plus, one of The Post writers is a former Adweek scribe, likely grinding an ax. Whatever. The ill-fitting wonk does deserve to be booted. And MultiCultClassics has hardly been a fan of the man. At the same time, The Post coverage seems extreme. Madison Avenue has seen C-suite executives bounced without a mention from the publication. Why waste column space on the editorial director of a third-rate magazine no one reads? Additionally, the remarks about Prometheus backer and Wolff hirer Jimmy Finkelstein are pathetic. The Post used an anonymous source to declare, “Finkelstein feels Wolff doesn’t have a handle on how to run an old-fashioned trade magazine.” Um, Wolff relaunched the mess by proclaiming Adweek is “not your father’s trade magazine.” Did Finkelstein ever huddle with Wolff prior to his appointment to discuss the plan for the future? Hell, with all the inept politics, Adweek is starting to resemble a typical BDA.
Wolff tracks seen
New editor eyed
By Keith J. Kelly and Claire Atkinson
Publisher Prometheus Global Media has started searching for a replacement for Adweek Editor Michael Wolff amid an internal back-and-forth over the direction of the company, The Post has learned.
Prometheus backer Jimmy Finkelstein, who hired Wolff to overhaul Adweek after several candidates turned him down, now thinks Wolff is a controversial highbrow who has alienated old-line Madison Avenue types, sources said.
One source with knowledge of the search said Finkelstein feels Wolff doesn’t have a handle on how to run an old-fashioned trade magazine.
Finkelstein, who also owns Washington trade The Hill, has been spending most of his time since he took over the CEO job trying to figure out how to return Adweek to its business-to-business roots, using his trade mag experience as a template.
Finkelstein and Wolff didn’t return calls seeking comment.
At the same time, there appears to be a tug of war between Finkelstein and another big backer, Guggenheim partner Todd Boehly, who invested in Prometheus together.
While Finkelstein focuses on a replacement for Wolff, sources said Boehly is busy shaking the bushes for a potential buyer for Prometheus, which also owns The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazines.
“Everybody is pretending that they are in control, when in reality nobody is in control,” said one source close to the situation.
Boehly denied any internal conflict and said that he has no intention of selling in the near term.
“I have a lot of passion and a lot of energy,” said Boehly. “We’re focused on building three big verticals in music, entertainment and advertising, all of which can be taken globally and digitally.”
While he heaped praise on the changes made at The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, he said investors were still trying to figure out what to do at Adweek. He would not comment on the Wolff replacement talk.
Meanwhile, insiders say the internal environment has become far more difficult since CEO Richard Beckman was stripped in July of his day-to-day duties—taken over by Finkelstein—even though he kept the title and his lavish East Village office.
“I think all the owners have a love-hate relationship with one another,” said one insider.
Another insider was not so kind: “The Guggenheim guys are trying to get rid of Jimmy, and Jimmy is trying to get rid of Richard [Beckman].
Boehly insisted that is not the case.
“Guggenheim is not interested in getting rid of Jimmy,” he said. “We love Jimmy.”
And he said that Beckman, despite being stripped of the CEO responsibilities, is still very much involved in the search for new business.
Beckman has been scouring the globe to line up partners to extend franchises like the Billboard Music Awards, taken out of mothballs after five years and staged in Las Vegas on ABC show this year.
Last week, Beckman and Boehly were in Brazil. Beckman said he was still several weeks away from being able to reveal anything.
The executives all have their favorite titles. Said one source, “Boehly loves Billboard, Finkelstein loves The Hollywood Reporter, and nobody loves Adweek.”
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