Atlantic Media, Inc. is an American print and online media company owned by David G. Bradley and based in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. It held numerous publications and businesses. Since 2020, it holds a minority stake in The Atlantic, a print and online publication that also holds themed events, and offers business intelligence and consulting services through its National Journal Group subsidiary.
Founded in 1997 when Bradley purchased the National Journal Group, the company expanded for three decades by launching several new publications and acquiring others. It began to slim down in 2017 when Bradley sold a majority stake in The Atlantic to Emerson Collective, and continued by selling Quartz in 2018, CityLab in 2019, and the Government Executive Media Group subsidiary with its four publications and websites in 2020.
History
20th century
Bradley began his foray into publishing in 1997 by purchasing the National Journal Group, which published National Journal, The Hotline, National Journal Daily (previously known as Congress Daily), and Technology Daily.[2] The group also published books and directories, including the biennial Almanac of American Politics.[3]
21st century
In 2000, he acquired The Atlantic.[4] After first vowing to leave the magazine in Boston, he moved the headquarters to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
He also acquired Government Executive, which later created Nextgov, aimed at government leaders in IT; Defense One, aimed at national security leaders; and Route Fifty, aimed at leaders in state and local governments.[2]
In 2012, the company launched Quartz, one of the first websites designed from the start to serve mobile readers.
On July 28, 2017, The Atlantic announced that Bradley had sold majority ownership of the publication to Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of former Apple Inc. chairman and CEO Steve Jobs, through her Emerson Collective organization.[5] The Washington Post reported that Emerson Collective planned to move to full ownership in "three to five years".[6]
In 2018, Bradley sold Quartz to Uzabase, a Japanese financial publisher, in a deal that valued the publication up to $110M. [7]
In December 2019, Bradley sold Citylab for an undisclosed sum to Bloomberg L.P.[8]
In March 2020, Bradley sold Government Executive Media Group, including its publications Government Executive, Nextgov, Defense One, and Route Fifty, for an undisclosed sum to Growth Catalyst Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago.[9]
See also
- Michael Kelly Award
External links
References
- AtlanticMedia.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools WHOIS, retrieved 2016-10-18^
- Atlantic Media Atlantic Media, retrieved 2012-12-23^
- About Us National Journal, retrieved 23 December 2012^
- Harry Jaffe. Citizen Bradley | People & Politics Washingtonian, October 1, 2000, retrieved 2012-12-23^
- Gillian B. White. Emerson Collective Acquires Majority Stake in The Atlantic The Atlantic, July 28, 2017, retrieved July 28, 2017^
- Erik Wemple. Laurene Powell Jobs's Emerson Collective to purchase majority stake in the Atlantic The Washington Post, July 28, 2017, retrieved August 24, 2017^
- Atlantic Media Sells Quartz for up to $110 Million to Japan's Uzabase 2 July 2018, retrieved 14 September 2020^
- Bloomberg Media to Acquire CityLab From The Atlantic The Atlantic, 2019-12-10, retrieved 2020-09-08^
- Atlantic Media Sells Off Government Executive Media Group retrieved 2020-09-08^