Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is set to make another big investment in media.
The Emerson Collective, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2004, is reportedly considering making an investment in the Buzzfeed media’s news division.
Laurene’s company purchased a majority stake of The Atlantic last year and is in talks to put a lot of money behind Buzzfeed’s online news machine too. With an estimated net worth of $20 billion, Laurene Powell Jobs has enough cash to scoop up pretty any newspaper or website she fancies.
The deal with Buzzfeed is in the preliminary stages, according to a report from the Financial Times. The site’s sources cautioned that a deal might not be completed at all.
Buzzfeed split its news and media businesses into separate units last year. The investment would be for the news unit which was recently hit by a wave of layoffs. Buzzfeed has long been dependent on Facebook to reach readers. New adjustments to the social network’s algorithm though has emphasized photos and status updates from friends over news posts.
Powell Jobs has become an advocate for the free press in recent years and stated that a vibrant and free press is “essential for the health and wellbeing of our democracy”.
