TIME Appoints Sam Jacobs as Editor-in-Chief

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Apr 24, 2023, 09:01 ET

Jacobs is the youngest editor to lead TIME since co-founder Henry Luce

TIME's journalism reaches the largest global audience in the brand's history across digital, print, social and new platforms including live events, TIME Studios, the sustainability division TIME CO2, and more

NEW YORK, April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sam Jacobs has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of TIME effective immediately, it was announced today by CEO Jessica Sibley.

Jacobs, 37, is the youngest editor to lead TIME since co-founder Henry Luce. He is the 19th top editor in TIME's history and succeeds Edward Felsenthal, who stepped down in March 2023, and remains TIME's Executive Chairman and a contributing editor.

As Editor-in-Chief, Jacobs leads TIME's global newsroom and its journalism which reaches a combined audience—the largest in TIME's history—105 million people around the world across all platforms. Today, readers under the age of 35 account for 45% of TIME's global audience. TIME's high-impact journalism has served as the foundation of its significant growth since becoming an independent company in 2018, as TIME has launched new business divisions including the Emmy Award-winning film and television division TIME Studios, a rapidly growing global live events business built around the iconic TIME100 and Person of the Year franchises, the sustainability and climate-action platform TIME CO2, and more. TIME's readership includes more than 50 million social media followers and 1 million print subscribers, making TIME magazine the largest U.S. print title in news published today.

"TIME produces world-class journalism that drives the global conversation. There is no better leader for guiding that mission today than Sam," Sibley said. "During his decade as an editor at TIME, Sam has played a critical role in driving impact and transformation. I am thrilled that Sam will lead TIME's newsroom, directing our trusted journalism and driving TIME's efforts to innovate, reach new audiences and build new platforms."

"TIME's mission is to tell the stories of the people who shape and improve the world," Jacobs said. "We do this now in more ways than any other time in our history. What has not changed is our steadfast commitment to maintaining the trust of our readers. I am grateful to our editorial team for the extraordinary journalism we create together, to our CEO Jessica Sibley for her support and trust, and to our owners and co-chairs Marc and Lynne Benioff for their unparalleled commitment to our work and our mission."

During his decade at TIME, Jacobs has reshaped the strategic direction of the editorial team, hired dozens of journalists around the world and played a major role in the integration of TIME's newsroom across platforms. Since being named TIME's Deputy Editor in 2019, Jacobs has overseen TIME's trusted journalism across all platforms. He has guided the strategy for TIME's digital editorial operation, which has won multiple Emmy and National Magazine Awards; played an instrumental role in expanding TIME's global events and live journalism; partnered with TIME Studios; created and launched The Leadership Brief newsletter, and built a sustainability vertical for TIME CO2, which launched this month with the TIME CO2 Earth Awards.

Before joining TIME in 2013, Jacobs was the national political correspondent at Reuters, associate editor at Newsweek and staff reporter for The Daily Beast. His writing has appeared in the Boston Globe and New York Observer. He graduated from Harvard College where he studied history.

ABOUT TIME
TIME is the 100-year-old global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 105 million around the world through its iconic magazine and digital platforms. With unparalleled access to the world's most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers and partners globally, and an unrivaled power to convene, TIME's mission is to tell the essential stories of the people and ideas that shape and improve the world. Today, TIME also includes the Emmy Award®-winning film and television division TIME Studios, a significantly expanded live events business built on the powerful TIME100 and Person of the Year franchises, an industry-leading web3 division, an award-winning branded content studio, the website-building platform TIME Sites, the sustainability and climate-action platform TIME CO2, and more.

MEDIA CONTACT
Kristin Matzen, [email protected]

SOURCE TIME