Mediabistro: History, Ownership and Role in PR Careers
Mediabistro is a New York media job board and career platform that Laurel Touby built from a networking business for media professionals. Jupitermedia bought it in July 2007 for $23 million, according to TechCrunch, and CognoGroup, an OTC-listed company, runs it today. Its job board lists public relations, marketing and communications roles, and the site was redesigned in November 2025.
When was Mediabistro founded, and by whom?
Laurel Touby founded Mediabistro, and sources disagree on the year. TechCrunch reported in 2007 that she started it in 1996 as a jobs website for the media industry, while Wikipedia's entry on the site dates its founding to 1999.
Touby has described an earlier start. Adweek's exit interview with her says she began the company in 1994 as a series of media mixers, which led to a website in 1996. The mixers explain why the business grew as a community first and a job board second.
Who has owned Mediabistro?
Mediabistro has had several owners since Touby sold it in 2007, and each buyer took different parts of the business.
Year
Owner
What changed
2007
Jupitermedia, later renamed WebMediaBrands and then Mediabistro Inc.
Paid $23 million: $20 million in cash plus up to $3 million over two years. Touby stayed on as a senior vice president, per TechCrunch
2014
Prometheus Global Media, a Guggenheim Partners subsidiary and owner of Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard
Paid $8 million in cash for the editorial properties (including TVNewser, AgencySpy and GalleyCat), the job board and the education business, per Adweek's announcement. The expo business stayed with the seller as Mecklermedia
2021
Recruiter.com Group, after an earlier owner, Parrut, Inc.
Bought Mediabistro for cash and stock disclosed in public filings, per Wikipedia
2026
CognoGroup, Inc. (OTC: CGNO)
Became an independent public company on January 1, 2026, separating from Nixxy, the former Recruiter.com, with Mediabistro as its flagship brand, per Wikipedia
What did Mediabistro offer PR and media professionals?
Mediabistro offered four things to PR and media professionals: a job board, training courses, events and industry blogs. TechCrunch noted in 2007 that the company ran the Fishbowl blogs for New York, Los Angeles and Washington and sold training seminars and on-demand videos to media workers.
The 2014 Adweek announcement lists the blogs that went to Prometheus: TVNewser, which covers television news, and AgencySpy, which covers advertising agencies. Both covered outlets and agencies that communications staff work with every day. For the craft itself, see EPR's guides to writing a press release and to PR careers.
What does Mediabistro look like in 2026?
Mediabistro in 2026 is a job board and career platform for media, creative and content marketing workers, owned and run by CognoGroup. It relaunched with a redesigned site in November 2025 and appointed Matt Charney, a media and recruiting executive, as executive editor, according to Wikipedia's summary of the relaunch announcement.
According to Wikipedia, its job board sorts openings into six categories: creative and design; marketing and communications; writing and editing; production; operations and strategy; and sales and business development. Public relations and communications specialist roles sit in the marketing and communications category.
Beyond job postings, Wikipedia lists résumé writing services, portfolio hosting, freelance profiles and media career courses among its services. The site also publishes editorial content and a weekly newsletter on Substack.
Is Mediabistro still useful for a PR career?
Mediabistro is still useful for finding media-adjacent PR and communications openings, but it is one source among several. LinkedIn and Indeed cover general job search, while Mediabistro narrows results to media, creative and content employers.
Wikipedia lists employers on the platform as news media, book publishing, streaming, podcasting, advertising agencies, corporate communications and creator economy organizations. A practical use is to set email alerts for the marketing and communications category and watch postings from those employers. For the full career path from entry level to senior roles, start with EPR's PR careers hub.
Conclusion
Mediabistro began as a community for New York media workers and kept that niche through several owners. For PR professionals, it works best as a focused job source and a piece of trade-media history, not as the only place to look for work.
Laurel Touby founded Mediabistro. Adweek reports she began it in 1994 as media networking mixers, and TechCrunch dates the jobs website to 1996.
Who owns Mediabistro now?
CognoGroup, Inc., an OTC-listed company, owns and operates Mediabistro. CognoGroup separated from Nixxy, formerly Recruiter.com, on January 1, 2026.
How much did Jupitermedia pay for Mediabistro?
Jupitermedia paid $23 million in July 2007, made up of $20 million in cash and up to $3 million over two years, according to TechCrunch.
Does Mediabistro list PR jobs?
Yes. Its marketing and communications category covers PR and communications roles, along with writing, editing and creative positions at media and agency employers.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
