Condé Nast has purchased the tech and business site Backchannel.com. The site will join Wired and Ars Technica as part of the newly-formed Wired Media Group. As part of the deal, Backchannel founder and editor and former Condé staffer Steven Levy will return to Condé; Sandra Upson will continue to serve as executive editor and Wired writer Jessi Hempel will join the team, overseeing editorial. (FishbowlNY)
Despite its addition to the Condé Nast family, Backchannel will continue its presence on Medium. The formation of such a group gives Condé Nast scale, thus helping it sell digital advertising. The publishing house has bundled other titles at the company, including the Food Innovation Group, which groups several of its food-centric titles. Founded by Levy and Medium in 2014, Backchannel is a Silicon Valley-focused business and tech publication that examines the culture and stories of the tech industry. (WWD / Memo Pad)