French is now the interim general manager of The Wirecutter and its sister site The Sweethome.įrench, who will serve as The Wirecutter’s general manager for the next four to six months, said that the Times wants to invest in its new property immediately. On Monday, the Times acquired The Wirecutter in an all-cash deal for more than $30 million.

No one at the paper opposed the deal, French said, and many of the most enthusiastic proponents of the deal came from the newsroom - including executive editor Dean Baquet and Food editor Sam Sifton. I want to work with you.’ For me, it was love at first sight,” French recalled.įrench made his case to an executive committee at the Times, which supported the idea. “The first day I ever met him, after spending an hour or two with him, I was like, ‘We should buy you. French came away from the meeting convinced that the Times should buy The Wirecutter.

Will Bardeen, the Times’ head of strategy, helped set up a meeting between French and Brian Lam, the founder of The Wirecutter. The cut varies from about two to 12 percent, depending on the product. The site, and its sister site The Sweethome, generate revenue through affiliate links when a reader clicks a link to purchase a product that the site recommends and then makes a purchase, The Wirecutter gets a cut of the sale. The Wirecutter is a well-respected product recommendations site, founded by former Gizmodo editor Brian Lam as part of The Awl network in 2011.

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