Good News Network sold to new GNN Group in expansion push

Good News Network has a new owner and plans to spread across more screens.

GNN Group, a newly formed holding company, has acquired Good News Network for an undisclosed amount, Deadline reported on 14 October 2026. A holding company is a business set up to own other businesses. The price was not disclosed.

The deal sets up a new leadership team at the top. James Street, co-founder and co-CEO of Whalar Group, becomes a GNN co-founder, lead investor and co-chairman. A lead investor is the person or party putting in the main share of funding. A co-chairman shares oversight of the board, which is the group that guides a company's direction.

Anthony Samadani joins Street as GNN co-founder and co-chairman. He will lead GNN Studios, the group's production unit, and oversee original programming. A production unit is the team that makes shows and videos. In this case, that means short-form and digital video made under the GNN name, rather than programmes commissioned from outside producers.

Stephanie Sharis has been named chief executive of GNN. A chief executive runs day-to-day operations and answers to the board. Sharis previously held senior roles at AOL, SnagFilms, Indiewire, ViewLift and Cricket Media. Those are media, streaming and publishing businesses spanning internet services, film distribution, entertainment news and children's media.

Founder Geri Weis-Corbley, who started Good News Network in 1997, will continue with the company as founding editor. She stays on. A founding editor keeps a link to the outlet's original editorial voice while new owners handle business and expansion. That continuity matters for readers who have followed the site for years.

What readers will notice first is where and how to find the outlet. GNN plans to launch a fully rebuilt website before the end of the year. A rebuild usually means faster pages, a new design and easier navigation on phones. Its daily newsletter, Good News Break, will become a web-based app in early 2027. That would let readers open it like an app in a browser, without downloading anything from an app store.

GNN Studios will also programme a new GNN YouTube channel. To programme a channel means to choose what gets posted and when. For viewers, this means new video to watch alongside written stories.

For regular readers, this means the same outlet in more places. The organisation keeps its founder while adding a studio team focused on video and new digital products. The website comes first, then the app and channel.