Starting today, Bethesda Beat and Bethesda Now, the two local online news briefings, have merged.
In April, Bethesda Magazine, the publisher of Bethesda Beat, announced that it had acquired Bethesda Now, which has been publishing since 2013. The deal closed Tuesday.
Bethesda Now will no longer be published. Instead, Bethesda Now Editor Aaron Kraut has joined the Bethesda Beat staff. Starting Monday, Kraut and Bethesda Beat Editor Andrew Metcalf will be increasing the number of stories published each weekday from five to eight.
In addition, recipients of the Bethesda Now daily email update now will receive the Bethesda Beat daily email, the Bethesda Now Facebook and Twitter accounts have been rebranded as Bethesda Beat, and more than 2,000 Bethesda Now stories will be merged into the Bethesda Beat archive in the coming weeks.
“We’re excited that the merger is official and that Aaron has joined us,” said Steve Hull, editor and publisher of Bethesda Magazine. “Aaron and Andrew have done a terrific job as competitors. As colleagues they will be able to coordinate their efforts and cover even more local news.”
