Weinstein to Face Sex Assault Probe by Los Angeles Police
Associated Press: Police in Los Angeles have launched an investigation of Harvey Weinstein involving a possible sexual assault in 2013. Detectives have interviewed a possible victim who recently reported she was sexually assaulted by the film...
Viacom’s Nickelodeon Fires Creator After Harassment Claim
Los Angeles Times: Chris Savino, the creator of the Nickelodeon cartoon “The Loud House,” has been fired by the network after sexual harassment allegations were made against him. Savino is the latest Hollywood figure to lose his job over sexual harassment accusations...
Vox Media Fires Editorial Director Over Alleged Misconduct
TheAwl: In what appears to be the first and probably not the last repercussion of last week’s Shitty Media Men list, and the larger floodgates of assault and harassment survivors speaking out against their attackers, Lockhart Steele, Vox Media’s editorial director and...
Netflix in Spat with Sean Penn Over El Chapo Documentary
New York Times: Sean Penn and Netflix are fighting over a documentary series that will become available early Friday, with a lawyer for Penn saying in a letter to the streaming service that it is “hereby on notice that blood will be on their hands if this film causes...
Media Analyst: Skinny Bundles ‘So Far Are One Big Yawn’
Deadline: Jessica Reif Cohen, longtime media analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said virtual MVPs (aka “skinny bundles”) from the likes of Dish, DirecTV, Hulu, YouTube and Sony “so far are one big yawn, a big nothing” in terms of penetration and...
Tribune Shareholders Vote in Favor of Merger with Sinclair
Chicago Tribune: Tribune Media shareholders on Thursday “overwhelmingly” approved the company’s proposed acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group, even as federal regulators slow down the TV station megamerger to allow for more public...
Google Outlines Moves to Bring TV Ads Into 21st Century
The Drum: TV has traditionally been top of the food chain in terms of ad spend, but all that changed in the US last year when it was surpassed by digital. As the leading online advertising provider, Google hopes to replicate its lead in the digital landscape on...
Facebook News Subscription Tests Lose Some Big Names
Reuters: Facebook has signed up 10 news publishers including the Washington Post and The Economist to take part in a trial that gives its mobile app users access to a limited number of articles a month and then the option to subscribe. But several major publishers...
Pew Research Says Techies Divided on Future of Fake News
Multichannel News: Tech experts are divided over whether methods will emerge in the next decade to combat fake news and "allow the most accurate information to prevail in the overall information ecosystem," but a major weapon in the arsenal could be supporting, and...
Vice, Vogue to Team Up for Project Including New Website
Variety: At first blush, Vogue and Vice would seem to go together as well as soda and mayonnaise. But in the world of advertising, their collaboration might prove quite tasty. The storied Conde Nast fashion outlet and the spirited digital-media empire are joining...
Conde Nast’s GQ Film ‘Only the Brave’ Hits Theaters Friday
Hollywood Reporter: On Oct. 20, Sony will open Conde Nast Entertainment's first major film, the $38 million firefighter drama "Only the Brave," based on a GQ feature about a tragic 2013 inferno in Arizona that killed 19 firefighters. Unlike with past...
DMG Entertainment Makes Bid to Buy 10 Percent of Forbes
Hollywood Reporter: DMG Entertainment's Chinese affiliate has offered to buy a 10 percent stake in Forbes, the U.S. business magazine and media company. Along with the minority stake, DMG would acquire "greater China rights" to the Forbes brand in the proposed...
Hearst in Deal to Take Over Dutch Branch of Gruner + Jahr
Fashion Network: Hearst Netherlands has reached an agreement to take over the Dutch branch of Gruner + Jahr Media. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of he year. Gruner + Jahr Media Netherlands publishes print and digital editions of brands such as...
Rodale CEO Tells Staffers All Jobs Are Safe – Until January
New York Post: Rodale CEO Maria Rodale spoke with anxious staffers at a town-hall meeting at the company’s Emmaus, Pa., headquarters on Thursday to try to calm employee jitters about the sale to Hearst. Rodale told the staffers that they all had guaranteed jobs until...
IDG CEO to Step Down at Publisher of PCWorld, MacWorld
Folio: Michael Friedenberg is stepping down from his role as CEO of IDG Global Communications after 12 years with the company. Friedenberg’s four year tenure as CEO was one of persistent change for IDG — whose brands include CIO, ComputerWorld, PCWorld, and...
Playboy Celebrates Hugh Hefner on Cover of Latest Issue
New York Post: Playboy will put a picture of a 39-year-old Hugh Hefner on the cover of its November/December issue. The founder’s cover appearance marks only the 11th time that a male has appeared on the cover — and the first time a man has appeared on the cover...
Conde Nast’s Vanity Fair Readies Cover of Graydon Carter
New York Post: Graydon Carter is giving himself a farewell gift. He will appear on the cover of the February issue, of Vanity Fair his last as editor-in-chief. Annie Leibovitz will shoot the cover, traditionally a triple gatefold featuring Hollywood...
Hearst’s Departing Elle Editor Appears at Magazine ‘Elle-gy’
New York Times: Robbie Myers was celebrated at a party for her 17 years at Elle magazine. Along with the departures of Cindi Leive, Graydon Carter and Nancy Gibbs, Myers's seemed to signify the end of an era in glossy magazines. But this evening felt specifically like...
Netflix’s Stellar Quarter is More Bad News for Media Stocks
TheStreet: Netflix this year has added more subscribers, actually 25% more, than Hulu has attracted in the eight years since it was formed by the country's largest media companies. It just happens that those media giants -- Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast (plus...
Disney Movies Face a Big Test; the CEO Likes His Chances
Bloomberg: Despite the doom and gloom in Tinseltown, it’s possible Disney’s next three movies outdraw the company’s late 2016 releases, led by the latest Lucasfilm installment, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which hits theaters Dec. 15. There’s even a chance Disney’s...
AT&T, Time Warner Win Conditional Antitrust Nod in Brazil
Reuters: Brazil’s antitrust authority on Wednesday approved a merger of Time Warner and AT&T, and allowed the companies to keep all of their assets in the country, under certain conditions. The Brazilian regulator Cade unanimously voted to approve the deal,, as...
Viacom, Charter Agree to Eight Networks in Basic Package
Reuters: Viacom and Charter are said to have agreed to a distribution deal that puts eight of Viacom’s most popular networks in Charter’s cheapest U.S. cable bundle. MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Paramount Network and BET would be in the basic package of Charter’s...
Time Warner’s CNN Gets FAA OK for Drones Over Crowds
Bloomberg: CNN received a waiver allowing routine drone flights above crowds, a milestone for the industry seeking greater use of the remote-controlled devices for everything from insurance inspections to covering news. The approval is the first time the U.S. Federal...
CBS Sports Streaming Service to Launch with News Focus
MediaPost: CBS’s streaming sports video service will launch “soon,” according to CBS Interactive president and COO Marc Debevoise. Unlike ESPN’s upcoming streaming service -- which will focus on sports that don’t quite fit on the linear channel -- the new CBS service...
Verizon Eyes Spring for Start of Delayed Online TV Service
Bloomberg: Verizon is aiming for a spring 2018 launch for its new online TV service, which has been delayed at least twice as the telecommunications giant grapples with how to compete in the media world. The timing of the web-based, live TV service’s introduction...
Discovery, Snap in Partnership on 2018 Olympics for Europe
World Screen: Discovery's Eurosport and Snap have entered an advertising and content agreement that will deliver a new partnership for the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang 2018. Snapchatters across Europe can access Olympic Games action through several types of...
Nielsen to Report on Viewing for Shows on Netflix, Amazon
Associated Press: The Nielsen company, which has long measured viewership of television programs, now says it has a way to collect and widely spread details about how many people watch programming produced by streaming services like Netflix and...
Netflix Cancels ‘Chelsea’ Talk Show After Two-Season Run
Hollywood Reporter: Chelsea Handler is walking away from her Netflix talk show. The streaming giant has canceled its first talk show after a two-season run. Handler, who made the announcement Wednesday on her social media pages, is expected to focus on activism....
VidAngel Uses Bankruptcy Strategy to Fend Off Big Studios
Forbes: VidAngel, the film and television streaming service that filters out objectionable content, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. Companies often adopt the “bankruptcy strategy” to continue R&D while pushing back...
Google Serves Fake-News Ads on Fact-Checking Websites
New York Times: The headlines are eye-catching. Melania Trump is leaving the White House! Joel Osteen is leaving his wife! Neither stories were true. Yet last week, they were being promoted with prominent ads served by Google on PolitiFact and Snopes, fact-checking...