New York Times to ‘Re-Report’ Podcast Following Hoax
Daily Beast: The New York Times is putting together a team of journalists to "re-report" its critically acclaimed podcast on the Islamic State after one of its central characters was arrested for allegedly faking his background in terrorism. "We are going to look for...
Conde Nast to Reverse Pandemic Pay Cuts for Staffers
WWD: Conde Nast is reversing the pay cuts it made for US employees as the coronavirus wreaked havoc on fragile revenues. Separately, the publisher named Yashica Olden as global chief diversity officer. New York Times: Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have...
Hearst Under Fire for Handling of Magazine ‘Disruptor’
New York: Hearst CEO Steve Swartz clearly hadn't calculated how events would unfold after the publication of an article about the "toxic culture" in the company's magazine division. Swartz had felt that the "crude" remarks by magazine chief Troy Young were not a...
Conde Nast Plans India Tech Center to Reinvent Brands
Bloomberg: Conde Nast plans to open a global technology and product center in Bangalore to amplify the digital capabilities of its brands and boost online revenues. The Conde Nast Technology Lab aims to "digitally reinvent brands like Vogue to be relevant to a younger...
Authentic Brands Likes Licensing at Sports Illustrated
Digiday: Authentic Brands Group has found lucrative business opportunities from slapping the Sports Illustrated logo on products that fit nicely into the franchises and intellectual property that the brand developed over its nearly 70 years of covering...
Essence Magazine Furloughs Staffers Amid Pandemic
TheHill: Essence magazine, the renowned publication that has been committed to covering the Black woman experience since 1970, announced this week that it will be furloughing staff to offset the "significant negative impact" of the ongoing Covid-19...
Digital Trends Lays Off Over a Dozen Editorial Staffers
Talking Biz News: Digital Trends, the technology news website, has laid off at least 13 editorial staffers. "We have recently announced several staffing updates to our team, as part of our plan to support our rapidly growing business lines," says a Digital Trends...
Drudge Report Faces Steady Decline of Visitor Traffic
TheRighting: Traffic to the Drudge Report has decreased steadily in the first eight months of 2020. The website has experienced year-over-year declines in unique visitors in every month of 2020. Drudge's downward trend contrasts sharply with increases in traffic that...
Axios on Pace for Profits Despite Digital Media Unrest
Wall Street Journal: Axios, the digital news startup, is on target to make a profit this year despite the economic turmoil stemming from the coronavirus that led to broad layoffs and pay cuts at many media outlets. The company is on track to take in about $58 million...
Facebook, Fox Corp Help Spread ‘Fake News’ on Biden
NBC News: A conspiracy theory that Joe Biden would wear an electronic ear piece during the first presidential debate went wildly viral in the hours before the event, and the groundless theory was later amplified by conservative news outlets that claimed Biden had...
Fox Corp Promotes Cable News Win Over Broadcast TV
Fox News: Fox News Channel finished a historic third quarter as the first cable network ever to surpass all broadcast networks in total weekday prime-time viewers for an entire three-month period. Fox News averaged 4 million weekday prime-time viewers, beating top...
Comcast to Fight Disinfo with Shepard Smith on CNBC
Daily Beast: Shepard Smith says he is ready for Wednesday night's debut of "The News with Shepard Smith," an hour-long CNBC show that replaces the 7 pm airing of "Shark Tank." Smith's plans? "We're gonna do a newscast. We're gonna have no pundits and no...
Disney to Lay Off 28,000 Workers Across Theme Parks
Los Angeles Times: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought substantial layoffs to Disney's massive theme park operations and other units. The company will lay off 28,000 domestic employees at its parks, experiences and products operations, affecting about 13% of its global...
iHeartMedia to Turn Staff Covid Furloughs Into Layoffs
Radio Insight: iHeartMedia says that a number of employees who were furloughed in March will not be returning to the radio giant. As a "result of changed habits and so much work still being done from home, we will not need all the jobs we once...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Plans Batman Podcast on Spotify
Reuters: An original story about Batman alter-ego Bruce Wayne will debut next year as a podcast series on the Spotify streaming service. Called "Batman Unburied," the series is the first being developed through a deal between Spotify and Warner Bros to bring DC Comics...
Disney Adds Co-Watching Feature to Streaming Service
TechCrunch: Disney+ has become the latest streaming service to introduce a way for friends and family to watch movies and TV together while in different locations. Disney has already been testing the new GroupWatch feature in Canada, Australia and New...
Sinclair Sports Regionals Set for Punt from YouTube TV
Cord Cutters News: After renegotiating with Sinclair to continue access to regional sports networks earlier this year, YouTube TV has announced that the contract extension is expiring and the streaming service will drop Fox regional sports networks beginning this...
Buzzer Raises $4 Million for Mobile Live Sports Platform
Axios: Buzzer, a mobile platform that wants to connect fans through live sports, has raised $4 million in seed funding. Buzzer's vision is to aggregate sports rights, sending fans notifications to make it easy to pop into a live game, either through existing...
Bloomberg Media to Expand with Personal Finance Site
Axios: Bloomberg Media plans to launch Bloomberg Wealth, a new editorial vertical to help readers and viewers make smarter decisions about their personal finances, including divorce and moving. It will include data-backed tools designed to help readers navigate...
Reuters to Eye Workplace Reinvention in ‘Great Reboot’
Talking Biz News: Reuters has announced the launch of a new editorial vertical on the transformation and reimagining of the workplace that is being accelerated around the world by Covid-19. "The Great Reboot" will provide news and insights on the future of the...
Belo Faces Departure of Editor at Dallas Morning News
Dallas Morning News: Mike Wilson plans to step down at year-end as editor of the Dallas Morning News, ending a nearly six-year run where he guided the newsroom, from the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers to a global pandemic. "I'm tired. My immediate plan...
Hearst Tries Larger Formats, Better Paper at Magazines
News & Tech: Hearst has launched Premium Print, an initiative that includes a multimillion-dollar investment across its portfolio of more than 25 magazine brands to further strengthen its position in the marketplace and enhance the quality of its print...
Conde Nast, Hearst ‘Celebrate Blackness’ in Magazines
Mr Magazine: "Magazines are celebrating blackness like they never have before. Some are asking if this is the new normal, while others are lamenting about what took magazines so long to discover people of color. Blacks appeared on covers in the past, but they were few...
Penske Media Launches Digital Store for Rolling Stone
WWD: Rolling Stone magazine has launched an online shop with two limited T-shirt collections. The first has been inspired by the magazine's covers throughout the decades. The second features Rolling Stone's three different logos. The apparel offering will likely grow...
Vox Media to Roll Out Self-Serve Ad Tool for Marketers
Adweek: Vox Media has launched a self-serve ad tool to create and submit campaigns, then track how they perform across properties included in the company's in-house ad marketplace, Concert. The new tool is another step Vox is taking to capitalize on its proprietary ad...
Time Magazine Nabs New Subscribers from TV Special
Axios: This year's "Time 100" event drove 10.14 billion media impressions in first 72 hours, driving revenue around the event to increase 71% year-over-year, says president Keith Grossman. The ABC prime-time broadcast special drove over 27,000 new subscriptions to...
Drudge Report Rumor of Investor Search Gets Denials
New York Post: Matt Drudge is the latest media figure rumored to be looking for a cash infusion in the form of a partial sale of his popular news website Drudge Report. The juicy tidbit bounced around this week from the financial world to the publishing...
Apple Engineers Unveil Custom Face Mask for Staffers
CNBC: Apple is known for its sleek, innovative designs and game-changing products. So it's fitting that Apple has developed its own version of a product that people around the world use daily: face masks. The custom face masks are intended for retail and corporate...
Alphabet’s YouTube Emerges as Critical News Source
VentureBeat: YouTube has become an important source of news for people in the US as independent and traditional media sources attract massive audiences on the video-sharing site. But the growing influence of the video platform also heightens concerns about its...
Fox Corp Moves News Channel Away from Legit News
Daily Beast: Staffers say the recent layoffs gutting Fox News fact-checking team were a victory for the network's right-wing opinion shows and further cemented its status as "state media." Associated Press: Chris Wallace is set to moderate the first 2020 presidential...