New York Times Finds New Relevance in Media Column
New York: Ben Smith, the New York Times’s new media columnist — and BuzzFeed's old editor-in-chief — has spent the past six months stirring up an amount of drama and chaos that is notable even for these dramatic and chaotic times. "If you're not breaking news, you...
Tribune Attracts Possible Stake Boost from Hedge Fund
Crain's Chicago Business: Hedge fund firm Alden Global Capital is ramping up plans to take a bigger stake in Tribune Publishing, the owner of the Chicago Tribune, according to a report from a union organization representing employees at its MediaNews Group newspaper...
Conde Nast’s British Vogue Editor Makes Cover of Time
Showbiz411: Time magazine has put British Vogue editor Edward Enninful on the cover of its international edition with a big headline: "Fashioning Change." Enninful, Time says, is tipped as Anna Wintour's successor. "The Time cover is a bold move for Enninful, who...
Meredith Ranks No 2 on List of Global Product Licensors
Digiday: Product licensing is not a new revenue stream for publishers, but it’s becoming an increasingly more valuable one. Meredith, Hearst, BuzzFeed and Conde Nast have all seen their annual total sales of branded merchandise increase from 2018 to 2019 by tens of...
The Atlantic Calls to Cancel Nobel Prize After Trump Nod
Fox News: The Atlantic magazine is raising eyebrows for publishing a piece calling for the abolition of the Nobel Peace Prize after President Trump was nominated for the honor. "Peace had its chance, and blew it. The Trump nomination ... helps show...
BuzzFeed Starts Buzzing Again with Hopes of Luring Ads
AdExchanger: "We see advertisers returning to spending mode again," says BuzzFeed ad strategy SVP Ken Blom. "But the environment has changed, and the way we work with advertisers has changed. We don't know what will happen next, where the numbers will be or what the...
First Look Media in Spotlight Over Probe at The Intercept
New York Times: The Intercept "should have taken greater precautions to protect the identity of a source," admits editor Betsy Reed. After the source was sentenced to federal prison, the outlet opened an internal probe of its blunder. The organization "failed to hold...
Oracle Beats Out Microsoft in Bidding War for US TikTok
Wall Street Journal: Oracle won the bidding for the US operations of the video-sharing app TikTok, beating out Microsoft. Oracle is set to be announced as TikTok's "trusted tech partner" in the US, and the deal is not likely to be structured as an outright sale....
Apple Creates Its Own Special Face Masks for Employees
Bloomberg: Apple has developed masks that the company is beginning to distribute to corporate and retail employees to limit the spread of Covid-19. The Apple Face Mask is the first created in-house by the technology giant for its staff. Apple will start sending the...
Microsoft Readies Rollout of New $500 Xbox in November
Associated Press: Microsoft says its Xbox Series X will cost $500 and debut Nov. 10, just ahead of the holidays. There haven't been new generations of video game consoles for several years. The Verge: The new Xbox Series X console "demands to stand upright, loud and...
Google Tweaks Autocomplete in Support of US Elections
CNET: Google has made changes to its search engine's autocomplete feature, which tries to predict what people want to search for, while they're still typing. For example, if someone types the phrase "donate to," Google will block autocomplete suggestions that include...
Amazon Debuts Alexa Print for Voice Printing of Content
TechCrunch: Amazon has launched a new Alexa-enabled printing feature that lets Echo device owners use voice commands to print out common items, like to-do lists, recipes, weekly calendars, educational content for kids and even some games, like Sudoku or crossword...
ByteDance Hopes to Get More Time in Sale of US TikTok
Ars Technica: ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, is facing a looming Sept.15 deadline to sell its US operations. On Thursday evening, President Trump told reporters that the deadline wouldn't be pushed back. "I'm not extending deadlines. No. It's Sept....
Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Faces China Media Snub After Backlash
Reuters: Chinese authorities have told major media outlets not to cover Disney's release of "Mulan," in an order issued after controversy erupted overseas over the film's links with the Xinjiang region. Set to open in local theatres on Friday, Disney had high hopes...
Fox Corp’s Murdoch Stirs Trump Fears of Fading Support
Vanity Fair: President Trump believes Rupert Murdoch wants him to lose the election in November. "Trump thinks Rupert is not in his corner." Deadline: Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch predicts Fox News will thrive even if Joe Biden wins. The Hill: Trump praises several...
Comcast’s NBC ‘Saturday Night Live’ Returns in October
New York Times: "Saturday Night Live" will begin its 46th season on Oct. 3. In March, "SNL" had just aired a new live episode featuring Daniel Craig and was preparing for a new show to be hosted by John Krasinski when the pandemic forced the suspension of the show's...
Sony to Release Bruce Springsteen Album Made at Home
Associated Press: Bruce Springsteen will release a new rock album that he recorded in his New Jersey home studio with the E Street Band. The Boss says that the album is called "Letter To You" and he and the band recorded it in just five days. It will be released on...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Eyes Spring Debut of Streamer Ads
Digiday: WarnerMedia is said to have told ad buyers that it plans to roll out HBO Max's ad-supported tier in the second quarter of 2021. Fox News: In 2016, CNN head Jeff Zucker reportedly offered "the boss" Donald Trump debate advice and floated a weekly show to the...
Netflix Faces Social Media Cancel Campaign Over ‘Cuties’
Fox News: A newly released clip from the new film "Cuties" has led to the hashtag #CancelNetflix trending on social media. Netflix previously apologized after the poster for the French film showed the underage cast posing in a sexual manner. Now, there's renewed...
Twitter to Remove, Label Tweets Hampering US Elections
CNBC: Twitter on Thursday announced a new policy to remove or label any tweets containing false information that are intended to undermine public confidence in elections and civic processes, including the 2020 US election. The policy will be "applied equally and...
Megyn Kelly Returns to Media with Venture in Podcasting
Wall Street Journal: Megyn Kelly is coming back on the air, but this time she'll be podcasting. The former TV news commentator and talk-show host's new Devil May Care Media is slated to release the first episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" at the end of the month. Kelly...
New York Times Journalist Gets Booted from Trump Rally
Deadline: A New York Times reporter says she was kicked out of Donald Trump's campaign rally in Michigan, after posting on social media about the crowds and the lack of masks among the attendees. Vulture: Ben Brantley, the New York Times chief theater critic for 24...
Meredith to Mull Split of Local TV-Magazines in November
Des Moines Register: Meredith will ask investors at a Nov. 11 meeting to amend the media company's charter, allowing the current shareholding structure to remain in place in case the company splits into two. Meredith executives did not say they would necessarily split...
Conde Nast China President Departs After Drastic Changes
WWD: Sophia Liao, president of Conde Nast China, has exited the company. Despite commercial success, Liao's management style has been controversial. Many high-profile editors and publishers, who have been with the subsidiary since Conde Nast established it, have been...
Hearst, Conde Editors to Stay Home During Fashion Month
WWD: Vogue's Anna Wintour, as well as editors from other fashion magazines, won't be traveling to Europe this month. CNBC: British GQ's Dylan Jones warns of "casualties" in media and fashion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. "Display advertising has been...
G/O Media Former Employees Unveil Sports Blog Defector
Inside Hook: "All of our bullshit. None of theirs." And with that, over a dozen former Deadspin employees have launched the new sports site Defector. A paid membership site, Defector is instantly recognizable for its mix of humor, pointed barbs and a lack of need for...
Netflix CEO Predicts More Big Mergers in Traditional Media
CNBC: Reed Hastings predicts traditional media companies will continue to consolidate in an effort to compete with Netflix, such as Disney's acquisition of the majority of Fox and Viacom's merger with CBS. "I think you'll see continued combinations of the existing...
Amazon Appoints Marketing Chief for Studios, Prime Video
Variety: Marketing veteran Ukonwa Ojo has been named CMO of Amazon's Prime Video and Amazon Studios, joining the ecommerce giant's entertainment division from the chief marketing post at MAC Cosmetics. Ojo will be responsible for leading global brand and originals...
ByteDance Talks with US on Avoiding a Full Sale of TikTok
CNBC: ByteDance is speaking with the US government about possible solutions that may allow it to retain some ownership of the US operations of TikTok, while satisfying regulators in both China and the US. Those possibilities include handing over operational control of...
Disney Under Attack for Filming ‘Mulan’ in China’s Xinjiang
Associated Press: Disney is facing criticism for filming part of its live-action reboot “Mulan” in Xinjiang, the region in China where the government has been accused of human rights abuses against Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. The final credits...