WPP Chief Suggests Age 30 is Too Old to Work in Media
MarketWatch: The CEO of one of the world's biggest advertising groups has been forced to apologize after sparking a row over ageism. Mark Read, 53, suggested the business was lucky to have employees with an average age of less than...
News Corp’s ‘Fox News for Britain’ Could Be Online Only
Financial Times: A Fox News-style television network (perhaps even two) is headed to Britain. Plans for a project led by a former Fox News executive are said to be afoot, though it is unclear whether this would be online...
Conde Nast Launches Memberships for Vogue Business
MediaPost: Vogue Business has launched a membership program, after attracting an audience of 340,000 in the 18 months of its running. Vogue Business was created in January 2019 by Conde Nast International as its first B2B...
Atlantic Editor Pens Report on Trump Insulting War Dead
Mediaite: In a report published at The Atlantic, editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg cited multiple sources who say that President Trump made disrespectful comments when he cancelled a 2018 visit to a cemetery of American war...
New York Times Gives Staffers $1,000 for ‘Difficult Times’
@marcatracy: "From the inbox: Virtually all NYT employees are getting a $1000 bonus due to 'the difficult and unsettled circumstances.' I believe this follows the Washington Post giving its employees $1000 bonuses in...
McClatchy Chiefs Say Farewell Amid Sale to Hedge Fund
Poynter: The transfer of McClatchy to new owner hedge fund Chatham Asset Management is scheduled for Friday. For the occasion, both board chairman Kevin McClatchy and CEO Craig Forman published farewell...
A360 Media Announces Staff Furloughs at New Publisher
New York Post: The new owner of the National Enquirer and Us Weekly has announced a new round of furloughs. "We have made the difficult decision to furlough certain staff members so we can lessen the impact of the...
Schneps Media Buys Hamptons Publication Dan’s Papers
New York Post: Dan's Papers has been acquired by weekly newspaper chain Schneps Media. Most of the existing staff is expected to remain intact. Schneps owns over 70 publications including a chain of weeklies including...
Disney Plans Unorthodox Release for Live-Action ‘Mulan’
CNET News: Disney's unorthodox release plan for "Mulan" -- like most things during the coronavirus pandemic -- raised a lot of new questions. After delaying the big-screen rollout three times, Disney finally chose an unconventional path for the...
Comcast, ViacomCBS TV Advertisers Seek Cancel Rights
Wall Street Journal: Advertisers are pressing for flexibility to back out of spending commitments with TV networks, concerned that the coronavirus pandemic is sapping the fall schedule of new programming and threatening the National Football League’s...
Fox Corp News Anchor to Return as Moderator for Debate
Los Angeles Times: Fox News anchor Chris Wallace will be a moderator of the first debate between President Trump and Joe Biden on Sept. 29. Wallace presided over a debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was widely...
News Corp’s Proposed ‘British Fox News’ Likely Lucrative
Press Gazette: Plans for a Fox News-style TV channel in the UK could find a tougher market than its US counterpart but still be lucrative enough to succeed for years, says Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, head of the Reuters Institute for the Study of...
AT&T WarnerMedia Snubs Claim About CNN Chris Cuomo
MarketWatch: President Trump was apparently watching Fox News host Tucker Carlson when he determined that CNN host Chris Cuomo should be fired by the network. A source at CNN dismissed the new allegations of misconduct as "a...
Facebook’s Big Story on Wednesday: ‘Nancy Pelosi’s Hair’
@kevinroose: "Nancy Pelosi's haircut is by far the biggest story on Facebook right now. Thirteen of the top 25 top-performing link posts on US Facebook in the last 24 hours (and four of the top five) are about...
Twitter Says India’s Prime Minister Account Was Hacked
BBC News: Twitter has said that an account for the personal website of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been hacked. A series of tweets were sent from the account asking followers to donate cryptocurrency to a relief...
Netflix Appeals Exec-Poaching Lawsuit from Disney’s Fox
Deadline: Almost nine months after coming up short in its long battle with Disney-owned Fox over snatching two executives back in 2016, Netflix is climbing back in the ring to start the whole thing up again with a new...
Quibi Loses to Netflix in Race to Nab Prince Harry, Meghan
New York Post: Before the news broke that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are becoming Hollywood producers by signing a multiyear deal with Netflix, other entertainment startups were angling to be in business with the...
Google’s YouTube, Magician Offer Sky-High Balloon Stunt
USA Today: David Blaine enjoyed a peaceful float over Page, Arizona, Wednesday morning with the help of a bundle of balloons, as captured on a livestream.The 47-year-old magician partnered with YouTube Originals for the feat dubbed...
ViacomCBS ‘Star Trek’ Adds Trans, Non-Binary Characters
Reuters: "Star Trek" is introducing its first transgender and non-binary characters, with both roles set to debut in its US television series next month. They will appear in the third season of CBS's series "Star Trek:...
Amazon’s Audible to Present Podcast with ‘Sesame Street’
Variety: "The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends," aimed at preschool audiences, will exclusively be available on Audible, and feature new original music, interactive games, jokes, and appearances from Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie...
iHeartMedia Launches Weekly Podcast with Pete Buttigieg
TheHill: Pete Buttigieg is launching his own podcast, a professional endeavor that marks a step into the media world since bowing out of the Democratic presidential primary earlier this year. The new show is available on...
DraftKings Enjoys a Boost from Interest by Michael Jordan
Bloomberg: NBA legend Michael Jordan is receiving an equity interest in DraftKings in exchange for his role as a special adviser to the online sports-betting company's board of directors, a move that sent the company's high-flying shares even...
UTA Lays Off 50, Rolls Back Pay Cuts to Others at Agency
Los Angeles Times: United Talent Agency said it would reinstate full pay to workers who had their incomes reduced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and cut about 50 of its staffers. "The need remains to take a hard and honest look at the size of...
Tribune Hit with Lawsuit Over Plan for ‘Poison Pill’ Defense
Chicago Tribune: A Tribune Publishing shareholder is suing the Chicago-based newspaper company and its board, alleging the adoption in July of a so-called poison pill, is “an extremely aggressive overreach of corporate...
Time Magazine Lands ABC Special for 100 Most Influential
WWD: This year, Time won't be revealing its annual 100 most influential people list with just the usual press release a few days before the magazines hit newsstands, which in pre-pandemic days was followed by a black-tie event in...
Adweek Eyes Growth with Acquisition of Trade Publications
Adweek: Adweek has acquired three properties expanding its reach into the performance marketing space. Included in the acquisition from NAPCO Media are Target Marketing and Publishing Executive as well as FUSE Media, a publishing technology...
Disney Veteran Eyes Reputation in Sudden Exit from TikTok
TheWrap: Kevin Mayer's abrupt departure as CEO of TikTok last week followed a culture clash with his Chinese-based bosses but, more importantly, a realization that the job could damage his reputation irreparably. TikTok owner ByteDance was...
AT&T Seeks Sale of Digital Ad Business, Not Video Games
Wall Street Journal: AT&T is exploring the potential sale of its digital advertising unit Xandr, a sign the company is curbing its ambitions to become a force on Madison Avenue. Bloomberg: AT&T has removed its Warner Bros. video-game business from assets for...
ViacomCBS’s Book Publisher Gets Circled by Bertelsmann
Financial Times: Simon & Schuster is attracting takeover interest from Bertelsmann. The German media group's CEO said he would be ready to bid when ViacomCBS moved ahead with its planned sale, which has been held up by the...
TPG Explores Sale of US Cable Outlets RCN, Grande, Wave
Reuters: Private equity firm TPG is exploring a sale of Astound that could value the owner of a US network of regional cable TV and internet providers at more than $8 billion. Astound's network includes RCN, Grande Communications and Wave...