Gray, Meredith Join Launch of Local TV Streaming Service
Wall Street Journal: A new streaming service called VUit ("View It"), featuring more than 200 TV stations, launched on Tuesday, part of an effort by local-TV groups to make their content more broadly available and generate additional advertising...
Report: TV Ad Crew Covid Death Stirs Set Safety Concerns
Los Angeles Times: The death of a 51-year-old assistant director who lost a battle with Covid-19 after returning to work on a commercial shoot has heightened concerns about the safety of film sets. John Nolan died on Aug....
Apple, Google to Notify Users of Possible Exposure to Covid
USA Today: Apple and Google teamed up to develop push notifications that let iOS and Android users know if they might have been exposed to Covid-19. The opt-in based system lets your local public health agency alert you to potential...
Netflix Forecast to More Than Double Subscribers by 2030
TheStreet: Netflix could reach 500 million subscribers by 2030 from 193 million today, according to RBC analyst Mark Mahaney. The company "has achieved a level of sustainable scale, growth, and profitability that isn’t currently reflected in its stock...
Amazon, Netflix Elbow Way Into Talks for Hollywood Movies
Bloomberg: Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures have begun negotiating with streaming services and cable networks to license their next round of theatrical movies, starting with films to be released in 2022. The deals could generate $250 million per studio...
Twitter Cracks Down on Altered Videos After Biden Outrage
Fox Business: Twitter has expanded its "manipulated media" label policy. The news comes after high-profile Twitter users shared altered video clips featuring Joe Biden as the website prepares to combat misinformation ahead of the...
New York Times Sees a Succession Shakeup from Upheaval
Vanity Fair: Even a pandemic and protests haven't tamped down the scuttlebutt over who might be named the next editor of the New York Times. National editor Marc Lacey's name is now being kicked around. "Marc Lacey's stock has risen really...
Conde, Hearst, Meredith Take a New Approach to September
Business of Fashion: The September issue, which at most fashion glossies attracts the most buzz and advertising revenue, is proving particularly fraught this year. NBC News: Many magazines dedicated their September issues to Black voices. ...
Meredith, Conde Nast to Begin Rolling Back Crisis Pay Cuts
Digiday: Call it a modest sign that nature is healing in media: The pay cuts that many publications instituted at the start of the pandemic are starting to get rolled back. Meredith said that it would reinstitute full pay for employees beginning September...
Hearst Extends Magazine Brands to New Line of Mattresses
License Global: Country Living, House Beautiful, Men's Health and Women's Health are set to become mattresses in a new licensing deal with Idle Group. "This partnership proves the mattress space is anything but...
A360 Media Finds David Pecker Still Calling Editorial Shots
New York Post: David Pecker may have stepped down as CEO of American Media last month, but he's still heavily involved in calling the editorial shots at the publisher of the National Enquirer and Us...
Uzabase’s Quartz Talks of Doubling of Subscribers in a Year
TheDrum: Quartz recently breached 21,000 paying members, almost doubling its subscriber base in less than a year. In March and April, subscription growth rate at Quartz was almost up by a quarter year-on-year by focusing first on its coronavirus ...
Drudge Report Under Attack from Trump for ‘Mini-Strokes’
Politico: President Trump and his campaign accused political commentators Matt Drudge and Joe Lockhart of spreading rumors that Trump had gone to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to treat a "series of...
Facebook Threatens to Ban Australians from Sharing News
Sydney Morning Herald: Facebook is threatening to ban news from being shared on its main app and Instagram in Australia in a major attack on proposed legislation that would force it and Google to pay publishers for content. The legislation misunderstands "the dynamic...
Microsoft, Oracle Top Bidders in Imminent Deal for TikTok
CNBC: TikTok has chosen a bidder for its US, New Zealand and Australian businesses, and it could announce the deal as soon as Tuesday. Microsoft, in partnership with Walmart, and Oracle are the two top contenders. The sale price is expected to be $20 billion to $30...
Netflix Offers Free Movies, Series to Nab New Subscribers
Gadgets360: Netflix is offering limited free access to several original series and movies. If you are undecided on whether Netflix is worth the monthly subscription, well, the streaming service is here to help convince you. "We're looking at different marketing...
AT&T Sale of DirecTV Seen as Unlikely by Leading Analyst
New York Post: AT&T may be trying to unload struggling satellite TV provider DirecTV, but shareholders shouldn't expect a sale anytime soon, one prominent analyst warned. AT&T has "overvalued" the "albatross" that is DirecTV, Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson...
Disney, AT&T Films Pirated Ahead of Movie Theater Debuts
Business Insider: Low-quality pirated versions of "Tenet" appeared online over the weekend after it debuted in some international theatrical markets. Pirated versions of "The New Mutants" also appeared online. The long-delayed movie earned $7 million in the...
Analysis: Media Giants Should Seek Future as ‘Dumb Pipes’
Financial Times-Lex: “Legacy media known for high quality and high costs seem to become less relevant every year. Staying out of the content wars and remaining a profitable if dull toll-collector could be the wisest move. The winner among legacy media titans could be...
Report: Pay TV in Paradigm Shift as Online Video Explodes
World Screen: "The explosion of online viewing options and video consumption came at the same time many shelter-in-place orders were enacted. Households are relying more and more on OTT services for a top-quality entertainment...
Fox Corp Office Misconduct ‘Open Secret’ at News Channel
Daily Beast: When Fox News fired Ed Henry last month for alleged sexual misconduct, the network claimed it took "swift action." But according to Fox News staffers, Henry's reputation for such workplace misconduct was long an open secret inside the...
Nexstar to Offer Opinion-Free News on WGN’s ‘NewsNation’
Los Angeles Times: On Tuesday, Nexstar Media will launch "NewsNation," a nightly three-hour national prime time newscast (8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific) that promises a neutral, opinion-free presentation of the day's events, on WGN...
Survey: Americans Regard Skepticism of News as Healthy
Pew Research Center: Many Americans remain skeptical toward the news media, questioning not only the quality of journalists' work but their intentions behind it. For instance, no more than half of U.S. adults have confidence in journalists to act in the best interests...
Axel Springer Loses Business Insider Staffer to Podcasting
Talking Biz News: David Plotz, editor at large at Business Insider, where he writes the Insider Today newsletter with CEO Henry Blodget, is leaving the company to start his own podcast company. Plotz also hosts the Slate Political Gabfest, a popular weekly...
McClatchy Exiting CEO Writes About Future of Local News
Sacramento Bee: "McClatchy's transformation shows that by focusing on fearless journalism, relentless customer engagement, standout products and a sensible focus on sustainable operating cash flow, publishers can accelerate digital success and build a sustainable...
Gannett Newspaper Becomes Insert in Arkansas Sale Deal
Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Gannett is selling the Pine Bluff Commercial to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and its parent company, WEHCO Newspapers. "Going forward, there will be four pages of the Pine Bluff Commercial in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette every...
Hearst to Relocate Three Magazines to Rural Pennsylvania
Express-Times: A building under construction in Easton, Pa. is slated to host the reporting staffs of Bicycling, Runner's World and Popular Mechanics when completed in October. The building became a shuttered construction site for two and a half months when Covid-19...
Conde Nast Veteran Bashes First Lady in ‘Melania and Me’
Associated Press: Stephanie Winston Wolkoff first met Melania Trump in 2003 in the hallways of Vogue magazine, where Wolkoff worked. "I wish I had never met her," Wolkoff now says about the subject of her new book, "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship...
Penske Media Strengthens Fairchild with Exec Promotions
WWD: Fairchild Media is announcing the promotion of two senior leaders, Michael Atmore and Edward Hertzman. Atmore is being named chief brand officer of Fairchild Media. Hertzman is being promoted to EVP of Fairchild Media, founder and president of Sourcing...
New York Times ‘Vows’ Feature Reveals Groom’s Infidelity
New York Post: The New York Times published a "Vows" feature on the courtship and wedding of locals named Robert and Lauren. It read like a perfect love story. But not to Robert's ex-wife, who learned through it why her own marriage had...