Study Hall Website Sees Itself as Happy Hour for Journos
Nieman Lab: The gossipy media website Study Hall aspires to a niche that no Ivy League-backed nonprofit or VC-funded startup could ever hope to appease. The company wants to speak to journalists in the same way that they schmooze at happy...
Disney, AT&T New Releases Provide First Test of Theaters
Associated Press: The first wave of big new movies released since the beginning of the pandemic, including Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller "Tenet" and the long-delayed "X-Men" spinoff "The New Mutants," arrived in theaters over the weekend, testing the...
AT&T Again Seeks a Deal for Streaming-Wounded DirecTV
MarketWatch: AT&T is taking a fresh look at its DirecTV business, exploring a deal for a service wounded by cord-cutting. The telecom and media giant and its advisers at Goldman Sachs Group have been in talks with private-equity suitors about the satellite TV...
Fox Corp Touts ‘Historic’ News Channel Ratings for Trump
Fox News: A whopping 9.2 million people tuned in to Fox News from 10 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. ET Thursday to watch President Trump accept his party's renomination for president to close the Republican National Convention. By contrast, no other network garnered more than 2.6...
News Corp, Liberty Alums at Work on ‘Fox News for Britain’
Guardian: Rival efforts are underway to launch a Fox News-style opinionated current affairs TV station in Britain to counter the BBC. One project is being devised in the headquarters of Rupert Murdoch's British media empire by the former Fox News executive David...
Charter Faces Another Staffer Harassment Lawsuit at NY1
New York Post: A former senior producer at NY1 says her boss regularly made rude comments about "old" female employees, including saying that "cancer has really aged" anchor Roma Torre, a new sex harassment lawsuit against the station says. Karin Garfin "was forced...
Report: Media Falling Short on Diversity, Inclusion Pledges
Digiday: Was it all just lip service? That's the question employees inside media companies are starting to ask about their employers' diversity and inclusion pledges. More than two months after many media companies issued statements supporting Black Lives Matter, some...
Disney’s ABC Airs Special Tribute to ‘Black Panther’ Actor
Associated Press: ABC aired "Black Panther" commercial-free Sunday as a prime-time tribute to Chadwick Boseman. The film was followed by an ABC News Special, "Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King." Boseman died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He...
ViacomCBS Pre-Records Most of ‘Live’ MTV Music Awards
New York Post: The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards aired "live" from New York on Sunday night, but most of the performances, award presentations and red carpet interviews were already pre-recorded days in advance. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, MTV took additional...
Facebook Admits ‘Mistake’ in Failure to Remove Militia Post
Associated Press: Facebook made a mistake in not removing a militia group's page earlier last week that called for armed civilians to enter Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid violent protests after police shot Jacob Blake, CEO Mark Zuckerberg says. "It was largely an...
Pinterest Cancels New Offices Citing Shift to Work at Home
San Francisco Chronicle: Pinterest is terminating a massive 490,000-square-foot lease at San Francisco's unbuilt 88 Bluxome project, citing a shift toward more remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company will instead continue leasing four existing San...
Craigslist Faces New Rivalry from Facebook’s Marketplace
CNBC: Unlike other wannabe Craigslist killers, Facebook Marketplace is enduring and improving. Facebook Marketplace has several advantages that make it easier, faster and more trustworthy than Craigslist. Marketplace’s most notable advantage over Craigslist is...
Facebook Eyes Password Fatigue with Test of Links to News
Adweek: Facebook is testing a new feature that allows users to link their news subscriptions to their accounts so they don't have to repeatedly log in while reading articles on the social network. The test includes publishers such as the Athletic and the Atlanta...
New York Times to Face Defamation Charge by Sarah Palin
Reuters: A federal judge rejected the New York Times’s bid to dismiss Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit over an editorial she said wrongly linked her to a 2011 mass shooting. There is "sufficient evidence to allow a rational finder of fact to find actual malice by...
Conde Nast Publishes 100 Different Covers for Vogue Italy
WWD: In times when digital is becoming the preferred medium of communication, Vogue Italia has bet big on print, releasing 100 different covers for its September issue. For the unprecedented project, the glossy magazine tapped personalities of different ages,...
Globo-Conde Nast is ‘Toxic’ Claim Staffers at Vogue Brazil
BuzzFeed News: Former employees of Globo Conde Nast publications in Brazil describe a pervasive culture of mistreatment, bullying and exploitation dating back more than a dozen years. Although many asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions, five agreed to...
New York Times Ends Publishing TV Listings in Newspaper
New York Times: After 81 years, the New York Times has stopped publishing the daily television listings in its print editions. The majority of subscribers won’t even notice the removal of the TV grid. For years now, the Times has published the grid only in its New...
Conde Nast, G/O Media Veterans Join Newsletter Economy
New York: Print media veterans like Graydon Carter and Jonah Goldberg are styling their new publications as newsletters. And some Substack users are beginning to join forces, bundling their subscriptions as a discount, to offer their readers something that resembles a...
Vox Media Alum’s Income Skyrockets from New Newsletter
New York Times: Andrew Sullivan, the controversial former New York magazine columnist, says his income has risen from less than $200,000 to around $500,000 as the result of his move to newsletter publishing. Sullivan is charging his fans to read his column through the...
Apple’s New Privacy Controls Stir Up Ad Worries for Media
Wall Street Journal: Privacy changes in Apple's new operating system are sending ripples through the digital publishing world, with outlets that rely heavily on advertising bracing for a sizable drop in revenue from iPhone users. "When every publisher is fighting for...
Microsoft Teams Up with Walmart in Bid to Acquire TikTok
CNBC: Walmart says that it's teaming up with Microsoft in a bid for TikTok. The retail giant confirmed that it's interested in buying the popular short-form video application. With Walmart's confirmation, it joins several others trying to acquire the tech company,...
Facebook Lets Advertisers Target Mainland China Amid Ban
Bloomberg: Facebook is allowing advertisers to target users in mainland China, despite a ban on the company's social networks there that prohibits citizens from accessing the apps. Facebook has long said it works with Chinese advertisers to reach users only outside...
Netflix Reveals Plan to Pursue Talent Contests, Game Shows
Deadline: Netflix is aggressively searching for its own large-scale talent competition and a big-ticket game show as it moves into its next phase of non-scripted originals. The streamer's execs lifted the lid on their plans in a panel session at the Edinburgh...
Activision, Nintendo See Video-Game Boom During Pandemic
Bloomberg Businessweek: The pandemic is sending Hollywood into a tailspin. And video game makers? They're thriving. People stuck at home for months picked up controllers and consoles to ease the lockdown blues by stealing cars, hunting zombies, and planting trees in...
Spotify Loses First Podcasting Star After Failing to Ink Deal
Bloomberg: Spotify is losing Joe Budden, one of its most popular podcast hosts, after failing to come to terms on a new deal. Spotify said it offered Budden a significant raise that reflected his market value. Budden was Spotify's first original hit in podcasting, and...
Comcast’s NBC Signs Big Sports Betting Deal with PointsBet
Sportico: NBC Sports is entering a five-year partnership with PointsBet worth almost $500 million, including a small equity stake in the gambling operator. PointsBet will be the official sports betting partner across NBCUniversal sports assets, including its regional...
Fox Corp’s Murdoch Isn’t Put on Hold at Trump White House
New York Times: Certain allies of President Trump have instant access. When the Fox media mogul Rupert Murdoch once called while Trump was on the phone. Trump "erupted like Mount St. Helens," the president's former assistant recalls. "Never put Rupert Murdoch on...
Disney Chief Speaks Against CDC Changes to Covid Testing
WDWNT: Bob Iger is expressing his frustration with a recent guideline change from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling it "horrifying." The CDC shocked many by reversing course on Covid-19 testing, claiming that people may not need to be tested if...
ViacomCBS Comedy Host Taunts Trump with Newspaper Ad
The Hill: Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" taunted President Trump with a full-page ad in several US newspapers for a mock law firm looking to represent a "soon-to-be ex-president." The ad was published ahead of the Republican National Convention's final...
Fox Corp News Host Faces Backlash Over Vigilante Remarks
Los Angeles Times: Fox News host Tucker Carlson is under fire again, this time for incendiary comments he made that attempted to rationalize the actions of the 17-year-old man who allegedly killed two protesters. “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles...