ViacomCBS Starts Diversity News Brand Called CBS Village
Deadline: CBS News is launching CBS Village, a multiplatform franchise for news division content about diverse groups, while it has made more additions to its newly formed race and culture unit. CBS Village will be a brand dedicated to content about a diversity of...
AT&T, Warner Bros Hit with Toxicity, Sexism Claims at TMZ
BuzzFeed: A former TMZ employee filed a lawsuit against the celebrity gossip show's parent companies Warner Bros. Entertainment and EHM Productions alleging gender discrimination and retaliation. Bernadette Zilio, 27, said she was fired after she complained about a...
Facebook Plans News Rollout to UK, Germany, France, India
TechCrunch: Facebook News, the social network's dedicated news section launched to US audiences in June, is soon expanding to international markets. The company announced it plans to accelerate plans to bring the product to markets including the UK, Germany, France,...
News Corp Taps Dow Joneser as Publisher of WSJ Magazine
WWD: Dow Jones is switching publishers at WSJ. Magazine. In a staff memo, chief revenue officer Josh Stinchcomb named Luke Bahrenburg as successor to Anthony Cenname, who is leaving the company after more than 11 years as publisher of WSJ....
Conde Nast Unveils Art for Two Covers of September Vogue
Vogue: "This year, with our world turned upside down, we invited two contemporary artists, Kerry James Marshall and Jordan Casteel, to make paintings for our September covers." Also: A collectible tote for new subscribers features a logo Dalí designed for Vogue in...
Hearst Leans on Zoom, Social Distancing for Latest Esquire
Ad Age: The Weeknd covers the September issue of Esquire — and in a sign of the times, the photo shoot was an bicoastal affair executed with a mix of social-distancing on the ground and long-distance art direction via videoconference. The interview was conducted...
Meredith Lawsuit Says Execs Misled Integration of Time Inc
Law360: Meredith and its executives misled investors about the company's integration of Time Inc. and the publisher's internal controls, causing the company's largest one-day stock drop since 1986, investors told an Iowa federal court while pushing to keep their...
American Media Employees Brace for Job Cuts After Merger
New York Post: Insiders are bracing for another round of cuts at the tabloid empire formerly known as American Media, which abruptly changed its name Friday after bouncing longtime CEO David Pecker and announcing a merger with retail distribution company Accelerate...
Conde Nast Offers Branded Products at Online Shop for GQ
Digiday: GQ is looking to deepen its commerce revenue stream with the launch of its new e-commerce store, The GQ Shop. Starting with a line of a dozen branded t-shirts and sweatshirts — ranging from $40 to $100 — the shop platform will also be used to sell the title's...
Hearst’s O, The Oprah Magazine Ready to Double Cover Price
New York Post: Fans of Oprah Winfrey's O, the Oprah Magazine will still be able to snag copies next year — at a cost. While Hearst, Oprah's publishing partner, is still finalizing plans, sources say that the quarterly issues will likely be sold on newsstands only for...
BuzzFeed Signs First-Look TV Deal with Universal Television
Deadline: BuzzFeed is making an expanded push into television, signing a first-look deal with Universal TV, in which the studio will produce scripted content based on stories and original reporting published by the tech-powered media...
Gawker Veterans Join New Cooperative of Indie Publications
New York Times: A group of journalists led by Maria Bustillos is building Brick House, a news cooperative that will offer subscriptions to nine small publications for $75 a year. Kickstarter: Veterans of the Awl, Splinter, Gawker, Deadspin, and a ton of other...
Conde Nast’s Anna Wintour Steps Out Wearing Stylish Mask
Daily Mail: Anna Wintour showcased her fashion prowess in an eye-catching white and blue patterned dress when stepping out in New York. The Vogue editor appeared effortlessly chic in the statement frock while sporting a simple mask and her trademark...
Disney Leads Old Media in Making Money from Online Video
Bloomberg: Streaming video is becoming a serious business for some of America's oldest and largest media companies, with Disney leading the pack. Disney will generate an estimated $11.2 billion in direct-to-consumer revenue this year, according to a report by...
Comcast Brings NBC Sports Channel to New Video Streamer
MediaPost: NBCUniversal is adding a free sports channel to its new, free-to-consumers streamer Peacock. Called NBC Sports on Peacock, the channel will offer sports talk shows and live sports event coverage. Shows will be available on demand in addition to streaming...
Fox Corp Urged by Top Analyst to Sell Off Broadcast Assets
Outkick: Analyst Michael Nathanson published a report urging Fox Corp. to sell the Fox broadcast network, owned-and-operated Fox local affiliates, FS1, FS2, and the company's 49 percent stake in the Big Ten network. "What economic value is Fox Network generating...
Report: US TV Industry Faces Major Ad Declines from Covid
Variety: The toll the coronavirus has taken upon the US TV ad industry is, to date, $3.7 billion, or a decline of 9%.That's according to estimated ad spend data from ad analytics firm iSpot. The annual spend to date of $37 billion is the lowest level seen since...
WPP CEO Predicts ‘Worst is Behind Us’ in Terms of Ad Cuts
CNBC: The advertising industry has taken a major hit in 2020, but "the worst is behind us," according to Mark Read, CEO of WPP, the world's largest advertising company by revenue. He's seeing the evidence of recovery in the messaging of the advertising...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Scores New Deal with Shaquille O’Neal
Variety: Shaquille ONeal's new deal with WarnerMedia will have him analyzing NBA games, but it could also put him in Times Square on New Year's Eve. The AT&T-owned company said that it struck a deal with the celebrated basketball analyst that will extend his reach...
ViacomCBS Sees Performers Pull Out of MTV Music Awards
Associated Press: Grammy-winning rapper Roddy Ricch and Colombian superstar J Balvin will no longer perform at the MTV Video Music Awards. "Due to COVID compliance issues at the last minute we had to call off the performance." The MTV VMAs will air on Sunday at 8 p.m....
iHeartMedia Cancels Music Awards, Shifts Unveil to Radio
Radio Online: The winners of the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards will be revealed for the first time on-air throughout Labor Day weekend on iHeartRadio stations nationwide. This year's live awards show, originally scheduled to air from the Shrine Auditorium in Los...
Comcast’s CNBC Says ‘Shepard Smith’ Premieres Sept 30
TheHill: Ex-Fox News anchor Shepard Smith will debut his new program on CNBC on Sept. 30, the network has announced. "The News with Shepard Smith" will air in prime time at 7 p.m., with repeats at midnight and at 4 a.m. Smith joined CNBC in July after working for 23...
BBC Outgoing Chief Calls for Global Expansion in Address
Financial Times: The outgoing BBC director-general, speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, called for funds for the service to reach a billion people, in a valedictory address casting public broadcasting as "the magic formula" for success in a...
Google, Facebook Get Trump Ad Bump During GOP Confab
Axios: The Trump campaign is going all in on digital advertising for the Republican National Convention, with plans to again take over the YouTube masthead and flood Facebook, Google and streaming services like Hulu with pro-Trump...
ByteDance’s TikTok Sues Trump Over Pending Order to Ban
Associated Press: TikTok is suing the Trump administration over its efforts to ban the popular Chinese-owned service over national-security concerns. TikTok insisted that the government is acting to “further the president’s anti-China political...
Amazon’s Audible Offers Cheaper Service Led by Celebrities
Bloomberg: Audible is rolling out a cheaper version of its popular audiobook service that includes original series from Hollywood talent, part of a drive to go beyond books and win over podcast listeners. Audible Plus will cost $7.95 a month, about half the price of...
Conde Nast Gets Mixed Reaction from September Vanity Fair
USA Today: This latest Breonna Taylor cover comes as multiple major magazines, owned and staffed largely by white people, have moved to look more closely at the Black experience in America and at why they've alternately ignored it or appropriated it over the last 100...
News Corp Secures Major Settlement for Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg: Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, said it is getting $140,000 in settlement of a copyright-infringement dispute with the libertarian financial website Zero Hedge. Without permission, Zero Hedge allegedly posted 37 editorials and articles from...
Chicago Sun-Times Plots Layoffs to Survive Post-Pandemic
Robert Feder: Employees are bracing for layoffs at the Sun-Times following an all-staff virtual meeting with CEO Nykia Wright. An analysis of the company’s workforce will determine "a limited number of strategic staff reductions," Wright said, although none will...
Vox Media Doubles Podcast Coverage at New York’s Vulture
MediaPost: Vulture is doubling its coverage of podcasts.The New York magazine entertainment vertical is adding a new, weekly recommendations newsletter from podcast critic Nick Quah called "1.5x Speed," which launches August 26. Quah is also the creator of the "Hot...