Twitter CEO Hangs with Music Mogul Jay-Z in the Hamptons
TMZ: Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey met up for what could be dubbed a Multi-Millionaire Man March ... but it looks more like a casual stroll. The entertainment mogul and the Twitter co-founder were out for a walk together Thursday morning in the Hamptons with a few other...
Facebook Hit with Broadcaster Lawsuit Over Rival to TikTok
Multichannel News: Hubbard Broadcasting is suing Facebook over its new TikTok alternative, Reels. Hubbard is alleging trademark infringement, citing its Reelz cable/satellite video service, which is also available on computers, smart TVs and other...
News Corp, New York Times Join Revolt of Apple App Store
Wall Street Journal: Major news organizations are joining the growing chorus of companies pushing for more favorable terms on Apple's App Store, a crucial link to new digital customers. A trade body representing publishers wants to know what it would take to get...
Gannett to Create 60 Beats for Coverage of Racism, Justice
USA Today: Gannett has announced a broad initiative to make its workforce as diverse as the country by 2025 and to expand the number of journalists focused on covering issues related to race and identity, social justice and equality. Gannett also disclosed demo...
Hearst Taps Washington Postie for Editor in San Francisco
San Francisco Chronicle: Hearst has named Emiio Garcia-Ruiz editor in chief of the San Francisco Chronicle. Garcia-Ruiz, the Washington Post’s managing editor for digital since 2013, will begin work Sept. 21. Garcia-Ruiz previously served as WaPo editor for strategic...
Conde Nast Announces Changes to Masthead at Vanity Fair
Fashion Week Daily: Finally some good news coming from Condé Nast. Vanity Fair has announced a slew of promotions and additions to the editorial team. Radhika Jones sent an email to staffers announcing Nicole Chapoteau has been promoted to fashion...
Meredith Tracks Trends for Back-to-School, Buying Safety
MediaPost: Back to school is here and Meredith's Data Studio has tapped into its resources to help predict how the season will impact consumer behavior. The studio has gleaned product-buying trends impacted by behavior around children returning to...
Hearst Plans Four Issues a Year of O, The Oprah Magazine
WWD: O, The Oprah Magazine's print footprint isn't disappearing altogether. In a video posted to its website, Oprahmag, Oprah Winfrey revealed that it will be printing four special issues a year versus 12. "I want you to know it's not ending. It's...
Group Nine Sells Advertisers on Bigger, Longer Edit Deals
Digiday: Group Nine's new verticals allow the publisher's editorial teams to steer brands into the white spaces they see from an audience perspective, while giving sales the chance to find a brand that will pony up as the sole advertiser on the new...
BuzzFeed Faces Big Loss in Landmark Lawsuit Over Photo
Rangefinder: Photographer Gregory Mango won a landmark lawsuit against BuzzFeed when a court ruled that the online publication was liable for third-party infringement of his photograph. BuzzFeed grabbed the photo from the New York Post and republished it, removing the...
Apple Becomes First US Company to Hit $2 Trillion Value
CNET: Just two years ago, Wall Street investors pushed Apple to a trillion-dollar market capitalization, making it the most valuable tech company in the world. Now, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the market says Apple is worth twice as...
Disney Turns to ‘Game Changer’ Tech for New Productions
Associated Press: New LED video wall technology used in making last year’s “The Lion King” and “The Mandalorian” could become more widespread as Hollywood production ramps back up during the pandemic. The move toward virtual production is a “game...
ViacomCBS’s Paramount Ripe for Acquisition by Big Tech
Barron's: Apple or Amazon "may decide that ownership of the only remaining independent studio, Paramount, is a key differentiator as OTT competition builds and Covid-19 reduces new production and highlights content libraries," writes research analyst John...
Fox Corp CEO Buys the $14 Million Bel Air Home Next Door
Variety: The buyers of Cheryl Tiegs's $14.1 million Bel Air spread are her next-door neighbors — billionaire Fox media heir Lachlan Murdoch and his model-actress wife Sarah Murdoch. There's a good chance Murdoch’s acquisition marks his desire to create extra privacy...
Comcast’s NBC Plots Primetime Special to Boost Broadway
New York Post: NBC plans to launch a splashy primetime Broadway special in October, in which casts from top Broadway shows will perform. The network has reached out to all Broadway shows to participate in the special. But theater insiders say there is now backstage...
Netflix Announces Cast for New Animated Movie ‘Pinocchio’
Associated Press: The cast for Netflix’s new “Pinocchio” film has been chosen. The streaming service announced Wednesday that newcomer Gregory Mann will assume the title role along with Ewan McGregor as Cricket and David Bradley as...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia: Adult Swim Actor is Out Due to Posts
USA Today: Adult Swim animated series "Squidbillies" fired actor Unknown Hinson over "extremely offensive and derogatory social media posts." After 15 years voicing Early Cuyler, the actor and musician, whose real name is Stuart Baker, was cut from production...
DAZN Seeks $1 Billion in Funding Push for Sports Streamer
Bloomberg: DAZN, the sports-streaming service backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, has revived talks to raise new funding after spending heavily on its global expansion. The UK-based company is speaking with advisers about options including a stock-market listing or...
Sirius XM Faces Lawsuit from Longtime Pal of Howard Stern
Reuters: John Melendez, who became known as Stuttering John as a longtime sidekick to host Howard Stern, has sued Sirius XM for using his name, likeness and voice without permission on channels dedicated to Stern. He accused Sirius of exploiting his celebrity to...
Sinclair Regional Sports Broadcast Host Uses Anti-Gay Slur
CNN: The Cincinnati Reds announced the suspension of a broadcaster after he uttered an anti-gay slur on the air Wednesday. Play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman could be heard saying on the broadcast, "One of the f*g capitals of the world," before resuming his on-air...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Founder ‘Maybe’ Has Coronavirus
Fox News: Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy freaked out fans by posting a video in which he speculated that he might have coronavirus: "I'm just sick as a motherf-----r, I haven't gotten out of bed in 40 hours, I've eaten one apple, look at my eyes. ... Do I have...
Report: US Podcast Ad Spend to Surpass $1 Billion in 2021
Business Insider: US podcast advertising will see especially strong growth this year, relative to ad spending for all other audio formats. Podcast ad spending is expected to grow by 10.4% to $782.0 million this year, compared with a 17.0% drop for digital radio...
Survey: US Believes Social Media Suppress Political Speech
Recode: A majority of Americans — on both sides of the political aisle — believe that social media companies are censoring political viewpoints, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. About three in four Americans feel it is likely that social media sites...
Vice Media Unveils Pop-Up Email Newsletter About US Mail
Nieman Lab: Recognizing the role that the US Postal Service will play in the election, Vice is launching "The Mail," a free, weekly pop-up email newsletter. People who are especially interested in USPS can pay $8 a month for a monthly print zine with extra content...
Gannett Promotes Strategist in Social Media for Local News
Media Moves: Jaime Cárdenas has started a new and expanded role as social media strategist for Gannett Local News. The move marks a second promotion since joining the company four years ago. In his new role, Cárdenas will help develop strategies to grow digital...
New York Times ‘Truth’ Ad Campaign Presents ‘Visual Poem’
Ad Age: The New York Times's latest ad highlights the newsroom's "relentless" commitment to helping readers tackle the range of challenges that life throws at them. "We wanted to let the words do the talking." That eventually led to the idea of constructing a "visual...
Conde Nast to Unveil Membership Plan for Vogue Business
Talking Biz News: Vogue Business, which launched 18 months ago, will be launching a membership plan. Twice-weekly briefings have been built. The first is Technology Edit, focusing on tech disruptors. The second is Sustainability Edit, covering "the biggest issues of...
Newsweek Devolves from Legit Magazine to ‘Bat Sh– Crazy’
New Republic: Many still see Newsweek as the general-interest magazine it once was. But a rise in outlets that pose as news operations but rely on algorithms is taking place. These outlets manipulate reader trust in news as a means of delivering right-wing talking...
Comcast Ousts NBCUniversal Vice Chair After Extortion Plot
Los Angeles Times: NBCUniversal ousted longtime Universal studio executive Ron Meyer after learning he made hush-money payments to a woman to cover up an old affair — a secret that Meyer said snowballed into an extortion plot. NBCUniversal "had nothing to do with this...
ViacomCBS in Talks to Sell Tech Site CNET for $500 Million
Wall Street Journal: ViacomCBS is in talks to sell technology news and reviews site CNET to digital-media holding company Red Ventures, as the media giant looks to shed noncore assets and focus on video streaming. The price being discussed for CNET is about $500...