Survey: Some Journalists Say They Prefer to Work at Home
Press Gazette: Less than a third of Press Gazette readers who responded to a poll on remote working said they miss the office and want to go back. People were more likely to say they were more productive at home than in the office: 185 people (45%) said this versus 80...
Disney, Fox Corp to End Temporary Pay Cuts from Pandemic
Deadline: Thousands of executives across Disney and Fox Corp. are getting their paychecks restored to pre-Covid-19 levels.The impacted executives from both companies were notified in internal emails. A slew of cash-strapped companies resorted to slashing salaries in...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Launches Probe of ‘Justice’ Filmmaker
Fox News: Joss Whedon's alleged misconduct on the set of "Justice League" is the subject of an independent third-party investigation launched by WarnerMedia, actor Ray Fisher said Thursday on Twitter. The goal is to "get to the heart of the toxic and abusive work...
Netflix ‘Ozark’ Series Plans Production Restart in November
IndieWire: As film and TV production starts to ramp back up across the industry, “Ozark” has planned a start date for shooting its final season. “We’re going to start November 9,” Jason Bateman said in an interview. “We’re very confident in the guidelines and...
Google at Work on Streaming Video Aggregator for Browser
Fierce Video: Google is said to be building a streaming video service aggregation feature – dubbed Kaleidoscope – within its Chrome web browser. Screenshots suggest that Kaleidoscope is designed to unify access for services including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and...
MGM Remakes Orion Pictures with Vow of Inclusive Stories
New York Times: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is hiring young producer Alana Mayo to remake its Orion Pictures division to focus exclusively on underrepresented filmmakers and stories. Mayo will lead a greenlight committee made up entirely of...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Lets Trump Preview GOP Confab
Deadline: President Trump joined Sean Hannity on his Fox News show via phone call as the final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention kicked off. Vanity Fair: Some Fox News staffers are quietly fuming over the channel's coverage of...
Comcast’s NBC Ready to Bring Indy 500 to Huge Audience
Associated Press: One year after NBC assumed the rights from longtime broadcaster ABC, the network is preparing to bring one of the iconic events in sports to a potentially record-setting television audience Sunday. There remain far fewer live events than normal...
ViacomCBS Eyes $5.5 Million for 30-Second Super Bowl Ads
Wall Street Journal: CBS is seeking around $5.5 million for 30-second commercial spots in next year's Super Bowl, roughly in line with commercial prices in the 2020 game. CBS is also requiring advertisers in the Super Bowl telecast to appear in the game’s online...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Names Exec for Interim Head of Xandr
Variety: Joe Hogan has temporarily been given oversight of media sales at Xandr, the ad-tech unit that was operated separately from WarnerMedia’s ad sales efforts until April, when the two operations were combined. Hogan is a longtime sales executive at...
BBC’s Outgoing Director to Address Edinburgh TV Festival
World Screen: Tony Hall is to deliver an exclusive address to open this year's Edinburgh TV Festival. In one of his final public appearances as director-general of the BBC, Hall will address delegates on August 24. He will speak about the unique role of public service...
Comcast CEO Sells Off Florida Condominium for $6 Million
Real Deal: The CEO of cable giant Comcast has "cut the cord" on his North Palm Beach condo. Brian Roberts and his wife, Aileen, sold unit 201 at 11050 Turtle Head Beach Road for $5.5 million, according to records. Built in 1981, the condo has three bedrooms and three...
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...