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...
AT&T WarnerMedia Ad-Tech Exec to Depart for Unit of WPP
Wall Street Journal: WPP has hired AT&T's Kirk McDonald as the chief executive of North America for its GroupM ad-buying unit, the latest in a string of executive changes at both companies. McDonald had been chief business officer and interim head of AT&T's...
Apple Announces Beats Rebranding as Apple Music Radio
Engadget: Say goodbye to Apple Music's Beats 1 — at least in name. Apple announced it is rebranding its flagship radio station from Beats 1 to Apple Music 1. It's a logical move, given that "Beats 1" was the only place Beats branding showed up in the Apple Music...
Report: TV, Digital Viewers Flock to Democratic Convention
Reuters: The Biden campaign says 28.9 million Americans watched the first night of the Democratic National Convention across TV and digital platforms, including 10.2 million digital streams, up from nearly 3 million digital streams in 2016. Nielsen says 19.7 million...
Quibi Founder to Co-Host Virtual Fundraiser for Biden-Harris
Deadline: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are set for a fundraiser on Friday, with hosts including Jeffrey Katzenberg, George Clooney, Byron Allen and philanthropist Andrew Hauptman. The afternoon event will be virtual, but it features an LA-centric group of...
Netflix Faces City Lawsuits Seeking Cable TV Franchise Fees
Ars Technica: Four cities in Indiana are suing Netflix and other video companies, claiming that online video providers and satellite-TV operators should have to pay the same franchise fees that cable companies pay for using local rights of way. The lawsuit "doesn't...
Amazon Plans 2,000 Staffers for New Office in New York City
Daily Mail: Amazon announced plans to add 3,500 new corporate employees in six cities, including 2,000 in a new flagship New York City office, in a move that bucks the trends of companies and residents fleeing urban centers. The plans signal that the online giant...
Pinterest Adds Black Exec to Board After Claims of Racism
USA Today: Pinterest named a Black executive to its board of directors, following charges of racism and gender discrimination. Andrea Wishom is now the ninth member of the social media company's board and the first Black director. The appointment follows an employee...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Sees Shift Away from Old Media
Front Office Sports: Traditional media is becoming less attractive, says Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini. "It's less compelling as a career choice. You're kind of stifled in what you can say. Places like Barstool are becoming far more attractive. It's the Internet....
Vox Media OKs $4 Million Settlement with Sports Bloggers
Front Office Sports: Vox Media agreed to a $4 million settlement over allegations it violated labor laws by underpaying SB Nation managers and content creators, according to court papers filed in a Washington D.C. federal court. The proposed agreement needs approval...
New York Times Seeks ‘Headway’ with Journalism Initiative
New York Times Co: The New York Times is creating a team of journalists to investigate global and national challenges. The new Headway initiative will focus on a range of economic, social, health, infrastructural and environmental problems. The Times is recruiting for...
Reuters Readies Debut of Redesigned Global News Website
MediaPost: Reuters will unveil a redesigned website later this year, redirecting users from most of its regional editions of Reuters.com to the new, global site. The website will offer "an improved user experience, better functionality and design, more expert...
Conde Nast Pursues Sponsors in Upfront for Virtual Events
Digiday: Conde Nast has 200 virtual events planned through the end of the year and the company is taking a big swing at loading up those efforts with sponsors via its first-ever Virtual Events Upfront. The hour-long showcase on Tuesday displayed the benefits of...
Meredith Touts Cross-Platform Power of People, Allrecipes
PR Newswire: People, Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens, Shape, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Food & Wine, and Travel + Leisure have achieved "momentous performances" in audience rankings, according to the latest Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience...
Penske Names ‘Fast’ Publisher to Head Up Fairchild Media
WWD: Fairchild Media has named Amanda Smith as president. In Smith's new role, she will lead sales, marketing, live media and business operations across Fairchild's WWD, Footwear News, Sourcing Journal and Beauty Inc. Smith joins Fairchild from Fast...
Conde Nast Says ‘Change is Good’ in New Manifesto at GQ
WWD: GQ promises “a renewed emphasis on diversity, gender equality, sustainability, and mental health” at all editions of the magazine. The conversation of a unified editorial goal for all of GQ’s global editions predates recent public events. It started late last...
Group Nine Launches NowThis Kids Hosted by 13 Year Old
The Wrap: NowThis, the most-watched mobile news brand for millennials, is targeting its audience’s children with a new weekly series, NowThis Kids. Hosted by 13-year-old activist Naomi Wadler, the Cheerios-sponsored series will seek to appeal to millennial parents and...
Google Warns Risks of Sharing Ad Revenue with Big Media
TechCrunch: Google has fired a lobbying pot-shot at a looming change to the law in Australia that will force it to share ad revenue with local media businesses whose content its platforms monetize — seeking to mobilize its users against "big media." Says Google: “The...
Oracle to Take On Microsoft in Effort to Acquire US TikTok
Financial Times: Larry Ellison’s Oracle has entered the race to acquire TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned short video app that President Trump has vowed to shut down unless it is taken over by a US company by mid-November. The tech company has held preliminary talks...