Hearst Turns to Rapper to Interview Biden via Zoom for Elle
Fox News: Cardi B can add journalist to her long list of talents. The rapper spoke with Joe Biden for Elle magazine's September 2020 issue. Their wide-ranging conversation covered topics such as healthcare, racism in America, free education and tax...
Conde Nast Foe’s Twitter Becomes ‘Page Six’ of Food Media
Grub Street: In June, Tammie Teclemariam tweeted a photo of Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport dressed in a stereotypical Puerto Rican costume. Since then, the freelance writer's Twitter feed has become the "Page Six" of food media, a destination for news and...
Time Magazine Digital Revenues Surpass Print for First Time
MediaPost: Time magazine’s digital revenues in the second quarter surpassed its print revenues “for the first time in our brand’s history,” according to a staff memo sent by Time president Keith Grossman. Digital revenues grew 58% year-over-year in Q2...
The Economist Learns Print is Ninth Most Popular Platform
Press Gazette: The Economist’s print magazine is only its ninth most popular platform. Of course, print readers are rather more valuable to the publisher than Twitter followers – with the mass social media reach of the brand intended to funnel readers into becoming...
Apple, Microsoft Dominate in Map of Media, Tech Universe
Deadline: Evan Shapiro, the president of National Lampoon and a college professor, has seen the media, entertainment and technology universe grow increasingly complex. So, in preparing to teach a new class about the business this fall, he did what any explorer would:...
Disney, WarnerMedia New CEOs ‘Shepherd’ Shift in Media
CNBC: A torrent of turnover at the top of the largest media companies has defined 2020. The new CEOs will have to manage the new streaming ecosystem. New York Times: Old Hollywood finally died. The streaming services are in charge, bringing a ruthless new culture with...
Fox Corp’s ‘Shy’ Murdoch Son Emerges as Heir Apparent
Sydney Morning Herald: Who exactly is Lachlan Murdoch, the clear heir apparent in the succession plans of Rupert Murdoch? For starters, friends have revealed that, despite his public profile, Lachlan is incredibly shy. "He is a bit of a loner, he enjoys his solitude...
ViacomCBS Activist Investor to Seek Sale of Media Giant?
Bloomberg: ViacomCBS shares jumped on speculation that an activist investor will push for a shake-up at the company after the death of founder Sumner Redstone last week. Financial Times: ViacomCBS is considering a rebrand of its streaming services as...
Disney, Fox Corp to Look Abroad for Growth in Streaming
Axios: Facing saturation and stiff competition in the US, media giants are planning to launch new streaming services internationally to accrue more subscribers. A slew of TV networks announced new international streaming plans last week. Others offered details about...
Report: Streaming Surge Slows After Pandemic Lockdowns
World Screen: While time spent streaming content continues to rise across the globe, year-on-year growth slowed in May and June following the peaks recorded in April at the height of the Covid-19 shutdown, according to Conviva. "2020 has been full of surprises,...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Adds a Disclaimer to ‘Blazing Saddles’
CNET: "Blazing Saddles," the 1974 Western-movie spoof from Mel Brooks, is getting a three-minute introduction that contextualizes language and characterizations related to race for today's audience. HBO Max has added an intro discussing the race-related issues in the...
Warner Music Acquires Social Media Content Startup IMGN
TechCrunch: Warner Music is acquiring IMGN Media, a Tel Aviv and New York-based startup that builds and tracks viral social media content in categories like esports and gaming, ASMR and entertainment. IMGN used to be called Comedy.com and rebranded in...
Proxima Media to Score as Trump Joins TikTok Rival Triller
Fox Business: President Trump's campaign opened an account for him on TikTok competitor Triller on Saturday. His first video quickly racked up more than 1 million views. Fox Business: Trump ordered ByteDance on Friday to divest all US assets, including TikTok, within...
Pinterest Delays New Board Member Amid Worker Protest
Bloomberg: Pinterest delayed the planned announcement of a new board member Friday amid a virtual walkout by employees demanding change after claims of discrimination by management. More than 350 of Pinterest's 2,400 employees signed onto a protest and virtual job...
Facebook CEO Joins Tech Elite Living Luxe Quarantine Life
Vanity Fair: What are elite tech founders doing with their wealth? Mostly living life as they did before coronavirus. Countless billionaires are hitting the road, flying around the country to wherever the case numbers are lowest. "All these rich people can’t stop...
Bloomberg: Facebook Should Not Pay Publishers for News
Bloomberg Opinion: "Journalism's business model wasn't broken by digital platforms. The internet unbundled many of the services that newspapers once provided, while eroding the monopolies that made them so profitable. Facebook and Google hardly caused...
Tribune Veterans to Hold Webinar on ‘Life After Journalism’
Talking Biz News: Chicago-based marketing and communications agency M. Harris & Co., the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Chicago Headline Club are hosting a 90-minute webinar Wednesday titled "Life after...
News Corp Sees Abrupt Exit of Top Staffer at WSJ Magazine
WWD: David Thielebeule is no longer at WSJ Magazine. After almost eight years as style director, brought in by Kristina O’Neill when she took up the job of editor in chief in 2013, Thielebeule has made an abrupt departure at the style insert of the Wall Street...
Hearst Janitor Helps Writer Land a Job at Esquire Magazine
@EnewellJones: "All of my friends know the story of my arrival at Esquire, but I wish to share it today, because it makes me happy. It's a story about how much strangers can impact another stranger's life. A janitor changed everything for me. He doesn’t even know he...
Conde Nast Video Staffer Suspension Hints of Suppression
Business Insider: Bon Appétit video editor Matt Hunziker returned to work last week, after being suspended in June over internal "concerns." However, Conde Nast employees believe Hunziker's social media posts, which were critical of the publisher, led to his...
Meredith CEO ‘Sticks with Print’ Amid September Declines
CNN: InStyle magazine's September issue is expected to bring in less revenue than usual. Luxury, fashion and retail ad spending has "slowed considerably." But that doesn't necessarily spell doom for the future of print magazines or the September issues. "There's still...
Hearst, Conde: Will Readers Pay for Digital Post Pandemic?
Freeport Press: Whether interest in paid digital content continues once we all "get back out there" is unknown. It depends a great deal on how well publishers build and maintain that all-important connection to their readers. What worked last year or last month might...
Ebony Magazine’s Creditors Duel Businessman Over Assets
Bloomberg: Now 75 years old, Ebony magazine is a shell of its former self. It hasn't published a print edition since spring 2019, and weeks after its CEO was ousted following an internal review, creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition with the goal to...
Newsweek Apologizes But Doesn’t Retract ‘Birther’ Column
Mediaite: After three days and a shout-out from President Trump, Newsweek apologized for publishing a birther-echoing column falsely questioning Kamala Harris’s eligibility to serve as vice president. The editors apologized in a note inserted at the top of the column,...
News Corp Aussie Cartoon of Biden, Harris is Called Racist
Reuters: A cartoon in Australia’s biggest national newspaper drew condemnation as being racist for portraying Joe Biden describing his new running mate, Kamala Harris, as "this little brown girl." The cartoon was by Johannes Leak in Rupert Murdoch's The Australian...
Apple Plans ViacomCBS Services in Discount Video Bundle
Bloomberg: Apple plans to bundle access to CBS All Access and Showtime content at a discounted price for subscribers to its TV+ video service, starting as early as Monday. Bloomberg: Apple is readying a series of lower-priced subscription bundles of digital...
Epic Games Sues Apple, Google Amid Mobile Payment Flap
USA Today: A battle appears to be brewing between tech titans Apple and Google and wildly popular game "Fortnite." Epic Games, publisher of "Fortnite," is making the first major challenge to Apple's App Store. At issue is how players pay for weapon and outfit upgrades...
Google’s YouTube is No 1 for ‘Media Responsibility’ in Social
Wall Street Journal: The first quarterly report from IPG Mediabrands ranks YouTube No. 1 for what it calls media responsibility, giving it the highest cumulative score across 10 areas such as the handling of hate speech, measures against misinformation and...
Disney Preps Kitchy ‘Star Wars’ Streaming Holiday Special
USA Today: With a new holiday special, "Star Wars" is tapping into its kitschy yuletide past with irreverence and "A Christmas Carol" style. Premiering Nov. 17 on the Disney+ streaming service, "The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special" echoes a special that first aired on...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia CEO Admits Mistake in HBO Branding
Deadline: In an interview with CNBC, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar addresses the launch of HBO Max, concedes a "mistake" with HBO branding, and compares Max with Disney's and NBCUniversal's streaming efforts. "We're in a really good position,” Kilar says of HBO...