Comcast Studio Leads Safety Protocols for New Productions
New York Times: Big movie studios, under pressure to get productions running again, are focusing on overseas shooting. Leading the way is Universal, with "Jurassic World" and a 107-page safety manual. Its safety protocols are serving as a model for other...
Hollywood Film, TV Shoots Face ‘New Austerity’ in Covid Era
Washington Post: Interviews with Hollywood execs, writers, agents and producers suggest a dramatically transformed world of screen entertainment. Until a vaccine comes along, the coronavirus will dramatically change what Americans see in movies and...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia ‘Succession’ Star Reveals Coronavirus
Daily Mail: Brian Cox has revealed he contracted coronavirus. The actor, 74, says he believes he caught the virus while working in London before Christmas. Cox says he unknowingly carried the virus and only discovered he had the antibodies after visiting his...
Fox Corp News Star’s New Book Debuts as No 1 Best-Seller
Fox News: Sean Hannity's "Life Free or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink" debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list for nonfiction on Wednesday. Hannity edged Mary Trump's "Too Much and Never Enough," which ranked No. 2 on the...
Verizon Media’s HuffPost Asks Trump About Regretting Lies
HuffPost: President Trump was asked if he regrets all the lies he's told to the American people. He skipped the question. HuffPost senior White House correspondent S.V. Dáte posed the question during Thursday's coronavirus task-force briefing: "Do you regret at all...
Vice Media Appoints Drag Queen to Role at Creative Agency
Adweek: Vice Media creative agency Virtue has promoted Genie Gurnani to executive creative director for the Americas region. Gurnani is also a drag queen who recently starred in the reality series "Drag Race Thailand." Gurnani is focused on bringing a "spirit of...
Verizon-Hearst’s Complex Probes Workplace as Exec Leaves
Business Insider: The head of human resources for Complex Networks, who was placed on leave in June, has left the company. Jay Salim was put on leave along with Arman Singh Walia, senior director of social media, after a former employee accused both executives of...
Tribune Publishing Licenses Ad Tech from Washington Post
MediaPost: Tribune Publishing will license the Washington Post's revenue platform Zeus Technology to optimize ad performance and delivery. Tribune migrated to WaPo's Arc Publishing platform in 2017. Now, the publisher will leverage Zeus's programmatic tech stack and...
New York Times Expands Role for Co-Writer of ‘1619 Project’
Talking Biz News: For the past five years, Jazmine Hughes has been an innovative editor at the New York Times Magazine, helping to launch Mag Labs. Now, she will be taking on a new role where she will be writing full time, both for the Magazine and for Metro....
Meredith Tallies Covid Hit on Ad Revenues, People Magazine
WWD: Coronavirus-related advertising cancellations and delays wiped an estimated $136 million off People owner Meredith's fourth-quarter revenues, but there are tentative signs that some companies are starting to spend again. Meredith is not alone in suffering a fall...
Conde Nast, Hearst Opt Out of Reporting British Circulation
Campaign: Conde Nast, Hearst, Future and Reach are among the magazine publishers that have opted not to report their half-year circulation figures because of the impact of coronavirus. Says Hearst: "We plan to deliver an annual release in February next year, which...
Hearst’s T&C Lauds Disney, Murdoch Heirs as ‘Resistocrats’
Jezebel: Town & Country magazine's September issue brings us the "Resistocrats," the liberal descendants of the traditionally Republican titans of industry. "A new generation of heirs are leveraging their legacies and defying dynasties — for the common good," the...
Bustle Digital Expands Into Print with Revival of W Magazine
New York Times: W magazine, the oversized fashion title, is changing hands again. Now to be known as W Media, its new operating partner will be Bustle Digital Group, a web company, along with a group of investors that includes producer Jason Blum and 18-year-old model...
AT&T, Disney, Comcast Kick Off ‘Great Reckoning’ in Media
Hollywood Reporter: August may go down as the time when shit got really real in Hollywood. Changes underway in the industry were accelerated by a global pandemic, and suddenly giants were rushing to transform structures and slash jobs. "It's the great reckoning...
Disney CEO Uses Pandemic to Accelerate Digital Transition
Bloomberg: Bob Chapek is using the Covid-19 crisis to transform Disney much faster than expected, all with an eye toward making the company an online juggernaut that reaches far more people worldwide. "He's going to be looking in every corner where they can save...
ViacomCBS’s Expansion or Sale Depends on Shari Redstone
CNBC: Sumner Redstone, who died this week at 97, built a sprawling media empire out of the movie theater chain founded by his father. It's now his daughter Shari Redstone's decision whether she wants to keep it. In today's world, ViacomCBS is competing against...
Liberty Global in Surprise $7.4 Billion Deal for Swiss Sunrise
Reuters: John Malone's Liberty Global plans to take over Switzerland's Sunrise Communications in a surprise $7.4 billion deal announced by the companies on Wednesday. The deal is the latest sign of consolidation in the telecom industry as companies try to ramp up tech...
AT&T in Talks for Sale of WarnerMedia’s Crunchyroll to Sony
The Information: AT&T is in discussions to sell WarnerMedia's Japanese anime-streaming service Crunchyroll to Sony. But the $1.5 billion price is a sticking point. The deal could strengthen Sony's position in the niche market, as it already owns a rival anime...
Netflix to Stream ‘Diana’ Stage Musical Heading to Broadway
Reuters: A new musical about Princess Diana will be filmed without an audience and air on Netflix in early 2021 before it debuts on Broadway. The unusual arrangement for "Diana" was made as Broadway remains closed during to the coronavirus...
Facebook, Google, Twitter Unite to Help Secure US Elections
USA Today: Facebook, Google and other tech giants are forming a coalition to promote talks with US agencies to secure the November presidential election. The effort is meant to prevent a repeat of the 2016 elections, where foreign actors launched online disinformation...
Quibi Founder, CEO Selling Off Their Homes in Los Angeles
Wall Street Journal: Jeffrey Katzenberg has sold his Beverly Hills home for $125 million, forging one of the priciest real-estate deals ever closed in the Los Angeles area. Mansion Global: Meg Whitman is selling her apartment in Los Angeles's West Hollywood for $6.5...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Nabs Deion Sanders After NFL Exit
New York Post: Former NFL star Deion Sanders is joining Barstool Sports after leaving NFL Network. "Barstool has the young generation of fans that I want to help cultivate," says Sanders, who reportedly left NFL Network after being asked to take a pay...
BBC, Fox News Gain Among World’s Biggest News Websites
Press Gazette: The world's biggest news websites collectively regained traffic in July after their performances tailed off in previous months as interest in Covid-19 dwindled. The BBC remained the English-speaking world's largest news website, claiming more than 1...
New York Times Journos Receive Training for Audio Articles
Wall Street Journal: The New York Times's new Audm acquisition is training the newspaper's reporters and columnists to read their own stories for audio editions. The Times has no plans to automate the audio article system. "We're interested in building products worth...
Tribune Shutters Newsrooms Including New York Daily News
Associated Press: Tribune Publishing, which owns some of the most storied newspapers in US journalism, says it is closing the newsrooms at five of them, including New York's Daily News. Employees will continue working from home as they have been during the coronavirus...
Lee Enterprises Unveils Stimulus Effort for Local Businesses
Tulsa World: Lee Enterprises, which publishers 75 daily newspapers, has launched a local business stimulus program aimed at helping locally owned and operated businesses thrive. The company will make up to $5 million available to local businesses through monthly...
News Corp Joins Media Eyeing Social Video for News Future
Journalism.co.uk: The growing popularity of social video platforms like TikTok has prompted more publishers and social channels to beef up their video offerings. After heavily investing in in-house social video production, News UK has reported a seven-figure...
Conde Nast Sees Video Staff Exodus Continue at Bon Appétit
Tubefilter: The cast of Bon Appétit's massively popular "Test Kitchen" series on YouTube continues to dwindle. Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appétit food editor at large as well as a frequent YouTube contributor, announced her resignation from video responsibilities...
Hearst Turns Focus to Racism in Latest Issue of Men’s Health
MediaPost: Men's Health is producing a special report in its September issue dedicated to race, racism and Black men's health. The cover features actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who has starred the "Aquaman" and "The Matrix 4" movies and the HBO series...
Maven’s Blogger Network Stirs Gripes from Sports Illustrated
TheWrap: The Sports Illustrated Union is pushing back against publisher Maven for its network of contributing bloggers, writing in an open letter that the system is "exploitative and antithetical" to journalism and in need of a proper vetting process. The model...