Bloomberg Wants Woman to Give Up Anonymity in Lawsuit
WWD: Bloomberg LP thinks people should know the name of the person who is accusing it of fostering a "toxic" workplace for women along with instances of harassment. The company demanded in court last week that the woman who sued it in June reveal her full...
Meredith Unveils Data Studio to Help Power Brand Strategy
AdExchanger: Meredith introduced its Data Studio on Monday, a platform built out of its extensive first-party data set to help brands better understand their consumers both on and off the media company’s properties. “Data is one of our core...
Conde Nast Turns to Black Activism at UK Edition of Vogue
Associated Press: The British issue of Vogue is devoting its September issue to activism, with a cover featuring two Black activists and produced by a mostly Black team. Editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who is Black, said 2020 is a "moment of necessary...
Maven CEO’s Moves Stir Worker Worries at Sports Illustrated
Daily Beast: The company that runs Sports Illustrated has in recent months made a series of moves that have left staffers more demoralized and dejected than ever — and worried about the financial health of the...
New York Times CEO Says Print Edition Unlikely in 20 Years
CNBC: Mark Thompson said he would be "very surprised" if there's a print New York Times newspaper in 20 years. As readers become more accustomed to reading the Times on smartphones, tablets and computers each year, a printed paper is clearly a dying form....
Gannett, New York Times, News Corp: ‘It’s All About Decline’
Adweek: Three of the biggest American media organizations continue to see massive traffic and record-breaking digital subscription growth, which has helped them navigate a drop in advertising brought on by the pandemic. "It's all about the pace of...
Block’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Workers Prepare for Strike
WTAE: Newsroom employees at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have voted to authorize their union to call a strike.The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said the vote was 88-31 by secret ballot. The union has been without a contract for more than three...
Media, Tech Industry Bigwigs Reveal Summer Reading Lists
McKinsey: We find ourselves at that moment in August when, even in a pandemic, lives often slow down. It’s also the moment when McKinsey Global Publishing asks business leaders to share books they have recently read, plan to revisit, or look forward to...
Netflix Era Brings End to Movie-Theater Rules in Hollywood
Reuters: A federal judge on Friday granted the US government's request to immediately end the Paramount Decrees, a set of antitrust rules from the late 1940s and early 1950s that ended Hollywood's monopoly on producing, distributing and exhibiting...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Set for Major Staff Cuts After Shakeup
Variety: WarnerMedia is expected to let go of at least 800 staffers at its Warner Bros. and HBO operations as part of a broad restructuring put in place by CEO Jason Kilar. Warner Bros. is expected to commence layoffs of around 650 people starting...
Disney Hikes ESPN Streaming Price as Sports Trickle Back
Bloomberg: Disney is raising the price of its ESPN+ streaming service for new subscribers by $1 to $5.99 a month, starting Aug. 12. It's the first price increase since the launch of the product in April 2018. The $50 cost of an annual subscription remains the...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Leads the Pack in Prime-Time TV
New York Times: In June and July, Fox News was the highest-rated television channel in the prime-time hours of 8 to 11 p.m. Not just on cable. All of television. Daily Beast: "Lachlan Murdoch is even more of a right-wing ultra than his old man."...
Dish Network Chief Sees Merger with DirecTV as ‘Inevitable’
Deadline: Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen still believes a merger of his company's satellite operations with those of AT&T-owned DirecTV is "inevitable." The timing, though, is unclear. "Is it one month from now or two years from now? I don't...
ViacomCBS Scraps Indoor MTV Awards Due to Covid Threat
Associated Press: MTV is ditching plans for indoor performances for its Video Music Awards, opting for outdoor shows spread throughout New York City instead. Organizers had planned for some performances inside Brooklyn's Barclays Center for the Aug. 30...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Eyes Shooting Restart on ‘Succession’
Variety: "Succession" could be back in production on season 3 before the end of the year (with a big emphasis on could), per creator Jesse Armstrong. The plan, at least for now, is “trying to think about starting shooting in New York before...
Google, Facebook Twitter ‘Getting Worked’ by Trump Allies
New York Times: Pro-Trump forces have revived the "working the refs" tactic and deftly employed it against the "powerful, befuddled new referees of public debate, Google, Facebook and Twitter," according to New York Times media columnist Ben...
Microsoft Still Front-Runner as Twitter Mulls Buy of TikTok
Wall Street Journal: Twitter has had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that the Trump administration has declared a national-security threat due to its Chinese...
iHeartMedia Faces ‘Severe’ Revenue Decline at Radio Giant
RBR: Covid-19 "had a severe, negative impact on our revenue in the second quarter." Those are the words of iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman, and he wasn't mincing them. The nation's largest audio media company experienced a nearly 50% revenue decline. But, podcasting is...
McClatchy Taps Former Chicago Tribune Publisher for CEO
McClatchy DC: Chatham Asset Management, the hedge fund that won McClatchy at auction, announced that Tony Hunter will be the company's new CEO. Hunter worked at Tribune for 22 years, rising from circulation manager to CEO of Tribune Publishing and publisher of the...
Tribune Publishing in Talks to Leave Chicago Headquarters
Chicago Tribune: The Chicago Tribune's offices could be on the move for the second time in less than three years, as the newspaper's parent company seeks an exit from Prudential Plaza amid the pandemic. Robert Feder: Could a virtual newsroom be in the offing for the...
Prediction: Virus to Hasten Death of Daily Print Newspapers
AFP: "Print will survive in some form," although likely more in weekly and monthly options than daily, predicts Penelope Abernathy, a former Wall Street Journal and New York Times VP who now teaches media economics. "The era of the print daily will be remembered...
Hearst’s Oprah Magazine Cover is Showcased on Billboards
Associated Press: First, Oprah Winfrey put Breonna Taylor on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. Now the media mogul is spreading her message with 26 billboards going up across Louisville, Kentucky, demanding justice for the woman shot to death during a police...
Meredith, Hearst Plan for Thinner September Fashion Issues
WWD: While editors in chief worked hard on the content, they didn't have as many pages to fill as in the glory years of 700-plus page September issues. Expect the issues to be on the thinner side this year. Declining print ad revenue was already in play, only to be...
Conde Nast Sees Race Tensions Continue at Food Magazine
New York Times: The only two Black editorial staff members at Bon Appétit quit Friday as the magazine grapples with criticism from its own staff over racial inequality. The departures came a day after three journalists of color said they would no longer participate in...
G/O Media Lays Off 15 Video Team Staffers in Restructuring
Business Insider: G/O Media laid off members of its video team, according to an internal memo. Multiple sources said 15 staffers were let go. G/O editorial chief Jim Rich said in an email to staff that the decision came after "extensive examining" of audience numbers...
Roundup: Media Job Cuts Continuing During Covid Ad Slump
AFP: Media job cuts, partial layoffs and managerial wage cuts are on the rise as advertising markets implode, despite customers showing an ever stronger appetite for information on the coronavirus crisis. More than 50 local newsrooms across the United States have been...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Unveils Major Exec Shakeup, Layoffs
CNBC: WarnerMedia new CEO Jason Kilar announced a management shake-up Friday that promotes streaming executive Andy Forssell to lead a new HBO Max operating business unit. Kilar also announced layoffs, and the departure of top execs Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly and...
Disney Lands Investment on Big Bet for Future in Streaming
CNBC: Longtime activist investor Daniel Loeb revealed that he opened a new position in Disney during the second quarter based in part on the media giant's decision to enter the streaming market. Loeb said there isn't a close No. 2 rival for Disney in terms of quality...
ViacomCBS Preps Global Streaming Service Rollout in 2021
World Screen: ViacomCBS will launch an SVOD service internationally beginning in early 2021 delivering content from all of its brands. The new platform will begin its rollout delivering exclusive premieres of all-new Showtime series, as well as CBS All Access...
Fox Corp Extends Staffers Working Remotely to End of 2020
Fox News: Rising coronavirus cases have postponed Fox Corp.'s plan for a return to offices this fall, says CEO Lachlan Murdoch. For employees who have been reporting to their offices, "we will soon be introducing additional screenings and processes designed to keep...