Comcast Rolls Out Layoffs Across Operations of NBC News
New York Post: NBC News will lay off a slew of staff as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Just under 3 percent of the workforce at the news division is being axed. Variety: Three E! entertainment news shows — "E! News," "Pop of the Morning" and "In the Room" — have...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Hires Interns to Boost Cred on TikTok
@jasonkilar: "We hired some awesome interns to raise our TikTok game," says WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, in a tweet posted Wednesday. "Looking forward to more of this kind of storytelling...
Netflix Plans Film of Podcast ’36 Questions’ with Chernin
Deadline: Netflix plans to adapt the podcast "36 Questions" into a feature film. Chernin Entertainment and Automatik are producing in association with Endeavor Content. The film will be a romantic drama set in the music world. "36 Questions" was the first breakout...
Amazon’s Twitch Helps Debut of New Esports TV Network
CNBC: VENN is launching as a new free-to-view TV network with original shows that focus on video games and esports. It hopes to capitalize on the huge swell in demand for gaming and streaming services due to Covid lockdowns. "We have rethought the television business...
Facebook Launches Instagram Reels as Copycat of TikTok
Associated Press: Facebook's Instagram is officially launching its answer to the hit short video app TikTok — Instagram Reels. The new Instagram feature will let users record and edit 15-second videos with audio, and will let users add visual effects. Users will be...
Twitter, Facebook Remove Trump Post of Fox News Video
USA Today: Facebook took down a post from President Trump's personal page of a Fox News interview in which he said that children are "almost immune" from Covid-19. It was the first time Facebook has removed a post by the president. Twitter also took action late...
Apple Music to Introduce Radio Show Featuring Lady Gaga
Pitchfork: Lady Gaga is getting a new radio show on Apple Music. The first episode of Gaga Radio will be this Friday at 2 p.m. ET. The show will continue weekly throughout August. "I'm super thrilled to have this show and this opportunity to play an incredible mix of...
Oprah Gets Slammed on Social Media Over ‘White Privilege’
New York Post: Twitter critics have a billion-dollar bone to pick with Oprah Winfrey. The 66-year-old media mogul has been labeled a hypocritical "fraud" following the latest installment of her Apple TV+ series. "Whiteness gives you an advantage," she said. White...
Publicis Parts with Staffer Following Tweets on Coronavirus
Ad Age: Tom Goodwin, head of futures and insight for Publicis Groupe, is leaving the agency holding company after posting tweets criticizing "the obsession with Covid deaths over all other deaths" as "entirely gruesome." Publicis says the tweets "do not meet the...
New York Times’s Digital Revenue Bests Print for First Time
CNBC: The New York Times for the first time reported higher revenues from its digital business than its print operations, a "watershed moment" in the newspaper's nearly 170-year history, according to CEO Mark Thompson. "And we don't think it's likely we're going to go...
Los Angeles Times Plans Debut of $175 Virtual Supper Club
MediaPost: The Los Angeles Times is bringing the communal dining experience online with its TimesDinner Series, set to launch Sept. 5. Restaurants Kato and Nightshade, along with their respective chefs Jon Yao and Mei Lin, collaborate for the first...
Hearst, Conde Nast Start Revealing September Issue Covers
Fashionista: It's that time of year again. September issue season is upon us, and magazines are bringing their A-game with statement-making covers and editorials. Some of the issues even weigh more than a pound and exceed hundreds of...
Conde Nast’s New Yorker ‘Parenting Tips’ to Become a Film
Deadline: Universal Pictures is developing Simon Rich's satirical New Yorker magazine short story "Everyday Parenting Tips" into a family action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds. Rich, who will write the script, has written an array of humorous New Yorker...
Vox Media Preps New York Magazine’s ‘Boss’ for TV Series
Deadline: Searchlight Television, along with Darren Aronofsky and his Protozoa Pictures, have won the television rights to David Gauvey Herbert's New York magazine article "Boss of the Beach" for series development. Herbert's article was published in...
Politico Plans Live Streaming Series ‘Plug In with Playbook’
Deadline: Politico is launching a new streaming series during the Democratic and Republican conventions tied to its popular Playbook newsletter and franchise. "Plug In with Playbook" will be streamed at 9 a.m. ET each morning of both...
Craigslist Founder Spends $170 Million to Help Journalism
Forbes: Craig Newmark says misinformation is destroying America's democracy and he wants to help stop it. Since 2016, Newmark has given $170 million to journalism, countering harassment against journalists, cybersecurity and election...
Study: Journalists Talk in Microbubbles When Using Twitter
University of Illinois: Journalists' interactions on Twitter show them congregating in "microbubbles," says a recent study. These journalists communicate more among themselves than with journalists outside the group. These journalists "raise concerns about...
New York Journalist Legend Pete Hamill Dies at 85 After Fall
Daily News: Pete Hamill, the Brooklyn-born bard of the five boroughs and eloquent voice of his beloved hometown as both newspaper columnist and best-selling author, died Wednesday morning. Hamill, who worked at five New York newspapers and outlived three, was...
Disney Shakes Up Streaming After Huge Pandemic Losses
MarketWatch: Disney will release "Mulan" as a $30 pay-per-view on Disney+ in areas where theaters are not open, and launch a new international steaming offering under the Star brand, after losing nearly $5 billion because of the coronavirus...
Fox Corp Pins Hopes on News Channel, Return of Football
Wall Street Journal: Fox News Channel delivered a very strong quarter. Although some of its prime-time hosts experienced advertiser boycotts, the Fox News Media unit saw overall ad revenue rise. "We're seeing tremendous demand in news," said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan...
Sony Forecasts 40 Percent Profit Drop in Film-TV Division
New York Post: Sony said it expects to log a 40 percent decline in full-year profit at its film and TV studio unit due to the pandemic. Sony Pictures, like its rivals in Hollywood, has been throttled by the impact of the coronavirus, as movie and TV projects have been...
AT&T, Comcast to Begin Layoffs Across Media Operations
Wall Street Journal: NBCUniversal has begun making staff cuts across its entertainment portfolio. WarnerMedia is expected to begin staff reductions as early as next week. New York Post: Black SUVs lined up outside 30 Rockefeller Center to haul away laid off staffers...
ViacomCBS Launches Digital Platform to Lure Advertisers
Ad Age: ViacomCBS is introducing a new ad platform to help simplify buying inventory across its digital channels. EyeQ, which will debut in the fall, comes as ViacomCBS goes to market in the upfront for the first time as a combined entity with multiple digital...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Says ‘Ellen’ to Continue Amid Furor
NBC News: Ellen DeGeneres will return to the stage to host the 18th season of her namesake talk show, despite an investigation into what current and former employees called a toxic workplace environment, Telepictures has...
ViacomCBS ‘Late Show’ Staffer Fired in Misconduct Claim
Variety: Giovanni Cianci, music producer of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" since 2017, has been let go from the show after a woman accused him of sexual misconduct in a 2010 incident. "Gio is no longer employed by the show," says a...
Comcast MSNBC Staffer Quits, Posts Scathing Open Letter
Daily Mail: MSNBC producer Ariana Pekary shared a scathing open letter after quitting the network, claiming it is a "cancer" because it "blocks diversity of thought" and "amplifies fringe voices." Pekary spent seven years working as a producer on various...
Fox Corp News Host Offers New Book as Trump Fundraiser
HuffPost: Sean Hannity is under fire for crossing ethical lines after President Trump's team offered signed copies of the Fox News host's book in exchange for donations to the campaign. The campaign offered to send signed copies of Hannity's book to supporters who...
Study: Half of Americans See News Media as ‘Very Biased’
Associated Press: The distrust many Americans feel toward the news media, caught up like much of the nation's problems in the partisan divide, only seems to be getting worse. That was the conclusion of a "sobering" study conducted by Knight Foundation and...
Amazon, Disney, Fox News Among ‘Most Patriotic’ Brands
Fast Company: Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Fox News, MSNBC and the New York Times are considered among the most patriotic brands in the United States, according to the 18th annual Brand Keys consumer survey. "We're all in this together, but these brands were more in this...
Bloomberg Media Bundles Subscriptions with The Athletic
Axios: Bloomberg Media will launch a bundled subscription with The Athletic beginning this month. Bloomberg Media sees value in partnering with niche media outlets that it thinks can compliment its coverage. In February, it announced a subscription bundle with The...