Fox Corp’s News Channel Loses Endorsement from Trump
Mediaite: President Trump has told television viewers to dump Fox News in favor of Newsmax or One America News Network after Wall Street Journal editor John Bussey weighed in on a Fox segment about the president's lagging performance in the...
Discovery in Deal to Acquire Tele5 TV Channel in Germany
Advanced Television: Discovery has acquired German entertainment channel Tele5 from media company Leonine and agreed to a long-term deal with the former owner for its scripted content. "This enables us to tap new target audience groups and expand our marketing...
ViacomCBS Plots a Reimagining of ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’
World Screen: Comedy Central has inked an expansive deal with Emmy Award winner Mike Judge to reimagine MTV's animated comedy "Beavis and Butt-Head," as well as additional spin-offs and specials. Judge is set to write, produce and provide voice over for both iconic...
Disney Chief Posts a Response to Teen’s Video on TikTok
People: Bob Iger, the Disney executive chairman and former CEO, tweeted: "The world's gonna know your name!!!" in response to a TikTok video posted by a talented teenager taking on different looks of his "favorite heroes," including two Disney ones: a "Star Wars" Jedi...
Fox Corp Expat Murdoch in Line for Big Payday from Tesla
This Is Money: James Murdoch is in line for a near-£50 million payday at Tesla, joining directors who have made a fortune as the electric car pioneer has become the world's most valuable car company. The stock market value of Tesla last week overtook Toyota to hit a...
News Corp Braces for Overhaul by Executive from Australia
Australian Financial Review: Damian Eales, chief operating officer of publishing at News Corp Australia, is packing his bags for New York to take on the newly created role of global head of transformation. Eales will oversee an overhaul of Rupert Murdoch's...
Hearst TV Host Sees a ‘MeToo Moment’ for Journos of Color
New York Times: Soledad O'Brien: "As other journalists of color in these recent weeks have spoken up about their lack of representation and influence in newsrooms, and how that warps coverage, I know exactly what they’re talking about: how treatment leads to unfair...
Netflix Employs ‘Most Liberal’ Staffers of Tech Companies
CNBC: Netflix employees have sent 98% of their political contributions to Democrats, according to one analysis. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has donated to both Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden. Tech employees not only strongly favor Biden, they’re also funneling money to...
Google’s YouTube Slammed by Composer Over Copyrights
Bloomberg: Maria Schneider, a Grammy-award winning composer, has sued YouTube for failing to protect her and other "ordinary creators" from unauthorized copying and use of their work on the giant video-sharing platform. Small content providers "are relegated to manual...
Facebook Chiefs to Meet with Groups Pushing Ad Boycott
Bloomberg: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg will meet with at least three civil rights groups on Tuesday after their organizations led an advertising boycott of Facebook. The social media giant and the groups didn’t disclose further details of the...
Pinterest Tests New Revenue-Share Model with Publishers
Digiday: Pinterest is testing a new advertising model, splitting revenue derived from a unique co-sales arrangement with publishers that will heavily feature video ads. But unlike previous video campaigns on the platform, high performing publishers will be creating...
Gannett Faces $500 Million Lawsuit Over Covid Test Story
Law360: Vivera Pharmaceuticals has hit Gannett, several execs and four USA Today reporters with a defamation lawsuit, alleging it has suffered over $500 million in damages because of a story that criticized its Covid-19 antibody tests and detailed its CEO's past...
Conde Nast ‘Mental Health’ Cover in Bad Taste, Critics Say
BBC News: Vogue Portugal has responded to criticism over its depiction of mental health treatment on a recent magazine cover saying its aim was to "shine a light" on the important issue. The "Madness Issue" features a woman in a bathtub in a hospital setting with a...
Hearst’s Cosmopolitan Publishes Cover with Bearded Lady
Kashmir Monitor: Harnaam Kaur, the British model of Indian descent famous for her full beard, has made it to the cover of the July issue of Cosmopolitan India magazine. Kaur has battled "endless abuse for her body and facial hair," the magazine...
Penske Media Sends Variety Leader to Diversity Specialist
Variety: Variety editor Claudia Eller took a voluntary leave after a terse social media exchange with a freelance reporter about newsroom diversity. A rep for Variety says Eller, who has led Variety's editorial operations since 2013, is "working with a diversity...
Vox Media, BuzzFeed Eye Opportunities in Sales of Sex Toys
Digiday: Online sales of sex toys have, well, risen during the coronavirus lockdowns. BuzzFeed and The Strategist have seen their own conversions on this product category increase during the pandemic. BuzzFeed is now considering launching a destination to find sex toy...
Air Mail Editors Look Back a Year After Newsletter Launch
Air Mail: "Even in these gloomy economic times, subscriptions continue to grow, our sponsors remain on board, and readers write in to express pleasure and delight," write Air Mail newsletter editors Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley. "Mostly, it turns out, they...
Disney Makes Bold Bet on Streaming Launch of ‘Hamilton’
Deadline: "Hamilton," the hottest show of its generation, opens Friday on the streaming service Disney Plus without a giant launch party or a massive media campaign. The "non-event" is an appropriate metaphor for the challenges facing Hollywood in launching new...
ViacomCBS Publisher Beats Bid to Squelch Trump Tell-All
New York Times: A New York appellate judge has ruled that Simon & Schuster could go ahead with its plans to release a tell-all book by Mary Trump, the niece of President Trump, reversing a lower court's decision from this week that had temporarily halted...
Fox Corp, Cox to Join Investors in Live-Streamer Caffeine
Bloomberg: Live-streaming website Caffeine has raised $113 million to invest in new forms of entertainment that users can watch and engage with in real time. The aim is to differentiate its programming from industry leaders Twitch and YouTube. Caffeine has had its...
Disney Strikes Deal for a Big Reveal Across TV, Streaming
Detroit Free Press: Ford Motor Co. will unveil the all-new Bronco SUV across Disney broadcast, cable, digital and streaming properties on July 13. Three custom three-minute films will air on ABC, ESPN and National Geographic. All three films will be available on...
Google’s YouTube Adds a Channel for Actress Brie Larson
People: Brie Larson has found a whole new way to connect with her fans. The "Captain Marvel" actress, 30, is the latest celebrity to launch her own YouTube platform. Larson posted her first video to her channel on Thursday, introducing fans to her page and teasing...
Amazon to Stream ‘Mad Men’ with New Blackface Warning
Entertainment Weekly: "Mad Men" has found a new home thanks to a global licensing deal with Amazon, and it'll make its debut nationally with a blackface warning. Episode three from the show's third season will stream with a prefaced disclaimer due to character Roger...
Disney-ABC ‘20/20’ News Legend Hugh Downs Dies at 99
Associated Press: Hugh Downs, the genial, versatile broadcaster who became one of television’s most familiar and welcome faces with more than 15,000 hours on news, game and talk shows, has died at age 99. Downs died of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale,...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Teases N-Word in New Podcast
New York Post: Barstool Sports is airing an episode of its podcast “2Biggs” with a title that spells out the N-word. The installment, titled "Barstool N - - - - R (Now It’s Gonna Get Extremely Real) feat. the Minority Report," was announced on the podcast’s Twitter...
Conde Nast Staffers Make Claims of ‘Racist’ Video Vetting
Business Insider: Conde Nast's vetting process consistently rejects video pitches that feature people of color and topics about non-white communities, employees say. In recent weeks, some of the group's 400-plus employees have rallied against this process, as a larger...
Meredith Effort to Spotlight ‘Reasons for Hope in America’
MediaPost: Meredith is launching a company-wide, cross-platform editorial initiative this fall in response to the difficult events this year, called "Reasons for Hope in America." The project, inspired by the People franchise "100 Reasons to Love America," will span...
American Media ‘Ruined’ National Enquirer’s Theme Park
New York Post: Catch-and-kill may have killed the National Enquirer theme park. At least that is the claim of a new lawsuit filed by theme park developers Frontpage Attractions, which says it was forced to remove attractions — and even change the park’s...
McClatchy Hopes for Multiple Bidders as Deadline Passes
Wall Street Journal: McClatchy expects to get multiple offers for its business, a lawyer for the company said, setting up a pivotal month that will likely determine the future of one of the nation’s largest newspaper publishers after it filed for bankruptcy earlier...
News Corp Fails to Quash Libel Lawsuit from Johnny Depp
Associated Press: A British judge rejected an attempt by tabloid newspaper The Sun to quash a libel suit from actor Johnny Depp over an article claiming he abused ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp is suing The Sun’s publisher and top editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article...