New York Times New CEO Predicts Future as Tech Leader
The Information: Imagine a New York Times where you get your music and play digital games, along with your news. That vision is a big part of what Meredith Kopit Levien, announced as the company's new CEO Wednesday, sees as the future of the...
Hearst Magazines, Editors in Uncertainty After Chief’s Exit
Business of Fashion: Troy Young leaves Hearst at a pivotal time for the magazine publisher. It is unclear whether the structure he has built will remain in place upon his departure. Young appointed most, if not all, of the current Hearst magazine...
Conde Nast, Vox Media Offer Tips on Creating Newsletters
Folio: "Newsletters today are in many ways the newspapers of yesterday; the inbox is the new doorstep,” says Jessie Li, newsletter editor at The New Yorker. "In recent years we've seen a huge explosion of newsletters in the news...
Ebony Magazine Creditors Plot Effort to Force Bankruptcy
Wall Street Journal: The owner of Ebony magazine is being forced into bankruptcy by creditors who say they want to take over the publication, which has chronicled Black culture for 75 years but has declined since being sold by founding publisher Johnson...
BuzzFeed Lays Off 50 Staffers as Pandemic Hurts Ad Deals
Bloomberg: BuzzFeed laid off 50 of the 74 employees who were furloughed this spring as the digital media company struggles to replace lost revenue during the pandemic. The cuts include 10 employees in BuzzFeed's news...
The Athletic Aims to Score New Subscribers with T-Mobile
Front Office Sports: The Athletic has unveiled its first national promotional partnership with T-Mobile. The wireless network operator is offering free, one-year subscriptions to The Athletic and MLB.TV to all US-based T-Mobile and Sprint...
Analysis: Media Audiences, Junior Staffers Now Talk Back
Financial Times: News organizations are increasingly being forced to pay attention to what their audiences and junior employees have to say. Decades ago, what was newsworthy was decided by professional newsmen. The Internet and social media have radically altered this...
Hearst Magazines Chief Resigns After ‘Toxic’ Culture Story
Business Insider: Troy Young has resigned from his position as president of Hearst Magazines, effective immediately. In a company-wide email, Hearst CEO Steve Swartz announced that Young was no longer with the company. The move comes after a bombshell story in the New...
Disney, Comcast, AT&T Eye Streaming as Virus Takes a Toll
TheWrap: As media companies prepare for a dour earnings season, streaming figures to be the lone area where anyone can claim a win. Disney, Comcast and AT&T are all expected to see revenues drop from the year-ago quarter, or in Disney's case, plummet "Tower of...
ViacomCBS Seeks to Become King of Freemium Streaming
World Screen: ViacomCBS is on track to be the global leader in freemium streaming, says CEO Bob Bakish. "In free we'll continue to build on Pluto TV." The pay services at ViacomCBS are "anchored by CBS All Access," which is being transformed into a "broad, super...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Expands Global Content for HBO Max
World Screen: The dramas "Gomorrah" and "Veneno," the unscripted relationship series "Singletown" and the competition show "The Great Pottery Throw Down" are part of the expanded slate of international titles coming to HBO Max. "As our world becomes more connected, so...
Comcast Nabs 1.5 Million App Downloads for New Peacock
TechCrunch: NBCUniversal's Peacock appears to be having a somewhat better launch than Quibi did. While numbers pointing to new app downloads aren't a complete picture of consumer adoption for a cross-platform service, they can provide a window into early...
Fox Corp Enjoys Ad ‘Tsunami’ from Baseball Triple-Header
Bloomberg: Fox Corp. begins its baseball season with its first-ever triple-header on Saturday -- nine hours of games on the Fox broadcast network. The advertising inventory is sold out. "Our baseball inventory 10 days ago just shot off the shelf when people realized...
Vice Media: We’re Still on Path to Profits Despite Pandemic
World Screen: Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc: "We're very fortunate to be about 30 percent ad-supported and the rest is other income. That does insulate us a bit from what's going on. We're still on a path to be profitable in the fourth quarter. And that’s sustained...
Spotify Inks Licensing Deal with Vivendi’s Universal Music
Reuters: Spotify has signed a new, multi-year licensing agreement with Vivendi's Universal Music Group, reinforcing the music streaming service's catalogue and products. Spotify and UMG plan to collaborate on new, state-of-the-art marketing campaigns across Spotify's...
Wave.tv Raises $32 Million to Acquire Sports Media Brands
Adweek: With most live sports on hold, sports media publishers have had to stretch their imaginations to find interesting stories to tell. Wave.tv, a digital media company built around working with license holders to repackage archival sports, hopes to invest more in...
Taboola, Outbrain ‘Clickbait’ Ad Merger Gets a Green Light
Wall Street Journal: The Justice Department has informed ad networks Taboola and Outbrain that it won't stand in the way of their proposed merger. A DOJ spokeswoman said the department had closed its investigation of the merger without taking action but didn’t provide...
Clear Channel Billboard Ads Dive as US Stays Off the Road
Bloomberg: Surprising as it may seem now, 2020 was supposed to be a great year for billboard ads. New kinds of marketers, like the burgeoning weed industry, were flocking to outdoor advertising, letting it outshine other media. Then Covid-19 hit, forcing many...
Martha Stewart Gets Buzz from Sultry Selfie on Instagram
NBC Today: Martha Stewart shared a new photo of herself lounging in the pool, and fans can't get enough of the sizzling selfie. In the shot, the lifestyle guru can be seen from the neck up, pursing her lips in a sultry pout. Stewart infused a mix of glam and casual...
Fox Corp Loses News Host After Coronavirus Office Scare
CNN: Fox News has parted ways with a host who dismayed fellow staffers when she came to work while visibly sick in the early days of the coronavirus crisis. Heather Childers, who had been an early morning host on Fox since 2012, was benched after the incident in late...
New York Times to Acquire Podcast Studio Behind ‘Serial’
Wall Street Journal: The New York Times plans to acquire Serial Productions, the maker of the hit podcast "Serial," a deal that aims to further the newspaper's podcasting ambitions. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the transaction could be worth as much as $50...
Axel Springer Reveals Gender Pay Gap at Business Insider
Business Insider: Across Insider, the median salary for all female employees is $75,000. For all male employees, it's $85,000. BIPOC employees earn $81,000 to white employees' $85,000. Female BIPOC employees make $70,000. Racial and gender wage gaps aren't unique to...
Hearst Brass Supports Magazine Boss Amid ‘Creepy’ Claims
New York Post: Insiders say the top brass at Hearst are standing behind Troy Young, after the magazine boss was called out in a New York Times story for leading a "toxic culture." Young has drawn criticism for a reported series of lewd and sexist...
Conde Nast Pauses Paywall Model as Tests Begin at Hearst
WWD: As Hearst ramps up plans for paywalls at its magazines, rival Conde Nast appears to be taking a breather. Former CEO Bob Sauerberg was to roll out a model company-wide by the end of 2019. But that rollout has yet to happen under Sauerberg's successor Roger...
Newsweek Under Fire for Covid Loan After Money Scheme
New York Post: Newsweek and Olivet University are drawing fire for receiving coronavirus stimulus loans following their involvement in a $35 million money-laundering scheme that has resulted in guilty pleas by former executives of the media company and the...
Vox Media’s New York Magazine Staff Creates Layoff Fund
GoFundMe: Last week, Vox Media announced layoffs of employees across the company, including about 20 workers at New York magazine. A GoFundMe has been created to help those who have been laid off. Money raised will be divided equally among each person who applies for...
New York Times Taps Operating Officer for New Chief Exec
New York Times: The New York Times has named Meredith Kopit Levien, the news organization's chief operating officer, as its next president and chief executive. Levien will succeed Mark Thompson, the chief executive since 2012, on Sept....
ViacomCBS Lays Off New York Staffers Amid the Pandemic
The Wrap: ViacomCBS laid off dozens of New York staffers in June as job cuts at the recombined entertainment giant continued. The latest headcount reduction tallied losses of "mid-double digits." Like previous rounds of staff cuts, the June pink slips came at multiple...
Disney’s ABC Leads TV Networks in Major Viewer Declines
Sportico: While TV viewers are always tougher to reach during summer, this year's sultry season numbers are particularly grim. The primetime audience in the last 54 days has dropped 9% compared to the year-ago period, a difference of more than 7 million viewers per...
Netflix’s Rise Moves Viewers, Big Media to Snub Cable TV
Variety: Most general entertainment cable TV channels have suffered double-digit drops in ratings in recent years. Among them: Nick at Night, AMC, FX, USA, TBS. "They're managing their decline, but make no mistake about it, it's a decline. It feels...