New York Times Reporter in Fracas with Tech Millionaires
Screen Rant: An online war of words erupted involving New York Times tech reporter Taylor Lorenz, tech founder Balaji Srinivasan and the Clubhouse app. The complicated story presents a sobering look at the impact social media has had on modern journalistic practices....
Reuters to Put Up Subscription Paywall for Certain Articles
The Information: Reuters plans to place many of its articles behind a subscription paywall, the news service told employees. Reuters would become one of the last free news services to adopt a subscription business model, a sign of how much the news industry has...
Vice Media’s Refinery29 Chief Resigns Amid Internal Probe
CNN: Amy Emmerich, global president and chief content officer of Refinery29, announced that she is stepping down from her position. Her resignation comes amid an internal investigation into allegations of toxic workplace behavior at the female-centric...
Vox Media Hit with Blogger’s Lawsuit Over Wage Violations
Bloomberg Law: An SB Nation baseball content contributor says Vox Media shortchanged him and other sports bloggers by misclassifying them as independent contractors instead of employees, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in...
Uzabase’s Quartz Models New Homepage After Newsletters
MediaPost: Quartz has launched a new homepage. In a note introducing the look, executive editor Kira Bindrim said the homepage draws inspiration from the publisher’s popular email newsletters, such as the “Quartz Daily Brief” and “Quartz Weekly...
Amazon CEO to Join Tech Chiefs in US Antitrust Testimony
New York Times: The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have agreed to appear in late July before a congressional committee as part of an investigation focused on antitrust. "This gathering of the four horsemen of the Techopolypse could be an epic show. Winter...
Facebook CEO Tells Staffers Ads Will Return ‘Soon Enough’
The Information: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he was reluctant to bow to the threats of a growing advertising boycott, saying in private remarks that "these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough." He dismissed the boycott as "a threat to...
Apple Spends $120 Million+ to Nab Will Smith Slavery Film
Deadline: Apple Studios has acquired the world rights to "Emancipation," in the largest film festival acquisition deal in history. The action thriller, to star Will Smith, is about a runaway slave forced to outwit cold-blooded hunters and endure the swamps of...
Netflix Closes $56 Million Global Deal for New Sorkin Movie
Deadline: Netflix has closed a big global deal for Aaron Sorkin’s "The Trial of the Chicago 7," and the price tag comes in at around $56 million. Paramount was previously the domestic distributor and the film was due for theatrical release, but the coronavirus wrecked...
Disney’s ‘Hamilton’ Earns Kudos Ahead of Streaming Debut
Gamespot: A movie version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed Broadway musical "Hamilton" is coming to Disney Plus on July 3, and it's expected to be one of the network's biggest exclusives to date. Disney paid a reported $75 million to acquire the film, which is a...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Sees Tepid Early Results for HBO Max
The Information: So far, the early results for HBO Max have been disappointing, according to executives at the company. Well below a third of the cable or satellite customers that could use HBO Max, because they’re already paying for HBO, have taken advantage of that...
Comcast Inks Licensing Deal with ViacomCBS for Peacock
CNBC: NBCUniversal’s Peacock has reached a deal with ViacomCBS that will add more movies and TV shows to the streaming service before it launches later this month. The additional programming will be available nonexclusively to Peacock. ViacomCBS can include them on...
ViacomCBS Names Amazon Exec as New Financial Officer
Reuters: ViacomCBS said Amazon finance executive Naveen Chopra would replace Christina Spade as its chief financial officer, effective Aug. 10. Spade, who held the position since December, will transition into an advisory role after the company's second quarter...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Still Dominant in Prime-Time TV
Associated Press: Fox News Channel was the most-watched network in prime-time television last week, counting both broadcast and cable. It was the second week in a row that happened, and the third time in June. Before last month, that had never happened before. Also:...
News Corp Loses in Record Defamation Payout in Australia
AFP: Hollywood actor Geoffrey Rush won a record multimillion-dollar payout after an appeal by a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper against a defamation ruling was thrown out by an Australian court. The Oscar-winner will receive US $2 million for lost earnings and...
Hearst Plans Meal Delivery Service for Magazine in Britain
What's New in Publishing: Men's Health, the UK's best-selling men's magazine, has announced a tie-up with fitness food specialist MunchFit that will bring the introduction of "Fuel" – a gourmet meal delivery service tailored by leading nutritionists to assist readers...
Conde Nast: Menkes to Step Down at Vogue International
Business of Fashion: Suzy Menkes, the veteran fashion journalist and Vogue International editor, will step down from her position in October. Her work appears in 21 international Vogue editions and has been translated into 15 languages. "It is time for a new...
Tribune Adds Alden Co-Founder to Board as Deal Extends
Chicago Tribune: Tribune Publishing has struck a deal with its largest shareholder, Alden Global Capital, that adds the hedge fund's co-founder, Randall Smith, to the newspaper company's board, while extending an ownership standstill agreement until next...
New York Times Coaxes Twitter to Pull Pic in Trump Tweet
Axios: Twitter removed a picture from a tweet by President Trump after it received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint from the New York Times, which owns the rights to the photo. This is the second time in two weeks that Twitter took down content from...
Bloomberg Founder Faces Protesters Carrying Pitchforks
New York Post: A caravan of protesters — some wielding plastic pitchforks — descended on the Hamptons to blast the rich and decry the nation's rising income inequality. About 200 marchers paid a visit to the homes of some of the world's wealthiest people, including...
Fox Corp Fires News Anchor After Misconduct Accusation
Fox News: Fox News has terminated "America's Newsroom" co-anchor Ed Henry after an outside law firm conducted an investigation into sexual misconduct claims that were made against him by a former employee. Henry will be replaced by rotating anchors until a permanent...
Conde Nast Staffers Say Internal Culture Hinders Progress
Business of Fashion: Conde Nast's "elite" company culture and pressured business models are frustrating efforts to modernize the business and have created challenges for employees who are women and people of color, staffers say. "Straight white men, in a lot of cases,...
Los Angeles Times Food Editor Departs After Abuse Claims
New York Times: Peter Meehan, the editor of the Los Angeles Times food section, announced that he was stepping down. The move came after a series of tweets by Tammie Teclemariam, a freelance food-and-drinks writer, alleging a pattern of verbal abuse and workplace...
Essence Magazine CEO Resigns After Op-Ed on ‘Appetites’
New York Post: A group dubbed Black Female Anonymous penned a scathing exposé about the alleged conditions of working at Essence magazine. One of the execs they singled out, Richelieu Dennis, has resigned as CEO. Their essay claimed that Dennis was "driven by greed...
Fox Corp CEO Faces Dilemma as Trump Declines in Polls
Crikey: Murdoch watchers are about to see in real life how Lachlan handles the dilemma his father regularly faced: how to choose between the political right and the likely political winner. It's not just the polls. It's the perceptions leaking out of the Murdoch...
ViacomCBS Names Fox Film Expat as Head of Paramount
Los Angeles Times: Emma Watts, the former 20th Century Fox Film executive who left the Disney-owned company this year, is heading to Paramount Pictures. Watts has been named president of Paramount’s motion picture group, putting her in charge of the ViacomCBS-owned...
Disney Park Workers Aren’t Being Tested for Coronavirus
TheStreet: The union representing Walt Disney World Cast members in Florida said Disney is not testing employees for the coronavirus before they return to work, including stage performers who cannot wear masks. Both Florida and California have reported increases in...
ViacomCBS Book Publisher Won’t Halt New Trump Tell-All
Associated Press: Distribution of a tell-all book by President Trump's niece was blocked by a judge after the president's brother said its publication would violate a pact among family members. But Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp says the book has already been...
Netflix Pledges $100 Million to Support Black Communities
CNBC: Netflix announced it will start putting 2% of its cash holdings into financial institutions and organizations to "directly support Black communities in the US." The video streaming giant said in a blog post that its initial commitment will be as much as $100...
iHeartMedia Unveils National Black News Audio Network
Wall Street Journal: iHeartMedia has launched a national news network focused on the Black community. Black Information Network, or BIN, went live with 15 radio stations across the country, plus an online presence, and more stations coming over the next two months. It...