News Corp Staffers Express Worries at Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal: A group of journalists at the Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones staffers sent a letter to the paper's new publisher, Almar Latour, calling for a clearer differentiation between news and opinion content online, citing concerns about accuracy...
Drudge Report Sees a Dip in Pushing Traffic to Publishers
Axios: Drudge Report has been a dominant force in the trafficking of news and information online since the early days of internet publishing. But in recent years, data shows that Drudge doesn't push traffic to publishers like he used to, although he's still considered...
Roundup: Writers Talk About Troubles in Earning a Living
The Cut: It probably won't shock anyone to hear that it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to make a living as a writer. Making any kind of money as a writer can mean different things: holding down a job and writing on the side, cobbling together teaching...
AT&T Delay of ‘Tenant’ Ends 2020 Summer Movie Season
New York Post: Warner Bros. says its planned summer blockbuster — the Christopher Nolan spy flick "Tenet" — would be postponed indefinitely due to the spread of the coronavirus, killing any chance of a summer rollout. "The summer movie-going season is officially...
Netflix Lands Film with Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington
Deadline: Netflix won the world rights for Julia Roberts starring with Denzel Washington and Sam Esmail directing "Leave The World Behind," a feature adaptation of an upcoming novel by Rumaan Alam. The novel will be published this fall by the HarperCollins imprint...
Disney Scrambles to Realign as Covid Rewrites Playbook
Wall Street Journal: Disney execs are scrambling to deal with what is looking to be a prolonged crisis on numerous fronts, forcing a realignment of priorities that could have lasting impacts. The company's streaming operation has proved indispensable as stay-at-home...
Discovery Ripe for Picking as Media Giants Pause Deals
CNBC: After a wave of mega-mergers, deal making is taking a breather. When deals pick up again, one analyst sees Discovery as an interesting player: "Their library of content is largely unencumbered by licensing deals so they could be a plug and play for another...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Taps Bob Costas for Sports at CNN
Bloomberg: Veteran sports broadcaster Bob Costas has joined CNN as a contributor, more than a year after his outspokenness on football concussion risks brought his nearly 40 years at NBC to a close. Costas, 68, has been a frequent guest discussing sports in the...
Fox Corp’s Top News Hosts Face Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Vulture: A complaint filed in New York federal court on July 20 alleges sexual misconduct by top Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Howard Kurtz. The suit also addresses a previous rape allegation against host Ed Henry, who was fired from the...
Disney Fires Top ABC News Exec Over Racist Comments
Wall Street Journal: Disney fired senior ABC News exec Barbara Fedida after an investigation confirmed allegations that she made insensitive and racist remarks about colleagues. Fedida made "unacceptable racially insensitive comments" and managed "in a rough...
Fox Corp Adds Real-Time Odds in Redesign of Sports App
Fox Business: Fox Sports has launched a new, completely redesigned Fox Sports App and website, offering a personalized experience that allows fans to access their favorite league, team and player content while seeing real-time odds powered by Fox Bet...
AT&T’s HBO Max Preps Election Movie in Tie-Up with CNN
Broadcasting & Cable: AT&T’s HBO Max and CNN Film units have collaborated on a new documentary following a team of female journalists covering the US presidential primaries. "On The Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries" will premiere August...
iHeartMedia Enters Multi-Podcast Deal with Tenderfoot TV
Hollywood Reporter: Tenderfoot TV, the studio behind the "Up and Vanished" podcast, has agreed to a multi-project deal with iHeartMedia. Under the terms of the deal, Tenderfoot TV will create a slate of nine new original podcasts for the iHeartPodcast Network over the...
Verizon Sees Departure of Operating Chief at TechCrunch
TechCrunch: "After more than eight years as TechCrunch's COO, I am leaving on August 21," writes Ned Desmond. "My decision is as much about my appetite for a green field as it is a recognition that TechCrunch's team is ready to put a fresh stamp on our remarkable...
Bauer to Shutter Australian, British Magazines Citing Woes
Mumbrella: Bauer Media is closing the eight Australian titles it paused during Covid-19, including Harper's Bazaar, Elle, InStyle, Men's Health, and Women's Health. Press Gazette: The British music magazine Q is closing after almost 34 years as owner Bauer fails to...
Hearst Avoids Staffer Protests Amid Black Lives Movement
Glossy: Cosmopolitan published an action plan in response to Black Lives Matter, which stated that its staff was 29% BIPOC and that it had created a voluntary inclusion committee. Cosmopolitan also said it will ensure its BIPOC representation in imagery is at least...
Meredith Pivots to $20 Subscriptions for Shelter Magazine
Folio: A year after converting Traditional Home from a primarily advertising-funded model to a more consumer-driven, newsstand-only publication, Meredith announced that it is once again selling subscriptions to the magazine. The now-quarterly title carries a $12.99...
News Corp Predicts Hybrid Model Emerging in Live Events
WWD: Wall Street Journal events chief Leigh Gilmore believes the ongoing pandemic will bring a new hybrid model to the events business. "In the short-term, virtual events will be a necessary substitute, but in the long-term, they will complement and enhance in-person...
New York Times Rejects Fox Newser’s Harassment Claim
Mediaite: Fox News's Tucker Carlson returned from vacation Monday night and ended his program going after the New York Times, saying the paper will be running "a story about where my family and I live." The Times says it "does not plan to expose any residence of...
Associated Press: We Will Capitalize Black But Not White
Associated Press: After changing its usage rules last month to capitalize the word “Black” when used in the context of race and culture, the Associated Press on Monday said it would not do the same for “white.” The AP says white people in general have much less shared...
Drudge Report New Book, Film to Explore News Business
Vanity Fair: On July 28, journalist Matthew Lysiak and independent publisher BenBella Books will release "The Drudge Revolution." The film rights have been acquired by entertainment-honcho Jeff Kwatinetz. "This is a story about how one man had an outsized impact" on...
Comcast Braces for Widespread Layoffs at NBCUniversal
New York Post: The axe is about to fall at NBCUniversal to offset losses brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The broadcaster is preparing broad-based layoffs that will hit its network employees especially hard. Insiders described the coming cuts as "sweeping" and...
Disney Chief Joins Media Heavyweights Donating to Biden
Deadline: Joe Biden's presidential campaign got a big boost in the latest quarter, as the former VP saw major contributions from a number of industry moguls and media titans: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, James Murdoch, Bob Iger, Abigail Disney, Meg Whitman,...
Fox Corp’s News Staffers Complain of White Supremacists
Daily Beast: Four days after Fox News aired a tone-deaf graphic connecting the killings of Black men to stock market gains, many of the network's Black staffers took part in a phone call with company brass to confront Fox's increasingly racist and hostile...
AT&T’s Warner Bros Responds to Charges of a Toxic ‘Ellen’
USA Today: Executive producers of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" say they are "truly heartbroken and sorry to learn" about claims that employees experienced a toxic environment at the daytime talk show. "We need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do...
Comcast’s NBC Sports to Face ‘Anti-Heterosexual’ Lawsuit
Daily News: Hockey analyst Jeremy Roenick, who lost his job at NBC after saying he would like to have a threesome with a female coworker, filed a lawsuit accusing the network of anti-straight discrimination. NBC "created a discriminatory working environment," the...
Disney’s Streamer Under Pressure to Edit Racist ‘Peter Pan’
USA Today: HBO Max benched "Gone With the Wind" while it came up with a new intro that condemned its bigotry. Isn't it time for Disney Plus to do something similar with "Peter Pan"? As it stands, the only warning attached to the 1953 animated classic is for tobacco...
Netflix Readies New $200 Million Film Franchise ‘Gray Man’
Deadline: Netflix has just set its most financially ambitious feature film so far. Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans are set to star in "The Gray Man." The intention here is to create a new franchise with a James Bond level of scale and a budget upward of $200...
Facebook’s Ad Boycott Expands with Big Addition of Disney
MarketWatch: Disney has dramatically cut its advertising spending on Facebook, the latest setback for the tech giant as it faces a boycott from companies upset with its handling of hate speech and divisive content. Disney was Facebook's top US advertiser for the first...
Google to Ban Ads at Publishers with ‘Fake News’ on Covid
CNBC: Google next month will ban publishers from using its ad platform to show advertisements next to content that promotes conspiracy theories about Covid-19. It will also ban ads that promote those theories. In certain cases, it will ban the entire site from using...