Fox Corp’s Murdochs Win Spat Over Disney Sale Windfall
Law360: A lawsuit was tossed from a former 21st Century Fox investor fund, which had asserted that Rupert Murdoch and his sons unfairly received $82 million in stock awards to boost the spoils related to Fox's $71 billion merger with Disney, saying it lacked...
Disney to Delay ‘Mulan’ Again as Coronavirus Cases Rise
Fox Business: Disney has pushed back the box office premiere of its live-action film "Mulan" again to later this summer amidst a rising number of coronavirus cases across the US. The company announced that "Mulan" will open in theaters on Aug....
Comcast’s NBC Preps Pandemic-Themed Comedy Series
Broadcasting & Cable: NBC has ordered a pandemic-themed comedy. "Connecting," from Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, is described as "an ensemble comedy about a group of friends trying to stay close (and sane) through video chats as they share the highs and lows of...
Fox Corp Unveils Plan to Recast Actors in ‘The Simpsons’
Reuters: "The Simpsons" is ending the use of white actors to voice characters of color, producers said. "Moving forward, 'The Simpsons' will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters." The announcement comes amidst a widespread reckoning for US pop...
AT&T’s CNN Neglects to Reveal Pundit’s White House Ties
Daily Beast: Van Jones provoked liberal distress when he ladled praise on a so-called police reform initiative by President Trump. CNN viewers weren’t informed that he had actually attended secret White House meetings with his new friend Jared Kushner, discussing ways...
Fox Corp, AT&T to Partner on Convention News Coverage
Wall Street Journal: CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are in talks to coordinate pool coverage to reduce the number of journalists in potentially infectious areas at this year's political conventions. Coordination has become increasingly important because of the pandemic, news...
Disney to Debut Visual Album from Beyoncé on Streamer
Variety: In a surprise, Disney Plus announced a new visual album from Beyoncé — “Black Is King,” inspired by “The Lion King” — is coming to the streaming service next month. “Black Is King” is written, directed and executive produced by...
Netflix Ousts ABC for Top Spot on List of Must-Keep TV
Multichannel News: After three years of climbing up the charts, Netflix took the top spot in Solutions Research Group’s 13th annual “Must Keep TV” ranking, ousting broadcaster ABC from the pole position. While Netflix took the overall lead, broadcasters made up the...
Facebook Eyes Hate Speech as Ad Boycott Goes Global
Reuters: Organizers of a Facebook advertising boycott campaign that has drawn support from a rapidly expanding list of major companies are now preparing to take the battle global to increase pressure on the social media company to remove hate...
Parler Grows as Trump Fans Flock to Social-Media App
CNBC: Parler's user base has grown to 1.5 million from 1 million in about a week, CEO John Matze said. Republican politicians and conservative pundits have flocked to the app, in large part to protest what they say is unfair censorship by...
Quibi Founder Hosts Virtual Fundraising Event for Biden
Deadline: Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg hosted a small virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden. The candidate walked away digitally with nearly $6 million, according to sources. The event was the Katzenbergs’ first fundraiser for the ex-VP since he became the presumptive...
Fox Corp News Ratings Seen as ‘the Real Polls’ by Trump
The Hill: President Trump touted the TV ratings from his campaign rally in Tulsa and his town hall with Fox News's Sean Hannity. Trump asserted in a pair of tweets that the ratings "are the real polls" after a series of recent pubic surveys showed him trailing rival...
News Corp’s Wall Street Journal Bashes Trump in Op-Ed
Mediaite: The Wall Street Journal's editorial board ripped President Trump in a scathing op-ed for the president's lack of a second-term plan and reverting to his "worst form" four months before the 2020 election against Joe Biden. Trump should "understand that he is...
Bezos’s Washington Post Editor Halts ‘Explosive’ Report
New York Times: Bob Woodward was planning to unmask Brett Kavanaugh as an anonymous source. But Washington Post top editor Martin Baron is said to have stepped in and urged Woodward not to breach his arrangement with Kavanaugh and to protect his source's...
Hearst in Wage Violation Fracas Over Newspaper Delivery
Bloomberg Law: Hearst could be liable for nearly $550,000 to a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper deliveryman who was clearly misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, a California federal judge ruled. The parties will proceed to trial on the...
Meredith Magazine Personality Stirs Chatter on Instagram
The Blast: Ayesha Curry posted a video of her backyard cookout on Instagram in a paid partnership deal with Bounty paper towels. Comments on the video pointed out that fans spotted Curry wiping her hands on her jeans, rather than using the sponsored...
Vox Media Offers Tribute to New York Magazine Founder
New York Magazine: Milton Glaser died Friday, on his 91st birthday, of natural causes. He will forever be known as one of the small team of men and women who, in the late '60s, yanked New York out of the newspaper morgue and turned it into a great American...
BuzzFeed Fires Journalist After Plagiarism Investigation
New York Post: BuzzFeed fired senior reporter Ryan Broderick after news emerged that a number of his stories for the website had been plagiarized or incorrectly attributed from other sources. The disclosure was made late by the website’s new editor-in-chief Mark...
Google to Pay Some Publishers for News; Other Dubious
Reuters: Google has taken a step towards resolving its longtime spat with publishers, saying it will pay some media groups in Australia, Brazil and Germany for high-quality content and expects to do more deals. But other media groups are skeptical: "Not too much, but...
Facebook Sees Major Advertiser Verizon Join Ad Boycott
Ad Age: Verizon said it will halt its advertising on Facebook, joining an ad boycott called for by civil rights organizations aimed at pressuring the social media giant to do more to prevent the spread of hate speech. "Our brand safety standards have not changed," a...
Amazon Lands Naming Rights to New Stadium in Seattle
CNBC: Amazon has bought the naming rights to downtown Seattle's arena which will house a new NHL team and the Women's National Basketball Association’s Seattle Storm. The KeyArena will now be renamed to Climate Pledge Arena, in reference to Amazon's ambitious climate...
ByteDance’s TikTok CEO Sheds Light on Leaving Disney
Deadline: Kevin Mayer said he will "always have a huge amount of fondness for Disney." The new CEO of TikTok added: "I'm not getting any younger. If you really want to make a big splash, there's just a timing factor to that. And there aren't many companies like...
Disney Silences ‘Song of the South’ in Redo of Park Ride
CNBC: Disney's iconic Splash Mountain is getting a makeover. The Imagineers at Disney announced that the Splash Mountain ride at both Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida will be redesigned to feature characters from its animated movie "The Princess...
Fox Corp’s Murdoch Wives Donate to Biden, Democrats
Forbes: Jerry Hall, the former supermodel who is married to Rupert Murdoch, has donated $500 to Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Bloomberg Government: Kathryn Murdoch, the wife of James Murdoch, has given $1 million to help Democrats win control of...
News Corp Murdoch Daughter Invests in LeBron Venture
Bloomberg Businessweek: Basketball star LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter have raised $100 million to grow their media empire. Their new company, SpringHill Co., is backed by investors including Guggenheim Partners and News Corp. heir Elisabeth...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Delays ‘Tenet’ Film Release Again
Bloomberg: Warner Bros. has delayed the release of the movie "Tenet" again, setting back efforts by theater chains to save the summer blockbuster season. The film will now debut Aug. 12, two weeks later than expected. In an unusual move, the studio plans to put the...
ViacomCBS Makes Moves to Become a Streaming Power
Barron's: Analyst Richard Greenfield said he believes that with the merger of Viacom and CBS now closed, the company has turned its focus to making a true mark in the industry, making its subscription service all the more attractive with high-profile films and live...
Quibi Founder’s Video Start-Up from 1999 Offers Lessons
Fast Company: Quibi isn't Jeffrey Katzenberg's first start-up offering "quick bites" of video made by A-list stars. Katzenberg had tried this same idea about 20 years ago with Pop.com, a site he dreamed up with his then partners at DreamWorks SKG and pals at Imagine...
Google’s YouTube Tests Mobile Feature to Take On TikTok
TechCrunch: YouTube said it will test a new feature on mobile allowing users to record 15-second long multi-segment videos. That’s the same length as the default on TikTok. YouTube apparently has in its sights the short-form video format popularized by...
Conde Nast Suspends Video Editor During Internal Probe
Business Insider: Conde Nast has suspended Bon Appetit video editor Matt Hunziker "pending investigation" by the company. Employees suggested that Hunziker's social-media posts critical of Conde Nast and Bon Appetit led to the suspension. "There have been many...