Facebook Readies Launch of TikTok Rival Instagram Reels
NBC News: Facebook will launch Instagram Reels, its answer to TikTok, in the US and 50+ other countries in a matter of weeks. The global launch comes as TikTok is facing scrutiny from Washington over its handling of user data and amid larger tensions between the US...
Spotify Plans Exclusive Podcast Hosted by Michelle Obama
Los Angeles Times: Michelle Obama will launch a podcast later this month on Spotify examining relationships. "The Michelle Obama Podcast" will debut July 29. The podcast is the first program to come out of a partnership between Spotify and Michelle and Barack...
Liberty Media Gets Green Light to Up Stake in iHeartMedia
Politico: The Justice Department has green-lighted a bid by Liberty Media to increase its stake in iHeartMedia, owner of the country's largest network of broadcast stations — a deal that would expand the radio market dominance of a company that already controls Sirius...
Disney ESPN Host Secretly Recorded in Sabotage Attempt
Deadspin: An anonymous source recorded videos of ESPN host Rachel Nichols inside her hotel room without her knowledge and shared them with the sports blog Deadspin. The videos were believed to be an attempt to discredit Nichols's status within ESPN and with the public...
Gannett’s USA Today Says Anti-Fauci Op-Ed is Misleading
Associated Press: USA Today says that a column that the Gannett newspaper solicited and published from presidential trade adviser Peter Navarro criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci was misleading and did not meet fact-checking...
News Corp’s Murdoch Talks of Ties to Australia Amid Woes
Reuters: News Corp.'s Australian business is shaping up as a trouble spot for the company, following a billion dollar writedown and a move to stop printing more than 100 regional newspapers. "Australia remains a critical part of our future," says chief Lachlan...
Conde Nast to Revive The Shadow for Book Series, Movies
Deadline: Conde Nast plans to revive vintage crime fighter The Shadow in a series of books that will also aim to be adapted for the screen. Little, Brown will publish the series, whose first installment is due out in the fall of 2021. Conde Nast has long controlled...
Bonnier Taps New CEO Amid Deal to Sell Off US Magazines
New York Post: Bonnier, the 216-year-old Swedish publishing giant that owns Field & Stream, Popular Science and Saveur, has changed the CEO of its American operation as it nears a deal to sell off its US-based titles. Eric Zinczenko is exiting and will be replaced...
Meredith Turns Fauci Into Fashion Magazine Star at InStyle
Daily Beast: InStyle magazine has a new cover star— Dr. Anthony Fauci. In a special digital issue of InStyle, Dr. Fauci "has been styled less as a kindly uncle and verges into all-out daddy territory." Magazine buyers will find Drew Barrymore gracing the August...
Vox Media to Lay Off 72 Employees as Ad Revenue Slumps
CNBC: Vox Media is laying off 6% of its staff, or about 72 employees, as advertising revenue declined amid coronavirus quarantines. The majority of those laid off were furloughed by the company earlier this year, CEO Jim Bankoff said in an e-mail to...
G/O Media Said to ‘Weaponize’ Dress Code in Firing Staffer
Business Insider: Some G/O Media employees believe that a new dress code was hostile to LGBTQ workers of color, including longtime events planner Victor Jeffreys. "I am a smart, articulate, queer, person of color," Jeffreys says. "I was fired for some combination of...
Report: Few Non-White Editors at Leading US News Outlets
MediaPost: There are only two non-White top editors in the 20 major online and legacy news outlets in the US, according to a new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford. The report includes data from 100 news outlets in five different...
Netflix Names Content Chief Sarandos as Co-Chief Executive
The Verge: Longtime Netflix executive Ted Sarandos has been named co-chief executive officer alongside co-founder Reed Hastings, the company announced today. "This change makes formal what was already informal — that Ted and I share the leadership of Netflix,"...
Netflix Rewrites Summer Blockbuster Script for Hollywood
Bloomberg Businessweek: Netflix's "Spenser Confidential" marked the start of the first summer season in history when all of the biggest blockbusters have opened online. With theaters shut down around the world, Netflix has released more than 30 movies since...
Apple to Build Movie Slate with Drama Starring Timberlake
IndieWIre: As Apple continues to acquire films, the tech giant's strategy in its first year in Hollywood is growing clearer: It's betting that big names, big budgets and prestige films will help keep users satisfied. The company’s latest acquisition, "Palmer," stars...
Comcast’s New Peacock Strives to Recreate Traditional TV
The Verge: The newly launched Peacock includes a "Channels" section that is designed to emulate traditional, linear TV. At its core, Peacock is like a reimagined basic cable package. Channels try to make that more obvious by catering to different...
ViacomCBS Partners with NAACP for Program Deal at CBS
Reuters: CBS has signed a multi-year agreement with the NAACP to create content for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, the first such production deal for the civil rights group. The partnership will also allow them to sell content to third-party...
Fox Corp to Keep Cannon After Apology for Anti-Semitism
Deadline: Nick Cannon will continue in his role as host of Fox's "The Masked Singer," one of the most high-profile hosting jobs in broadcast TV, after he issued a lengthy apology over controversial comments he had made recently on his podcast, saying that he feels...
ViacomCBS, Amazon to Keep Staffers at Home Until 2021
Fox Business: ViacomCBS and Amazon have both announced that their employees will continue to work remotely through January as coronavirus cases surge across the country. "We are assuming the majority of employees will not be returning to US offices this year."...
Google’s YouTube Ripped for Influencer’s ‘Maskless’ Party
Insider: Jake Paul is at the center of yet another controversy. The YouTube star, who boasts over 20 million followers on the platform, is receiving backlash for throwing a day-long party at his home, which included large groups of mask-less...
Twitter Says Employee Tools Helped High-Profile Hacking
The Verge: Twitter is shedding some light on the big attack on Wednesday that resulted in takeovers of accounts including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Kanye West, Twitter says that its internal systems were compromised by the...
Apple Update Includes News Podcast, Local News Section
CNBC: Apple News is getting a big update through new software that's rolling out to iPhones. Additions include the option to listen to premium Apple News+ stories, a local news section and a daily news recap podcast that will be available to...
Sony Music Sells Stake in Reality TV Franchises to Cowell
World Screen: Simon Cowell plans to acquire Sony Music Entertainment's stake in their global joint-venture talent and production company, which owns the "Got Talent" and "The X Facto"r formats. The buy-out is the result of a buyback option maintained by...
SiriusXM Anoints King as Host of New Weekly Radio Show
Los Angeles Times: "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King has officially signed on to satellite radio provider SiriusXM for a topical listener call-in show. She was offered the regular weekly time slot after launching "Gayle King in the House" in April as a six-week...
Oprah Donates Additional $3 Million to Virus Relief Efforts
People: Oprah Winfrey is continuing to support those in need amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The TV mogul's The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation (OWCF) has donated $3 million to Covid-19 relief efforts in South Los Angeles,...
Bloomberg Chief MIA After Pledging Cash to Defeat Trump
Daily Beast: Mike Bloomberg has been largely a nonentity on the general election landscape after vowing to help defeat President Trump. And a Bloomberg spokesperson did not provide an answer on how much more the 78-year-old is willing to spend to boost Joe...
News Corp’s Knewz Struggles to Stand Out in Aggregation
Digiday: News Corp.'s news aggregator Knewz (pronounced "news") is positioned in a difficult middle between tech platforms that have huge audiences and other aggregators that have carved out subject-specific niches. "It needs a distinctive value...
New York Times Faces University Lawsuit Over Covid ‘Tale’
Fox News: Liberty University says it has sued the New York Times for defamation over a March story about an alleged coronavirus outbreak at the school. The University in Lynchburg, Virginia, called the article a "fictional tale" meant to function...
Conde Nast’s British Vogue Editor Racially Profiled at Work
Guardian: The editor of British Vogue says he was racially profiled after being told to "use the loading bay" by a security guard as he entered the magazine's offices. Edward Enninful, who is Black, has been the fashion magazine's editor-in-chief since...
Crain Names Conde Nast Veteran as New Editor of Ad Age
Ad Age: Dan Peres has been named editor-in-chief at Ad Age overseeing editorial across all print, digital, social, video, podcasts and events. Peres was editor in chief of Details magazine for 15 years until the highly regarded publication was shuttered by Conde Nast...