Apple Rethinks Live Events for Coronavirus Era at WWDC
CNET: Apple will kick off its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. The event will have all the pageantry we expect from the iPhone maker: CEO Tim Cook, polished presentations, and "ooh" and "ahh" reveals. But barely anyone will be in the room when it...
Disney Workers Fear Theme Park Not Safe for Reopening
Reuters: Unions representing 17,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort in California have told the state's governor they are not convinced the theme park will be safe enough to reopen by the company's July target date. There are "numerous questions Disney has not...
Comcast NBCUniversal CEO Pivots After Covid Recovery
Wall Street Journal: Jeff Shell fell ill from Covid-19 in March and has since recovered. Now the CEO is overhauling NBCUniversal film distribution and TV operations to be more aggressive in streaming. He says "pivot" so much the Peacock team had the word printed on...
Discovery Streaming Chief Exits Amid Strategy Struggles
Broadcasting & Cable: Peter Faricy, who left Amazon to head up Discovery's direct-to-consumer business, has resigned, effective July 15. Discovery has launched small direct-to-consumer businesses in the US, but has struggled to come up with an aggregated streaming...
Fox Corp Forecast to Benefit from Political Ad Spending
Hollywood Reporter: "The ad market is looking better than previously expected, and a return of live sports along with political ad spend in the second half of the calendar year would boost Fox," according to Macquarie Capital analyst Tim...
Disney-ABC’s Kimmel Takes a Break After Blackface Flap
Daily Mail: Jimmy Kimmel has announced that he is taking a break from his late-night show over the summer, to spend more time with his family. Kimmel is facing increasing pressure to follow his fellow comedian Jimmy Fallon and apologize for wearing blackface in...
AT&T’s CNN-Atlanta Erects Fence to Ward Off Protesters
New York Post: The CNN Center in Atlanta has added some imposing metal fencing after the building was attacked during violent protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month. It's unclear exactly when the CNN barrier was...
Roku to Kick Off Virtual NewFronts After Pandemic Delay
Adweek: It has been a long road for the 2020 Digital Content NewFronts, which were postponed for two months and underwent a significant presenter overhaul as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But at long last, the weeklong event is ready to kick off on...
TikTok Teens Claim Prank Helped Take Down Trump Rally
Associated Press: Did teens, TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music troll the president of the United States? Their antics may have inflated the Trump campaign’s expectations for rally attendance numbers that led to Saturday’s disappointing...
Google Under Attack by News Groups for Refusing to Pay
Bloomberg: Google has used its dominance to strong-arm news outlets into giving up their content without adequate compensation, a trade group for publishers said in a report to the Justice Department, which is investigating the internet giant for potential antitrust...
News Corp Sees ‘Flight to Quality’ from Lockdown Uptick
The Drum: News brands have been attracting record audiences during the pandemic as more and more people find themselves with a new daily news consumption habit. The Wall Street Journal believes the pandemic has sped up a so-called "flight to quality" news...
Gannett Probes How ‘Horrific’ Ad Ended Up in Newspaper
Tennessean: Gannett's Tennessean newspaper will investigate how a paid ad from a fringe religious group was published on Sunday. The ad featured a bizarre, pseudo-religious “prophecy,” including the declaration of an impending nuclear attack in Nashville by...
Verizon-Hearst’s Complex Hit with Toxic Workplace Gripe
New York Post: Complex Networks is the latest company to be blasted as hypocritical after declaring public support for nationwide racial injustice protests. Complex Networks has been slammed as “not a safe space” for women or minorities to work by a former...
Conde Nast Talk of Wintour Exit Persists Amid Apologies
Mail on Sunday: A "woke revolution" underway at Vogue could finally topple Anna Wintour's decades-long iron rule. Rumors are flying that she is one her way out and will probably be replaced by Edward Enninful, who was named the first Black editor of British Vogue in...
Meredith’s People Unveils Digital Essay Series on Racism
MediaPost: People has launched a new digital series called "People's Voices from the Fight Against Racism," which aims to place Black perspectives front and center. The essays are accompanied by a print companion that will appear in the next issue of...
BuzzFeed Joins Media in Test of Texting News to Readers
Wall Street Journal: When BuzzFeed began texting readers the latest Covid-19 news, readers quickly proved that texting is a two-way street. Their replies have included photos from the travels of a long-haul trucker and a message from someone with an eating...
The Athletic Under Pressure as Growth Stalls, Ads Dry Up
Business Insider: Former employees of The Athletic have raised questions about the sports-media startup's long-term growth and brand potential. "If this fails, it's going to be the biggest disaster in sports-writing history," said a former journalist at The...
Air Mail Newsletter Founder Sends Warning to Print Media
Business of Fashion: "Strong magazines will survive and thrive and the weak ones will go away," according to Graydon Carter, former editor of Vanity Fair. Nonetheless, "there is more good journalism being produced now than there was 25 years...
ViacomCBS TV Soap Hits ‘Pause’ on Return to Production
New York Daily News: A day after becoming the first TV series to start shooting in Los Angeles following coronavirus shutdowns, production was paused on the CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." New safety protocols were cited as the reason for the...
Fox Corp Tells News Staffers to Keep Wearing Face Masks
@jeremymbarr: Fox News Channel sent a memo to remind staffers who come to the office to follow CDC guidelines on masks: "We'd like to remind all employees to also don a face covering in Fox News Media shared spaces, particularly when you're not at a socially distanced...
AT&T-WarnerMedia Plans DC Comics Podcasts on Spotify
Bloomberg: AT&T's Warner Bros. will produce a slate of original scripted podcasts based on DC Comics, the home of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Spotify, the world's largest paid audio service, will get first crack at distributing them under a new multiyear...
Google’s YouTube Unveils New Shoppable Format for Ads
TechCrunch: YouTube announced a new direct response advertising format that will make its video ads more shoppable by adding browsable product images. The move comes as advertisers are trying to find new ways to capture growing interest in e-commerce...
Quibi Founder Continues to Blame Slow Start on Covid-19
Deadline: Jeffrey Katzenberg said the slow start of Quibi since its April 6 launch has provided “almost a beta” period that gives the well-funded start-up a chance to regroup. Katzenberg maintained Quibi is poised for a rebound in the second half of 2020 as states...
Facebook Pulls Trump Ads Featuring Symbol Used by Nazis
CNBC: Facebook has removed ads from President Trump's campaign that contained a symbol associated with Nazis. "We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate," said a Facebook spokesman in a...
Twitter Flags New Tweet from Trump as ‘Manipulated Media’
The Hill: Twitter has flagged a tweet from President Trump as containing "manipulated media" after the president tweeted a clip of a black toddler and a white toddler edited to include a CNN chyron reading "terrified todler[sic] runs from racist...
Medium Names Kaepernick as Board Member, New Blogger
CNBC: Colin Kaepernick will join Medium as a board member and will publish his own blog on the site on anti-Black racism and civil rights. Kaepernick, the free-agent National Football League quarterback, will publish "content focused on race and civil rights in...
Bloomberg Media Redesigns CityLab Following Acquisition
Talking Biz News: Bloomberg has relaunched CityLab, which it acquired last year from Atlantic Media. Bloomberg CityLab features redesigned branding, logos and a menu linking to other Bloomberg verticals and the company's data...
Gannett Drops CEO at Operating Company in Streamlining
USA Today: Paul Bascobert, the CEO of Gannett's operating company, will step down after the board eliminated his position to streamline its operating structure. Michael Reed, chairman and CEO of the overall public entity, Gannett, has assumed Bascobert's...
McClatchy Reveals Names of Execs with Top-Dollar Claims
McClatchy DC: Hundreds of former McClatchy and Knight Ridder employees ranging from CEOs to sports columnists were owed supplemental pensions totaling more than $118 million at the end of 2019, according to a document filed in bankruptcy court by...
New York Times, Washington Post Launch Diversity Efforts
Associated Press: The New York Times and the Washington Post both outlined new measures on Thursday aimed at improving diversity in their newsrooms and coverage. It’s the latest action taken by media organizations to address employees protesting racial...