Bloomberg Media, News Corp Staffers Press for Changes
Wall Street Journal: Some reporters felt Bloomberg News was too slow to cover George Floyd's death and the protests. At the Wall Street Journal, more than 150 journalists sent a letter to bosses expressing concerns about diversity, hiring and...
News Corp Promises Diversity, Pay Review at Dow Jones
Talking Biz News: Dow Jones & Co. CEO Almar Latour sent out a message on Monday: "Over the past few weeks, hundreds of you have shared your experiences of racial inequality, as well as your views about how we can increase diversity...
Conde Nast Staffers Make Online Claims of Pay Inequity
New York Post: Conde Nast activists have set up a spreadsheet that allows employees to anonymously share their salaries. The Google Doc lists staffers' titles, salaries, gender, race, sexual orientation and the length of their tenure at the...
Gannett Abruptly Shuts Down Two Newspapers in Texas
MediaPost: Gannett has shuttered two local papers — The Edinburg Review and Valley Town Crier — both located in McAllen, Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border. A note was attached to the front door of the newspapers' shared offices: "Thanks for your...
Lee Newspaper in Tulsa ‘Can’t Welcome’ New Trump Rally
MarketWatch: The Tulsa World newspaper is calling its city the wrong place for President Trump to hold a weekend rally, with the coronavirus pandemic continuing and the city "on edge" in the wake of the killing of George...
Nikkei’s Financial Times Unveils Sports Business Vertical
Talking Biz News: The Financial Times has launched Scoreboard, a weekly briefing on the business of sport. Available to FT subscribers, the briefing covers financial issues affecting the largest global sports clubs, franchises, competitions, owners, investors and...
Hearst Creative Veteran on Way Out Over Racial Remarks
WWD: Stephen Gan, the creative director at Elle magazine, has been accused of making racially insensitive and misogynistic comments in the workplace. Gan has been with Hearst for close to 20 years, including a longtime post at Harper's...
Conde Nast Sees Black Artists Expand ‘Vogue Challenge’
The Cut: There's a new viral challenge on social media, and it's uplifting Black creatives that have been largely neglected by the fashion industry. Called the #VogueChallenge, it originated on TikTok in mid-May before taking on a new...
Bustle Digital Ex-Gawker Editor Raises Funds for Lawsuit
Daily Beast: A former Gawker editor suing The Daily Beast is getting help from a set of right-wing trolls, including a Trumpy conspiracy site, white nationalist sympathizer Michelle Malkin, and a company tied to far-right agitator Charles Johnson....
Reuters Forecasts Digital, Economic Pain in Media Future
Reuters: Economic turmoil is forcing news businesses to accelerate their move to digital, The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said. The business of news remains bleak. Media across the world are cutting staff to cope with a dramatic fall in advertising...
Media Chiefs Under Fire for Skipping Town During Crisis
New York Times: Top executives at Discovery, CNN, Hearst and Conde Nast fled New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic, shining a spotlight on class divisions in the media business. "Being a leader means staying with your people and seeing what they...
ViacomCBS Boss’s Son Deported from Israel Over Rules
Associated Press: Israel said it was deporting the son of American media magnate Shari Redstone for violating the country's coronavirus quarantine rules while paying a secret visit to his model girlfriend. Brandon Korff "violated the isolation...
Disney to Help Jump Start Covid-Stricken Movie Business
New York Times: Warner Bros has pushed back the release of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" that was supposed to arrive in theaters on July 17. The move means that Disney's extravagant "Mulan" will now mark the return of megawatt Hollywood...
AT&T Seeks $4 Billion Sale for Warner Gaming Operation
CNBC: AT&T is discussing a sale of its Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment gaming division in a deal that could fetch about $4 billion. Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard have all expressed interest in buying the gaming...
Fox Corp News Channel in Hot Water for Altering Photos
Seattle Times: Fox News published digitally altered and misleading photos on stories about demonstrations in Seattle, in what photojournalism experts called a clear violation of ethical standards for news organizations. Fox later...
Disney’s ABC News Puts Exec on Leave in Racism Probe
HuffPost: Barbara Fedida, an ABC News executive, is said to have an extensive history of insensitive statements, including racist comments. She's now been placed on administrative leave while the network...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia to Hit Delete on HBO Now, HBO Go
Los Angeles Times: With the launch of the HBO Max streaming service, WarnerMedia encountered mass confusion in the market. WarnerMedia now plans to discontinue its HBO Go app by July 31 and abandon the HBO Now brand...
Quibi to Seek More Money as Mobile Streamer Struggles
Wall Street Journal: At its current pace, Quibi will sign up fewer than 2 million paying subscribers by the end of the app’s first year. The company expects it will have to raise at least $200 million of additional funding by the second half of...
Apple Taps NBC Digital Veteran for Post at Apple News
The Information: Apple has tapped Nick Ascheim, an executive on the digital side of NBC News, to head up the business side of its Apple News offering. In this role, Ascheim will help to grow revenue, partnerships and audience for the...
Google Joins List of Companies Celebrating Juneteenth
Reuters: Google has joined a growing list of US private sector organizations choosing to commemorate June 19, the date marking the emancipation of the last remaining slaves at the end of the Civil...
New York Times Makes Juneteenth an Employee Holiday
Bloomberg: The New York Times has made Juneteenth a paid holiday for employees, becoming the latest company to recognize the date after protests over racial prejudice. Vice Media and Twitter have said that they will make Juneteenth a company...
Conde Nast: Wintour Isn’t Leaving, Changes Are Coming
New York Post: Anna Wintour will not be ousted amid Conde Nast's ongoing diversity scandal, execs confirmed Friday. Also: Conde Nast has vowed to hire a "global chief inclusion officer" and investigate all claims of pay and workplace...
Gannett’s USA Today Network to Capitalize the B in Black
USA Today: The USA Today Network — one of the nation's largest print and digital media companies — will capitalize B when describing Black culture, ethnicity and communities of people. "Capitalizing Black reflects an understanding and...
Conde Nast’s New Yorker to Best Vogue as Top Performer
New York Times: The New Yorker is likely to surpass Vogue as Conde Nast's biggest contributor to its US profits by the end of 2020. About 80 percent of The New Yorker's revenue comes from readers, which has helped the magazine weather the advertising...
New York Times Leadership Under Scrutiny Amid Turmoil
Daily Beast: "I really lament the loss of a talent that I respect and admire more than you could know," said A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times, about op-ed editor James Bennet's abrupt forced resignation last...
The Economist’s Presidential Forecast Predicts Biden Win
MediaPost: The Economist has launched its first presidential election prediction model, "The Economist US presidential forecast." The model as of now predicts Joe Biden has an 83 percent change of winning the presidency in...
BuzzFeed’s Mostly White Newsroom Stirs Staff Concerns
Vanity Fair: A couple of weeks ago, BuzzFeed's news union began surveying its 74 members about diversity within the organization. One of the takeaways was that many employees are concerned with the overwhelming whiteness of newsroom...
Roundup: More Publishers Face Reckoning with Racism
CBS News: Renewed calls for US media companies to root out structural racism have forced shake-ups at several outlets, including the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Refinery29, Man Repeller and Bon...
Fox Corp’s Murdoch Predicts Trump Will Lose Election
Talking Points Memo: Rupert Murdoch is said to be pessimistic about President Trump's odds of winning re-election. According to a Vanity Fair report, Murdoch recently told people that Trump will "crash and burn" in the November election. "It's a clear-eyed assessment,...
Disney Fans Petition for a Rethink of ‘Racist’ Park Ride
Washington Post: Disney fans are urging the theme park operator to rethink Splash Mountain, a log flume ride based on a nearly 75-year-old movie that has long been criticized for racist themes. The company has been distancing itself from its controversial 1946 film...