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...
Comcast, Allen Settle Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Bias
Los Angeles Times: Media mogul Byron Allen has ended his high-profile legal battle over alleged racism by cable juggernaut Comcast after a five-year campaign that reached the US Supreme Court. Allen has long maintained that Comcast refused to offer his TV channels...
Disney-Hearst Drop A&E ‘Live PD’ Show Amid Protests
CNBC: A&E has canceled one of the highest-rated shows on basic cable in the wake of protests over the police-related death of George Floyd. The network pulled "Live P.D.," a reality TV show that follows cops on patrol, earlier this week, but revealed late...
ViacomCBS Still Streams Canceled ‘Cops’ on Pluto TV
Next TV: ViacomCBS canceled reality show "Cops" on Paramount Network after a 30-season run. However, a rep for the media conglomerate's free-to-consumer, ad-supported streaming platform Pluto TV said: "At this time, the channel remains active" on the...
Vice Media CEO ‘Dismayed’ by New Charges of Racism
@maxwelltani: Nancy Dubuc emailed Vice Media staffers saying CNN is publishing a story with "accusations of a toxic culture at Refinery29." Dubuc said Vice was "not made aware of any of the claims that have come out in the past week" and "we are dismayed by what we...
ViacomCBS Names Chief to Oversee Initiatives in Music
Deadline: ViacomCBS has named longtime exec Bruce Gillmer to the newly created position of president of music, music talent, programming and events effective immediately and reporting directly to CEO Bob Bakish, who continues to make his mark on the newly merged...
Amazon Taps ViacomCBSer for Content Head at Audible
Hollywood Reporter: Brad Schwartz is leaving his post as president of Pop TV to head content at audio company Audible. As chief content officer at Amazon-owned Audible, Schwartz will bring his two decades of television experience to the task of expanding the company's...
Snap Redesigns App, Rolls Out Slate of Original Series
TechCrunch: Snap is unveiling important changes for Snapchat at its Snap Partner Summit. The navigation has been rethought with a new action bar. Also: Snap is going full speed ahead with its original content strategy, expanding partnerships with ESPN, NBCUniversal,...
Quibi Ready to Debut Quick-Bite Edition of ’60 Minutes’
TechCrunch: Quibi is finally ready to launch its take on "60 Minutes" for the social media generation. The new take on America's oldest newsmagazine, which goes under the banner "60 IN 6," will premiere two episodes this Sunday, exclusively on the Quibi...
Google’s YouTube Vows $100 Million for Black Creators
CNET: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced a $100 million fund to amplify black creators on the massive video site, one of several measures outlined in a letter describing the company's plans to support racial justice. "We believe Black lives matter and we all need...
Apple Commits $100 Million to Effort for Racial Justice
CNBC: Apple will spend $100 million on a new company initiative dedicated to racial justice, CEO Tim Cook announced. "Growing up in Alabama during the civil rights movement, I saw firsthand that the only thing that ever made lasting change was people of goodwill...
Facebook Touts Diversity Amid Return of Product Chief
TechCrunch: Facebook is making its chief diversity officer, Maxine Williams, report directly to COO Sheryl Sandberg. Also: Facebook former chief product officer Chris Cox will return to his long-held position with the company, after a very high-profile departure and a...
Conde Nast’s Wintour in Hot Seat as Culture Changes
New York Times: Anna Wintour has presided over Vogue for 32 years, and during that period she has done more to enshrine the values of pedigree and privilege than anyone in American media. A Conde Nast spokesman admitted that progress needs to be made, but defended...
New York Public Radio to Hire Hearst Editor for WNYC
Current: Audrey Cooper is leaving her post as editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Chronicle to fill the same role at WNYC in New York City. Her first day will be July 20. At WNYC, Cooper will oversee local talk shows, as well as Gothamist, the online news publication...