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...
News Corp Gets ‘Unruly’ for Global Head of Ad Strategy
Adweek: News Corp. sold Unruly to ad-tech company Tremor International earlier this year. Now, the video advertising outfit's outgoing CEO, Norm Johnston, is set to take up the role of head of global advertising strategy at News...
MediaNews Group Hedgie to ‘Save News’ with Job Cuts
Washington Post: Heath Freeman says he hopes his hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, "will be remembered as the team that saved the newspaper business." The reporters who work for him — and the swelling number who no longer do — say that's not the...
Time Magazine: No Plans to Cut Jobs or Abandon Print
Press Gazette: Time remains one of the few big US news businesses not to have been forced to make cutbacks as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. And Edward Felsenthal, the 97-year-old title's editor-in-chief and chief executive, is hoping to keep it that way. "I...
ViacomCBS Staffers Want Pluto TV to Drop New Series
Los Angeles Times: ViacomCBS employees are asking the media company to drop a streaming channel carrying a new show by former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, the latest pushback against TV hosts and programming seen as insensitive to issues surrounding the death of...
Fox Corp Loses News Advertisers Over Host’s Remarks
Deadline: Tucker Carlson may have one of the most watched shows on cable news, but the Fox News Channel host is losing advertisers – again. This time the exits are over the host's stance on the death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that followed against...
AT&T’s CNN Faces Trump Demand to Apologize for Poll
CNN: President Trump's campaign is demanding CNN retract and apologize for a recent poll that showed him well behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The demand came in the form of a cease and desist letter to CNN president Jeff...
Disney’s Hulu Shifts Debut Dates Away from Juneteenth
UPI: Hulu has moved up the premiere dates for "Love, Victor" and "Taste the Nation" to June 17 and June 18, respectively, in observance of Juneteenth. Both shows were set to hit the streaming service on June 19, the same day as Juneteenth. June 19 "represents an...
Netflix Unveils ‘Black Lives Matter’ Film, Show Collection
Deadline: Netflix has launched a collection of film and TV content for US subscribers which highlights "powerful and complex narratives about the black experience." The catalog will include Spike Lee's new movie "Da 5 Bloods," Ava DuVernay’s "13th," and Oscar-winner...
Amazon Sees ‘Gone with the Wind’ Become a Top Seller
Deadline: While HBO Max pulled "Gone With the Wind" from its streaming offering, Amazon has reaped the rewards of the controversy that ensued. The 1939 classic shot to the top of Amazon’s movies and TV bestseller list overnight and on Wednesday occupied the number 1...
Disney Scores Return of Pro Soccer for ESPN in Florida
CNBC: Major League Soccer has announced it will restart its season on July 8 at Walt Disney World. The league will host its "MLS is Back Tournament" featuring all 26 clubs at the ESPN complex in Orlando without spectators. The tournament will include 16 consecutive...
IBM’s Weather Company Lays Off Dozens, Shutters Blog
Washington Post: The Weather Company, which operates Weather.com and Weather Underground, and offers forecast and weather graphics services to many industries, has slashed dozens of jobs. One of the most recognizable casualties is the shuttering of Weather...
iHeartMedia to Extend Staffer Furloughs Another 90 Days
Inside Radio: iHeartMedia has extended the furlough period for non-essential employees by an additional 90 days. The temporary unpaid leave of absence for jobs deemed non-essential, due to the company's pullback from live events and a shift to a work-from-home model,...
Fox Corp News Host to Sell Stake in Website Daily Caller
Wall Street Journal: Tucker Carlson is leaving the Daily Caller, the conservative digital publication he co-founded a decade ago, a move that he said would help him focus on his opinion show on Fox News. "I'm just too absorbed in what I'm doing," Carlson said. "I've...
News Corp to Cut Jobs in British Newspaper, Radio Units
Reuters: News Corp will need to cut jobs in its British newspaper and radio operations as part of a business review aimed at reducing costs, News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks said in a letter to staff. "In the coming months, we will need to streamline the business and take...
Hearst’s New ‘Cool-Girl’ Editor Faces Daunting Challenge
Business of Fashion: New Harper's Bazaar editor in chief Samira Nasr is part of a new generation of magazine editors-in-chief who are faced with the daunting task of filling in a predecessor's shoes with typically smaller budgets, increased scrutiny and more pressure...
Conde Nast’s Video Chief Resigns After Bias Allegations
New York Times: Matt Duckor, the head of Conde Nast's lifestyle programming group, resigned after accusations of bias from several employees, the second executive to depart the company in recent days. New York Post: Conde Nast veteran staffers have exposed racial...
Vox Media Suspends Writer at The Cut for Online Remark
WWD: The Cut's beauty editor at large Jane Larkworthy has been suspended for a derogatory comment she made on an Instagram post showing former Bon Appetit editor in chief Adam Rapoport in brownface. At the time, Larkworthy commented, "This was so dead on, I was so...