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...
News Corp Reassigns Former Top Editor After Complaint
New York Times: Staff members of the Wall Street Journal sent a letter to newsroom leaders accusing former editor in chief Gerard Baker, who has been an editor at large at the Journal since leaving the top job in 2018, of violating rules that apply to those who work...
Craigslist Founder Donates $1 Million to Journalist Group
PR Newswire: The International Women's Media Foundation will receive an additional $650,000 from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support US-based journalists. Combined with a recent $350,000 gift, this new funding brings the Philanthropies' contributions to the...
Analysis: Trends Emerge in Covid’s Impact on Publishing
What's New in Publishing: It's too early to understand the full implications of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on publishers. For some, it could be an "extinction-level event." Although there are some data-lags, at least eight notable trends can be...
AT&T, Disney in Spotlight for Revival of Movie Theaters
Associated Press: US movie theaters are preparing to reopen, even if it means only a few titles on the marquee. The industry is gearing up for a dramatic resumption of business just in time for Christopher Nolan's "Tenet," a Warner Bros. thriller, slated for release...
Disney Faces Streaming Stress from ‘Hulugans’ at Hulu
The Information: After Disney took control of Hulu it set about integrating the video service's operations into its own businesses. But Hulu's engineers have resisted being absorbed into Disney's tech team, and discussions have reignited longstanding tensions between...
AT&T’s HBO Max Pulls Film Classic ‘Gone with the Wind’
Wall Street Journal: "Gone with the Wind" has been pulled from HBO Max, a sign that media companies are re-examining content offerings in the wake of US protests for racial justice. The 1939 film classic may return to the platform down the road with an explanation or...
ViacomCBS Cancels TV Series ‘Cops’ After 33 Seasons
Associated Press: After 33 seasons on the air, "Cops" has been dropped by the Paramount Network, as protests against police proliferate around the world. "We don’t have any current or future plans for it to return," a spokesperson for the cable channel said in a...
iHeartMedia to Phase Out Use of Term ‘Urban’ for Music
Bloomberg: Warner Music Group, one of the three major record companies, plans to stop using the term "urban" to refer to music by black artists. iHeartMedia, the largest radio company in the US, also will phase out the expression, opting for hip-hop or R&B...
Fox Corp in Deal for Podcasts, Radio Shows on Pandora
Fox News: Fox News and SiriusXM have expanded their existing broadcast partnership, and original content by Fox News Podcasts and flagship radio programs will now be available to users of Pandora. Fox News Podcasts ranks among the top 20 US...
Twitter CEO Declares Juneteenth as a Company Holiday
Fox Business: Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, has declared Juneteenth will permanently be an annual US company holiday, calling it "a day for celebration, education, and connection." Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19, is the oldest national...
Vox Media to Observe Juneteenth as a Company Holiday
@BenMullin: Vox Media will observe Juneteenth as a company holiday, per a staff memo from CEO Jim Bankoff. "We hope employees can use the day in your own way." In addition, Vox will set a budget of $50,000 "through next year" for career development of black...
ByteDance’s New TikTok CEO Vows to Fight Fake News
Reuters: New TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has told EU digital chief Thierry Breton he intends to play an active role fighting disinformation, as Breton pushes tech giants to step up their efforts against fake news. Breton is said to have invited TikTok to join the European...
Facebook Rolls Out US News Section with Eye on Local
TechCrunch: Facebook News, the social network's dedicated section devoted to journalism, has launched for all users in the US. The feature was first introduced in October 2019 as a limited test in the US. The product represents Facebook's much-debated new effort in...