Twitter Taps Former Google CFO for New Board Chairman
CNBC: Twitter has appointed former Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette as the company's new chairman of the board. Pichette takes over the role after joining Twitter's board of directors in 2017. He previously served as Google's CFO from 2008 until...
Roku Unveils 100 Free TV Channels in New Program Guide
CNET: Roku has expanded its free Roku Channel service with the addition of 100 live channels housed in a new program guide. It offers linear programming from categories including news (ABC News Live, Reuters, Newsy) and lifestyle (Bon Appetit, Bob...
Quibi Staffers Upset Over Big Talent Paydays Amid Layoffs
New York Post: Quibi staffers are said to be seething after Reese Witherspoon was paid $6 million to narrate a nature show on the troubled platform where her husband works as head of content acquisition. "The mood is...
Edelman Lays Off 390 Workers as Covid Woes Hit PR Giant
Business Insider: Edelman is laying off 390 people, about 7% of its employees worldwide, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The world's largest PR firm is also asking for salary reductions from 5 to 20% based on employee compensation...
New York Times Rewrites Front-Page Headline After Outcry
Daily Mail: The New York Times changed a front page headline after the first edition was derided as "possibly one of the worst headlines ever written." The headline -- "As the chaos spreads, Trump vows to 'end it now'" -- was met with a swift online...
Hearst’s San Francisco Newspaper Top Editor Steps Down
San Francisco Chronicle: Audrey Cooper, editor in chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, has told her staff she plans to leave the newspaper later this month for a new position in journalism. Cooper has been the Chronicle’s editor since...
Meredith Faces Playboy Lawsuit Over Subscription Data
WWD: Playboy has sued Meredith and two other companies, seeking millions of dollars of damages it suffered for losses related to a separate subscriber privacy suit. Playboy alleges that its magazine subscriber data was improperly disclosed to third...
Conde Nast Hits Back at Tatler Tales from British Royals
WWD: Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have sent a letter to society glossy Tatler contesting the depiction of Kate Middleton in a (mostly) flattering feature called “Catherine the Great.” The story centers describes her as the “ultimate power...
Vox Media Touts Gains at New York Magazine, Strategist
Ad Exchanger: Vox Media and New York Media combined last year, which gave the company scale to ride out the storm. New York Media had its biggest month of new subscribers in April, bringing in triple the number of new subscribers as it did the year...
BuzzFeed News Editor Predicts Permanent Use of Zoom
CNN: "The way that people will work is not going to be the way it was before," says new BuzzFeed news editor in chief Mark Schoofs. "I would venture to guess that there will still be a large work from home component. I think Zoom is just a permanent part of our lives...
Shamrock Capital Set to Become Ninth Owner of Adweek
MediaPost: Adweek has a new parent for at least the ninth time in its 41 years of publishing. Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital has announced it acquired Adweek from Beringer Capital. Terms were not...
Google’s YouTube Encourages Staffers to Take Tuesday Off
The Information: Executives across YouTube are encouraging their employees to take Tuesday off or cancel their meetings in solidarity with nationwide protests of police violence against African Americans, according to emails sent to...
Sony to Join Music Industry Leaders in ‘Black Out Tuesday’
Associated Press: The music industry is planning to turn off the music and hold a day to reflect and implement change in response to the death of George Floyd and the killings of other black people. Several top record labels organized Black Out...
Disney, Netflix Help Prep Protocols for Return of Movies, TV
Reuters: Hollywood studios and labor unions on Monday proposed extensive coronavirus testing and other safeguards to allow actors and crew members to resume movie and TV show production in the United States. An industry task force made dozens of...
AT&T Names Hulu Veteran for Tech Officer at WarnerMedia
Hollywood Reporter: CEO Jason Kilar has named Richard Tom to the role of chief technology officer at AT&T-owned WarnerMedia. Tom replaces Jeremy Legg, who will move to AT&T's telecom business, AT&T Communications, to lead technology...
Fox Corp CEO Praises ‘Brave’ Journalists Covering Protests
Deadline: Lachlan Murdoch on Monday sent a memo to Fox Corp. employees about the death of George Floyd last week and the national protests that have come since. The note comes as companies continue to stress their support for the black...
ViacomCBS Free Streamer Boosts TV Return of Bill O’Reilly
Axios: Bill O'Reilly's show, "No Spin News," which currently airs on his website and across YouTube, will be broadcast twice daily on The First, a conservative digital television network that runs on several platforms, including ViacomCBS-owned Pluto...
AT&T’s New HBO Max is No Game Changer, Analyst Warns
CNBC: AT&T’s new HBO Max may be filled with DC superheroes, wizards, hobbits and Looney Tunes, but that may not be enough for investors. The new platform also faces tough comparisons with Disney+. "HBO Max's launch has thus far been notably less...
WWE Offers Free Version of Streaming Network Without Ads
Hollywood Reporter: A no-cost version of WWE Network launched Monday with more than 15,000 titles including episodes of "Monday Night Raw" and "Friday Night SmackDown." The free version will not be ad-supported at...
iHeartMedia Joins Limbaugh, Breakfast Club for Radio Spat
USA Today: Conservative radio's Rush Limbaugh and the progressive hosts of top-rated "The Breakfast Club" joined Monday to talk about George Floyd and the racial issues connected to his tragic death. The conversation was polite, but they agreed on...
Facebook Staffers Stage Virtual Walkout Over Trump Posts
CNBC: Hundreds of Facebook employees on Monday staged a virtual walkout to protest company policies regarding recent posts by President Trump. Employees took to Twitter to publicly announce their participation in the protest, referring to it with...
Snap CEO Calls for Reparations to Address Racial Injustice
The Information: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel called for the creation of a US commission to address racial injustice and comprehensive tax reform, saying in a lengthy note to employees that he was “heartbroken and enraged” by racism in...
ByteDance Nabs Former Conde Nast Office Space for TikTok
Commercial Observer: TikTok's parent company has signed a 10-year lease for 232,000 square feet at One Five One, the 48-story tower formerly known as Four Times Square. TikTok will have seven floors, two of which were previously for Conde...
Conde Nast CEO Receives Wired Appeal to Recognize Union
Talking Biz News: "Today marks 40 days since the Wired editorial staff announced our union. Since then, many of my colleagues have been laid off and received second-rate severance packages not befitting their contributions to...
News Corp Joins Publishers in Lawsuit Over Book Scanning
Associated Press: Four of the country's biggest publishers have sued a digital library for copyright infringement, alleging that the Internet Archive has illegally offered more than a million scanned works to the...
Gannett, Tribune Still Wobbly, But Bankruptcy ‘Less Likely’
MediaPost: Newspaper publishers face less risk of default than they did as recently as two months ago, when investors panicked over the coronavirus pandemic and its likely effect on the US economy. The industry still faces enormous uncertainty, but a recent report is...
Hearst Finds Big Spike in Astrology Interest at Cosmopolitan
MediaPost: Cosmo readers are deeply interested in astrology, according to an internal report. The brand has seen a huge spike in engagement with horoscopes, with a 67% increase in readership. As a result, Cosmo has launched some new strategies to help fuel that...
Maven Gets Social Buzz from Challenge at Sports Illustrated
New York Post: Sports Illustrated kicked off a #SwimsuitIconChallenge on social media last month, calling for ladies to rock their skimpiest suits in the name of mimicking seminal photos from the brand's nearly 60-year history. Even Carol Alt, a 1982 Swimsuit...
Analysis: Glossy Magazines on Crash Diet as Luxury Ads Thin
Bloomberg: The coronavirus is taking a steep toll on magazines and newspapers that relied on Europe’s luxury brands as a last bastion of already dwindling advertising spending. Stripped of a key source of revenue, fashion glossies have gone on a crash...
Apple CEO Hopes for a ‘Better World’ in Memo to Employees
CNBC: Tim Cook sent a memo to Apple employees Sunday addressing the killing of George Floyd. "We can have no society worth celebrating unless we can guarantee freedom from fear for every person who gives this country their love, labor and...