Twitter War Escalates as Trump’s Order Takes On Social Media
Associated Press: President Trump escalated his war on Twitter and other social media companies Thursday, signing an executive order challenging the lawsuit protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. The president aims to rally...
Facebook, Twitter CEOs Clash Over Roles as ‘Arbiters of Truth’
Fox News: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey fired back at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who criticized the tech giant's decision to fact-check President Trump's tweets about mail-in voting. "We'll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information," Dorsey...
Google Relief Fund to Aid 5,000 Local Newsrooms Worldwide
Press Gazette: Google's emergency relief fund for journalism will stretch into the tens of millions, providing assistance to more than 5,300 local newsrooms across the globe during the coronavirus crisis, the internet giant has...
AT&T New Streamer HBO Max Trails Rivals in App Downloads
Bloomberg: AT&T's big bet on its new streaming platform, HBO Max, depends on luring fresh customers who aren't just converting from existing HBO services. It's off to a soft start in that regard. About 90,000 people downloaded the mobile app on its first...
Amazon Studios Indie Film Champion Exits as Movies Co-Head
Los Angeles Times: Amazon Studios co-head of movies Ted Hope, a cheerleader for prestigious indie film at the tech giant, is stepping down from his executive role. Hope will enter a producing deal with the studios June 2 that will allow him to produce movies for the...
Google Ready to Premiere Global Film Festival Under YouTube
Reuters: The 10-day "We Are One: A Global Film Festival," starting Friday on YouTube, will feature new and classic movies, talks with directors, and music and comedy curated by 21 festivals including those in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Toronto and New...
Disney Taps Netflix Alum for Head of Cable Network Freeform
Variety: Freeform, the young-adult cable network, has named Tara Duncan as its new president. She will step into the role on June 8, overseeing strategic planning, brand development, content strategy, original programming, production, scheduling, and...
ViacomCBS Layoffs Impact Leading National Reporters at CBS
TheWrap: Top national reporters at CBS News are among the hundreds of ViacomCBS staffers laid off this week. A source with knowledge of the layoffs says that the cuts affected 300 people, of whom 75 were in news, “including reporters at top...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Viewers ‘Less Fearful’ of Coronavirus
Daily Beast: Americans on lockdown are more than twice as likely to cry during MSNBC reports than during Fox News shows—specifically, 23 percent of MSNBC viewers have been wet-eyed and choking up versus just 10 percent of Fox News...
News Corp’s Australia News Overhaul Results in 500+ Job Cuts
Mumbrella: More than 100 of News Corp's regional and community titles in Australia will no longer produce print editions and instead move to digital-only formats. In addition, 14 titles will cease to exist. There are reports this amounts to more than 500 job...
ViacomCBS Names Books Veteran as CEO of Simon & Schuster
Associated Press: Jonathan Karp, who has worked with authors ranging from Sen. Edward Kennedy to Susan Orlean, has been named the new CEO of Simon & Schuster. He replaces Carolyn Reidy, who died two weeks ago. Karp joined the company in...
Conde Nast, Penske Brands Join Fund Partnership from TikTok
MediaPost: TikTok announced last month that it would pledge $250 million in support during the Covid-19 pandemic, with $50 million of that going to its Creative Learning Fund, developed to support creators producing content that educates and...
Meredith Unveils New Podcasts from Digital, Magazine Brands
MediaPost: Meredith is launching four new podcasts from Allrecipes, Parents, Travel + Leisure, and Southern Living. Each series will launch with 12 episodes that range in length from 20 minutes to 40 minutes. They will be available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and...
Hearst Former Editor Gets Salute at National Magazine Awards
New York Post: The American Society of Magazine Editors inducted former Esquire editor-in-chief David Granger into the Magazine Hall of Fame after handing out over two dozen National Magazine Awards virtually for the first time in its...
Playboy Lays Off About 25 Staffers After Closing Print Magazine
WWD: Playboy is laying off a sizable portion of its editorial staff less than three months after it closed its iconic print magazine. Playboy Enterprises chief Ben Kohn referred to the move as part of a broader reorganization of the business "to address challenges...
Time Out Cuts Salaries, Furloughs Staffers in Strategy Rethink
Folio: The Time Out Group, which serves 328 cities in 58 countries, is not immune to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company temporally halted its print in its cities that still offered it. Further, it also made some salary cuts and furloughed a number of...
Thomson Reuters Joins Investors in Video-News Startup Stringr
TechCrunch: Stringr, a video-focused startup that says it can help news organizations adapt to the challenges of Covid-19, says it has raised $5.75 million in new funding. The new funding is from Thomson Reuters, as well as previous investors G5 Capital and Advection...
New York Times Absorbs Wirecutter Into NYTimes.com Website
Talking Biz News: Tech gadget site Wirecutter, acquired by the New York Times in 2016, has become part of the newspaper’s main website. "By moving to nytimes.com, we'll be able to reach and help even more readers. You can look forward to future...
Facebook, Twitter to Face Fire in Executive Order from Trump
Washington Post: President Trump is preparing to sign an executive order Thursday that could open the door for federal officials to try to penalize Facebook, Google and Twitter for the way they moderate content on their sites, opening a major rift between Washington...
Fox Corp Defeats Lawsuit Over News Channel Virus Coverage
Bloomberg: Fox News persuaded a Washington state judge to toss a lawsuit accusing the network of misinforming the public by downplaying the dangers of the coronavirus. A nonprofit had alleged Fox violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act through the “deceptive”...
ViacomCBS Slashes Up to 400 Jobs Due to Merger, Pandemic
Los Angeles Times: CBS is making significant personnel cuts across all of its divisions as it faces financial pressure from the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing consolidation with parent company ViacomCBS. Between 300 and 400 employees at ViacomCBS will be affected by...
Disney Targets Mid-July Phased Reopening of Parks in Florida
Orlando Sentinel: Walt Disney World plans to reopen its four theme parks in two phases in July, officials said on Wednesday. If approved by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom would open on July 11, followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios...
Discovery, Disney Leaders Top New List of Highest-Paid CEOs
Associated Press: The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm, calculated the highest paid male and female CEOs in the S&P 500 index for 2019. Discovery's David Zaslav ranked as the top-paid male CEO, at $45.8 million. Disney's Bob Iger was a close...
AT&T in Last-Minute Deal with Comcast to Distribute HBO Max
Bloomberg: WarnerMedia struck a last-minute deal to distribute its new streaming service, HBO Max, to Comcast customers just hours after it launched. As part of the deal, Comcast customers who already subscribe to HBO or HBO Now can now stream HBO Max at no added...
Comcast Sees CNBC Hosts ‘Squawk’ Over Trump, Coronavirus
Mediaite: A CNBC debate over the stock market exploded early Wednesday, with "Squawk Box" hosts Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin throwing down in a vicious debate which saw one accusing the other of being in the tank for President...
Apple Bests Netflix to Nab Scorsese Film with DiCaprio, DeNiro
Wall Street Journal: Apple has nabbed director Martin Scorsese’s next film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The project will be Apple’s biggest foray into film yet as it beat out other interested companies, including...
Netflix Raises Eyebrows with Exit of LGBTQ Content Executive
New York Post: Netflix has let go of Fran Tirado — the streaming giant's "brand and editorial strategy lead for LGBTQ content" — after 10 months, raising eyebrows at the timing of the move. Tirado announced he was leaving a week after the New York Times published a...
Quibi to Revamp Programming After Tepid Audience Response
Bloomberg: Quibi, the video startup founded by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, is revamping its programming slate and keeping a close eye on costs after a tepid initial reception to its service. Quibi has decided not to renew several shows from its first wave of...
Facebook to Help Instagram Stars Rake In Money from Videos
Bloomberg: Instagram will let creators profit directly from their videos, helping popular users generate more revenue during the Covid-19 crisis, while moving into more direct competition with YouTube. Starting next week, Instagram will show ads before clips that run...
McClatchy Launches Local News Site in Colorado with Google
MediaPost: McClatchy has launched another local news site, in Longmont, Colorado, as part of its Compass Experiment. The site is funded by Google News Initiative’s Local Experiments Project, which supports McClatchy’s Compass Experiment, aimed at exploring business...