Disney Grandson Bashes Execs for Protecting Big Bonuses
Daily Beast: In the latest twist in a bitter feud involving the heirs of Walt Disney, the legendary animator's grandson and heir is attacking executives at the media conglomerate for protecting their lucrative bonuses while furloughing...
Comcast’s Universal Preps Plan for Reopening Florida Park
Orlando Sentinel: Universal Orlando will be the first major theme park in Florida to present reopening plans Thursday to the Orange County mayor's economic recovery task force. The plan is expected to include a projected opening...
ViacomCBS Hopes for ‘Stability’ with Fall TV Lineup at CBS
World Screen: CBS has unveiled its 2020-2021 prime-time programming lineup, featuring one new comedy, two new dramas and 23 returning series, with show additions on Thursday and Sunday nights this fall. The schedule shows "incredible...
AT&T Calls the ‘Justice League’ to Attract Fans to HBO Max
Reuters: An unreleased version of the 2017 superhero movie "Justice League" by director Zack Snyder will debut on the HBO Max streaming service in 2021, in response to a years-long campaign by fans. The film's fans have speculated that they would prefer Snyder's...
Fox Corp Nabs ‘Duck Dynasty’ for News Channel’s Streamer
Mediaite: Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News, has acquired A&E's hit show "Duck Dynasty" for its platform. The series "showcases [a] family as they conquer new milestones and embrace life in the...
Google’s YouTube Learns Lessons from Covid-Themes Ads
CNBC: In the early days of the pandemic, a trend emerged of TV ads with inspirational music mentioning that brands are “here for you” and describing what they’re doing during “unprecedented times.” But YouTube advertisers mostly avoided the...
Apple Urged by Publishers to Halt ‘Screenshot’ News Piracy
Press Gazette: Apple, the maker of the iPhone, is coming under pressure to help news publishers combat "screenshot" piracy of paid-for content. The issue of readers flouting copyright to share paywalled journalism online was highlighted by the...
Amazon Releases Its First Big-Budget Game Called Crucible
CNBC: Amazon has ramped up its expansion into the games industry with Wednesday’s release of Crucible. The free-to-play shooter is Amazon’s first big-budget game since Amazon Game Studios, the company’s gaming branch, was created in...
Microsoft Founder Touts Disney Book for Summer Reading
Fox Business: Bill Gates has released his 2020 summer reading list. The Microsoft co-founder says that the Bob Iger memoir, "The Ride of a Lifetime," is "one of the best business books I've read in several years." Gates also recommends several TV...
Twitter CEO Faces Pressure from MSNBC Host to Ban Trump
The Hill: MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski says she will speak with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to discuss getting President Trump banned from Twitter. The "Morning Joe" co-host argued that the social media giant's platform policies are being...
Bloomberg Media Heads to Smart TV Service from Samsung
MediaPost: Bloomberg Media has teamed up with Samsung to deliver Bloomberg TV+ to viewers in full 4K ultra-high definition. The channel is available via Samsung TV Plus on smart TVs built between 2017-2000. "This is a milestone...
News Corp’s Exiting Dow Jones CEO Eyed in Phone Hacking
Guardian: Will Lewis, the former senior newspaper executive on the shortlist to be the next director general of the BBC, has been accused of playing a part in the concealment and destruction of vast amounts of emails relating to phone...
New York Times Food Scribe on Leave After Online Backlash
Daily Beast: New York Times readers may have to wait a bit for a new Alison Roman column or recipe following remarks she made earlier this month about model Chrissy Teigen and tidying expert Marie Kondo that set off a torrent of criticism...
Conde Nast’s Wintour Says Coronavirus is Now Catastrophic
CNBC: Anna Wintour, the longtime editor of Vogue, said that the coronavirus pandemic has been "catastrophic" for the fashion industry, devastating emerging designers and big retailers alike. "It's really giving the industry a pause," she said on...
Report: Coronavirus Continues to Shut Down US Newsrooms
Poynter: In many places, it started with a cut in print days. Furloughs. Layoffs. Just to get through the crisis, newsroom leaders told readers. Now, newsrooms around the country are closing under the weight of the...
BuzzFeed’s New Feature Lets Users Take a Quiz with Friends
TechCrunch: It's been a rough couple months for BuzzFeed (and media in general), but the company is still releasing fun new features. The latest addition offers amore social take on the quizzes that the site is known...
G/O Media Expat ClickHole Returns Three Months After Sale
Vulture: It's been almost four months since the satire site ClickHole was purchased by Cards Against Humanity and published its last article. Today, the site is finally back up and running with a handful of new...
Apple Inks $70 Million Deal for Sony Movie with Tom Hanks
CNBC: Apple just made its biggest-ever movie acquisition for its AppleTV+ service — "Greyhound," the World War II battleship drama starring and written by Tom Hanks and produced by Sony. Apple paid Sony about $70 million for 15 years of streaming...
ViacomCBS Turns to Streaming During CBS News Blackout
Associated Press: A tech glitch in CBS's Washington control room wiped out the broadcast of the "CBS Evening News" on the East Coast and in the Midwest on Tuesday. Instead of the newscast, stations showed a feed of the CBSN streaming...
Google, HBO, Nat Geo Among 2020 Webby Award Winners
Associated Press: LeBron James, Jimmy Fallon, Spotify and HBO are among the 2020 Webby Award winners for internet excellence. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced the winners...
Spotify Nabs Joe Rogan Podcast in Deal Worth $100 Million
Wall Street Journal: Joe Rogan is taking his podcast exclusively to Spotify in a deal worth more than $100 million. The agreement is one the largest such deals in the podcast business. Rogan has become one of the most influential podcast hosts in recent...
Netflix Erects Billboards Spotlighting Out-of-Work Industry
Hollywood Reporter: Netflix is launching new ads around Los Angeles that spotlight crewmembers from its various shows and films. The ads include faces and names of select crewmembers, along with a hopeful message: "You will work in this town...
ByteDance Pursues ‘Media Cred’ with Choice of TikTok CEO
Hollywood Reporter: "TikTok naming a well-tenured Disney executive as its CEO speaks more to a company looking to join the ranks of the media establishment rather than break them. TikTok's ambitions toward disruption may be less than we had...
Google Alum Donates $4.7 Million for Newsrooms from NPR
TheHill: The family of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt donated $4.7 million to NPR newsrooms in the Midwest and California as the economic fallout from the pandemic wreaks havoc on the local news industry. "Local news is especially...
Facebook to Roll Out Shopping Feature Across Its Platforms
Reuters: Facebook is launching Shops, a service that will allow businesses to display and sell products on the world's largest social network's platforms. Shops will enable businesses to set up a single online store accessible via both Facebook and...
Pinterest Taps Publishers, Influencers for Shoppable Content
WWD: Pinterest is making a push for shoppable content by rolling out a new feature, Shopping Spotlights, allowing users to purchase curations by guest editors, including influencers and publishers. "Consumers are coming to Pinterest looking to hear from...
New York Times to End Third-Party Advertising Data by 2021
Axios: The New York Times will no longer use third-party data to target ads come 2021, and it is building out a proprietary first-party data platform. Third-party data is being phased out of the ad ecosystem because it's not considered...
Gannett Plans Big ‘Rebuilding America’ Effort at Newspapers
Poynter: Gannett has launched a combined ad sales and news initiative for the end of the month on the theme of how businesses and individuals are preparing for a broad reopening of the economy. “Rebuilding America” is planned for May 30 and...
Meredith Preps People Magazine Show for Local TV Stations
Broadcasting & Cable: Rob Silverstein has been named executive producer and showrunner for Meredith's new half-hour syndicated show based on the People magazine brand. The new show is expected to launch in Meredith's 12 local TV markets this...
Conde Nast’s ‘Meager’ Severance Blasted by Wired Magazine
New York Post: Coronavirus-induced cutbacks at Conde Nast, which resulted in 100 US layoffs last week, appear to have stirred labor unrest at the glitzy but struggling publisher. Wired's editorial union has fired off a letter to Conde Nast CEO Roger...