Apple Readies Audio Versions of Articles for News Service
Digiday: Apple has been asking the publishers participating in its year-old Apple News+ premium program for permission to produce audio versions of the stories distributed there. Apple will handle production costs, and compensate publishers in the same way it...
Oprah’s Wellness Live Tour to Go Virtual Amid Coronavirus
Associated Press: Oprah Winfrey, who visited arenas earlier this year on a wellness tour, is bringing the idea to living rooms while people are homebound due to the coronavirus pandemic. The media mogul announced “Oprah’s Your Life in Focus,” a free and interactive...
Tribune in Talks on Turning Baltimore Sun Into a Non-Profit
Guardian: A coalition of Baltimore-based philanthropists is hoping to turn the Baltimore Sun into a non-profit, seeking to avoid the possibility of an “extinction-level event” for the daily newspaper. A local group is hoping to buy the 183-year-old Tribune...
News Corp to Skip Print Issue of Wall Street Journal’s WSJ
WWD: WSJ. Magazine is the latest print publication adjusting its summer plans due to the coronavirus. The monthly fashion and luxury-focused insert for the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal will skip an August print issue this...
Conde Nast Offers Look at Producing GQ During Lockdown
Business of Fashion: How do you make a monthly fashion magazine when showrooms and photo studios are closed, readers are spending more time on Instagram than ever and the resolution limits of a Zoom photoshoot become painfully...
Maven Teams with Cramer on Video Offering for TheStreet
MediaPost: Maven is set to launch a new video channel featuring single subject clips in partnership with Jim Cramer’s Cramer Digital. Cramer is founder of Maven-owned financial brand TheStreet. TheStreet-branded channel features free, quick-hit 90-second...
Spin Leans on Founder for New Redesign of Music Webzine
New York Post: The new owners of Spin have turned to the music webzine’s rock-n-roll founder, Bob Guccione Jr., to help it recapture some of its past glory. Guccione says he’ll be involved right from the start on a redesign of the...
Valence Media Seeks to Kill Stories at Hollywood Reporter
Los Angeles Magazine: The Hollywood Reporter is fighting to maintain its journalistic integrity, as its parent company seeks to soften and kill coverage of controversial subjects. Valence Media's understanding of editorial independence is said to be "in the...
Apple Offers iPhones to Help Produce ABC’s ‘American Idol’
TechCrunch: The Covid-19 pandemic has forced traditional industries to become creative in ways that might have seemed out of the realm of possibility only a few months ago. Some TV networks have turned to consumer tech to keep creating...
Disney CEO Mulls Guest Face Masks for Reopening of Parks
CNBC: Disney will be "very disciplined" as it considers the reopening of its parks, said CEO Bob Chapek. Disney reopened its Shanghai theme park on Monday. If successful, the reopening could serve as a blueprint as Disney looks to reopen its US...
Fox Corp Tells Employees to Work from Home Until Mid-June
CNN: Fox News stars are echoing President Trump's call to "reopen the country" and urging people to get back to work in the face of the coronavirus threat. But Fox's offices won't be opening up until at least June 15, per a company memo from Fox...
Discovery Touts Savings from TV Hosts Working from Home
Hollywood Reporter: "Why are we dragging everyone to a studio?" Discovery CEO David Zaslav asked an investor conference about celebrity chefs using their home kitchens as sets amid the pandemic. The cost of shooting at home is "dramatically...
Comcast’s NBC Live Streams Fall TV Preview for Advertisers
New York Times: Every year, NBCUniversal holds a star-spangled showcase at Radio City Music Hall to get advertisers in the mood to buy commercial time for the fall TV season. On Monday, amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was a very different...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Wants Audience for ‘Friends’ Reunion
Reuters: Fans may have to wait until the fall for the “Friends” reunion special as HBO Max executives are holding out hopes of filming it before a live audience rather than shooting the much-anticipated get together remotely with stars under...
Comcast’s NBC Sparks Angry Trump Tweet to US Regulator
Reuters: On Monday, President Trump said NBC News “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd should be fired. Trump tweeted at FCC chairman Ajit Pai and said Todd “knew exactly what he was doing. Public Airwaves = Fake News!...
Netflix, Google to Dominate Los Angeles After the Pandemic
dot.LA: In a few years, as the world emerges from the coronavirus, Netflix will lay claim to nearly as big a footprint in Los Angeles as Disney, the most iconic of the city's entertainment companies. Google, another Silicon Valley implant, will not be far...
Quibi Boss Blames Pandemic for ‘Everything’ Going Wrong
New York Times: Downloads of the $1.8 billion short-form streaming app, meant for phones, have been paltry. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” said Quibi boss Jeffrey Katzenberg. “It’s not close to what we...
Twitter Adds Labels for False, Misleading Coronavirus Posts
TheStreet: Twitter is adding labels or warnings to problematic content related to Covid-19. The company announced the change in a blog post on Monday, saying that it will begin applying labels to false or misleading posts related to the...
Meredith Delays Earnings Report Citing Hit from Coronavirus
Des Moines Register: Meredith is delaying its quarterly earnings report, which was due Monday, saying it is facing "an extremely challenging business environment" because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has caused "significant...
Hearst Union Vote Faces Another Challenge from Pandemic
WWD: Hearst staffers have finally been given the green light to hold a union election, but it is yet to be decided if this can happen by mail as they work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hearst staffers have to wait for one more...
Conde Nast, Hearst Mags Spotlight Social Media Influencer
Tubefilter: Emma Chamberlain is solidifying her status as a fashion influencer, with the unveiling of her latest magazine cover — this time for the June/July issue of Allure. Chamberlain, 18, appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan in...
G/O Media’s Jezebel Under Fire for Hoping ‘Covid-19 Death’
Mediaite: G/O Media website Jezebel was condemned for publishing an article titled, “I Will Personally Be Thrilled If Stephen Miller Dies of Covid-19.” The post was written by Jezebel senior writer Molly...
Vox Media’s Curbed Hit with Copyright Lawsuit Over Photo
Law Street: A professional photographer has filed a complaint against Vox Media for copyright infringement. Vox is accused of "unauthorized reproduction of a copyrighted photograph of luxury apartment building Gotham West on 45th Street in New...
Report: Congress Mulls Aid for Local Newspapers, TV, Radio
Wall Street Journal: Congress is looking to help struggling local newspapers, TV and radio stations qualify for federal coronavirus aid. The coming coronavirus legislation will include a provision to expand media's eligibility for forgivable small business...
Roundup: Chicago’s 40+ Indie News Outlets Hold Fundraiser
Save Chicago Media: More than 40 Chicago Independent Media Alliance members have come together for a first-ever joint local independent media fundraiser. We need local, authentic media outlets to survive to tell the stories from and for their...
Roundup: New York’s 80+ Local News Outlets Need Support
Medium: More than 80 local news outlets in New York City are in need of support from subscriptions and donations. The coronavirus pandemic that makes news publishers so critical has also gutted their business...
Media-Tech CEO ‘Summer Camp’ is Canceled in Sun Valley
MarketWatch: Allen & Co.'s annual conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, has been canceled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the private investment bank confirmed. The annual invite-only event is attended by major players in tech, media, business and...
Disney, ViacomCBS Learn How Covid-19 is Changing Media
Bloomberg Opinion: The pandemic is providing a clearer picture of the future of entertainment consumption, and it substantiates the media industry's costly plans to go all-in on streaming platforms. Netflix is the only industry stock that's been left...
Analyst: Traditional Pay TV in Death Spiral Amid Pandemic
Deadline: MoffettNathanson Research said a sharp decline in pay TV subscribers last quarter "raises the possibility of a rapid death spiral for the entire category" in a searing report that describes Covid-19 accelerating trends toward SVOD and...
Amazon Mulls Acquisition of Cinema Chain AMC Theatres
Mail on Sunday: Amazon is said to be circling AMC Theatres, the world's largest cinema chain. The duo are thought to have held talks about a potential takeover of AMC by Amazon. However, it is unclear if the discussions are still active or if they will lead to a...