Google Former CEO Steps Down as Advisor at Tech Giant
CNET: Eric Schmidt, who drove Google's transformation from Silicon Valley start-up to global titan, is no longer an adviser to the search giant and its parent Alphabet, marking another milestone in recent shake-ups that have seen the company's old guard bow...
Facebook Unveils Redesign with Dark Mode, Bright Icons
CNET: Facebook's redesigned desktop experience is now officially live, bringing a less cluttered look, brighter icons and a dark mode. The social media giant says most people should see the new desktop look within the next couple of...
Google Says Most Staffers to Work from Home Until 2021
Independent: Google has said most of its employees will work from home until next 2021 – the latest major tech firm to stick with social distancing until next year. CEO Sundar Pichai told employees to prepare to work from home until October and possibly into next...
LiveXLive Media to Acquire Podcast Network PodcastOne
Wall Street Journal: Digital-media company LiveXLive Media will acquire PodcastOne parent Courtside Group, the companies said, in a bet that bigger is better amid the coronavirus pandemic and that ad revenue for podcasting will continue to soar...
Fox Corp Gets Serious About Live Sports Returning to TV
Bloomberg: Fox Sports is taking the necessary first steps toward revving up advertising sales for the resumption of live sports. Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks and his team are holding video calls with five prominent ad agencies to lay the...
iHeartMedia Predicts ‘Flood of Demand’ as States Reopen
Inside Radio: One of the things radio is best known for is driving foot traffic to a retailer's grand opening -- and that's a major opportunity for radio, as businesses need to get the word out amid the loosening of stay-at-home rules, said iHeartMedia CEO Bob...
Hearst Loses Big in Effort to Thwart Employee Union Vote
New York Magazine: Hearst's anti-union campaign received a major blow, as the National Labor Relations Board ruled against each objection it raised to the bargaining unit. Hearst employees will now vote in a union election, either in person or by...
Conde Nast Hosts Bon Appetit Benefit Dinner Party Online
Ad Age: Conde Nast foodie brand Bon Appétit took to Instagram Live to host a benefit dinner party to raise funds for restaurants and service workers. Editors and hosts from BA's hit streaming cooking shows paired up with stars for a leisurely dinner...
Penske Media Unveils ‘Hail the Heroes’ Covid-19 Initiative
WWD: Penske Media has launched "Hail the Heroes," an initiative to raise funds for Team Rubicon and their efforts around the Covid-19 crisis. Leaders from across PMC media brands have joined with luminaries to express gratitude for those working on the...
Gannett CEO Admits Uncertainty About Publishing Future
Adweek: No one knows how the coronavirus crisis will play out, said Gannett CEO Mike Reed. "Hopefully the worst is behind us, but we just don't know. It's so very hard today to know what next year will look like." Cuts at have saved Gannett up to $125...
McClatchy Initial Bids Due as Bankruptcy Judge OKs Plan
McClatchy DC: A federal bankruptcy judge has approved McClatchy's rules for potential buyers, and the company said all interested parties are ready to submit initial bids by early this week. A hearing to approve a buyer is scheduled for July...
New York Times Layoffs Likely Due to Ad Revenue Decline
Business Insider: Sebastian Tomich, the global head of advertising at the New York Times, wrote in a memo that there will "likely" be layoffs in the ad department. CEO Mark Thompson has predicted an ad drop by more than 50% in the second...
News Corp’s New York Post Publishes in Print Without Ads
Vanity Fair: The New York Post’s print circulation has taken a massive hit over the past couple of months. Newsstand sales have dipped by at least 40%, and there have been days when not a single ad appeared in the print edition. “It’s heart...
Report: Freelance Writers Scramble to Navigate Pandemic
Digiday: Spring and early summer are peak earning months for many freelance writers, who say that it will be hard to make up money they are losing now later in the year. Says one freelancer: “I’m saying ‘no’ less to things that I maybe would not have take...
Comcast: Monday is the New Weekend for Quarantine TV
Bloomberg: With millions of Americans still stuck at home amid coronavirus shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, Comcast said that it's seeing shifts and new behaviors in television viewing patterns. Monday has become a more popular day to watch television than...
ViacomCBS to Overhaul, Rebrand CBS Streaming Service
TechCrunch: A rebranded and expanded version of the CBS All Access streaming service will arrive this summer. The company is accelerating its plan to make it a broader offering by incorporating TV and movies from Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Smithsonian and...
Google’s YouTube TV Signs Up MTV, BET Comedy Central
Los Angeles Times: Amid the coronavirus crisis, ViacomCBS managed a rare bit of good news: Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, MTV and the Paramount Network are coming to YouTube TV. The deal validates a key motivation to bring the two companies...
Facebook: Most Staffers to Work from Home Through 2020
CNBC: Mark Zuckerberg will announce that most of Facebook's employees will be allowed to continue to work from home through the end of 2020. The company will allow any employees who can do their work remotely to continue to do so. Facebook will begin to open most of...
AT&T’s New WarnerMedia CEO Tells Staffers to Take Risks
The Information: Jason Kilar addressed WarnerMedia's employees for the first time on Thursday, challenging them to take bigger risks, have a greater sense of urgency and to keep the bar high. CEO Kilar, who was the founding CEO of Hulu, encouraged everyone to lean...
WME Cuts 20 Percent of Workforce with Layoffs, Furloughs
Los Angeles Times: William Morris Endeavor said it is making cost reductions that will affect 20 percent of its roughly 1,500 employees, part of ongoing cuts at the Beverly Hills-based parent company. Most of the cuts will come from layoffs, but other employees...
Disney to Reopen Restaurants, Shops in Florida on May 20
Bloomberg: Disney will open a limited numbers of shops and restaurants in the Disney Springs mall outside its resorts in Orlando, Florida, on May 20, part of a phased reopening in the theme-park capital of the world. Disney’s theme parks, which closed in mid-March,...
MGM Acquires Stake in Podcast Producer-Network Audio Up
Deadline: With podcasting continuing to surge as a form of media and entertainment, and audio properties increasingly of interest to the film and TV business, MGM is taking a stake in a new entrant in the field called Audio Up, a production studio, platform and...
Fox Corp: News Channel Host Advises US to Contract Virus
Daily Beast: Fox News host Pete Hegseth on Thursday called upon healthy Americans to "have some courage" and leave their homes to get infected by the coronavirus in order to help attain "herd immunity." He warned that there was a "lot of misinformation" out there...
Chernin Exile Barstool Sports is Now ‘Hemorrhaging Money’
Daily Beast: Barstool Sports, the satirical men's sports and lifestyle blog, is "hemorrhaging money," according to an email sent over the weekend by its editor-in-chief, Keith Markovich. Founder Dave Portnoy also confessed last month that the site was "losing millions...
News Corp’s Murdoch Skips Bonus Citing Pandemic Impact
The Age: News Corp. executive chairman Rupert Murdoch will not receive his annual cash bonus this financial year as his executive team tries to mitigate the damage caused by the pandemic. CEO Robert Thomson also said he would forgo 75 percent of his annual cash...
Gannett CEO: No Plans to End Print Amid Virus Challenges
USA Today: Would Gannett consider eliminating any unprofitable days of newspaper printing and delivery? "That's not part of our plan today," said CEO Michael Reed. The company, he added, continues to believe its best bet is to maintain a daily print relationship with...
McClatchy’s Miami Herald Asks Readers to Fund Reporting
Givebutter: "At the Miami Herald we feel a responsibility to ensure we share the full picture with you. And like you, we are stressed. ... Your tax-deductible gift can ensure we continue to report on the coronavirus and all of its impacts across our diverse...
Hearst Explores ‘Life After Coronavirus’ Across Newspapers
WAN-IFRA: Hearst devoted the Sunday editions of its eight daily newspapers and websites in Connecticut to a single theme: "The Road Ahead: Life After Covid-19." The effort saw a team of 200 journalists write dozens of stories spanning multiple coverage...
Penske Media Promotes Staffer to First Chief Digital Officer
Folio: Craig Perrault has been promoted to chief digital officer, a newly created role responsible for leading product strategy, business development and monetization across the company’s portfolio of digital brands, which include Rolling Stone, Variety and...
Bloomberg Businessweek Suspends MBA Ranking for 2020
Poets and Quants: Bloomberg Businessweek, which annually publishes one of the five most influential rankings of MBA programs, announced that it would suspend its 2020 ranking due to the disruptions caused by the global Covid-19...