Report: US Time Spent with Media Continues Rise in 2020
EMarketer: Driven by a combination of the effects of the coronavirus crisis and pre-pandemic trends, the average time US consumers spend with media will rise by more than 1 hour per day this year, to 13 hours, 35...
Twitter Usage Explodes Thanks to Covid-19 Conversations
Fast Company: The all-important monetizable daily active users metric was up from 152 million at the end of Q4 2019 to 166 million this quarter. Twitter credited “global conversation related to the Covid-19 pandemic” for some of its year-over-year...
Amazon to Spend All Quarterly Profits on Virus Response
CNBC: Amazon plans to spend all of its profit from the second quarter -- an estimated $4 billion -- on responding to the coronavirus pandemic. That includes hundreds of millions of dollars it plans to spend on Covid-19 tests for its...
Apple News Platform Hits 125 Million Monthly Active Users
TechCrunch: During the pandemic crisis, active users of Apple’s news platform hit an all-time high: 125 million monthly active users. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the number after revealing the company’s second-quarter...
TikTok Plots Reality Show to Broadcast on Traditional TV
Bloomberg: TikTok has discussed producing a reality TV show built around its video app, part of a drive to broaden its appeal and showcase different ways of using its videos. TikTok has been approached by independent production...
CNN Anchor Reveals Birth of Son During Pandemic Event
CNN: Anderson Cooper is the proud father of a newborn baby boy. Wyatt Morgan Cooper was born on Monday weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces. The CNN anchor shared photos of Wyatt during Thursday's town hall on the coronavirus...
McClatchy, Seeking Quick Sale, Lures 20 Potential Suitors
New York Post: At least 20 potential suitors are looking at buying all or part of McClatchy — the bankrupt owner of the Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star and the Sacramento Bee. McClatchy said that it wants to make a sale relatively...
Tribune: Local Group Organizing to Acquire Baltimore Sun
Poynter: Two local foundations, a former county executive and a NewsGuild chapter are trying to put together a bid to buy the Baltimore Sun out from Tribune Publishing. Locals made a run at buying the Sun a decade...
New York Times Names New ‘Host’ for Morning Newsletter
Nieman Lab: New York Times opinion columnist David Leonhardt will return to the newsroom to become the new writer, host and anchor of its flagship morning newsletter, which will be rebranded as The...
News Corp Job Purge Bleeds Newsroom at New York Post
Showbiz411: Rupert Murdoch’s money losing but headline making tabloid is in a downward spiral that even he won’t tolerate. Or make that, his kids. At least 25 staffers are out, furloughed or outright laid...
Conde Nast Relaunches Clever with Focus on E-Commerce
Ad Age: Conde Nast’s Architectural Digest, the venerable shelter magazine that’s celebrating its 100th birthday this year, is rolling out a relaunch of its Clever vertical that gives e-commerce a major focus. AD first launched Clever in October...
Hearst Sees Changes in Editorial Leadership at Elle Decor
WWD: Elle Decor.editor in chief Whitney Robinson is stepping down after close to three years at the helm and Stellene Volandes has been named editorial director, expanding her role as editor in chief of Town &...
Valence Media Appoints Top Editor for Hollywood Reporter
Daily Beast: The Hollywood Reporter announced a new editorial director following the exit of the previous boss amid executive-level infighting. Nekesa Mumbi Moody, an entertainment editor at the Associated Press, is the new top editorial...
Tina Brown Shutters Women in the World Events Company
Women in the World: "Despite the global reach and impact of our work over the last decade, the fallout from the pandemic has made it impossible to sustain our small margin enterprise," says Tina Brown, founder and CEO of Women in the...
Analysis: Publishers to Face Permanent Shrink in Business
Digiday: The newness of the new normal is wearing off. Many publishers see their businesses permanently shrinking, but perhaps for the better in the long run. Better to be smaller and nicely profitable, then bloated and marginally...
ViacomCBS Lays Off Staffers Across Media Conglomerate
TheWrap: ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish sent an email to staff on Wednesday after the company laid off people across the organization. The cuts total at least 100 employees, including top execs at the Smithsonian Network and Comedy...
Comcast-Universal Film Boycott Extends to More Theaters
New York Post: A battle is brewing between movie theaters and Universal Pictures over its release of “Trolls World Tour” to home video-streaming services during the coronavirus lockdown. Both AMC and Regal Cinemas are threatening to...
Fox Corp’s News Channel ‘Returning to Work’ with Trump
TheHill: Fox News will host a virtual town hall with President Trump on Sunday night focusing on Covid-19 and the reopening of the US economy. The program, "America Together: Returning to Work," will be broadcast live from the Lincoln...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Says CNN Sees Big Audience Gains
Variety: Viewership for all three of the nation’s main cable-news outlets soared in April as viewers tuned in at all hours for information on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. CNN notched the biggest audience gain across its total...
Disney-ABC Reporter Goes Viral After Not Wearing Pants
USA Today: An ABC reporter went viral after a video call appearance from home on "Good Morning America," during which he wore a regular dress shirt and buttoned suit jacket on top, but appeared to be lacking a pair of pants...
Vice Media Preps Business TV Show Hosted by NYU Prof
Variety: Vice TV is launching a weekly business show hosted by Scott Galloway, a New York Times best-selling author, tech entrepreneur and New York University business professor, named after his newsletter, "No Mercy, No...
Quibi Stirs Privacy Scandal from Leak of Email Addresses
Engadget: Signups to Quibi have led to countless email addresses being leaked to advertisers, according to a study by Zach Edwards. The study says that Quibi is one of the most egregious offenders, even though it only launched three weeks...
Fubo TV Taps Warner Music Alum for Executive Chairman
The Information: Edgar Bronfman Jr, the veteran entertainment executive who ran both Warner Music and Seagram, is now executive chairman of sports-heavy streaming service fuboTV. Bronfman is the heir to the Seagram liquor...
Amazon Gets Exclusive NFL Games in New Streaming Deal
Bloomberg: The National Football League is giving Amazon exclusive rights to live games for the first time, marking a deeper push by streaming services into sports. The league will select a game and give Amazon the sole rights to show...
Facebook Signs Up Oprah as Speaker for Digital Graduation
Associated Press: Oprah will be the commencement speaker and Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X and Simone Biles will offer words of wisdom to the Class of 2020 in a multi-hour graduation streaming event on Facebook and Instagram on May...
Bauer to Temporarily Suspend Print Magazines in Australia
Sydney Morning Herald: Bauer Media is making 70 staff redundant and temporarily suspending the print editions of titles including OK! and Elle, due in part to financial pressure caused by a sharp downturn in the advertising...
Conde Nast, Hearst to Rethink Magazine September Issues
Daily Beast: Fashion magazine editors want to make one thing clear: The coronavirus pandemic will not kill the September issue. It might just look a little different this year. Vogue hints: “We have something special planned” for the September...
Meredith’s People Magazine Cover Wrap Offers Free Pizza
MediaPost: As the Covid-19 pandemic compelled more people to work from home, Meredith realized it had a unique opportunity to reach readers in a new environment. One of People's new cover wraps read: "Call the number below — if you're one of the first 100 callers,...
Tribune, Reuters Veteran Accused of Hacking Media Again
Associated Press: A journalist who went to prison for hacking attacks on the media is now charged with a similar attack on a magazine. Matthew Keys, 33, was accused of hacking into and deleting the YouTube account of Comstock’s...
McClatchy Offers Text-to-Speech Feature to Listen to News
The Hill: McClatchy is launching a text-to-speech audio feature allowing readers to listen to content produced by its 30 newsrooms in the US, making it the first local news media company with a national presence to offer the...