News Corp to Cut Costs, Lay Off Staffers at New York Post
Daily Beast: The publisher of one of New York’s last remaining daily tabloids said its business had been “drastically disrupted” by the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis. The Post will take cost-cutting measures to keep the newspaper...
Craigslist Founder Talks Media Diet, Worries for Local News
Jewish Insider: Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, now operates as a full-time philanthropist as he seeks to give away a sizable portion of his estimated $1.3 billion net worth. “I’m worried about the news industry,” he...
Survey: Americans Need to Take Break from Covid-19 News
Pew Research: A majority of Americans say they need to take breaks from continuous news about the coronavirus, with many saying it makes them feel worse emotionally and half saying they find it difficult to sift through what is true and what is...
Comcast’s Digital ‘Trolls’ Suggests New Path for Hollywood
Wall Street Journal: Universal Pictures's move to make the movie "Trolls World Tour" available for digital rentals after its theater release was scrubbed due to the coronavirus pandemic paid off, earning the studio nearly $100 million in three...
AMC Boycotts Comcast-Universal Films After Digital ‘Trolls’
Los Angeles Times: AMC Theatres, the largest theater chain, said that it will boycott Universal Pictures movies at its cinemas, after the studio suggested that it would pursue more online releases. The policy "is not some hollow or ill-considered threat."...
Oscars Say Streaming Films Eligible, But for One Year Only
Associated Press: Movies that debuted on a streaming service without a theatrical run will be eligible for the Oscars, but only for this year. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences made the change in response to the coronavirus...
Disney to Face Carriage-Fee Fights Over Sports-Free ESPN
New York Post: Dish Network is picking a fight with Disney over the millions of dollars it pays for ESPN programming at a time when there are no sporting events. Dish wants to wiggle out of the $80 million to $100 million fees it’s supposed to...
Fox Corp’s News Channel Spurs Family Rifts Over Covid-19
Daily Beast: The spread of coronavirus is pitting family members against each other over the severity of the pandemic and the steps to combat it. The fault lines mainly appear determined by news...
ViacomCBS Rolls Out Slack to Unify Conglom After Merger
Business Insider: ViacomCBS signed a deal to deploy workplace chat app Slack to over 20,000 employees — the majority of its company — in part to help build a shared company culture between the now-merged corporate...
iHeartMedia, SiriusXM Face Big Threat in Smart Speakers
CNBC: The rise of listening at home during the pandemic has been tied to a surge in smart speaker usage. And 18- to 29-year-olds are using smart speakers more than any age group. Radio broadcasters like iHeartMedia and SiriusXM are likely to...
Spotify Delays International Expansion Due to Coronavirus
Bloomberg: Spotify's long-awaited push into Russia and South Korea, two of the biggest music markets it doesn't yet serve, has been delayed by the coronavirus. The music-streaming giant is still looking to expand into the markets this...
Netflix Preps Quarantine Anthology Series ‘Social Distance’
Bloomberg: Netflix is working on a new anthology series called “Social Distance” set during the coronavirus pandemic, adapting to the Hollywood's production shutdown by using actors under quarantine. Actors will film themselves from their own...
Google CEO Extends Work-at-Home Plan Until at Least June
CNBC: Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has begun discussing the company’s plans to allow workers back into the office. Pichai said workers can expect a “staggered” and “incremental” return, but nothing will happen until at least June 1....
Facebook CEO Pushes Out Dissenters to Assert More Control
Wall Street Journal: Within months, Facebook announced the departure of two directors, and added a longtime friend of Mark Zuckerberg’s to the board. The moves were the culmination of the CEO’s campaign to consolidate...
TripAdvisor to Cut Nearly 1,000 Staffers as Virus Hits Travel
Skift: TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer informed employees Tuesday morning in a town hall meeting that the company is reducing its global workforce by 25 percent, including 600 U.S. employees as part of a broader...
Gannett Attributes Layoffs to Gatehouse Deal, Not Pandemic
New York Post: USA Today parent Gannett has been laying off journalists across many of its 241 newspapers in recent days. Gannett said the cuts were the result of the $1.2 billion takeover by Gatehouse, not the advertising collapse tied to the...
McClatchy Receives Takeover Offer from Two Hedge Funds
Poynter: Chatham Asset Management and Brigade Capital Management have offered to swap $263 million of McClatchy debt for 100 percent ownership of the company as it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
New York Times Swipes Recode’s Swisher for New Podcast
TalkingBizNews: Kara Swisher plans to leave her “Recode Decode” podcast to begin producing a twice-weekly show for the New York Times that will make its debut in the fall under the banner of Opinion...
Vox Media Real-Estate Site Curbed Joins New York Magazine
New York Post: Curbed, the real estate site owned by Vox Media, is getting kicked to the curb and merged into New York magazine. The company revealed it will be furloughing workers covering Austin, Boston, Chicago and...
Conde Nast Tops Google in Nominations for Webby Awards
Shoot: The Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from the US and 70 countries worldwide. The organizations earning the highest number of nominations include: Conde Nast (27), Google (24), National Geographic (23), the Washington Post...
Mansueto Unveils Bold Redesign of Fast Company Magazine
Fast Company: "Here at Fast Company, we absolutely love design. Our magazine gives us a perpetually fresh canvas to practice what we preach. That’s why [we] find it important to continually evolve our look — it keeps us fresh and...
Axios to Return $4.8 Million US Payroll Loan Amid Backlash
Reuters: Axios said it was returning a $4.8 million U.S. loan amid a public backlash over some companies taking assistance from the program created by Congress in March. The online news site is “nearing a deal for an alternative source of...
Vox Media Labor Dispute Joke-Tweet Leads to Federal Probe
Wall Street Journal: After employees at Vox Media walked off the job last June, the publisher of the Federalist tweeted a joke: “First one of you tries to unionize I swear I’ll send you back to the salt mine.” However, some didn't find it...
Survey: Readers Trust Government Over Media on Covid-19
Press Gazette: Citizens of the UK, US and several other countries are putting their trust in governments and public bodies ahead of journalists for coronavirus news, an international Sky News-YouGov study suggests....
Disney Misfires with Attempt to Control ‘Star Wars’ Hashtag
Ad Age: Disney chose May 4 to begin streaming all nine films of the “Star Wars” Skywalker saga. However, a social media campaign to promote the launch garnered controversy when Disney told fans: "You agree to our use of your account name...
AT&T’s New Streamer Available on Apple Devices at Launch
Reuters: HBO Max, the forthcoming streaming service from AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, will be available on Apple devices when it launches on May 27. Customers will be able to access HBO Max on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch...
Endeavor Seeks $250 Million to Offset Hit from Coronavirus
New York Post: Endeavor is looking to raise $250 million by June in a bid to offset the crushing blow dealt to its show-business properties by the coronavirus pandemic. The Hollywood powerhouse is headed by super agent Ari...
Liberty Media-Led Live Nation Gets $500 Million from Saudis
Financial Times: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has built a $500 million stake in battered concert promoter Live Nation, marking the Gulf kingdom’s latest big bet on a troubled company in recent weeks as it scours global markets for...
Fox Corp Drops Pro-Trump Vloggers from Streaming News
Daily Beast: Fox News has cut ties with MAGA vlogging stars Diamond & Silk, who contributed content to the network’s streaming service Fox Nation. The sudden split comes after the duo came under fire for promoting conspiracy...
Comcast’s NBC News Chief Writes Op-Ed About Journalism
NBC News: "Journalism is a public trust, and, in times like these, journalists see their service through regardless of the harm they may face," writes Andrew Lack. "This is the seminal story of our time, and we absolutely must get it...