Penske’s Variety Pulls Simmons Story Over Security Issues
New York Post: Hollywood trade publication Variety removed a story about sports media personality Bill Simmons’ purchase of a $16 million house because of security concerns.“Security issues were brought to Variety’s...
News Corp Among Tabloid Owners Jilted by Harry, Meghan
Guardian: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have told the editors of British tabloid newspapers that they will never again deal with their outlets, in a direct attack on a large part of the media that leaves little chance of repairing the...
New York Times CEO Touts Lack of Job Cuts During Crisis
Press Gazette: The New York Times, CEO Mark Thompson suggested, is “better placed to cope with this major crisis” than many of its peers. In part this is because more than two-thirds of its revenues come from...
News Corp Eyes Unpaid Leave for UK Newspaper Staffers
Press Gazette: News UK, publisher of the Sun and Times newspapers, has asked staff to volunteer for unpaid leave or to reduce their working hours in new measures to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. At present these are voluntary...
Vox Media to Cut Staff Pay, Furlough About 100 Employees
CNBC: Vox Media will furlough 9% of its roughly 1,200 employees and reduce hours for another 1% until July 31 in an effort to curb costs. The actions are in response to a plunge in advertising revenue during coronavirus...
G/O Media Expat Deadspin Writers Reunite on Pop-Up Blog
Daily Beast: More than a dozen of Deadspin’s former writers and editors will reunite for a week to relaunch the pop-up Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog. The site, sponsored by CBD oil brand Sunsoil, will cover “sports, culture and...
Drudge Report Founder Fires Back at Trump on Site Traffic
CNN: Matt Drudge refuted President Trump's claim that traffic to his website has plummeted as its coverage has grown more critical of him. "The past 30 days has been the most eyeballs in Drudge Report's 26...
ViacomCBS Lays Off Contract Workers Across Media Giant
Adweek: ViacomCBS has laid off contract workers across a number of its divisions, a move the company said was due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shut down most Hollywood productions. “Almost all” contract workers are being let...
Fox, News Corp Update Murdoch Obituary Amid Pandemic
New European: Rupert Murdoch, at 89, is said to be feeling increasingly aware of his own mortality, as well as how he will be remembered. The media mogul reportedly has decreed that his obituary should occupy up to three pages in the Times of...
Disney on Edge from Trump Plan to Reopen Movie Theaters
USA Today: As the country takes the first steps back from the coronavirus shutdown, movie theaters could be one of the early beneficiaries. Cinemas would be allowed to reopen in the first of three phases under the guidelines released by the White...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Taps JJ Abrams for HBO Max Dramas
IndieWire: HBO Max has ordered three series from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions. The upcoming series are all one-hour dramas and will mark the first Bad Robot-produced television projects for the WarnerMedia-owned streaming...
Comcast Set for ‘Uphill Climb’ in Securing Ads for Peacock
CNBC: “Because Peacock is ad-supported, the real audience is advertisers,” said Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson. “It’s very good for the demand side, the consumer side, because there are lots of viewers. It will be a tough uphill climb trying to get...
Disney’s ESPN Plans to Televise E-Sports in Paradigm Shift
Reuters: ESPN plans to broadcast League of Legends' 2020 Championship Series Spring Split Playoffs, highlighting the online multi-player battle game and venturing beyond traditionally broadcasted sports. The move "shows a real paradigm...
Quibi Looks to Bulk Up Library During Hiatus in Production
Digiday: Quibi is already among the TV networks and streaming services scouring to fill its programming pipeline with shows that can be produced during the quarantine period. The mobile video service is seeking new projects that can be produced...
Apple CEO Talks Covid-19 Crisis, Plan for Return to Work
Bloomberg: Tim Cook led a companywide virtual meeting on Thursday to address concerns about the impact of Covid-19 and discuss Apple’s plan to return to work. Cook called the pandemic an “uncertain and stressful moment,” but expressed...
Twitter Co-Founder to Raise Millions for New Venture Fund
The Information: Biz Stone, who co-founded both Twitter and Medium, is raising capital for a new venture fund, setting a target of up to $200 million. Stone plans to make early-stage investments in startups focused on the future of health, work, wealth and...
Amazon CEO Splurges on New ‘Dream Home’ in Manhattan
New York Post: Jeff Bezos has just bought a $16 million, three-bedroom unit on the 20th floor of 212 Fifth Avenue. Bezos already owns $80 million worth of real estate in the building. Last June, he closed on a three-story penthouse and two...
Facebook to Warn Users Who ‘Like’ Fake Coronavirus News
Associated Press: Facebook will soon let you know if you shared or interacted with dangerous coronavirus misinformation on the site, the latest in a string of aggressive efforts the social media giant is taking to contain an outbreak of viral...
NPR Chief Warns of Cost Cuts as Pandemic Hits Donations
Wall Street Journal: National Public Radio is planning significant cost cuts as the coronavirus pandemic hits sponsorship and donation revenue, the public broadcaster’s chief executive, John Lansing, said in a memo to...
McClatchy Creditors Plot a Takeover Ahead of Possible Bids
McClatchy DC: McClatchy’s largest creditors have offered to buy the bankrupt media company, a move that, if approved, would kick off an auction among parties interested in owning the nation’s second largest local media...
Hearst to Continue Digital Video Production Amid Pandemic
Backstage: Not everyone is on pause — Hearst is still creating content amidst the changes Covid-19 has brought to the industry. With digital content that complements print magazines and online properties, the company is looking nationwide for...
Conde Nast’s Wintour Surprises with Lockdown Dress Code
MarketWatch: Anna Wintour, who once gave a resounding “No!” when asked if she ever wore sweatpants, appears to have relaxed her dress code under Covid-19. The editor-in-chief deigned to be photographed in sweatpants on Vogue’s official...
Meredith New Magazine Star in $10 Million Branding Lawsuit
Associated Press: A celebrity branding company has sued Ayesha Curry, the food and lifestyle personality and wife of NBA star Stephen Curry, seeking $10 million for breach of contract. Meredith is launching a lifestyle magazine with Curry in...
G/O Media Sees More Staffers Resign Citing Dissatisfaction
Washington Post: Jason Schreier, a journalist known for covering working conditions inside tight-lipped game studios, announced his resignation from the video game news site Kotaku, citing dissatisfaction with parent company G/O...
BuzzFeed to End Morning Show After Twitter Pulls Funding
Variety: Twitter has pulled funding for BuzzFeed’s “AM to DM” weekday morning news and pop-culture show on the social platform, leading the digital media company to suspend production and lay off employees working on the...
Netflix Eclipses Disney in Value During Quarantine Uptick
Fox Business: Netflix surpassed Disney in market value as of the close of trading Wednesday as the entertainment giants contend with the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Netflix had a market capitalization, or value of all publicly traded shares, of...
Disney Adds CEO to Board Amid Threats from Virus Crisis
Los Angeles Times: Disney CEO Bob Chapek has been elected to the company’s board of directors. The appointment comes seven weeks after Disney named Chapek CEO, replacing Bob Iger, who took on the role of executive chairman after 15 years in the top...
Fox Corp Best Positioned to Endure Pandemic, S&P Says
Hollywood Reporter: Fox Corp. "may be the best positioned of its pure media peers to weather the pandemic due to its conservative financial policy," according to S&P Global. "Fox's healthy cash flow generation and significant cash balances should allow it to...
Comcast Hit with Charge of Union-Busting Scheme at NBC
Vice: The Writers Guild of America, East said it is filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against NBCUniversal. Almost four years after NBC’s in-house nonfiction production company voted to unionize, the guild says, NBC is now...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia to Distribute HBO Max with Charter
Reuters: WarnerMedia signed a distribution agreement with Charter Communications on Wednesday, allowing the cable operator’s customers to access its upcoming streaming service HBO Max. The platform is set for a launch next...