Conde Nast Chief Calls for Cautious Optimism in Coverage
WWD: In an internal memo, Conde Nast chief content operations officer Christiane Mack advocates for the company's various media properties to approach the coronavirus with a sense of positivity. Her e-mail outlines a bullet-point list of positive headlines and news...
Poll: Traditional Media Face Public Trust Issues Over Virus
Axios: Roughly half the country says they don't trust traditional media, like cable TV and newspapers, very much or at all to accurately deliver information about the coronavirus, according to a new Axios/Ipsos poll. That number sinks even lower for digital media and...
Fox Corp Buys Ad-Supported Free Streaming Service Tubi
Wall Street Journal: Fox Corp. has struck an agreement to acquire the advertising-supported streaming service Tubi in a deal worth as much as $490 million. Fox will finance the Tubi acquisition principally with the net proceeds from the completed sale of its stake in...
AT&T: We’re Still Committed to Xandr After CEO Departure
AdAge: AT&T's John Stankey sent a note to employees reassuring them on the future of the company's Xandr ad unit following the sudden departure of CEO Brian Lesser. "I want you to know that our commitment to making advertising matter has not...
Disney to Debut Daily ABC News Show About Coronavirus
Variety: ABC said it would temporarily suspend its "Strahan, Sara and Keke" early-afternoon talk show in favor of a news program led by anchor Amy Robach focused on the coronavirus crisis, the latest example of news programming supplanting entertainment and opinion...
Fox Corp Stirs Backlash from News Shift in Virus Rhetoric
@thefix: Over the past month, many Fox News anchors and personalities have gone from doubting the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic to calling it a public health crisis. "How these people can look at themselves in the mirror without feeling sick?" asks one...
Disney, ViacomCBS to ‘Erode Even Faster’ from Pandemic
New York Times: Disney, ViacomCBS and other media giants face a pivotal moment as the delicate ecosystem that protects their business — live content tied to high-cost subscriptions — erodes even faster. It started last week with the sudden disappearance of a...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Says Employee at CNN Tests Positive
@brianstelter: Many newsrooms will unfortunately wind up with confirmed cases of COVID-19. CBS, ABC, NBC, NYT, Vox all have, and now CNN: An employee who works at CNN NYC has tested positive. According to a memo to CNN NYC staffers, "the employee is in very good...
Comcast NBC ‘Today’ Broadcasts Anchor from Own Home
Daily Beast: Savannah Guthrie will be hosting the "Today" show from home amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim said the network asked Guthrie to stay home after she reported feeling she had a “super mild” sore...
Disney Eyes Zany Sports, Old Games to Fill Time on ESPN
Wall Street Journal: Major sports broadcasters and digital publishers are scrambling to find alternatives to fill the void left by the sudden disappearance of live games due to the coronavirus, opting for a mix of reruns, analysis and coverage of the virus’s impact on...
Gray TV Withdraws Bid to Buy Tegna Over Virus Concerns
Reuters: Gray Television has withdrawn its offer to acquire Tegna because of concerns about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on U.S. regional TV station operators. Meanwhile, Private-investment firm Najafi and Trinity Broadcasting have offered to take Tegna...
Vice Media Unveils Refinery29 Products Despite Pandemic
WWD: Refinery29 is going ahead with a product launch despite so much uncertainty around coronavirus. The digital brand focused on shopping and lifestyle content for women is dropping a collection of 10 loungewear and leisurewear pieces, to be sold online and in...
New York Times Reporters Expelled from China Amid Crisis
Associated Press: China says it will revoke the media credentials of all American journalists at the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, in effect expelling them from the country, in response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese...
Hearst’s San Francisco Chronicle Adapts to Shelter in Place
MediaPost: The San Francisco Chronicle published a note to readers reaffirming its commitment to journalism through the coronavirus outbreak and the steps its taking to make that possible. Shifts are now staggered at the paper’s production facilities....
Conde Nast Drops Online Paywalls on Coronavirus Content
WWD: Conde Nast made the decision to lift the paywalls on all COVID-19 stories at Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired to help keep readers informed as the situation develops further each hour. Other U.S.-based Conde publications, including Glamour, GQ and Teen...
Penske Media Shutters New York Offices Amid Virus Fears
New York Post: Penske Media, owner of WWD, Variety and Rolling Stone, has shut down all nine floors of its New York City offices after one confirmed case of coronavirus last week. The closure affects some 500 NYC employees and has also resulted in the company closing...
Benioffs’ Time Magazine Delays Another Event Over Virus
WWD: Perhaps unsurprisingly given the mounting pile of event cancellations due to the coronavirus, Time Magazine has postponed its special Time 100 list that it publishes annually plus the accompanying summit. The Time 100 extravaganza was due to take place April 21...
Voice Media Cuts Staff Pay, Eyes Layoffs Due to Pandemic
@jerryiannelli: Voice Media Group says it will reduce pay for all employees across the company and that layoffs are likely coming amid the COVID-19 outbreak. "We don't know where the financial bottom will be in this ongoing...
Atlantic Media Owner Sells GovExec to Private-Equity Firm
Folio: Atlantic Media owner David Bradley has sold a controlling stake in Government Executive Media Group, a portfolio of media brands serving the public sector, to Growth Catalyst Partners, a Chicago-based private equity...
Some Spider Studios Acquires Dad Digital Website Fatherly
Adweek: Some Spider Studios has acquired Fatherly, a digital website geared toward dads, creating a portfolio of media companies that effectively “lock up the dad space,” according to Some Spider Studios founder and CEO Vinit...
AT&T, Comcast, Fox Corp to ‘Fare Best’ Amid Coronavirus
Business Insider: A new note from investment firm UBS breaks down how TV networks will fare under pressure from the coronavirus. The analysts said that the news viewing bump would insulate Fox, Comcast and AT&T from the drop in sports programming....
ViacomCBS’s Redstone Buys More Shares as Stock Drops
Barron's: ViacomCBS stock has crumbled 61% so far this year, but the media giant's nonexecutive chair has scooped up more shares. Shari Redstone paid $1 million on March 11 for a total of 50,450 class B ViacomCBS shares, an average price per share of...
Comcast Rattles Hollywood with New Film Streaming Plan
Showbiz411: With movie theaters in major cities closed, Comcast-owned Universal Pictures has taken a drastic measure — putting current releases online for streaming right now. "Once this door is opened, it will never be closed. Theater owners must be...
Nielsen Says Media Usage Will Increase During Pandemic
Broadcasting & Cable: Media usage is expected to increase as more Americans are forced to remain in their homes because of the coronavirus, according to a report from Nielsen. Staying put can lead to to almost a 60% increase in the amount of content...
Apple, Hulu Staffers in Los Angeles Test Positive for Virus
Los Angeles Times: Apple said on Monday that an employee at its Culver City office has the novel coronavirus and remains in self-isolation at home. Hulu said it also had an employee at its Santa Monica office who tested positive for...
ViacomCBS News Staffers Testing Positive Grows to Six
Associated Press: Six people at CBS News have tested positive for coronavirus, including a correspondent stationed in Italy. Five employees with the virus work in CBS's New York offices, where most of its journalists were ordered to stay away as a...
Comcast NBC Hosts Skip ‘Today’ Over Positive Colleague
USA Today: "Today" hosts Al Roker and Craig Melvin were absent from the morning show Monday after an employee who works on the show's third hour tested positive for the coronavirus, host Savannah Guthrie announced. "Both are fine right now. They feel...
Disney Heiress Slams Tweet of Crowds at Magic Kingdom
Reuters: Abigail Disney, grand daughter of Disney co-founder Roy Disney, slammed a Twitter post showing a huge crowd at Sunday night's fireworks show in Florida's Magic Kingdom theme park. "Are you ... kidding me??" she said in a comment that included a...
Fox Corp Pivots News Channel to Pro-Trump Virus Efforts
Daily Beast: Now that President Trump has been forced to address the coronavirus outbreak, after weeks of calling fears about the virus a Democratic "hoax," some of his boosters on Fox News have also shifted to a new talking point: Do not criticize the...
AT&T’s Xandr in Question After Sudden Departure of CEO
Digiday: Brian Lesser's abrupt resignation from his role as chief executive of Xandr has sparked questions on Madison Avenue about what AT&T has planned next for its recently formed advanced TV ad business. Speculation abounds as to the reasons for his sudden...