Quibi CEO Under Fire for Comparing Journos to Predators
The Information: Quibi CEO Meg Whitman lashed out against the media at an “all-hands” staff meeting last Thursday, drawing an analogy between reporters who cultivate sources and sexual predators who prey on underage...
Google, YouTube Voted Out of San Francisco Pride Parade
Recode: Google and YouTube may no longer be welcome at one of the world’s largest LGBTQ pride parades. Last week, members of the organization San Francisco Pride voted to ban Google from participating in future...
Amazon CEO’s Phone Said Hacked by Saudi Prince in 2018
Guardian: Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had apparently been sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, sources...
Disney’s Hulu to Unveil ‘Hillary’ Documentary at Sundance
Hollywood Reporter: With four-part Hulu series "Hillary" set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, one of America's most groundbreaking (and polarizing) figures opens up about Monica Lewinsky, whether a woman can win the presidency, and...
ViacomCBS Shake-Up Brings Exit of MTV Networks Veteran
Deadline: The restructuring within the new entertainment and youth cable division of ViacomCBS continues. Amy Doyle, a 20-year MTV Networks veteran, is stepping down from her post as EVP and general manager of MTV, VH1, CMT and...
AT&T Lifts Paywall at CNN for Trump’s Impeachment Trial
Fast Company: CNN says it will stream the Trump impeachment trial live in its entirety. The cable network is lifting its paywall for the event, which means you don’t have to sign in with a pay-TV provider to watch the...
Sinclair to Offer Streaming TV for Unfiltered Election News
NBC News: Sinclair Broadcast Group is launching a streaming news channel, named 2020 Live, to carry unfiltered presidential campaign events with no commentators or anchors. The tagline for the new channel: “No analysis. No Spin. Just...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports to Settle Over Anti-Union Tweets
Bloomberg Law: Four months after Barstool Sports co-founder David Portnoy drew criticism for posting anti-union tweets, the company reached an informal settlement with the National Labor Relations Board that calls for the deletion of the...
The Athletic Digital Sports Media Upstart Raises $50 Million
Axios: The Athletic, a subscription-based digital sports media company, has raised $50 million in a Series D funding round. With this investment, the company has raised a total of $139.5 million since its launch and is valued at roughly $500...
Spotify’s Potential Buy of The Ringer Worries Site Staffers
Washington Post: The Ringer, the sports-and-culture media company founded by Bill Simmons, is reportedly in talks about a sale to the audio company Spotify. But employees at the Ringer are raising alarms about what it means for their...
Vox Media, Axios Among Digital Media Turning Profitable
Axios: Digital publishing is doing something it hasn't done en masse since the dawn of the Internet: make money. Business Insider, Vox Media, The Information, Axios and Politico all turned profits in 2019, in several cases for the first time...
First Look Journo Faces Charge of Cybercrimes in Brazil
New York Times: Federal prosecutors in Brazil charged the American journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes for his role in bringing to light cellphone messages that have embarrassed...
New York Times Turns Daily Podcast Host Into a Celebrity
New York: The Daily has turned Michael Barbaro from a career New York Timesman into a celebrity, one with TV appearances, adoring fans and a personal life chronicled by Page Six. For the Times, audio represents “the next big...
McClatchy’s Miami Herald Closes Printing Plant, Cuts Jobs
Miami Herald: The Miami Herald announced it will move its printing and packaging operations to Broward County. The South Florida Sun Sentinel will begin printing the Herald on April 26. Seventy staffers will lose their...
Bloomberg Media Launches Publication on Climate Change
Business Insider: Bloomberg Media, the news arm of financial news and information giant Bloomberg LP, is launching a new brand, Bloomberg Green, that aims to be the "definitive" source of capitalism and climate change news and...
Conde Nast Appoints HBO Veteran as Product, Tech Officer
MediaPost: Conde Nast has tapped Sanjay Bhakta to lead innovation across services and products as its chief product and technology officer. The new role encompasses all of Conde Nast's global technology strategy and...
Hearst Makes Moves for Expansion of Brand Events in 2020
Digiday: Hearst Magazines president Troy Young has been fond of describing his company’s modernization process as going from “months to moments.” Now there’s a new route for doing that: creating unique experiences tied to Hearst...
Avenue Magazine Ready for Relaunch by Real-Estate Mogul
New York Post: Real estate mogul Charles Cohen is ready to unveil his latest project — the relaunch of 44-year-old Avenue magazine. On Wednesday, Cohen will be tossing a launch party at 35 Hudson...
Alphabet CEO Calls for Regulation of Artificial Intelligence
Associated Press: Google’s chief executive called Monday for a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence, telling a European audience that the technology brings benefits but also “negative...
Netflix Stirs Worries of Movie-Theater Devastation in 2020
Financial Times: Streamers such as Netflix are snapping up films to boost their vast catalogues, often with no intention of screenings in movie theaters. Hollywood execs are bracing for a brutal year. “2020 is going to look like a...
Apple, Facebook Among New ‘Peers’ in Media, Disney Says
Hollywood Reporter: Disney has expanded its list of media industry "peer groups" to include more tech-focused companies entering the media business, adding Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Discovery, Facebook and...
Disney Drops Fox Brand at Studios to Avoid Ties to Murdoch
New York Times: 20th Century Fox, a name that stretches back 85 years in Hollywood, is dropping the word Fox, a move that may prevent consumers from mistakenly thinking the movie studio has anything to do with Fox...
Chernin, Disney End Long-Standing Deal for Film Production
Variety: Disney and Peter Chernin are ending Chernin Entertainment’s long-standing film production deal with 20th Century Fox (recently rebranded to 20th Century Studios). The split was a mutual and amicable...
Comcast’s Sky Adds Subscription Fee in Tie-Up with Netflix
The Drum: Sky and Netflix have agreed to terms for a multi-year extension again uniting the streaming service with the Comcast owned pay-TV operator. Consumers now will be given the option of signing up for Netflix’s basic subscription...
Fox TV to Isolate Trump, Bloomberg Ads During Super Bowl
Ad Age: Fox is isolating President Trump’s and Michael Bloomberg’s Super Bowl commercials so other Big Game advertisers won't be appearing in the same commercial breaks as the...
BBC Chief to Step Down Amid Focus Shift to Fighting Netflix
Deadline: BBC insiders have voiced surprise at the timing of Tony Hall’s decision to step down as director general, but focus is already shifting to his successor’s enormous task of fighting the invasion of the U.S....
iHeartMedia Veteran Sees Layoffs as Move to Sell Company
Quad-City Times: iHeartMedia's new restructuring is to position the company for a sale, said company alum Craig Michaels, likely to Liberty Media, which owns SiriusXM satellite radio, Live Nation concert promotions and Pandora streaming...
Spotify in Talks to Acquire Ringer Amid Move Into Podcasts
Wall Street Journal: Spotify is in talks to buy sports and pop-culture outlet the Ringer, a deal that would let the audiostreaming giant break into broader digital media and bring a network of more than 30 podcasts under its...
Snap CEO Sees TikTok Growing Bigger Than Rival Instagram
Bloomberg: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel says TikTok could become bigger than rival Instagram. ByteDance's short-form video service has about 400 million active users daily. “I love TikTok,” Spiegel said Sunday. “I’m a big fan.”...
New York Times Goes Reality TV with Endorsement Reveal
Washington Post: The New York Times turned its usually staid and secretive presidential endorsement process into a kind of reality TV show. On Sunday, during a special edition of “The Weekly,” the newspaper’s editorial board will make its big...