Scripps in $10 Million Deal with Maker of True-Crime Podcast
Wall Street Journal: The creators of a popular true-crime podcast have signed a deal worth at least $10 million with E.W. Scripps’s Stitcher podcasting unit, signaling the nascent medium’s rapid growth. Stitcher is to provide resources to support Exactly Right...
Gannett Slashes 200 Jobs After Mega Newspaper Merger Deal
New York Post: Gannett, the owner of USA Today, slashed more than 200 jobs last week in its first big downsizing since its takeover by New Media Investment Group’s GateHouse Media. At least 20% of the cuts hit newsrooms. USA Today lost seven people, four from the...
Tribune Writer Calls for a New Owner to Thwart ‘Vulture’ Alden
Chicago Tribune: "I’m writing on behalf of Tribune journalists past, present and future, all of us who have had the great fortune of working at one of the greatest newspapers in the world. We don’t know who you are yet. But we know we need you, and...
Analysis: US Newspaper Industry Set for ‘Final Dance’ in 2020
Nieman Lab: The first half of 2020 “will be the final dance of the newspaper industry,” according to a financial source. “Everything will get resolved.” By “everything,” he means the consolidation of ownership and control of the major U.S. newspaper...
Discovery’s TEN to Shut Down 19 Auto Magazines by Year End
Folio: TEN Publishing will shutter 19 of its 22 automotive magazines by the end of the year, leaving MotorTrend, Hot Rod and Four Wheeler as the only three titles that will continue to be published in print in 2020. “I know this is difficult...
Hearst, Conde Nast, Meredith Look for Growth in Video, Mobile
MediaPost: Publishers that want to survive into the next decade need to optimize their strategies for mobile devices, and keep pivoting to video. Every major magazine publisher -- including Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith -- has beefed up video...
Conde Nast’s Vanity Fair Editor Defends New Vision for Brand
WWD: Radhika Jones’ version of Vanity Fair has gotten people talking, at the very least. With the state of most magazines today, that in itself is a feat, but media types have been doing some grumbling since Jones’s editorial debut in March...
Benioffs’ Time Magazine Likely to Name Trump ‘Person of Year’
Sports Betting Dime: President Trump has emerged as the favorite to be named Time's Person of the Year for the second time in four years, rocketing to a short +350 wager in the odds at BetOnline. Trump has regularly dominated, and dictated, the news cycle in...
Journalists to Surpass Online Influencers in Trust, Report Says
Media Village: The 2019 report "The Path to Progress," published by PR Week and Cision, highlighted some notable shifts in the influencer space. Mainstream journalists are now one of the most potent and respected categories of influencers...
Digital-Media Startups Face Even More Consolidation in 2020
Business Insider: Digital media went through a bloodbath in 2019, with investors seeing billions in theoretical value wiped out. Observers predict more fire sales and consolidations in 2020 as many small, independent digital outlets face an unfriendly business...
ViacomCBS to Profit from ‘Craving for Content,’ Redstone Says
Variety: Shari Redstone believes that ViacomCBS has a bright future ahead: “Our ability to take our library around the world to all third-party platforms as the craving for content increases and other (companies) pull back their content — I’m really excited about...
Comcast Power-Broker Cohen Steps Down in Succession Move
NBC Philadelphia: David Cohen, Comcast senior executive vice president and a power broker in industry, media and politics, plans to step back from his roles in the media company. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called the move a “succession...
Imagine’s Battista to Exit as CEO After Just Months on the Job
Los Angeles Times: Imagine Entertainment CEO Rich Battista has left the production company founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Battista, a media industry veteran who previously ran Time Inc., is departing after an unusually short stint in the CEO...
Disney Set for Lawsuit from ‘Science Guy’ Over Unpaid Wages
Fox Business: Bill Nye has been granted the ability to take Disney to court with limited claims. Nye is seeking $28 million in damages and accuses Disney of under-reporting or withholding his share of profits from his 1990s series, “Bill Nye, the Science...
Netflix Film Offerings Decline as Big-Media Rivals Yank Titles
MarketWatch: Netflix’s U.S. movie offerings have dwindled by around 40% over the past five years, according to a report by the streaming news and reviews company Streaming Observer. The streaming company’s catalog held 3,849 titles as of Nov. 20 — down from 4,335 in...
Amazon Teams with Vice Media’s Refinery29 on Pop-Up Shop
WWD: Amazon and Refinery29 are teaming for the first time on a pop-up shop version of a gift guide. The e-commerce giant and Refinery, just acquired by Vice Media, will host a shop featuring products from Amazon’s home and fashion sections “curated” by Refinery...
AT&T CNN Employee Claims Superior Threatened to ‘Kill’ Him
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: DeWayne Walker, an Atlanta-based employee at CNN, said he was verbally threatened with his life by a superior because of a race discrimination lawsuit he filed earlier this year. Walker said he exchanged words with his boss Whit Friese...
Fox Hit with Lawsuit from Former Playboy Model Over Trump
Bloomberg: A woman who claims she had sex with Donald Trump before he became president is suing Fox News for defamation over an assertion by one its hosts that she tried to extort money from Trump. Karen McDougal said that Tucker Carlson defamed...
Comcast’s NBC News Staffers Post Anti-Union Instagram Page
Daily Beast: In recent weeks, several media publishers and some employees have become vocal in opposing organized labor — at NBC News, some staffers launched websites and social-media pages dedicated to warning of the perceived dangers of a...
Sinclair TV Journo Stirs Pelosi’s Ire with Trump Hate Question
Mediaite: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got heated at her press conference in response to to a question from Sinclair reporter James Rosen about allegations of hating President Trump. The question centered on whether hatred for Trump is the rationale for launching...
Hearst TV Forges Deal for ‘Rossen Reports’ Across Platforms
Deadline: Hearst Television has inked a deal with Jeff Rossen to bring aboard his popular consumer series, "Rossen Reports." Rossen will be named chief national consumer correspondent of the franchise which will be distributed across Hearst...
McClatchy CEO Eyes Digital Model to Ward Off ‘Ghost Papers’
Bloomberg Opinion: CEO Craig Forman’s goal is to complete a digital transformation that will allow McClatchy to thrive by going from a business that relies on advertising to one that relies on digital subscribers, like the New York...
Gannett Tells Staffers Not to Tweet as Company Starts Layoffs
@apantazi: "Gannett has forced people to sign NDAs in order to get severance, and now the company is telling **journalists** to stop tweeting about layoffs. This is the transparency we can expect from the largest newspaper company in American...
Daily Mail Profits from Mix of Web News, Aggregation, Scandal
Wall Street Journal: The Daily Mail’s transformation from a tabloid little known outside the U.K. to one of the world’s most-read news websites is playing a key role in helping its parent company weather the downturn affecting newspapers...
News Corp’s Murdoch Pays Tribute to ‘Last Newspaper Gossip’
Town & Country: Cindy Adams, the 89-year-old grande dame behind the 40-year-old gossip column, has been called "the last newspaper gossip columnist of the old school in New York." New York Post boss Rupert Murdoch simply calls Adams "a great...
Hearst Enters Deal to Rebrand Plaza Hotel Club After Magazine
New York Post: The Plaza Hotel’s Rose Club will be trying on a new look and a new name — for the next four months, at least. In an offbeat marketing project, Hearst shelter magazine Elle Decor will unveil a revamp of the swanky jazz haunt as the Elle Decor...
Conde Nast’s Vogue Editors Worldwide Agree to Values in 2020
WWD: Vogue magazine has in the past come under fire for not being representative enough. But, as the new year approaches, editors in chief of Vogue’s 26 global editions have agreed to adhere to certain values for...
Meredith’s People Magazine Unveils All-Female ‘People of Year’
WILX: The time has come for People magazine to honor its 2019 "People of the Year." For the first time ever, there will be four different covers in one issue to honor an all-female four-some. The people of the year include Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, Michelle...
Benioffs’ Time Magazine Posts Online Poll for ‘Person of Year’
Time: "Who Should Be Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019? We want to hear from you! Cast your vote for the person or group of people who had the greatest influence on the events of the year — for better or...
Maven to Expand Financial Offerings in Redesign of TheStreet
MediaPost: TheStreet has spent the past few months revamping its website and mobile platforms resulting in a smoother, faster experience for readers. Maven acquired TheStreet, founded by Jim Cramer in 1996, last...