Fader President Resigns After Allegations of Sex Harassment
Jezebel: Following a report in which former employees of The Fader accused the music magazine of cultivating a culture of regular harassment, the title has announced its decision to part ways with president and publisher Andy Cohn. The magazine will make “some real...
Vox Media to Shutter Four Editions of Real-Estate Site Curbed
TheWrap: Vox Media’s Curbed is shutting down its city sites for Washington, D.C., Seattle, New Orleans and Philadelphia. The local offshoots of the real estate and urban design blog are the first to shutter since Vox Media’s September acquisition of New York magazine...
G/O Media Sees Editor in Chief Exit Auto-Industry Site Jalopnik
Talking Biz News: Patrick George, the editor in chief of auto industry site Jalopnik, is leaving the publication. “This decision was entirely mine, and though it was an incredibly difficult one to make, I’m leaving for a new opportunity I’m very excited about,” he...
Report: Key Media M&A Deals to Reshape Publishing Industry
What's New in Publishing: Publishers big and small are turning to mergers and acquisitions for growth. According to the latest mediafutures survey, 30% of the UK’s leading media companies have been involved in some kind of recent M&A activity. There are currently...
Apple to Wait on Big Acquisitions as Media Giants Lose Value
The Information: Most major studios are owned by big companies that come with the baggage of cable channels. They generate lots of cash right now, raising the overall price of the acquisition, but will lose value as cord-cutting erodes their subscriber numbers in the...
Disney Forecast to Beat Rival Media Giants in Streaming Wars
Barron's: Which of the media old guard are set up to succeed in streaming? Says UBS analyst John Hodulik: “We see Disney as the only traditional media company with the scale, brand recognition and [intellectual property] to join Netflix and Amazon as a leader in the...
CBS to Reveal Redstone’s Benefit from Merger with Viacom
Reuters: A Delaware has ordered CBS to turn over records regarding its plan to reunite with Viacom to a shareholder who wants to investigate if the deal unfairly benefits Shari Redstone, who controls both companies. The deal is scheduled to close on Dec....
Comcast Gets Spielberg’s OK for ‘ET’ TV Ad Promoting Cable
Showbiz411: This might be the most expensive commercial in eons. Xfinity (Comcast) got Steven Spielberg to agree to let them make a short sequel to “ET: The Extra Terrestrial,” one of the most successful and beloved films of all time. Comcast owns Universal Pictures,...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia to See Exit of Cartoon Network President
Los Angeles Times: Christina Miller, head of WarnerMedia’s Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, will step down at the end of the year, marking the latest high-profile executive change for the AT&T-owned entertainment company. In a memo to staff, she said it was her...
Netflix Rescues Manhattan’s Paris Theater for Film Screenings
ABC7: The Paris Theater, the last single-screen theater in New York, is back in business after being shuttered earlier this year. Netflix announced a lease agreement to keep the theater open It will use the theater for special events, screenings and theatrical...
Quibi Loses Another High-Profile Exec Ahead of Debut in 2020
Los Angeles Times: Streaming start-up Quibi is losing its head of content operations, the latest in a string of executive departures before its launch in April. Diane Nelson is leaving the company and her duties will be distributed across her team, Quibi...
Fox Sells Out Super Bowl Ads for as Much as $5.6 Million Each
Bloomberg: Fox Sports sold out its inventory of Super Bowl ads, with prices for 30-second spots at television’s biggest annual event going for as much as a record $5.6 million. Fox has finished selling all 77 national spots. Most ads for the game tend to sell out...
News Corp Puts More Money Into Social News Agency Storyful
Irish Times: Storyful received a €4 million cash injection from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. earlier last month, bringing the total amount provided by its parent to nearly €40 million since it was acquired. The Dublin-based company was sitting on losses of more than...
New York Times Probes Streaming Future in Inventive Foldout
New York Times: A New York Times special section — inside a special section, inside the Sunday newspaper — explored the chaotic nature of streaming in entertainment. “The Future of Streaming” was a 48-inch, twice-folded broadsheet known as a pano-8. Removed from the...
Gannett Plots a Pivot to ‘Angie’s List Strategy’ for Newspapers
USA Today: Paul Bascobert, who will lead Gannett Media Corp., has developed a strategy that is similar, he said, to the approach taken by Angie's List and Yelp. Need a plumber, for example? A Gannett publication could help you find one and then earn a fee for helping...
McClatchy Readies Community-Funded Labs Amid Uncertainty
Nieman Lab: McClatchy — now the country’s second-largest local newspaper company, after the merger of Gannett and GateHouse closed — is trying to diversify its revenue with a focus on investing in its journalism as it teeters on the edge of...
Tribune Faces Takeover Rumor as Alden Ups Ownership Stake
New York Post: Speculation that Alden Global Capital boss Heath Freeman is gearing up for a takeover of Tribune Publishing intensified when the controversial hedge fund — known as a destroyer of local newspapers — said it upped its ownership stake in Tribune to 32...
Duncan McIntosh Shutters OC Weekly After a Quarter Century
Los Angeles Times: The alternative newspaper OC Weekly was abruptly shut down Wednesday, triggering laments from readers and writers who have worked for it over the past quarter century. The closure on the day before Thanksgiving was announced on the OC Weekly’s...
Hearst Execs Wage Battle to Block Magazine Employee Union
New York: Since employees of Hearst Magazines announced their intention to unionize, company executives have waged an internal battle to get them to change their minds: “We deeply believe that a union will divide our company and culture, and will surely slow us down...
Conde Nast’s Wintour Says Online Influencers Aren’t a Threat
Reuters: Anna Wintour said that, despite the meteoric rise of social media influencers, Vogue would remain a benchmark for fashionistas. “Globally Vogue has 127 million followers ... I think that Vogue is the biggest influencer of them all on a global...
Maven Media Leans on Bloggers for Redo of Sports Illustrated
The Wrap: Maven Media founder James Heckman and former LA Times publisher Ross Levinsohn have a vision for Sports Illustrated. Instead of paying writers a salary, Heckman said the new SI will lean on a network of local bloggers, along with a few well-known sports...
Minute Media Acquires Jeter’s Media Startup Players’ Tribune
Wall Street Journal: The Players’ Tribune, the digital media venture launched by former New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, is joining a new team. The website, which was introduced in 2014 as a platform for athletes to tell their stories, has been acquired by...
TheSkimm Said to Seek Investor, Buyer Amid Slowing Growth
Business Insider: The buzzy media darling TheSkimm is said to be looking for an investor or buyer as media companies consolidate around it. Founded in 2012 by two former NBC coworkers, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, TheSkimm delivers a speed-read newsletter for...
BuzzFeed CEO Says Pivoting to Video is Difficult, Expensive
New York: "We started video at BuzzFeed much earlier than a lot of companies that were trying to do this pivot to video," said CEO Jonah Peretti. "But in the last couple of years, it’s been more evident to people that video is tough, right? It costs more. It’s more...
Media Pundit Wolff: Every Magazine is Dead or Will Die Shortly
Mediaite: "Fire and Fury" author Michael Wolff announced he has “nothing left to say” about President Trump, in an article for the Spectator’s U.S. edition, noting that every magazine “is dead or will die shortly.” He added: “It is hard not to be fatalistic if you...
Media Star to Take Time Off for Holiday, Return in December
Media Star: Media Star is taking a brief break for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday. Daily updates will resume on Monday, December 2.
Apple Plans Mega Bundle of Music, News, TV to Debut in 2020
Bloomberg: Apple is considering bundling its paid internet services, including News+, Apple TV+ and Apple Music, as soon as 2020. The latest sign of this strategy is a provision that Apple included in deals with publishers that lets the iPhone maker bundle the News+...
Disney CEO Offers Career Advice in Online Video MasterClass
NBC News: Disney CEO Bob Iger is the latest prominent figure who has agreed to teach a MasterClass, the popular online creative platform, where viewers pay $90 in exchange for words of wisdom. Iger is one of many industry leaders who have chosen to share their tips...
Netflix Chief Sees Disney’s Brand Library as a Possible ‘Trap’
Deadline: Netflix content head Ted Sarandos said “nothing” has changed at the streaming giant since the launch of Disney+. Of Disney’s stable of strong brands, Sarandos said, “I don’t know if it’s a luxury or a trap, but they have IP. They have established IP, and...
Fox TV Sells 80 Percent of Ad Inventory for Super Bowl 2020
Bloomberg: Fox Sports has sold 80% of its Super Bowl commercials, resulting in what one network exec called a game of musical chairs for the remaining inventory. “It’s a pinch-yourself moment,” said Fox Sports exec Seth Winter. “We’re pacing well ahead of where we...