Report: Fake Local News Sites Surpass US Newspapers in Ads
BuzzFeed News: The website Albany Daily News clocked nearly 10 million pageviews in August, roughly five times that of Hearst's Albany Times Union newspaper. The site has a simple secret to success: Fake just about everything and rake in the advertising...
Conde Nast Former Editor Expresses Doubts About Magazines
Vie Magazine: Stories in printed magazines appear more credible than online content, says Tina Brown, former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. "But it is so hard to determine how to make it work in today’s business climate. If I was at Vanity Fair...
Bauer Media CEO: We Make a Lot of Money at the Newsstand
Folio: Steven Kotok, CEO of Bauer Media Group: "We make a lot of money at the newsstand and engage a lot of readers. That’s where our bread and butter is and what keeps our business healthy. But we are investing a lot in reaching our readers through...
Meredith’s PR Chief Touts Vital Role Amid Industry Disruption
Ragan's PR Daily: It’s time for PR pros to own their power, according to the VP of corporate and brand communications for Meredith. Jill Davison has a front-row seat for all the changes that have swept both the news media industry and its PR counterparts. For her,...
Vox Media Unveils New Logo in Takeover of New York Magazine
Vox Media: CEO Jim Bankoff and president Pam Wasserstein addressed the newly expanded Vox Media team about the road ahead: "Today, we begin to roll out a new visual identity for our corporate Vox Media brand: a bold, modern logo and design...
G/O Media’s The Onion to Spoof New York Times with Podcast
Variety: The Onion, the satirical news brand owned by G/O Media, inked a partnership with Sony Music Entertainment to create original podcasts. The first project is “The Topical,” a new daily podcast -- seemingly a spoof of the New York Times’s popular “The...
Players’ Tribune Site for Athletes Talks Sale with Minute Media
Bloomberg: Digital media company Minute Media is said to be in talks to buy the Players’ Tribune, a website started by former baseball star Derek Jeter. While the companies are in exclusive talks, there is no guarantee the discussions will lead to a...
AT&T to Pay $60 Million US Fine Over Claims of Unlimited Data
USA Today: Consumers weren't happy when they signed up with AT&T for an unlimited wireless plan, only to see their data speeds reduced as they consumed data. To appease the consumers and the Federal Trade Commission, AT&T will pay $60 million to settle...
Comcast’s Move to Charge Extra for Starz Attracts US Scrutiny
New York Post: Comcast’s move last month to charge extra for cable-TV channel Starz — the home of shows like “Power” starring rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson — has begun to attract scrutiny. US lawmakers have expressed concerns that the move could be...
Disney’s ABC Downplays Veritas Video About Epstein Accuser
Associated Press: ABC News faced questions Tuesday about its reluctance to air a sensitive story of alleged sexual misconduct after a leaked video emerged of reporter Amy Robach complaining about how her bosses handled an interview with a Jeffrey Epstein accuser....
Fox Corp to Buy Three TV Stations in Pursuit of Sports Content
Deadline: Fox Corp. has bought three TV stations from Nexstar, the top U.S. owner of local stations, in a $350 million transaction. The stations joining the Fox fold — KCPQ and KZJO in Seattle and WITI in Milwaukee — line up with the sports rights held by the...
NBA Launches $7-a-Month Streaming Service with Live Games
CNN: The National Basketball Association launched a streaming service on Tuesday that lets people pay a monthly or annual fee to access more than 100 live NBA games, past programming, and original shows. The subscription service is a direct-to-consumer version of NBA...
Disney, Netflix Share Big Fear of Losing Streaming Subscribers
Reuters: Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max tout flexibility: sign up to watch a new show, cancel when you want. Besides spending millions of dollars on library content, media companies are using programming, promotions and other strategies to avoid...
Amazon Music Veteran to Oversee Digital Content at SiriusXM
Variety: SiriusXM has announced that Alex Luke has been named senior VP, digital content for both SiriusXM and Pandora. Luke will lead programming for Pandora and editorial content on the Pandora and SiriusXM digital platforms, in his newly created...
Google Rolls Out YouTube ‘Shopping’ Ads in Time for Holidays
Ad Age: YouTube visitors who have searched for a product on Google will now be served ads based on their activity. So if a consumer expresses interest in running, for example, they may receive a scrollable catalog of images with product offerings from...
Twitter CEO Pokes Fun at Facebook’s New Corporate Branding
CNBC: In a tweet on Tuesday, Jack Dorsey made fun of Facebook’s new corporate logo by calling out its all-caps design. Facebook announced the new branding on Monday in the hopes that it will distinguish the broader family of apps from the Facebook social...
Facebook’s New Portal Device is No Threat to Roku, Apple TV
Bloomberg: Facebook’s new Portal TV video chat device won’t do much to take away share from Apple or Roku in the TV space. But unlike the regular version of the device, its functionality is compelling enough that some consumers will want to add it to their living...
TikTok Appeals to More Young Gen Z Members Than Facebook
Axios: More young teenagers use TikTok than Facebook, according to a new report from Morning Consult. Instagram and Snapchat still beat TikTok by wide margins, but the viral Chinese karaoke app has quickly become very popular among Generation...
Conde Nast Expat Helps Turn TripAdvisor Into Media Business
The Drum: TripAdvisor had already begun to lay the path to becoming a viable media brand a few months before with the hire of Christine Maguire, a former Conde Nast business ops exec, who took on the new role as vice-president of advertising...
Meredith Preps Local TV Show from Southern Living Magazine
Variety: Meredith, which acquired Southern Living magazine as part of its $2.8 billion purchase of Time Inc. in 2017, is gearing up to turn the print property into a TV show that will air in all 12 markets the company reaches. The idea is to replace syndicated TV...
Hearst Revs Up Auto Magazine, Subscription Box for Children
MediaPost: Six months ago, Hearst Auto Group's marketing chief mentioned the idea of launching a subscription box and magazine geared to kids. In January, that idea will come to life with the launch of R&T Crew magazine accompanied by a subscription...
McClatchy Plans Subscription News Offering for 2020 Election
Adweek: As media organizations ramp up their coverage of the 2020 presidential race, McClatchy is tapping its network of local journalists to create a special, subscription-based news source. The new compilation of coverage, Impact 2020, kicked off...
G/O Media Editorial Director Departs After Debacle at Deadspin
HuffPost: Paul Maidment, the editorial director of G/O Media, has resigned amid backlash after he told staffers at the company’s sports-centric blog, Deadspin, to “stick to sports,” leading to a mass exodus of the site’s...
Bustle Media’s Former Gawker Writers Yet Find Full-Time Work
New York Post: The two writers who helped derail the Gawker 2.0 relaunch in January by resigning in protest of controversial comments by management have not landed full-time gigs since. Maya Kosoff and Anna Breslaw were the first writers hired by Bustle Media in...
Axios Names Chief Revenue Officer Ahead of Global Expansion
Business Insider: The buzzy startup Axios has hired its first chief revenue officer as it eyes international expansion and a paid product. Fabricio Drumond is a media outsider but brings international and business-to-business experience that hints at Axios'...
Uzabase’s Quartz to Unveil Business News Service in UK, India
Quartz: Last month Quartz unveiled a new homepage and app. Now, readers in the United Kingdom will see a version of the Quartz briefing that’s specially tailored and written for them. Next month Quartz will do the same for readers in...
Players’ Tribune Faces Many Challenges as Website Eyes Sale
Digiday: The Players' Tribune's editorial department has chose quality over quantity to a degree almost unheard-of in ad-supported digital media. On a good week, the website might publish only five pieces of content. A recent slimming of the editorial team is partly...
Drudge Report Confronts New Rivals as Aggregator Turns Left
Daily Beast: Donald Trump fans have been fuming at conservative mega-aggregator Matt Drudge, alleging that his Drudge Report has backed Democrats’ impeachment push. And now, would-be internet media moguls are creating Drudge Report...
Comcast’s NBC ‘Tonight Show’ Producer Pursues Politics in Exit
New York Post: Amid turmoil at Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” over plunging ratings, his exec producer Jim Bell is leaving NBC and is in talks to join a 2020 presidential campaign. The chatter at NBC is that Bell has been talking to Democratic hopefuls about a...
CBS Video Streaming Chief to Leave Amid Merger with Viacom
Wall Street Journal: Jim Lanzone, the head of CBS’s Interactive unit and the architect of the broadcaster’s video streaming strategy, is leaving the company as it prepares to merge with Viacom. Lanzone will be succeeded by unit president and COO Marc...