Disney Streaming Staffers Hit with Hacking Charge in Lawsuit
Hollywood Reporter: A former Disney streaming employee says he was discriminated against because of his wife's pregnancy, and alleges in a new lawsuit that his coworkers could have only found out about it by hacking his computer and...
Comcast Unveils TV Targeting Tools to Take Ads from Digital
Reuters: Comcast on Monday launched new advertising capabilities to help advertisers find and target certain television viewers, as the largest U.S. cable TV provider tries to lure ad dollars away from digital rivals. The TV industry has been trying to catch up to...
Fox News’s Hannity Plays a Role Trump Impeachment Inquiry
Mediaite: Sean Hannity has denied talking to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Ukraine after revelations from the testimony of Marie Yovanovitch. The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said that either Pompeo or someone around him called the Fox News host about...
Burnett, Downey at Work on New Religious Streaming Service
The Information: Mark Burnett, the TV producer behind “The Apprentice,” and his actress wife Roma Downey are trying to raise $100 million to launch a subscription-based streaming service for Christian viewers. The effort comes as the number of streaming services is...
Netflix Creates ‘Skip’ Button to Let Viewers Avoid Trump Jokes
CNN: Seth Meyers thinks some comedy fans may be burned out by DC politics, so he asked Netflix to help him do something about it. The late-night host's new comedy special "Lobby Baby" on Netflix allows viewers to opt out of watching jokes about President...
Facebook Rolls Out New Logo to Distinguish App from Assets
TechCrunch: Facebook wants more people to know it owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus while still maintaining a distinct identity for its main app. So Facebook launched a new capitalization and typography format for its company name, using all capital...
Vice Media Appoints Exec Team as Deal Closes for Refinery29
TheWrap: Vice Media on Monday finalized its $400 million deal to acquire Refinery29. As part of the deal closing, Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc laid out her new executive management team. Refinery29 co-founder Christene Barberich will continue her role as global...
Playboy: Hef Son Reveals Marriage to Actress on Social Media
People: Cooper Hefner, son of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has married his longtime girlfriend and fiancée, actress Scarlett Byrne. Cooper, 28, announced the news Monday on social media alongside a photo of the couple at the Ventura County courthouse in...
Gannett Sees a Rise in Digital Subscriptions as Revenue Falls
USA Today: Gannett on Monday reported a continued decline in revenue but pointed to a pickup in its marketing services and increased digital subscriptions. Third-quarter earnings results were released as Gannett awaits approval to combine with New Media Investment...
Meredith Sells Stake in Ad-Tech Company Viant to Founders
AdExchanger: More than a year after Meredith said it would sell off Viant, the ad tech company has found its buyer. Viant co-founders Tim and Chris Vanderhook said they’ve bought back the 60% stake they sold to Time Inc. in 2016, before Time Inc. itself was acquired...
Conde Nast to Form Global Commercial Group Across Brands
Media Post: Conde Nast has announced a new global commercial organization to lead global accounts and manage multi-market deals across the company’s 38 brands and 31 markets. The team is a combination of commercial team members from the U.S. and...
Hearst Tests ‘Micro-Membership’ Model for Magazine Writer
Digiday: Subscription models come in all flavors — hard paywalls, meters, memberships and even “micro-memberships.” That’s the route being tested by Hearst’s Esquire, which has built a $17.99 annual membership program around politics writer Charles...
News Corp Touts Quality News in Ads for Wall Street Journal
The Drum: The Wall Street Journal has released a brand campaign that aims to challenge readers to go beyond click-bait media and challenge themselves by reading its content. The "Read Yourself Better" campaign intends to place the WSJ as the destination for quality...
New York Times Subscription Block at Library Stirs Backlash
Citrus County Chronicle: Citrus County, Florida, residents reacted strongly with the news that county commissioners blocked the library system from signing up for a group subscription that would have provided free access to the New York...
Salt Lake Tribune Goes Nonprofit in Historic Publishing Shift
Salt Lake Tribune: The Salt Lake Tribune is now a nonprofit, an unprecedented transformation for a legacy U.S. daily that is intended to bolster its financial prospects during a troubling time for journalism nationwide. Owner Paul Huntsman is giving up his sole...
Nickl Startup Aims to Sell Bundled Digital-News Subscriptions
Philadelphia Inquirer: Launched in August, Nickl sells businesses a bundle of digital subscriptions from publishers, negotiating lower rates by leveraging a large volume of employees. Nickl has secured discounts as high as 70...
Netflix’s ‘Irishman’ Suffers Mishaps at Screenings in New York
Showbiz411: Digital projection is still not completely groovy especially when it comes to screening films or TV shows for large audiences. At least two accounts described a disastrous premier showing of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” at the Landmark 57 Theater on...
Comcast Mulls Offering NBC’s New Streaming Service for Free
CNBC: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is considering making an ad-supported version of its upcoming Peacock streaming service free for everyone, bucking the trend of charging for streaming products. It would be the first free streaming on-demand video service from a major...
Alphabet to Buy Wearable Fitness Tracker Fitbit for $2.1 Billion
CNBC: Google parent company Alphabet will buy Fitbit, putting the tech giant head to head with Apple in the fitness tracking space. The deal values Fitbit around $2.1 billion at a fully diluted equity value, according to Friday’s announcement. The deal is expected to...
Google-Facebook Ad Duopoly Faces New Challenge from Snap
CNBC: Snap, Pinterest and Amazon’s advertising businesses are growing faster than industry giants Google and Facebook, giving brands of all sizes more opportunities to diversify their marketing spending. The distinction of the fastest-growing platform belongs to...
Facebook Stirs GOP Fears with Possibility of Axing Political Ads
Axios: Top Republicans are privately worried about a new threat to President Trump’s fundraising and re-election: the possibility of Facebook pulling a Twitter and banning political ads. Facebook says it won't, but future regulatory pressure could change...
Fox Corp, News Corp Dominate Trump’s Impeachment-News Diet
Politico: To get news on impeachment, President Trump often relies on his favorite Fox News shows: Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, “Fox and Friends,” Tucker Carlson. Also, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post are still delivered to the White House residence every...
News Corp Apologizes to Three More Victims of Phone Hacking
Bloomberg: News Corp. has apologized to three victims of phone hacking, almost a decade after the height of a scandal that shook the company to its core. The claims filed by actors Mark Womack and Antony Dunn, and Natalka Znak, a TV producer, were part of a new wave...
New York Times, Fox News Websites ‘Fingerprint’ Online Users
Washington Post: The New York Times and Fox News say fingerprinting is helping identify automated bots that might interfere with site operation. “We don’t use fingerprinting to track our readers,” says a Times spokeswoman. “The simple act of producing a fingerprint...
Telegraph UK Gets Takeover Interest from Trump Guru Bannon
Times of London: The prospective sale of the Daily Telegraph has attracted unexpected interest. Steve Bannon, the mastermind of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, hopes to assemble a consortium to turn the newspaper into the global voice of Trumpian populism....
Gannett Mega Takeover to Bring Departure of GateHouse CEO
Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Kirk Davis, chief operating officer of New Media Investments and CEO of GateHouse Media, intends to leave New Media upon the close of the Gannett newspaper company acquisition, which is now in works, according to Mike Reed, New Media...
Conde Nast Insists Wintour is Not Trying to Kill Off Vanity Fair
New York Post: Anna Wintour, who turned 70 on Sunday, has taken heat for supporting the hiring of Radhika Jones as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. Under Jones, the magazine has faced much criticism. “I’m convinced she’s trying to kill Vanity Fair," says a source....
Daily Dot Chief Among ‘Super-Fans’ Buying Nautilus Magazine
Undark: After years of financial distress, the science and culture magazine Nautilus announced that it would be acquired by “an investor group of super-fans.” The eight investors include Nicholas White, the co-founder and chief executive of the website The Daily...
Playboy Among Men’s Mags Facing Identity Crisis in MeToo Era
New York Times: Bro bibles like GQ, Esquire and Playboy seem poised to do a backpedal from the formula that kept them at the publishing pinnacle for a half-century. Namely, being a print version of your father, offering up bourbon-breathed tutorials on the arts of...
Chernin Explores Sale of Bro-Culture Website Barstool Sports
Big Lead: The Chernin Group is said to be exploring the sale of Barstool Sports to a gambling operator Right now it is unclear which gambling operator is the most likely suitor for Barstool, and whether Chernin Group would be selling a majority or minority stake in...