Report: Journos Try to Trademark ‘Fake News’ to Block Trump
The Hill: A Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has applied to trademark the term “fake news.” Emily Bloch of Teen Vogue writes that the application is unlikely to be approved and the move is intended to compel people to “think about what fake...
Disney Tries to Block Pay-Gap Lawsuit from Female Workers
Hollywood Reporter: Disney is certainly a huge corporation. But is it so big that it is impossible to resolve in court whether Disney's female workforce suffers from discriminatory pay? In Los Angeles Superior Court, the media giant is basically telling a judge that...
Fox Corp Names AMC Exec to Oversee Digital Entertainment
Variety: Fox Corp. has hired Yoel Flohr as executive vice president of technology and digital. He will report to Fox Corp. chief technology officer and president of digital Paul Cheesbrough. Flohr will lead the digital product portfolio for Fox...
ViacomCBS is Big Enough to Take On Netflix, Redstone Says
Wall Street Journal: Shari Redstone said the combination of Viacom and CBS, the companies that make up her family’s media empire, will create a content giant that can compete with larger industry rivals, even if she doesn’t pursue additional mergers. “We create...
Comcast Plan to Hike Cost of Starz Stirs Justice Department
New York Post: Officials within the Department of Justice’s antitrust division are looking into Comcast’s announcement that it will replace 17 Starz channels in its Xfinity TV package with movie channel Epix amid complaints, including by some US senators, that the...
Fox News is Big Obstacle to Trump Impeachment, Data Says
Washington Post: A new poll finds that an astonishing 55 percent of Republicans who watch Fox News as their primary news source say there is almost nothing President Trump could do to lose their approval. What’s more, 98 percent of Fox-citing Republicans oppose...
Disney’s New Streaming Service Won’t Work on Every Device
Lifehacker: Those looking forward to the upcoming Disney+ may want to double-check their preferred devices can actually run the streaming service in the first place. Chromebooks and some Android devices are said to be incapable of meeting Disney's stringent DRM...
Netflix Offers $2 Billion in Debt to Fund More Original Content
CNBC: Netflix is raising another $2 billion in debt to fund additional content creation and other expenses, the company announced Monday. Netflix routinely raises debt to help fuel its growing library of original TV shows and movies. Netflix in April offered $2...
Nielsen Says It Can Measure Viewing on Amazon Prime Video
TechCrunch: Nielsen announced that it will now be able to measure the viewing taking place on Amazon Prime Video, through its Subscription Video on Demand Content Ratings solution. This product, first launched two years ago, was originally focused on measuring...
Report: Video is Driving All-Time High in Digital Ad Spending
The Drum: US digital advertising spending for the first half of 2019 totaled $57.9 billion, an all-time high for the first six months of a year, according to a report from the IAB and PwC. The record total marks a 17% uptick from the previous half-year mark. Video...
Facebook Promises to Identify Content from State-Run Media
The Hill: Facebook announced plans Monday to identify content from state-controlled media sources posted on its platform. "Next month, we’ll begin labeling media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government as state-controlled...
Twitter Readies ‘Synthetic Media’ Policy to Combat Deepfakes
Fox Business: Twitter said Monday that it is developing a policy to combat synthetic media posted to its platform, such as deepfake videos and altered photos. Based on user feedback, Twitter will finalize policy guidelines for how it polices synthetic...
TikTok is Rife with ISIS Videos Aiming to Recruit Young Users
Wall Street Journal: Islamic State militants have been posting short propaganda videos to TikTok, the social network known for lighthearted content popular with teenagers. The videos represent a challenge for the app’s Beijing owner, which has hired thousands of...
New York Times is Not Welcome in White House, Trump Says
The Hill: President Trump said Monday that he doesn’t want to have copies of the New York Times in the White House anymore and suggested he would terminate the subscription. “We’re going to probably terminate that and the Washington...
News Corp Taps Brooks to Bring Sun Tabloid to US in Digital
Vanity Fair: There’s a British tabloid war brewing in New York. Rupert Murdoch’s Sun has been plotting a U.S. incursion, laying the groundwork for a Manhattan-based digital American edition. Rebekah Brooks, of phone-hacking fame, "has long harbored a desire to have a...
Nikkei’s Financial Times Launches Business Consulting Arm
TechCrunch: The Financial Times is looking to further diversify its business by launching a new consulting unit called FT Strategies. “Even if you go and buy best-of-breed technology, that doesn’t mean you can assembly it in the right way to make it useful and...
McClatchy to Cut 30 Jobs in Management Streamlining Plan
Sacramento Business Journal: McClatchy is trimming 1% of its staff nationwide, representing a cut of 30 positions, according to an internal memo. CEO Craig Forman outlined organizational changes, stressing that “no reporting positions will be impacted due to these...
Hearst’s Esquire, Playboy Hint at the End of Men’s Magazines
City Journal: In a tough media environment, men’s magazines are suffering more than most. Some — notably, Playboy and Esquire — appear to have decided that appealing primarily to men is no longer the best way forward. Their recent issues serve as...
Conde Nast Seeks New Image for Aspiration in the Digital Age
New Republic: It might be David Remnick’s New Yorker that is now closest to the original Conde Nast vision. With a fast-paced website and a weekly radio show, it projects a new image of aspiration that has less to do with material consumption than with cultural or...
Harper’s Magazine Taps Former Intern as New Editor in Chief
New York Times: Harper’s Magazine has a new editor, effective next Monday: Christopher Beha, the executive editor at the august monthly, first worked at Harper’s as an intern in 2008. The job he will take later this month has been a hot seat in the world of highbrow...
Vice Media’s Refinery29 Hires Nylon Veteran for New Position
WWD: Refinery29 is already hiring under its new owner Vice Media. The women-focused digital outlet is bringing on Gabrielle Korn as its director of fashion and culture, a new position at Refinery. Korn until August was editor in chief of Nylon, the youthful magazine...
Bustle Digital Says Gawker Relaunch is Coming ‘in the Future’
Esquire: Gawker’s relaunch date has gone from early 2019 to summer 2019 to fall 2019 to probably never. New owner Bryan Goldberg has turned his focus to new acquisitions -- Mic, The Outline, Nylon and Inverse. Is a Gawker relaunch in the future? Bustle Digital Group...
Netflix Eyes New York City Theater to Screen Oscar Contenders
IndieWire: Netflix has announced six initial theaters in New York and Los Angeles that will show Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed film “Marriage Story,” which opens November 6, a month ahead of its streaming debut. Among the locations is the recently-closed Paris theater in...
Disney’s ‘Maleficent’ Sequel Disappoints in Opening Box Office
Bloomberg: Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” a sequel to a 2014 hit film with Angelina Jolie, opened to tepid weekend sales of $36 million -- a miss for Hollywood’s biggest studio. The picture debuted as the top film in North American theaters. But the tally...
AT&T Former HBO Chief Looks to Start Own Production Studio
The Information: Less than a year after leaving WarnerMedia, former HBO CEO Richard Plepler appears to be getting back in the entertainment business. Plepler has told industry associates over the past several weeks that he is looking to start his own production...
Lions Gate Upsets Oscar Predictions with Fox News ‘Bombshell’
Showbiz 411: As the Oscar season narrows down, many nominations are coming into focus. Lists on Gold Derby and other places offer some spot-on choices. But now comes a big monkey wrench into the mix: Jay Roach’s “Bombshell,” all about Roger Ailes’s reign of terror...
Viacom Awaits $500 Million for Streaming Rights to ‘South Park’
Bloomberg: “South Park” is the latest beneficiary of Hollywood’s rerun mania. The show’s creators and media giant Viacom expect to share between $450 million and $500 million by selling the streaming rights to the animated comedy, one of the longest-running TV series...
AT&T’s CNN Views Trump Campaign Lawsuit Threat as PR Stunt
Reuters: Lawyers for President Trump and his re-election campaign have threatened in a letter to sue CNN for what they said was the network falsely advertising itself as a news organization, calling on execs to first discuss an “appropriate resolution” to the matter...
Fox News Eyes Wallace to Boost Image as Credible News Outlet
Bloomberg: Shepard Smith’s departure from Fox News makes Chris Wallace more important than ever to the network, which relies on the credibility of its news division to counter criticism about its Trump-friendly prime-time hosts. “Chris becomes the next voice of...
CBS ‘Evening News’ Ratings in Freefall Under Anchor O’Donnell
New York Post: A big bet by “CBS Evening News” on Norah O’Donnell is beginning to look iffy. The former “CBS This Morning” host — who is getting paid at least $7 million a year by CBS News boss Susan Zirinsky to revive the perennially third-ranked newscast — is...