Disney-ABC News Stars Spar Over ‘Chief Anchor’
CNN: Earlier this year tensions between ABC News anchors George Stephanopoulos and David Muir boiled over to the point that Stephanopoulos threatened to walk to a rival network. In an unusual intervention, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger flew across the country to...
Oprah Gets New Book Club Rival in Witherspoon
Wall Street Journal: Hello Sunshine, the media company founded by actress and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon, has introduced a free app for its book club. Reese's Book Club has operated since 2017 on Instagram, where it accumulated 1.9 million followers. Executives...
DraftKings in M&A Talks with Media, Sports Firms
Insider: The sports-betting industry is abuzz with speculation that DraftKings could be about to make a major acquisition as it looks to shore up its early-mover advantage in the growing US market. The company is exploring a variety of acquisitions, and four industry...
Axel Springer Snubs Facebook News in Germany
Reuters: Facebook has signed up a string of German media partners to provide content for a local news product, but the publisher of the country's best-selling newspaper said it would not take part on terms it dismissed as derisory. Axel Springer, the publisher that...
McClatchy Retirees Upset Over Missing Bonuses
Poynter: McClatchy started the year by abruptly revoking supplemental executive pension bonuses it had been paying top-level retirees. Naturally, the affected former executives were not happy. They hired lawyers and fought back. They got a seat on the creditors'...
New York Times Faces Ire from Ousted Reporter
National Review: After asking reporter Donald McNeil for his resignation, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet repeatedly cast the decision as an effort to address the hurt feelings of rank-and-file employees, rather than justifying the ouster on the merits of...
Hearst Alum Tests Micro-Magazine on Instagram
WWD: Former Elle UK editor in chief Anne-Marie Curtis is fusing glossy magazine experience with a keen interest in sustainability and launching The Calendar Magazine on Instagram. The Calendar is a micro-magazine that takes its editorial cues from glossy titles, with...
Penske Brings Rolling Stone Magazine to Twitch
Forbes: Rolling Stone magazine has launched its first Twitch channel with original live content.. Twitch has tens of thousands of partner channels covering far more than gaming, for which it is well known. Music is a growing area on Twitch which is complimentary with...
Vox Media Boosts Merch for New York Magazine
New York: Coinciding with its cover story on the popularity of NYC merchandise, New York magazine has created a new line of merch in the form of a limited-edition Sweatshirt Edit. There are three sweatshirts, including a New York hoodie for $64.99 with a puffy logo...
Analysis: Many Digital Subscribers Are ‘Zombies’
Local News Initiative: Nearly half of local news outlets' digital subscribers are "zombie" readers who visit the website less than once a month, according to a data analysis in 45 markets by Northwestern University's Medill Spiegel Research Center. Spiegel found that...
Netflix, Disney Win Big at Golden Globe Awards
Bloomberg: Netflix and Disney emerged as the big winners at the Golden Globe awards, taking home most of the evening's prizes for their films and television shows, in an awards show tailor-made for the pandemic-affected times. Disney grabbed the top award, best...
Amazon Fires Studios Exec for Not Flying Coach
Law360: A former Amazon Studios executive has sued the tech behemoth in California state court, arguing it fired him in retaliation for upgrading his seat on the company's dime due to a back disability that deters him from flying coach on longer flights. After he was...
Google Yet to Approach US Publishers on Deals
Digiday: Google said its news showcase discussions with US publishers can be expected to take place "over the next couple of quarters at least." And launching the program in the US will require signing deals with multiple publishers. "Showcase is not something we...
Fox Corp Under Spotlight as Murdoch Nears 90
Financial Times: Is Fox Corp poised for a "burst of dealmaking"? Will CEO Lachlan Murdoch continue in his role? Will Fox Corp-News Corp plan a re-merger? Will James Murdoch enlist his sisters to "reset the priorities" for Fox News? The most dramatic move would involve...
Disney, NFL Agree on New Media Deal for ESPN
Sports Business Journal: The NFL has denied a report saying it has reached a broad media rights agreement with Disney that will see ESPN renew "MNF" and ABC return to the Super Bowl rotation for the first time since 2006. Contracts still have not been signed, but the...
AT&T’s Warner Bros Ready for ‘Black Superman’
Hollywood Reporter: Warner Bros. plans to reboot Superman with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer JJ Abrams. This new Superman project is aiming to star a Black Superman. It's possible that this will be another version of Clark Kent, but more intriguing is the...
Discovery Emerges as New Star in Content Wars
New York Times: Discovery's new app has taken off largely because viewers love watching people fix houses, tour diners and bicker about their relationships. Discovery says it has 12 million paid subscriptions around the world, a more than respectable start that has...
Comcast Misses Billions After Giving Up on Snap
The Information: Snap crossed $100 billion in market value last week. Its shares are up 320% since late 2019. But one former shareholder likely isn't so pleased: NBCUniversal. The Comcast-owned company sold out of Snap at the end of 2019, barely breaking even on its...
Clubhouse Starts Luring Brands to Hot New App
Adweek: Brands now want in on Clubhouse, where audience growth has skyrocketed to 10 million users despite the invite-only structure and, for now, its exclusivity to iPhones. Still, the lack of a playbook and the ephemeral nature of the app haven’t stopped a few...
Nexstar Broadcast Chief Plans to Retire in June
Broadcasting & Cable: Timothy Busch, Nexstar's president for broadcasting, will retire June 1, and the company will begin a search for his successor. Busch has been in the broadcast industry for 36 years. "Tim leaves us well positioned to continue our growth as we...
New York Times in Another Uproar Over N-Word
New York Post: Racial tensions continue to simmer inside the New York Times, with some current and former staffers outraged anew over a recent Facebook poll seeking to define an "appropriate" use of the N-word. The poll was created by Matt Wald, a retired Times energy...
McClatchy Staffers Unionize in Four Newsrooms
Olympian: Journalists at four McClatchy-owned news organizations in Washington plan to form a union, and management has agreed to recognize that effort. Eligible journalists at the News Tribune, the Olympian, the Bellingham Herald and the Tri-City Herald have...
Washington Post Bashes Biden Over Khashoggi
Mediaite: The Washington Post editorial board has called out President Biden for failing to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the architect of the murder of former columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The Post published an op-ed calling out the new president for...
Conde Nast is Accused of Colonization in China
Business of Fashion: Conde Nast's new global structure places its magazines in other countries under layers of Anglo-American leadership, running the risk of homogenizing content and diluting the local appeal of these editions. Anna Wintour is said to have hand-picked...
Time Magazine to Publish Business Issue in April
Mr Magazine: Time magazine plans to launch Time Business with a special print issue in April. "We've hired a terrific editor from the Wall Street Journal," said Time CEO Edward Felsenthal. "It's going to be a vertical area of focus for us. We'll launch it with a...
Ebony Magazine to Return as Digital-Only Brand
Chicago Tribune: Ebony, the magazine that served as the voice of Black America for more than 75 years, is set for a digital rebirth Monday under new owners. Bought out of bankruptcy for $14 million in December by Bridgeman Sports and Media, Ebony will relaunch with a...
Crain’s Ad Age Chief Exits for New Opportunities
Ad Age: Josh Golden is departing as president and publisher of Ad Age to pursue new opportunities, he announced Friday. "I feel an overwhelming sense of pride in the work that I've done over the last five years with the amazing team at Ad Age. It's a fabulous brand...
The Wrap Accepts Donation from Golden Globes
Showbiz411: The Hollywood trade publications are going light on coverage of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the group's machinations. The Wrap, incidentally, received a $5,000 donation from the Hollywood group for its Wrap Women Foundation, established by...
AT&T Enters Deal to Spin Off Declining DirecTV
Dallas Morning News: AT&T will spin off its DirecTV business into a new company in a deal with private equity firm TPG that will net the telecom giant about $7.8 billion to pay down debt. The transaction values the new business at about $16 billion, a fraction of...
Disney Gets Punched by Mike Tyson Over Hulu
Associated Press: Hulu has ordered a limited series dramatizing the life of boxing great Mike Tyson, who quickly slammed the production as "cultural misappropriation." Tyson, who is not involved in the project, criticized Hulu on social media, saying the series...