Tribune Newspapers Brace for Hedge Fund Cuts
Vanity Fair: Among journalists at Tribune Publishing, the mood on Wednesday was as dark as one would expect. "There are a lot of disappointed people in the newsroom right now," said Todd Lighty, an investigative reporter at the company's flagship Chicago Tribune....
Penske Evacuates Magazine Offices After Threat
TheWrap: Penske Media offices in Los Angeles and New York were evacuated Wednesday after Variety received a security threat, the company told staffers in a memo. The memo read: "Today we received a threat to the safety of one of our brands at our office location, so...
BuzzFeed Mulls a Future as Digital Shopping Mall
Adweek: BuzzFeed wants to think more like a retailer. Judging that the surge in online shopping is here to stay, the site is investing in creating a more proactive, intent-based shopping experience. "What is the digital version of window shopping? No retailer does...
News Corp Inks Historic Global Deal with Google
News.com.au: News Corp has reached a global licensing deal with Google to make "significant payments" for displaying its content across the world on its Google News Showcase. CEO Robert Thomson announced the "historic multi-year partnership" for publications including...
Google in Talks on Global Deal with News Corp
Australian Financial Review: Google has signed more deals to pay news outlets in Australia, but remains in talks with News Corp on a global agreement that would include titles such as the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London as well as its Australian...
Facebook CEO: We Need to Inflict Pain on Apple
Wall Street Journal: Mark Zuckerberg has groused for years that Apple and its leader, Tim Cook, have too much sway over the social-media giant's business. In 2018, his anger boiled over. "We need to inflict pain," the Facebook CEO told his team, for Apple treating the...
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Dominate in US Streaming
USA Today: The year 2020 "will likely be remembered a pivotal year for streaming," according to a streaming report by research firm Conviva. "The industry delivered with flourishing new services, astronomical peaks of growth, blockbusters released direct to streaming,...
Disney Streamer Forecast to Best Netflix by 2026
World Screen: The number of subscribers to Disney+ will overtake the Netflix total in 2026, according to Digital TV Research. However, Disney+ will only have more subs than Netflix in one country, India, with 98 million Disney+ Hotstar subscribers versus 13 million...
AT&T Circles In-House Exec for New Chief of CNN
NBC News: Allison Gollust, a CNN executive and top lieutenant to Jeff Zucker, has emerged as the leading internal candidate to take over the network if Zucker steps down as president. Her promotion, which is being considered by the leadership of AT&T, CNN's parent...
News Corp Plans April Debut of ‘British Fox News’
New York Times: Executives at Rupert Murdoch's new venture, known as News UK TV, play down comparisons to Fox News. Murdoch is planning a streaming service, akin to Netflix or Now TV. The service, which is to begin a low-key rollout in April, will promote Murdoch's...
Chernin Fund Invests in Collectibles Marketplace
Bloomberg: Chernin Group is leading a blockbuster group of investors in a majority stake in Goldin Auctions, an eight-year-old shop dedicated to auctioning off collectibles, especially sports trading cards. Chernin's group includes basketball star Kevin Durant, Dallas...
Disney Alum Plots Roll-Up of Indie Entertainment
Hollywood Reporter: Former Disney and TikTok executive Kevin Mayer is exploring a deal to roll up several independent media and entertainment companies, including Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings and Ben Silverman's Propagate Content. Blackstone is financing the...
Take-Two CEO Nears Deal to Acquire Second City
Financial Times: Strauss Zelnick's private equity firm is in advanced talks to buy Second City, the storied comedy group that has launched stars including Tina Fey and the late John Belushi. A deal could be agreed as soon as this week. The price was not disclosed but...
Roku Plans to Produce Its Own TV Shows, Films
Protocol: Roku has published a job listing for a lead production attorney, which spells out plans to build out an "expanding slate of original content." This renewed push into originals comes just weeks after Roku acquired Quibi's content library, for which the...
Goop Founder Reveals Health Battle After Covid
Daily Mail: Gwyneth Paltrow said that she battled Covid-19 last year, and it left her with long-term fatigue, body inflammation and brain fog. "I had Covid-19 early on," the 48-year-old actress said in a piece on Goop. "In January, I had some tests done that showed...
Tribune in $630 Million Sale Deal to Hedge Fund
Chicago Tribune: Tribune Publishing has agreed to be acquired by Alden Global Capital in a deal valued at $630 million. The deal follows weeks of negotiations between a special committee of Tribune Publishing's board and Alden, a hedge fund with a history of deep...
Gannett, McClatchy Join on Big Push in Ad Sales
Axios: Gannett and McClatchy, two of the country's biggest local news companies, are joining forces to sell national ads to their combined reach of over 300 local communities. The partnership could be the start of building out a mega-local ad sales network. "This...
Conde Nast Alum Becomes Publisher of Decrypt
Decrypt: Alanna Roazzi-Laforet has been named publisher and chief revenue officer of Decrypt, an independent online media outlet focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Roazzi-Laforet's career has included stints at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB),...
Bonnier’s Former Saveur Magazine Ends in Print
New York Post: Award-winning foodie title Saveur is going all-digital under its new private equity owner, 27 years after launching to critical acclaim. The food and recipe title was sold in October by Bonnier to North Equity as part of a package of magazines,...
BuzzFeed Seeks Editor for Takeover of HuffPost
New York Post: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has finalized his company's acquisition of HuffPost. The search for a new editor-in-chief is expected to move into high gear now that a deal is done. "HuffPost will operate as its own distinct brand within BuzzFeed, and will...
Vox Media Finds Next Top Editor at The Atlantic
New York Times: Swati Sharma, a managing editor of The Atlantic, will be the next editor in chief of Vox.com, the Vox Media site known for explanatory journalism and podcasts, in a changing of the guard at the pioneering digital outlet nearly three months after two of...
Los Angeles Times Trims Choices for New Editor
Los Angeles: Upwards of 30 candidates have been vying for the executive editor job at the Los Angeles Times, but only a handful have survived the initial interviewing. The paper's owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, has reportedly engaged a high-powered New York...
Google Nears Deals for News Content in Australia
Sydney Morning Herald: Google has stepped back from a threat to shut down its search engine in Australia and is on the brink of striking deals with some of the nation's largest news organizations after months of hard fought negotiations over planned media bargaining...
Facebook to Take On Apple with Own Smartwatch
The Information: Facebook is said to be building a smartwatch it hopes to start selling next year. The watch will let wearers send messages using Facebook's services and also offer health and fitness features. Facebook's planned foray into smartwatches would inch the...
Amazon CEO, Girlfriend Face Paparazzi in Mexico
Daily Mail: Jeff Bezos has been spotted landing in Cabo San Lucas with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez for a romantic getaway following his announcement that he would step down as the CEO of Amazon. Bezos and Sanchez arrived at the luxurious Mexican vacation spot in a...
Netflix Nabs ‘Chappelle’ After Tiff with ViacomCBS
IndieWire: Dave Chappelle said "Chappelle's Show" is returning to stream on Netflix. The comedian has settled his fight with Comedy Central parent comedy ViacomCBS over a streaming license for the iconic sketch comedy series, which ran for three seasons on Comedy...
Disney’s Ousted Streaming Star to Join Daily Wire
Deadline: Less than 24 hours after her explosive ouster from Star Wars series "The Mandalorian" for incendiary social media posts, Gina Carano has hit back at her detractors and revealed a new movie project she is making with conservative website the Daily Wire. "I...
AT&T Hopes for HBO Max Boost from ‘Snyder Cut’
CNET: Zack Snyder's version of "Justice League" is almost here, and we've been gifted with an extensive new trailer for the HBO Max original, which arrives on March 18. The main difference between the streaming and the theatrical versions might just be the added...
ViacomCBS Preps a Populist Push for Paramount+
Bloomberg: ViacomCBS believes it can stand out from the streaming crowd by making what CBS chief George Cheeks calls populist programming. It wants to let HBO and Netflix compete for awards while it makes the kinds of shows that have made CBS the most-watched TV...
Vivendi Plots IPO for Universal Music by Year End
Dow Jones: Vivendi shares rose sharply after the European media giant said that it plans to distribute 60% of its subsidiary Universal Music Group's capital to shareholders and to spin off its profitable music label by year's end. "Vivendi's leading institutional...