Survey: Journalists Face Late Pay Amid Pandemic
Journalism.co.uk: One issue that has been made even worse by the pandemic is late payments from media companies, which only exacerbated the financial pressure on freelance journalists. The most popular strategy seems to be spreading the risks and work with a variety...
Apple Breaks Record with Movie Buy at Sundance
Showbiz411: Apple acquired the film "CODA" at the Sundance Film Festival for a record-breaking $25 million. The tech giant broke last year's record of $22.5 million for "Palm Springs," bought by Neon and Hulu. Apple, Amazon, and Netflix "have changed the way deals are...
Google, Facebook in Legal Fight with Newspapers
Associated Press: West Virginia news publisher HD Media has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook, who together receive roughly half of all digital ad dollars in the US and are facing antitrust charges from federal and state authorities. HD Media,...
Verizon is Ready to Get More Personal with Yahoo
Business Insider: Verizon Media is preparing a "mega" product launch in the coming weeks that hopes to tie together its tools and websites and serve up more personalized content, said CEO Guru Gowrappan. A person landing on the Yahoo homepage might be served up a...
AT&T Bests Disney Streaming Views After Protest
NextTV: Apparently someone at WarnerMedia threw a fit and convinced Nielsen to update estimates for the viewing of "Wonder Woman 1984" during the week of December 21 to 27. The updated list, which originally had Disney-Pixar's "Soul" at the No. 1 spot, now boasts...
Comcast Claims Win Over Netflix with ‘The Office’
Bloomberg: More people are watching "The Office" on Peacock than when the hit comedy was on Netflix, according to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell. He didn't provide viewership metrics. Shell said a more important point was that "Office" viewers are also watching other...
ViacomCBS Major Advertisers to Punt Super Bowl
Financial Times: The pandemic is shifting attitudes among major brands about their potential return on investment for an in-game Super Bowl commercial, which remains the priciest advertising real estate in US media. The price for a 30-second slot is expected to reach...
Vivendi to Race Planned Listing of Universal Music
Financial Times: Universal Music, the world's largest record label that is home to acts like Lady Gaga and The Beatles, is looking to expedite its planned listing to capitalize on a frothy stock market. Vivendi, the French media conglomerate that owns Universal, said...
Time Warner’s Former CEO Jumps Line for Vaccine
Daily Mail: Hollywood power-players are using private jets to fly hundreds of miles to get their hands on the coronavirus vaccine. Richard Parsons, former boss of Time Warner, is one of the few "Covid tourists" who admitted jumping on a private jet to get a vaccine in...
Vice Debuts Online Festival for Documentary Films
Deadline: Vice is launching its own online documentary film festival with 11 feature-docs curated by company co-founder Suroosh Alvi. The youth-skewing media company is launching a site to house the films, which includes a number of Oscar contenders, with each film...
iHeartMedia Radio Host to Unveil Podcast Network
Bloomberg: Colin Cowherd is creating a new podcast network called the Volume, where he's the owner and biggest star. Cowherd will host a new podcast, which will anchor a network featuring more than half a dozen shows in total. It's a sign of the growing power of...
Reddit Predicts Ad Surge Amid Rise of ‘Sh*theads’
CNBC: Reddit's popularity from the past week may lead to a surge in users — and possibly advertising dollars. Still, public investors would have to get comfortable with a company that houses communities with enough "Daily Active S---heads" that the CEO has a name for...
Conde Nast Seeks New Revenue from Vogue Café
FIPP: When diners enter Conde Nast's latest brand extension, Vogue Café Bejing, they are reminded of the iconic title that inspired the restaurant. The reception desk is built from 700 Vogues. Brand extensions will play a big role as publishers negotiate a post-Covid...
Hearst to Move Staffers Into Former Bowling Alley
lehighvalleylive: Hearst has begun using a renovated building in Easton, Pa., but due to company policies surrounding Covid-19, most employees are working from home. The company wants eventually to have as many as 175 people from the reporting staffs of Bicycling,...
Tribune’s ‘Devastating Cuts’ Stir Attorney General
Hartford Courant: The attorney general of Connecticut is seeking more information from the hedge fund that is the largest shareholder in Tribune Publishing, the parent of the Hartford Courant, and its offer to acquire the entire company, saying that the Courant has...
New York Times Polls Americans on Social Media
New York Times: New York Times media columnist Ben Smith tasked a polling firm with surveying Americans on, more or less, the question of whether we should all shut up on social media. The findings were mixed. Asked directly whether "journalists have a responsibility...
Gannett Local Reporters Offer Readers Covid Help
Associated Press: People across the country are reaching out directly to journalists at local newspapers and TV stations for help during the coronavirus pandemic, and many are responding. CC Davidson-Hiers, a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, has lost...
News Corp Loses Ruling on Digital Newspaper Tax
Bloomberg: A News Corp unit won't be able to claw back six years of taxes on its digital news operations, according to a ruling by a London court. The Court of Appeal said in a decision that it would be "impermissible" to extend tax relief for newspapers to their...
Craigslist Dominance Dips as Traffic, Revenue Fall
AIM Group: For the first time in its long history, Craigslist appears to be on the wane. Falling revenue and traffic indicate that the site is no longer as dominate as it once was. But the obvious question is: Where are the users and revenues going? If Craigslist is...
Apple Braces for Antitrust Lawsuit from Facebook
The Information: A long-simmering public dispute between Facebook and Apple has neared a boiling point. Facebook has been preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple that would allege the iPhone-maker abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing app...
Facebook Plans Newsletter Tools to Court Writers
New York Times: Facebook is working on newsletter tools for journalists and writers, a move toward offering more services to independent writers as the social network jumps into the fast-growing newsletter space. The product, which is still in its earliest stages,...
Disney Mulls Selling Off Assets at Declining ESPN
The Information: ESPN last November laid off 300 people, about 6% of its workforce, a gut-wrenching move for what was once Disney's profit engine. Now, ESPN is considering selling small parts of its business. For instance, the network is said to be trying to sell its...
ViacomCBS Mega Merger Lawsuit Gets Go-Ahead
Reuters: A judge said former CBS shareholders may pursue a lawsuit accusing Shari Redstone, the daughter of late media magnate Sumner Redstone, of pressuring the company into entering an unfair merger that created ViacomCBS. Redstone had a "dogged determination to...
Comcast Faces Ad Hurdles from Tokyo Olympics
Business Insider: Advertisers are making contingency plans in case the Tokyo Olympics do not go ahead as scheduled this summer. They're asking for much greater flexibility in cancellation options than before, including getting their cash back versus simply rolling...
Liberty Media Eyes Acquisitions in Music, Digital
Inside Radio: Liberty Media suddenly has a lot more cash for shopping. The company's newly formed special purpose acquisition company has raised $575 million. The SPAC told investors it would search for a target in media, digital media, music, entertainment, and...
Disney’s ABC News President to Depart in March
Mediaite: ABC News president James Goldston announced that he is stepping down after 17 years with the company and seven years as president. "I'vve loved every day of my 17 years at ABC News, but in recent times I've always assumed that after this extraordinary...
Fox Corp News Alum Sees ‘Outright Lies’ in Media
The Hill: A former political editor for Fox News who was fired last week said the public reaction to former President Trump's election loss is a result of "informational malnourishment." Chris Stirewalt, who had defended Fox News's relatively early call that President...
Tegna Buys Pro Sports Focused Podcast Network
Variety: Tegna is acquiring the Locked On Podcast Network, which produces some 160 daily shows for teams across the US's four major pro sports leagues and more than 30 colleges. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Park City, Utah-based Locked On will remain a...
Sinclair Conservative Host Exits for New Podcast
Mediaite: Eric Bolling, the conservative pundit and outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, is parting ways with Sinclair, which has been home to his weekly show "America This Week" since 2019. Bolling will be teaming up with football great Brett Favre for a podcast set...
Twitter Names New Head of Global Entertainment
Deadline: Twitter has named Ged Tarpey as managing director of global media and entertainment, overseeing relationships with studios, networks and streamers. Tarpey has been with Twitter since 2012 most recently as sales lead for US media and...