Report: US Consumers Scoff at Ad-Supported Media
MediaPost: The good news is that consumer time spent with media surged during 2020. The bad news is their share of time spent with media supported primarily by advertising dollars fell to its all-time low, according to a new report from PQ Media. The forecast shows...
Tribune in Hot Water Over Newspaper’s Unpaid Rent
Chicago Tribune: As the Chicago Tribune prepares to move from Prudential Plaza, the owner of the downtown office complex has sued the newspaper's parent company for $4.8 million in unpaid rent. Property owner Sterling Bay filed the lawsuit against Tribune Publishing...
Gannett to Beef Up Trump News Coverage in Florida
Poynter: With President Trump's departure from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida comes a new phase his news coverage — especially for the Palm Beach Post. "For much of South Florida, he has become a major story since he started running for...
News Corp Boosts Barron’s, MarketWatch in Europe
Press Gazette: Dow Jones has been building up its financial newsbrands MarketWatch and Barron's in the UK and Europe – where it hopes to make them as well-known as they are in the US. "We thought these two brands have probably been punching below their weight, so we...
Meredith Names New Chief Communications Officer
PR Newswire: Erica Jensen has been named SVP and chief communications officer at Meredith, effective January 29. Jensen succeeds Art Slusark, who retired in November 2020. Jensen will advise CEO Tom Harty and Meredith's senior leadership team on communications...
Hearst Enters Pact for Magazine Branded Mattresses
License Global: Home furnishings firm Idle Group has launched its first-ever mattress collaboration with Hearst Magazines, beginning with Country Living. "Nothing beats a good night's sleep in the country," said Country Living editor Rachel Hardage Barrett. "You can...
Conde Nast Under Fire for Salary Gap at New Yorker
Business Insider: The New Yorker's employee union released a pay study revealing major pay disparities. Employees are underpaid across the company, but women of color are paid the least, it concluded. Some also face a "loyalty penalty" — proofreaders with 20 years of...
Penske Selling Hollywood Life to Editor Bonnie Fuller
Showbiz 411: Bonnie Fuller will buy out Penske Media's stake in the website Hollywood Life and assume full ownership and operations for the business, effective January 31. Fuller has been credited with helping create the modern celebrity news category when she...
G/O Media Trumpets Stability, Hiring Spree for 2021
PR Newswire: G/O Media "remains stable and looks to grow rapidly in 2021. The company is currently on a hiring spree, bringing in fresh, creative new talent across editorial, technology and sales, while continuing to embrace and sustain in-house diversity and...
Washington Post Staffers Gossip About a New Editor
Business Insider: As Washington Post staffers anticipate editor Marty Baron's retirement this year, alum Kevin Merida is back on some people's minds as they view him as a leading candidate to take the top job and become the newspaper's first Black editor. The next...
Los Angeles Times Adds Coverage on Kamala Harris
Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Times is introducing "Covering Kamala Harris," a beat dedicated to her historic rise to the White House. She is the first vice president who is Black, South Asian American, female and the direct descendant of immigrants. This news...
Media, Tech Figures on List of Pardons from Trump
CNBC: President Trump issued dozens of pardons on his last night in the White House, including one to his former campaign chief and ex-White House advisor Steve Bannon. Others who received some of the pardons included Anthony Levandowski, a former engineer for...
Google to Ban Trump for Another Week on YouTube
Bloomberg: YouTube has extended President Trump's temporary suspension for another week, citing the possibility he could incite violence during the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden. "In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the...
Amazon is Cited in Push to Loosen Media Ownership
Deadline: The US Supreme Court has waded into a two-decade long debate over the extent to which the FCC can relax media ownership rules. "Amazon gets to own the Washington Post today. No one thinks that's the end democracy," argued attorney Helgi Walker for the...
Netflix Passes 200 Million Subscribers for First Time
Associated Press: Netflix's video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic. The subscriber...
Disney Cuts Bonuses for Top Execs During Pandemic
Reuters: Disney eliminated performance-based bonuses last year for top executives, including executive chairman Bob Iger, as the media company looks to soften the impact of the Covid-19 fallout. The pandemic dealt a major blow to the company's theme parks and movie...
ViacomCBS to Debut Paramount+ Streamer in March
USA Today: ViacomCBS announced it plans to launch Paramount+, which will combine content from CBS, Viacom and the Paramount film studio, on March 4. Paramount+ will take the place of CBS All Access, which includes live sports and TV shows on CBS channels, programming...
Fox Corp to Cut Jobs Including Election News Leader
Washington Post: The Fox News executive who oversaw its election night "decision desk" is exiting at the end of the month, a move due in part to what Rupert Murdoch and other top network leaders viewed as a mishandling of the network's early and controversial Arizona...
Vice Needs Nearly $1 Billion to Repay Private Equity
The Information: Vice Media CEO Nancy Duboc has narrowed the media company's losses from $100 million to $20 million. Still, in the next couple of years Vice will be under pressure to pay back investors, particularly TPG, the private-equity giant that invested $450...
Disney Former ESPN President Unveils New Venture
Hollywood Reporter: Former ESPN president John Skipper and radio host and former ESPN on-air talent Dan Le Batard are joining forces on a new content venture. The pair are launching Meadowlark Media, which will emphasize a "creator-centric point of view" to content,...
Ricketts to Launch National News Outlet from Omaha
Omaha World-Herald: Billionaire businessman Joe Ricketts is preparing a new venture in the news business, and he's chosen Omaha as his launching pad. Ricketts is hiring staff to launch an online national news outlet called Straight Arrow News that he said will do what...
News Corp Responds to Inquiry of Media in Australia
Business Insider: While "welcoming" the media diversity inquiry, News Corp Australia's submission has a curt tone. "The culture of secrecy arising from these legal provisions that unnecessarily restrict Australia's right to know has permeated attitudes and processes...
Gannett Sees Rebound from Gains in Digital Strategy
USA Today: Gannett on Tuesday announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, showing what it called a "rebound" as the company's digital subscription strategy gains momentum. Gannett is in the midst of transitioning to what CEO Michael...
New York Times Preps Podcast from Founder of Vox
New York Times: The New York Times will be offering the new podcast "The Ezra Klein Show," hosted by Ezra Klein, the cofounder and former editor in chief of Vox. "This is a conversation show," said Klein. "I get to talk with brilliant people about the questions that...
Los Angeles Times Staffers Want Outsider for Editor
TheWrap: After a year of strife inside the Los Angeles Times newsroom, editors and union representatives at the beleaguered newspaper have demanded that a new executive editor be chosen from outside the newsroom. "You can't in good conscience pick someone from that...
Conde Nast Shakes Up Vogue Cover After Backlash
Daily News: Under pressure from backlash over its choice of a casual cover photo of VP-elect Kamala Harris, fashion bible Vogue will run a limited-edition print version of its digital cover, a more formal shot, in honor of the inauguration. In the digital cover,...
Meredith Staffers Talk of Diversity Issues at Time Inc
Mr Magazine: "It hasn't always been easy to continue to reinforce with all of our management and our corporate groups in our previous life as Time Inc," said Monique Manso, publisher of People en Español. "It hasn't always been easy to continue to educate them on the...
Forbes Plans Platform for Newsletters by Journalists
Axios: Forbes is launching a newsletter platform that will allow journalists to launch their own paid newsletters and split the revenue with the 103-year-old publisher. Forbes will hire 20 to 30 writers with big followings to help get the platform up and running. It...
Ebony, Jet to Relaunch in Digital, Maybe Not in Print
WWD: Ebony and Jet publisher's new CEO, Michele Ghee, plans to relaunch both websites on March 1. As for print, Ghee is yet to decide if it will be part of Ebony and Jet's future, stating that for now digital is the main focus. Jet ceased print operations in 2014 and...
Vox to Launch Morning News Podcast of ‘Quick Hits’
Vox: The new Vox Quick Hits isn't a traditional podcast, but rather a playlist where listeners can hear a mix of short episodes from Vox podcasts, plus some brand-new series. Quick Hits will offer "concise yet deep explanations you need on everything from Biden's...