Facebook CEO Rejects Critics in Year-End Remarks
Reuters: Facebook's top executives sought to rally employees around business priorities at a year-end meeting, playing down criticism faced this year of the company's record on false and violent speech. "We have to recognize that there are people who believe their...
Netflix is Asked by US Senator to Offer Free Service
Fox Business: Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, has proposed a new idea aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus: free video streaming. In a letter addressed to the heads of the leading streaming services, King asked that all streamers "temporarily remove any cost...
Disney is Forecast to Catch Up with Netflix by 2022
New York Post: Move over Netflix — Disney will catch up with you by 2022. That's according to a new report from eMarketer, which said that Disney's year-old streaming service, Disney+, is on pace to have a market share on par with Netflix in just two years. Disney's...
ViacomCBS Studio Gets Buzz from Tom Cruise Rant
Sun: A furious Tom Cruise tore into workers who broke Covid rules on the set of the latest "Mission: Impossible" film, screaming: "If I see you doing it again, you're f***ing gone." The Hollywood star has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to enforce tight...
Hollywood is Rife with Harassment Despite #MeToo
Reuters: Three years after the #MeToo scandal roiled Hollywood, causing dozens of powerful men to lose their jobs, two-thirds of women who took part in a survey of the entertainment business report continuing incidences of sexual harassment. The survey was by the...
Comcast to Face Challenges with Future of MSNBC
Vanity Fair: MSNBC, whose liberal prime-time hosts assailed Donald Trump on a nightly basis, will have to shift gears as he exits the White House. "Nobody will need MSNBC the way they needed it the last four years. Our viewers think that when there's breaking news,...
Spotify inks Deals for Podcasts with Harry, Meghan
USA Today: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are officially podcasters, thanks to their production company's new partnership with Spotify. "What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another...
Twitter is Rumored to Mull Acquisition of Substack
Financial Times: Newsletters are expected to continue to gain traction. The more attention they get, the more big names the format will attract. Big Tech may come sniffing. There are already rumors that Twitter is interested in making a bid for Substack. Like podcasts...
WPP, Publicis Predict Ad Market Rebound in 2021
Forbes: Prominent global advertising agencies released their ad spending forecast for 2021 and an update on their estimates for 2020. There are a few common trends among the forecasts globally and in the US. For example, digital media ad spending will continue to grow...
News Corp CEO: We Helped Save Journalists’ Jobs
Press Gazette: Journalists are no longer an "endangered species," thanks to payment negotiations with Google and Facebook, according to the boss of News Corp. Robert Thomson believes there is now "a realistic prospect of more digital sites being more...
Gannett, Vox Receive Diversity Grants from Google
WWD: As part of its "innovation challenge" this year, the Google News Initiative asked newsrooms to apply with their ideas for closing the gaps in news coverage, which often leaves out the perspectives of different groups of people. Among projects selected by the...
Conde Nast Elevates Anna Wintour in Big Shake-Up
New York Times: As part of a larger revamping, Conde Nast announced that Anna Wintour will have a pair of new titles — worldwide chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue — giving her final say over publications in more than 30 markets around the...
Hearst Folds Ad Firm iCrossing Into Magazines Unit
Business Insider: Hearst plans to quietly fold digital marketing agency iCrossing into the rest of its magazine operation. Hearst acquired iCrossing for around $325 million in 2010 as print advertising was dropping and publishers were looking for new revenue streams,...
Penske to Restructure Rolling Stone, Billboard, Vibe
Axios: Penske Media Corp plans to merge the back end functions of three of the top music news publishers in the US. Over the past few years, PMC chief Jay Penske has quietly amassed more than 20 titles for his media empire across entertainment, music, fashion and...
Trusted Media Brands Thrives During the Pandemic
Mr Magazine: Bonnie Kintzer, CEO of Trusted Media Brands: "The magazine that is doing unbelievably well during this pandemic is Birds & Blooms. And that's been very cool to see. They've had a real boost. People are home and they're looking at their birds and their...
Gawker Veteran Drops Lawsuit Against Daily Beast
New York Post: An editor who got tapped to lead an ill-fated effort to revive Gawker last year has withdrawn a defamation suit against an ex-employee. Carson Griffith withdrew her complaint late last week against former underling Maya Kosoff, who Griffith alleges was...
Vox Media Eyes $100 Million in Revenue for Studios
Axios: Vox Media Studios, the video and audio production arm of Vox Media, plans to bring in $100 million in 2021 revenue while producing twice as many shows as 2020. Vox Media Studios, led by president Marty Moe and head of entertainment Chad Mumm, plans to double...
Survey: Publishers Predict Revenue Growth in 2021
Adweek: Despite ongoing hardships, the mood of media professionals is bordering on optimism, even as they realistically recognize that a rebound won't come until the middle of 2021. In particular, publishers who are able and willing to invest in their editorial teams...
Alphabet Eyes Flexible Work Week for Google Staff
New York Times: Google has pushed back the planned return to the office by a few months to September 2021. But even as it extends the remote work period for most of its staff, Google is laying out a series of proposed changes that may substantially alter how its...
Facebook, Twitter Among Tech in US Privacy Probe
Associated Press: Federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok's parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers' personal data and how their practices affect children and...
Netflix Girds for New Streaming War with Old Media
Bloomberg Opinion: Netflix dominates, but that may change in 2021 as Hollywood restarts productions with a focus on streaming content. Netflix should enjoy its lonely winter on top, because in 2021 the streaming wars are finally heating...
Disney: After Streaming, Now the Hard Part Begins
New York Post: Disney shares dipped more than 2 percent Monday after a Wall Street analyst cautioned that the company has a lot of work to do before it rebounds from the pandemic and its economic fallout. BMO analyst Daniel Salmon said streaming giant Netflix was his...
Comcast’s Sky Adds Amazon Prime Across Europe
Reuters: Pay-TV operator Sky has struck a deal with Amazon that will see the launch of Prime Video on its platforms across Europe, while Sky's NOW TV and Sky Ticket apps will also come to Amazon's Fire TV devices. Amazon Prime Video TV shows and movies will sit...
ViacomCBS Touts Worker Diversity with New Site
Variety: ViacomCBS launched a dedicated diversity and inclusion website that sheds light, for the first time, on the combined company's workforce demographics following the merger of Viacom and CBS. The portal is an effort to promote diverse hiring and long-term...
Comcast Confirms Peacock Paywall for ‘The Office’
Bloomberg: NBCUniversal confirmed plans to put "The Office" behind a paywall when the hit sitcom comes to Peacock next month, a bid to attract more paying customers to the fledgling streaming service. While the first two seasons will be free, customers will have to...
AT&T, Comcast News Channels Worry About Future
New York Times: CNN and MSNBC thrived during the Trump years, reaching new heights in ratings and revenue while devoting countless prime-time hours to criticizing a White House antagonist their viewers just could not quit. Now faced with a Trump-less future, their...
Discovery Adds BET Founder to Board of Directors
Deadline: Less than two weeks after unveiling its Discovery+ direct-to-consumer play, Discovery said Monday that it has appointed BET founder Robert L. Johnson to its board of directors. The move is effective January 1. Johnson was the founder and chairman of Black...
Disney-ABC TV Expat Joins New Youth-Sports App
TheWrap: After stepping down as the co-chair of Disney Media Networks last year, Ben Sherwood wasn't hurting for opportunities in Hollywood. But the longtime executive decided to tackle a project near and dear to his heart: coaching youth sports — with a tech and...
Pinterest Pays $22.5 Million to Settle Discrimination
Wall Street Journal: Pinterest agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle claims of gender discrimination and retaliation by former COO Francoise Brougher, as Silicon Valley grapples with growing pressure to address discrimination and diversity issues within its ranks....
ByteDance’s TikTok Kicks Out Blogger Perez Hilton
New York Times: Perez Hilton, the early gossip blogger turned media personality, has been permanently banned from TikTok for violating community guidelines. But Hilton believes it was pressure from TikTok's biggest stars that led to his ban, though the company...