Gannett Job Cuts, Asset Sales Take a Toll in Boston
Boston Business Journal: Gannett's aggressive cost-cutting measures have taken a toll on its papers in the Boston area, with more than a dozen journalists at four of its local dailies taking buyouts in the past month, several more leaving for other reasons and an...
Meredith Says Editor to Exit Entertainment Weekly
New York Times: Meredith has parted ways with J.D. Heyman, the editor in chief of Entertainment Weekly magazine. A Meredith spokeswoman said that the end of the editor's tenure at the publication would go into effect "immediately." The reason was not...
Conde Nast: Harry Styles Vogue Issue is a Big Hit
New York Post: Harry Styles' Vogue cover has been such a sellout, the magazine has had to order a rush job on more editions. The British pop star, 26, appears in a gown on the cover, to some controversy, but the issue has been such a hit that fans are on waitlists at...
Hearst Publishes a ‘Love Letter’ to New York City
Daily Front Row: Town & Country's December/January issue is celebrating New York City's rough year with a love letter from some of the town's most iconic residents. Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Perez, and Branford and Wynton Marsalis share three different covers...
Forbes ’30 Under 30’ Franchise Rakes In Revenue
Digiday: Forbes' tenth 30 Under 30 list goes live today and in less than a decade since its inception in 2011, the franchise associated with North America's top young entrepreneurs has grown to be one of Forbes' largest sources of...
Monocle Offers Spinoff Magazine Aimed at Women
WWD: Monocle is adding Konfekt — a quarterly publication covering fashion, travel, design, dining and culture — to its portfolio. Based in Zürich, it will be published in English and German, and cater to Monocle's existing female readership and "underserved...
Financial Times Finds Success in New Consultancy
Adweek: The Financial Times is selling its subscription-building prowess to publishers and other companies. These efforts have turned into a multimillion-dollar business after its first year. Called FT Strategies, the separate business division has autonomy from the...
US Media Layoffs on Track to Record High in 2020
Variety: So far, the US media sector has lost an estimated 28,637 jobs over the past year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That total is rapidly approaching the previous record-breaking year of 2008, when there were 28,803 cuts in the...
Disney to Lay Off 4,000 More Workers Citing Covid
Associated Press: Disney announced plans to lay off 4,000 more employees largely due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said that 32,000 employees at the parks, experiences and products division will be terminated in the first half of fiscal year...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Attracts Buzz for ‘The Undoing’
Guardian: Do we love or hate Nicole Kidman's green coat? And who foresaw this thrilling third act of Hugh Grant's career? These and more are important questions raised by HBO's new hit miniseries, "The Undoing." It's on course to be watched by 10 million people in the...
Comcast is Sorry for ‘Disgusting’ Jokes on Peacock
Fox News: Selena Gomez fans were not impressed with jokes about the singer that were written in Peacock's reboot of "Saved by the Bell." In the first season’s sixth episode, characters are seen debating who donated a kidney to Gomez. Appalled fans circulated clips...
Netflix vs AT&T in Battle for Streaming of ‘Godzilla’
Hollywood Reporter: "Godzilla vs Kong," the new monster movie from Legendary Pictures, looks likely to be the latest big movie to head to a streamer. Netflix is said to have made an offer of $200 million+ while WarnerMedia has blocked the deal while preparing an offer...
Google-YouTube Star Flip-Flops Over ‘Covid Hoax’
The Verge: Jake Paul, the 23-year-old YouTube sensation and former Disney Channel star, has denied describing coronavirus as a "hoax." Said Paul: "This reporter, he misquoted me. He took what I said out of context. He was just like leading me down certain paths with...
Fox Corp Lets Trump Repeat False Election Claims
USA Today: Following Sunday morning's Fox News interview with Donald Trump – his first since the election – anchor Maria Bartiromo faced criticism for not challenging the president on his unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud. "This is...
News Corp CEO Bashes Sale of Simon & Schuster
Associated Press: News Corp CEO Robert Thomson slammed Bertelsmann's deal to acquire Simon & Schuster. "Bertelsmann is not just buying a book publisher, but buying market dominance. This literary leviathan would have 70% of the US literary and general fiction...
Discovery TV Network Buyout Eyed by Trump Pals
New York Times: Hicks Equity Partners has sought to lead buyouts of both Newsmax and One America News Network. It is also pursuing a third strategy: building "a family-friendly programming destination of broad appeal based on traditional values" by buying and merging...
Axel Springer Eyes More Deals in US Digital Media
The Information: Axel Springer, the German owner of Business Insider, is ready to take part in a second wave of consolidation in the US digital media market. Backed by its big new shareholder, private equity giant KKR, Axel Springer wants to spend 2021 on an expansion...
BuzzFeed’s HuffPost Buy Spurs Talk of More Deals
Business Insider: "The emergence of SPACs is an increasingly positive force for digital media. BuzzFeed, Vox, there are healthy, large-scale digital media companies that exist that have more or less given up on selling to big cable companies or other big media...
Gannett Under Fire for Selling Crime Scene Photos
New Jersey Globe: Gannett is selling reprints of photos of a federal judge's home, possibly violating a newly-enacted state law as it markets images of the house where the judge's son was brutally slain last July. The website for Gannett and the USA Today Network is...
Tribune Newspapers Hit Up Readers for Donations
Orlando Sentinel: The Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel have launched community news funds to receive tax-deductible contributions for increasing news coverage. "The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated business trends that newspapers have long...
McClatchy, Hearst ‘Brilliant’ Former Journalist Dies
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Dan Puckett, 65, died on Thanksgiving, three days after being released from a San Antonio hospital with a positive Covid-19 test. Puckett was remembered across social media as journalists and former colleagues began to hear about his...
Conde Nast Relocates Love Magazine to New York
WWD: Conde Nast announced that Whembley Sewell, editor in chief of Them, will take charge of Love magazine, which will move from London to the US. Conde Nast plans to broaden the title's fashion-centric perspective "to highlight editorial opportunities that champion...
Maven Investors Eye Change in Call for New Board
Awful Announcing: Sports Illustrated operator Maven has received a push from two key investors to make changes. B. Riley and 180 Degree Capital wrote a letter to the board urging "the company to pursue a new direction" and for the current board to...
Time Magazine Mulls Big Names for Person of Year
Fox News: Politicians, celebrities and medical workers are among the newsmakers nominated for Time magazine's 2020 Person of the Year. Each year since 1928, Time has recognized the individual or group regarded as having had "the greatest influence on the events of the...
Vox Media, BuzzFeed Plan Holiday Parties on Zoom
Digiday: With social distancing measures locked in through the end of 2020, the boozy, lavish holiday parties that used to define the middle weeks of December have been put on ice this year. In their place, employers are holding toasts over Zoom and sending care...
Apple, Amazon ‘Unstoppable’ in New Pandemic Age
Fast Company: Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have added hundreds of billions in market value since March. By virtue of being the biggest elephants in the herd, the Four are well positioned to survive any crisis. They were already ascending to dominance, and the...
Facebook Struggles to Balance Civility with Growth
New York Times: Facebook insiders have been battling over how to reduce misinformation and hate speech without hurting the company's bottom line. After the election, CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreed to increase the weight that Facebook’s algorithm gave to authoritative...
Google to Suspend One America News on YouTube
Reuters: YouTube has barred the right-wing outlet One America News Network from posting new videos for a week after it broke the site's rules against content that claims there is a guaranteed cure for Covid-19. OAN has also been suspended from monetizing its...
Netflix Removes ‘Chappelle’ After Creator’s Request
Fox Business: Netflix has removed "Chappelle's Show" from its streaming platform at the request of the show's creator and star, comedian Dave Chappelle. Chappelle revealed the news via social media in a lengthy video he uploaded where he alleged he "never got...
ViacomCBS Show Host Will Emcee Grammy Awards
Broadcasting & Cable: CBS and the Recording Academy said that Trevor Noah will be the host of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, which will air Jan. 31 on the broadcast network and streamed live and on demand on the CBS All Access streaming...