Conde Nast Publishes First Male Cover of US Vogue
New York Post: Harry Styles covers Vogue's December 2020 issue, making history as the first man to do so solo in the magazine's history. In classic Styles fashion, he did so wearing a ball gown, a look custom-created by Gucci and paired with a cropped tuxedo...
New York Times ‘Reinvents’ Newspaper Every Week
New York Times: A weekly "At Home" feature presents craft projects created out of the print edition of the New York Times. The projects have included paper hats, dolls, balls and even a "coronavirus piñata." So far, At Home has produced some two dozen of these...
Hearst Plots Buyouts, Office Moves for Newspapers
Connecticut Post: A group of Hearst employees in Connecticut have taken a voluntary buyout option offered by Hearst Newspapers. San Antonio Express-News: The San Antonio Express-News is moving out of the historic building it has called home for more than 90...
Forbes Attracts Celebs to Virtual Women’s Summit
WWD: Tracee Ellis Ross, Misty Copeland, Arianna Huffington, and Megan Rapinoe will all take part in the 2020 Forbes Power Women's Summit on Dec. 9. This will be the eighth summit, but the first time it will be held virtually. This year's Theme will be "Change &...
Vox Cofounder Joins Journos Jumping to Substack
MediaPost: Vox.com cofounder Matthew Yglesias is stepping down to start his own venture on newsletter publishing platform Substack. He joins a few high-profile journalists who have left media organizations to go the personal entrepreneurial route: paid...
BuzzFeed Eyes Black Culture Brand as Standalone
Digiday: BuzzFeed is building out its Black Culture brand Cocoa Butter into more of a standalone business. On Oct. 20, the publisher launched a YouTube channel for Cocoa Butter, and later this month the brand will debut its first weekly email...
Group Nine’s Online Marketplace Focuses on Mobile
Digiday: Group Nine, the publisher of The Dodo, PopSugar, and NowThis, is the latest media company to create its own online marketplace. Its new platform, Swipe.Shop, is a mobile-optimized browser that feels familiar to how consumers already use their smartphones to...
New York’s Famous Magazine Store Gets a Sponsor
Marie Claire: The West Village's Casa Magazines, currently one of the few magazine stores still standing, is sporting a new look in its windows, thanks to a new collaboration with Valentino. The fashion house just released a coffee table book, which showcases the...
Facebook CEO Tells Employees Biden Won Election
BuzzFeed News: As false claims declaring that Joe Biden isn't the president-elect flourish on his platform, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the Democratic nominee "is going to be our next president." He added: "The election was fundamentally...
Google’s YouTube to Cancel Rewind Video for 2020
The Verge: YouTube Rewind, the company's annual end-of-year tribute to creators and moments that defined the platform, will not happen this year. "2020 has been different," YouTube said. "It doesn’t feel right to carry on as if it weren't." YouTube started the annual...
Netflix Signs Up Top Film Director in Exclusive Deal
CNET: David Fincher is the latest superstar creator to go all-in with Netflix. The Oscar-winning director of "Fight Club" and "The Social Network" will be working exclusively with the streaming service for four years. "I'm here to deliver them 'content' -- whatever...
Disney Reveals a Jump in Subscriptions for Disney+
Los Angeles Times: Disney's gamble on streaming has paid off in a big way so far. Disney+, which costs $7 a month on its own and $13 a month when bundled with Hulu and ESPN+, hit 73.7 million subscribers as of Oct. 3, up from about 60 million three months ago, the...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Mulls Rebranding of HBO Max
Business Insider: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is said to be under pressure to improve the performance of HBO Max. Kilar and the marketing team have discussed a name change for HBO Max in recent weeks. It is unclear if those talks will result in a...
Sony Buys Faith-Based Streaming Service Pure Flix
Los Angeles Times: Sony Pictures is buying a streaming service launched by the makers of the "God's Not Dead" film franchise. Sony has agreed to purchase the faith-based subscription video service Pure Flix, which charges $13 a month to stream evangelical-friendly...
Fox Corp Takes a Hit Amid Talk of Rival from Trump
Bloomberg: Fox Corp. shares tumbled with speculation ramping up that President Trump might launch a rival news service after he leaves office. Trump is reportedly planning a subscription-based streaming platform similar to Fox Nation, a $6-a-month service launched two...
Liberty Chief: Digital Heralds the End of Mass Media
Hollywood Reporter: "There is going to be no more mass media," said Liberty Media chairman John Malone. "Media is going to be computer to individual." There will be a "deep database" on individuals, with companies able to use artificial intelligence to "serve, service...
Disney Digital Veteran Finds Positives in Lockdown
Wall Street Journal: Kevin Mayer: "The way that consumers access entertainment and sports has been altered for the better. Consumers have continued to be empowered to enjoy content when and where they want to, and I don't see any reason fundamentally why that would...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Ready for Reunion of ‘Friends’
Reuters: The long-delayed "Friends" reunion special is expected to shoot in March, actor Matthew Perry said on Thursday, a year after plans to get the cast back together were wrecked because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Looks like we have a busy year coming up,"...
Twitter CEO Hits the Beach with Top VC, Sean Penn
Daily Mail: Twitter's Jack Dorsey enjoyed a walk on the beach in Hawaii with a shirtless Sean Penn and Israeli venture capitalist Vivi Nevo this week. Dorsey appeared relaxed as he took a break with friends after a testy few months for the tech...
Snap is Upbeat on Augmented Reality E-Commerce
CNBC: Snap's stock closed up nearly 5% on Thursday following reports highlighting the company's augmented reality strategy as it relates to e-commerce, and the potential for 20% growth in online advertising in 2021. "Sponsored lens/filter ads are better positioned to...
Bloomberg Touts Subscriptions Despite Pandemic
Press Gazette: Bloomberg has more than doubled the number of subscribers to its news website this year (as distinct from its newswire Bloomberg terminal business). The company now boasts 250,000 active subscriptions, 40% of which are outside of the United...
Gannett Sees 500 Employees Accept Buyout Offer
Poynter: In October, Gannett offered a round of voluntary buyouts to all its employees. Roughly 600 people opted in and roughly 500 buyouts were accepted. Gannett, which owns USA Today and more than 250 daily newsrooms, employs about 21,000 people, 5,000 of them...
New York Times Journo Nabs Deal for Trump Book
Associated Press: One of the top chroniclers of the Trump administration, New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman, has a book deal. Penguin Press announced Thursday that the Pulitzer Prize winner's book, currently untitled, would come out in...
Conde Nast Vogue Legend Lands a Job at Amazon
Fashion Week Daily: Vogue former creative director Sally Singer is the latest high profile editorial talent to leave the publishing world in favor of joining a big brand. Singer has been named head of fashion direction at Amazon Fashion. The news was, fittingly,...
Vox’s New York Magazine Names Editor of Curbed
Talking Biz News: New York magazine has hired Sukjong Hong as the editor of Curbed. The real estate news publication recently relaunched as part of New York. "She'll be crucial as the site takes on the city's ever-changing built environment, real-estate market, and...
Bustle Digital Group Voluntarily Recognizes Union
WWD: When rumors began circulating that Bustle Digital Group's staffers were preparing to form a union, media circles speculated that founder and chief executive officer Bryan Goldberg would put up a fight that would play out similar to the Hearst Magazines union...
Facebook, Google to Continue Ban on Political Ads
Fox Business: Facebook and Google will both continue to block political advertisements on their platforms past the two-week moratorium both pre- and post-Election Day that they originally announced. The move comes as President Trump continues to contest the results of...
Disney’s ESPN Esports to Shut Down Amid Layoffs
Esports Observer: ESPN Esports will be shutting down its entire esports division, unable to escape the latest round of layoffs the company announced last week. "We have made the difficult decision to cease operations for our dedicated daily esports editorial and...
ViacomCBS Faces Future of Shrinking TV Channels
Variety: No one at ViacomCBS is ready to say it publicly, but the number of cable TV channels in the company's portfolio will inevitably shrink in the coming years. The ad-supported basic cable channel business these days is a melting ice cube, something that is...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Mum on Possible Sale of CNN
Deadline: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar addressed company employees at a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday, which followed the latest round of layoffs at the media company. Kilar was asked to address speculation that CNN may be on the block. He didn't explicitly say...