Facebook Purges Pages Tied to Ex-Trump Advisor
CNBC: Facebook has removed a network of pages tied to Steve Bannon for using tricks to increase their reach. "We've removed several clusters of activity for using inauthentic behavior tactics to artificially boost how many people saw their...
Disney Optimistic on Positive Covid Vaccine News
CNBC: Shares of Disney closed up nearly 12 percent Monday after Pfizer and BioNTech reported positive results from their Covid-19 vaccine trial, leading investors to flock back. Disney has continued to feel the impact of the Covid-19...
Fox Corp News Channel Spreads Trump Denialism
Vanity Fair: Despite Donald Trump fuming at Fox News for its accurate election projections, the president is still leaning heavily on the network to advance his push for a reelection victory. Fox News's willingness to entertain his efforts is critical to his war...
ViacomCBS Pledges Diversity Goals for Reality TV
Bloomberg: CBS, the broadcaster of reality shows "Survivor," "The Amazing Race" and "Big Brother," said it will require 50 percent of casts of unscripted programs to be non-White next season, marking the latest push by Hollywood to diversify....
Comcast Taps PayPal for Shopping Revamp at NBC
Ad Age: NBCUniversal has revamped its retail commerce strategy, launching its new One Platform Commerce in a partnership with PayPal that will bring shoppable content to consumers across the network's...
Disney Streaming Veteran to Join Investment Firm
New York Post: Kevin Mayer, who just finished a short-lived stint as TikTok’s CEO, has joined billionaire Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. Mayer will become a senior advisor to the investment firm, focusing on its media-related...
CBS, Fox Lose Bid to Dodge Ad Price-Fixing Claim
Bloomberg Law: CBS, Fox and other leading broadcasters must face claims they inflated local TV advertising rates through illegal information exchanges at a time when competition from other media should have been driving them down, a federal judge...
WPP Former Leader Calls for Successor to Resign
Financial Times: Martin Sorrell has called his successor at WPP to step down "before he his pushed" in a broadside against the advertising giant he left acrimoniously in 2018. Sorrell said CEO Mark Read has throttled key businesses and lost top...
Wondery Eyes Sale as CEO Faces Own Legal Fight
Los Angeles Times: Hernan Lopez, CEO of podcasting giant Wondery, is among two former Fox TV executives charged with money laundering and wire fraud over alleged bribes involving broadcasting rights to the World Cup. "I'll be vindicated," Lopez...
Bloomberg Taps Veteran for Anchor on QuickTake
Talking Biz News: Tim Stenovec, a former anchor at Cheddar, has been hired as an anchor for Bloomberg QuickTake, its streaming television channel. Stenovec had been at Cheddar since June 2017.Previously, Stenovec was tech editor at Business...
New York Times Faces Heat from Next-Gen Insiders
New York: The New York Times is grappling with a new generation of recruits from digital outlets who have "kind of been raised by wolves." One "woke millennial reporter" says: "I'm not so blinded by how great the place is that I'm going to ignore the...
Meredith Sends Magazine Videos to Doctors’ Offices
Digiday: Thousands of TVs in doctors' offices across the US will now display video content from several Meredith brands, including People, Better Homes & Gardens, Shape, EatingWell, Parents and Health, among others. The content will curated from existing...
Ziff Davis: Mashable Hacker Posts User Data Online
InfoSecurity: Data belonging to users of Mashable has been leaked on the internet. The US culture and tech news website confirmed that a hacker had obtained a copy of one of its databases and published it online. The site has launched an...
Time Magazine Veteran Joins Pfizer’s Vaccine Trial
CNBC: Walter Isaacson, a participant in Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine trial, said he was thrilled to learn of the strong efficacy data announced by the pharmaceutical giant. "I feel great. And I feel really great for the country and the world and for...
Group Nine Names Snap Veteran as Diversity Chief
WWD: Group Nine Media has named Fanta Camara head of diversity, equity and inclusion. She was most recently human resources business partner for Group Nine's NowThis. Prior to Group Nine, Camara was a senior human resources generalist at...
Quartz CEO: This is Our Put-Up-or-Shut-Up Moment
Quartz: "Quartz is becoming an independent media company again," writes CEO Zach Seward. Ownership by Uzabase "was helpful as we navigated a period of enormous change in digital media, but we are better off right now as a startup, freer to chart our own...
Analysis: US Media Brace for Loss of ‘Trump Bump’
Adweek: Media organizations have been considering the possibilities of life after President Donald Trump and what that means for traffic and subscription rates. "The post-Trump world may feel very boring, and this may impact news...
Fox Corp: Murdoch Tells Trump He Lost US Election
i News: Rupert Murdoch spoke to President Trump early last week and told him that he had lost. Trump did not accept it. Daily Mail: James Murdoch's wife tweeted: "We did it!!!!" Fox News: Fox News criticized Joe Biden's mask mandate ahead of its...
AT&T Taps Former FCC Chief for New Board Leader
Reuters: William Kennard, former head of the US Federal Communications Commission, has been named chairman of AT&T's board, effective January 2021. Kennard would be the first African American to be the company’s chairman in its...
Disney’s ESPN Content Chief Departs Amid Layoffs
New York Post: Connor Schell, the No. 2 in charge at ESPN, is leaving his position at the network at the end of the year. Schell is exiting on his own accord as he is going to start his own non-fiction production company, according to...
ViacomCBS to Shutter Niche Streamers in Refocus
Variety: ViacomCBS has announced the sunsetting of its smaller streaming services, such as MTV Hits. While the company would not confirm which of its platforms would get the axe, NickHits, Comedy Central Now and Noggin are likely being eyed...
Netflix Goes Direct with Scheduled TV-Film Offering
Variety: Netflix has chosen France to test its first channel offering. Named Direct, the linear channel — which is only available to subscribers — will air French, international and US feature films and TV series that are available on the streaming...
AT&T’s Warner Dumps Star at Major Film Franchise
USA Today: Johnny Depp will no longer be starring in the "Fantastic Beasts" film series, the actor announced Friday. Depp posted a statement on Instagram alleging that Warner Bros., the studio behind the movie, asked him to resign "in light of recent...
Sony Mourns Death of Longtime Host of ‘Jeopardy!’
Associated Press: Alex Trebek, who presided over the beloved quiz show “Jeopardy!” for more than 30 years with dapper charm and a touch of schoolmaster strictness, died Sunday. He was 80. Trebek announced in 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer....
Comcast-NBC ‘Today’ Weatherman Reveals Cancer
NBC News: Al Roker announced Friday on "Today" that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery. The 66-year-old weatherman and co-host explained he wanted to publicly reveal his diagnosis to spotlight prostate...
Nexstar Election News Disappoints at ‘News Nation’
Robert Feder: "News Nation," the Chicago-based startup launched in September by Nexstar Media Group, barely registered during election week. At the height of election night coverage Tuesday, "News Nation" delivered only 95,000...
Comcast-MSNBC Prime-Time Star Enters Quarantine
New York Post: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is in quarantine after she came in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The news host was not on the air Friday after taking a key role in the network's coverage of the election throughout the...
News Corp Hit with Covid-19 Whistleblower Lawsuit
Hollywood Reporter: A former New York Post photographer alleges that the tabloid and its parent company, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., failed to provide him and other employees adequate Covid-19 personal protective...
Bloomberg to Unveil TV Streamer Built on QuickTake
Wall Street Journal: Bloomberg is launching a streaming TV channel, built around its social-media brand QuickTake, which will go beyond the company's core areas of finance and markets, with greater focus on general-interest and lifestyle...
New York Times Media Columnist Talks Tech, Trump
Sydney Morning Herald: "Both social media and traditional media have grown more sophisticated about their roles in spreading misinformation, and have reacted very aggressively during this period," says New York Times columnist Ben...