News Corp’s Editor of New York Post Editor to Retire
New York Times: Col Allan, the Australian tabloid wizard, plans to call an end to his career of more than 40 years at Murdoch papers in New York and Sydney. "The Post is not perfect," he says. "But it articulates a view that is not obedient to liberal...
Conde Nast Loses Vogue Staffer to Lingerie E-Tailer
WWD: Lingerie e-tailer Cuup has tapped Vogue writer Marjon Carlos to lead the brand's online editorial content. The former senior fashion writer at Vogue now leads Cuup's editorial team, focusing on the start-up’s content for Cuup's weekly...
Hearst’s Oprah Magazine is Out with Favorite Things
USA Today: Oprah Winfrey has released her holiday favorite things list for 2020, putting a spotlight on Black-owned businesses. "Black-owned" and "Black-led" business tags denote items ranging from lipstick and blankets to dolls and...
Uzabase to Sell Business Site Quartz to CEO, Editor
Wall Street Journal: The co-founder of Quartz and its editor in chief have agreed to buy the business news website from Japanese financial data firm Uzabase, a deal that comes as Quartz has suffered from the economic fallout from the...
Opinion: News Media is the Big Loser in US Election
Washington Post: "Many in the media could not imagine that half the country was not as disgusted by President Trump as they were," writes columnist Marc Thiessen. "Is it any wonder that a lot of Americans don’t trust the media to call the...
Amazon CEO Beats Lawsuit from Girlfriend’s Brother
Courthouse News: Jeff Bezos beat a defamation lawsuit filed against him by his girlfriend's brother, who is cited in news stories as the source of leaked text messages sold to the National Enquirer. Michael Sanchez's defamation claim against Bezos was found to be...
Facebook to Display Projected Winner of US Election
Bloomberg: Facebook says that when a winner of the US presidential election is projected, its platforms will display a notice for users to help combat misinformation about the outcome. "We will rely on a majority opinion from Reuters as well as decision desks at major...
Twitter, YouTube Remove Steve Bannon After Threat
TechCrunch: Former presidential advisor Steve Bannon had his show suspended from Twitter and an episode removed by YouTube after calling for violence against FBI director Christopher Wray and the government’s leading pandemic expert, Dr. Anthony...
Disney to Cut More Than 500 Jobs Including at ESPN
Los Angeles Times: ESPN is slashing 500 jobs as cost pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic are accelerating the sports media company's move into streaming. The cuts, which include 300 layoffs, were revealed Thursday in a memo from president Jimmy...
Lionsgate to Lay Off 70 as Pandemic Hits Hollywood
Los Angeles Times: Lionsgate is laying off 15% of staff in its film division as the studio adapts to massive changes in the film business that have been accelerated by the pandemic. "The significant change we are experiencing is not temporary or slowing...
Fox Corp Says TV Sportscasters in Covid Quarantine
New York Post: Due to Covid-19 quarantine protocols, the entire on-air crew of the Fox Sports college football pregame show "Big Noon Kickoff" will be off the air this Saturday. Fox Sports did not say if any of the on-air broadcasters had...
Comcast Drops Trump’s Election Speech on MSNBC
USA Today: President Trump wrongly claimed victory in the US election in a televised speech, which led some networks to drop coverage to correct the misinformation. MSNBC moved fastest, with anchor Brian Williams cutting in just 35 seconds into Trump's...
Discovery Readies News on New Streaming Service
Variety: Discovery plans to offer full details on its soon-to-launch streaming service in December, formally launching the owner of Food Network, HGTV and the Discovery Channel into the media industry’s rough-and-tumble streaming...
IAC Considers Spinoff of Vimeo After Top Valuation
CNBC: IAC-owned Vimeo has raised $150 million in equity from Thrive Capital and GIC, valuing the video company at $2.75 billion. IAC is also considering a spinoff of its ownership stake in Vimeo, which has seen a boost in demand due to the Covid-19...
Liberty Expects Re-Up of Howard Stern at SiriusXM
Deadline: Liberty Media CEO and SiriusXM chairman Greg Maffei says the satellite broadcaster’s star host Howard Stern, whose contract ends this year, is likely to re-up and apologized that a recently announced top management reshuffle was handled too...
iHeartMedia Wins OK for Rise in Foreign Ownership
Reuters: The US Federal Communications Commission has approved a petition for iHeartMedia investors to exceed the US 25% foreign investment cap. The FCC says the petition will "enable iHeart to be in a stronger financial condition...
News Corp Pursues Asset Sales in Bid to Streamline
Wall Street Journal: News Corp has been moving to shed noncore assets. This year it has sold off coupon firm News America Marketing and ad business Unruly. Asked about potential divestitures, CEO Robert Thomson says: "We are obviously constantly reviewing the...
Gannett Inks Deal to Sell Business Publishing Outfit
Arizona Republic: BridgeTower Media, the parent company of publications and marketing operations geared to business audiences, has been acquired by private equity firm Transom Capital Group for an undisclosed price. BridgeTower was Gannett's business-to-business...
New York Times Warns Digital Growth is Likely Brief
Reuters: The New York Times warns its robust digital growth may not be sustainable going ahead, easing expectations after reporting a strong quarter that benefited from a news coverage storm around the Covid-19 pandemic and the US election. "2020 is an outlier...
Meredith Sees Tentative Signs of Advertising Return
WWD: People and InStyle owner Meredith is beginning to see tentative signs of recovery in its ad business, with growth in digital advertising and political spot revenues partially offsetting adverse Covid-19-related impacts. "We are encouraged by the...
Conde Nast Former Editor Faces Imposter on Twitter
New York Post: An imposter pretending to be disgraced Bon Appétit editor Adam Rapoport opened a new account on Twitter. The account, which featured Rapoport's picture and a biography, started Nov. 1 and was deleted Thursday. Rapoport resigned from Conde Nast in...
BuzzFeed Claims Profitability After ‘Dire’ Conditions
MediaPost: BuzzFeed will be profitable this year, driven by a profitable third and fourth quarter, CEO Jonah Peretti says. "If current trends continue, we will drive flat year-over-year revenue for 2020, which is remarkable given the circumstances, and there's a real...
Vox Helps Fans Buy Khakis Like MSNBC Journalist’s
New York: MSNBC viewers know that Steve Kornacki often wears khakis on election night, but where can you buy your own version of the news host's prime-time uniform? The Gap calls the color of Kornacki's 2020 election pants "palomino brown," and that color comes in two...
Amazon, Facebook CEOs Enjoy Gains After Election
Bloomberg: Despite lingering uncertainty over the US election, the country's ultra-rich already have plenty to celebrate. Across the board, the 167 US billionaires gained $57.4 billion on Wednesday as investors bid up stocks. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg led the...
Netflix CEO Joins Tech Titans in Election Donations
CNBC: Tech executives were among the top political donors in the 2020 cycle. Of current CEOs at large-cap tech companies, Netflix's Reed Hastings opened his wallet the widest. Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, donated more than $5...
Facebook CEO Gets Paparazzi’d While Surfboarding
Daily Mail: Mark Zuckerberg was spotted letting loose as he fooled around on his hydrofoil surfboard just days before the US presidential election. The 36-year-old was all smiles as he was photographed catching some waves on his water toy, even wiping out at one...
Google Won’t Pull ‘Trump Wins’ Video from YouTube
CNBC: YouTube says it won't remove a video that claims Democrats are committing voter fraud against Republican ballots, despite admitting the video undermines confidence in elections. The video, titled "Trump won," was posted by right-leaning media outlet One American...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Issues Apology Over ‘Witches’
NBC News: Warner Bros. apologized after "The Witches" was criticized for its portrayal of physical disabilities in the new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic novel. Many disability advocates criticized the film after photos of Anne Hathaway's character surfaced...
ViacomCBS Faces Fight Over ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
Hollywood Reporter: The right to do a prequel or sequel to "Breakfast at Tiffany's," or even a television series inspired by the 1961 film classic, is the subject of a new lawsuit against Paramount Pictures. Truman Capote's charity has been engaging with producers...
Disney Braces for Another Round of Layoffs at ESPN
Sports Business Daily: ESPN is "expected to announce layoffs this week, possibly as soon as Thursday," according to sources. Remote production is "expected to be hit significantly while some of the cost savings will come from talent contracts not being...