New York Times Mum on Return of US Election Needle
Associated Press: The Needle graphic on the New York Times website measured in real time the probability of victory on election night in 2016. There's no sign yet that the Needle will be making a reappearance on Nov. 3. The Times is said to be looking at a "range of...
New York Observer Veteran Arrested for Cyberstalking
New York Times: Ken Kurson, a close friend of the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been arrested in connection with incidents stemming from his divorce. Kurson was charged with cyberstalking three people and harassing two others, including a friend whom he...
Alphabet Faces Deluge of US Election Ads for YouTube
Bloomberg: Less than two weeks before the US election, some political campaigns are dealing with an unexpected obstacle on YouTube, the internet’s largest video site: There isn’t enough space to run their ads. The site has a particular shortage of ad slots in critical...
Google Pledges Massive Hiring Effort in New York City
Crain's New York Business: Google pledged Thursday to hire 10,000 people across its US offices — including New York — by 2025 as part of an effort to diversify its workforce. The company will double the number of its Black employees within five years as part of the...
Facebook, Twitter CEOs in Crosshairs of GOP Senators
Associated Press: The GOP push against Facebook and Twitter accelerated after Republican senators threatened the CEOs of the social media companies with subpoenas to force them to address accusations of censorship. The committee wants to hear from them about “the...
ViacomCBS Spanks Trump on ’60 Minutes’ Clip Release
CBS News: President Trump violated an agreement with CBS News and released the White House's recording of an interview with "60 Minutes," three days ahead of the expected Sunday airing on CBS. The full exchange, which runs approximately 37 minutes, was taped at the...
Comcast Hits Fox News for Smear of Journalist at NBC
Mediaite: NBC News accused Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Fox News of "dangerously" targeting one of its reporters in a "Tucker Carlson Tonight" segment. Carlson and guest Darren Beattie criticized NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny in a segment, accusing her of...
Fox Corp Pulls News Host Amid Flap Over Gender Pay
Los Angeles Times: Melissa Francis, regularly seen on the popular Fox News midday talk show “Outnumbered,” has been off the air for two weeks and is probably at the end of her six-year run at the network. Francis had filed a gender-based pay discrimination claim...
Trump-Branded Media Outlet Floated Again by Kushner
Business Insider: Jared Kushner has been talking up the idea of starting a Donald Trump-themed news outlet or some other media company, possibly as soon as after the election. The timing so close to Election Day has Trump advisors wondering if Kushner is anticipating...
Disney’s Hulu Drops Sinclair Regional Sports Networks
Bloomberg: Hulu dropped regional sports coverage provided by Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Diamond Sports, dealing another setback to the network as its bonds sank to record lows. “We were unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to continue offering...
Sony Adds Disney, Netflix for Debut of New PlayStation
The Verge: Sony’s next-gen console will support some of the more popular entertainment apps at launch. Sony confirmed in a blog post on Thursday that several popular streaming apps, including Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock,...
Spotify Takes On Radio with a New Daily Morning Show
TechCrunch: Spotify’s streaming music service is starting to resemble terrestrial radio with the launch of the company’s first daily morning show, “The Get Up.” Like other morning shows designed for commuters, the new program will be led by hosts and will combine...
Netflix Creator Ditches Disney Over Pass to Theme Park
MarketWatch: In the end, it was a Disneyland pass that cost Disney its biggest TV hit-maker, Shonda Rhimes. In a new interview, Rhimes described the circumstances that led to her stunning defection to Netflix. Rhimes described a tense relationship with Disney, with...
AT&T’s Changes Bring Exec Departures at WarnerMedia
The Information: WarnerMedia is making more changes to its advertising and distribution teams resulting in the departures of its two heads of distribution – Sofia Chang and Rich Warren. The company is creating a new sales and distribution team and is reorganizing its...
Tribune in Gender Pay Lawsuit at New York Daily News
New York Times: Anna Sanders, a former City Hall reporter for the New York Daily News, has sued the paper, its top editor and its parent company, Tribune Publishing, for wrongful termination, saying she was fired after questioning why she was paid less than a male...
Conde Nast Offers $100 Coffee-Table Book from Vogue
Vogue: "Vogue: Fantasy and Fashion," edited by Vogue archivist Laird Borrelli-Persson, celebrates the magazine's many reinterpretations of fantastical tales, from "Alice in Wonderland" to "Snow White." Says Borrelli-Persson: "In order to become better or move forward,...
Hearst Finds New Home for Magazines in Bowling Alley
WFMZ: It was once a car dealership, then a bowling alley. Now, the Heritage Riverview project in Easton, Pa. is almost ready for Hearst Magazines and other potential tenants to move in. Hearst Magazines will occupy most, 33,000 square feet, of the building. There will...
Penske Collects Industry Data on Entertainment, Music
WWD: Penske Media, the publisher of WWD, Variety and Rolling Stone, among others, and MRC are merging their respective data businesses. The deal will bring together PMC’s Variety Business Intelligence and Alpha Data with MRC Data (formerly Nielsen Music) and the two...
Time Magazine Replaces Logo with ‘Vote’ in New Issue
USA Today: For the first time in its 97-year history, Time magazine is removing its logo from its cover. In its place, a directive: “Vote.” Edward Felsenthal, Time’s editor-in-chief and chief executive, wrote in a note that the upcoming Nov. 3 elections are “arguably...
Repeller Fashion Site to Shutter Amid Rise of Instagram
Business of Fashion: The fashion website Repeller, until recently known as Man Repeller, is winding down operations and plans to shut down. Repeller wasn’t immune from the challenges facing fashion media, including falling advertising revenue and competition for...
Google Veteran Calls Social Media ‘Amplifiers for Idiots’
Bloomberg: Eric Schmidt says the "excesses" of social media are likely to result in greater regulation of internet platforms in the coming years. "The context of social networks serving as amplifiers for idiots and crazy people is not what we intended," the former...
Amazon to Let Employees Work at Home Through June
Bloomberg: Amazon will let corporate employees work from home through June 2021, the latest company to push back re-opening offices as Covid-19 cases surge again across the US. "We continue to prioritize the health of our employees and follow local government...
Netflix Chief, Wife Emerge as ‘Power Couple of the Year’
Town & Country: Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant have planted themselves firmly at the nexus of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, politics and philanthropy, becoming a new kind of supercharged West Coast power couple. "Previously, being in power meant being the gatekeeper,"...
Fox Corp Strikes Out in Early TV Ratings of World Series
CNBC: Game One of the 2020 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays is the least watched World Series game of all-time. Game One attracted 9.1 million viewers, Fox Sports says. The previous time MLB declined below 10 million viewers for a World...
Disney Puts Features, Analysis Behind Paywall at ESPN+
New York Post: ESPN plans to move much of its high-profile, feature-type writing and analysis content to ESPN+. The change is being made to further boost the direct-to-consumer ESPN+ service. The initiative is in line with Disney’s recent announcement to shift its...
ViacomCBS to Eye Hybrid Approach for Confab VidCon
Bloomberg: This year's VidCon was reimagined as a rolling series of events — live podcasts, video chats and virtual meet-ups — that stretched from mid-June through September. The events brought in viewers from 80 to 100 countries, encouraging a rethink of what’s...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Streams Video to Connected Cars
Engadget: AT&T has unveiled a previously rumored WarnerMedia Ride service that streams shows from Cartoon Network, CNN, TBS and other channels for free if you have a vehicle using telecom's unlimited connected car data plan. The new HBO Max streaming service is...
Amazon’s New ‘Borat’ Arrives in Time for US Elections
Associated Press: Rudy Giuliani is shown in a compromising position in a hotel room with a young woman acting as a television journalist in a scene in Sacha Baron Cohen's latest mockumentary, a sequel to his hit "Borat" film. Giuliani called the film a hit job. "I am...
Imagine Entertainment Creates App for Hollywood Pros
Los Angeles Times: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the Oscar-winning filmmakers, have launched an app called the Creative Network, allowing Hollywood execs to find talented writers and help them get work. If successful, the app will expand to change hiring for not just...
Quibi Investors Face Big Losses from Startup’s Demise
The Information: Quibi revealed to investors that, after paying its outstanding bills, it would have only about $350 million left to return to shareholders, out of the $1.75 billion it raised. Because investors in the earlier rounds have rights to get preferential...