AgencySpy UnBeige SocialTimes LostRemote TVNewser more TVSpy GalleyCat AppNewser 10,000 Words FishbowlNY FishbowlLA FishbowlDC MediaJobsDaily AllFacebook AllTwitter semanticweb.com

Posts Tagged ‘Rupert Murdoch’

More Bad News for Prince Harry

Prince Harry has a bit of a PR problem—and it doesn’t look like it will get any better any time soon. In addition to the now-famous nude photos, “British PR guru” Max Clifford reported last week that a couple of women had approached him with “more material” on the man who happens to be third in line for the crown.

Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun already chose to ignore the royal family’s request to avoid publishing any photos that depict the prince in a…compromising position–and this move seems to pave the way for other tabloids to go ahead and spread the dirt around.

Today, Murdoch’s favorite American publication, the always-classy New York Post, gives us some more damning details: Read more

Mediabistro Event

“Vine: Create Quick Social Video to Market Your Brand” Webcast

Bring your Twitter efforts and information to life with this popular video app. Find out how in our Vine webcast taking place tomorrow, June 19 from 4-5 pm ET. Gemma Craven (left), EVP, New York group director of Social@Ogilvy, will discuss how her team has created interactive videos for brands to get their message heard. Register today.

Revolving Door: Rupert Murdoch, NBC Universal News Group, Jeff Daniels on ‘CBS This Morning’, and More

Rupert Murdoch (pictured at left) has resigned from a number of News Corp. boards, including his post as director of News International, the holding company for the newspapers at the center of the U.K. hacking scandal. The company is reportedly preparing to divest its publishing and entertainment properties, a split that was approved by the board of News Corp. on June 27. After the split, Murdoch will remain chairman of both companies as well as CEO of the new entertainment company. (Adweek)

Pat Fili-Krushel has been named chairman, news group, at NBCUniversal. Fili-Krushel, who joined NBC when Comcast took over, will now oversee a new unit called the NBCUniversal News group comprised of NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and all their digital properties. (TVNewser)

Sam Grobart is leaving The New York Times for Bloomberg Businessweek. According to a memo obtained by Jim Romenesko, Grobart will “develop multimedia projects” as well as write tech features for Businessweek. Grobart had been with the Times since 2008, most recently as personal technology editor, since 2010. (FishbowlNY)

In case you missed it, actor Jeff Daniels was on CBS This Morning and on MSNBC’s Hardball last Thursday. Daniels, who plays Will McAvoy on HBO’s The Newsroom told Chris Matthews, “It’s not like we’re out trying to whitewash all of cable news. We’re trying to shine a light on the people really trying to tell the truth and get out the truth every day.” (TVNewser)

On a related topic, Aaron Sorkin has gotten rid of his entire Newsroom writing staff, with the exception of his ex-girlfriend Corinne Kinsbury. The Newsroom had 10 credited writers in its premiere season. HBO renewed the show for a second season after its second episode aired. (FishbowlLA)

Viacom has reached a new programming fee agreement with DirecTV, ending a 10-day blackout for the satellite-TV service’s 20 million U.S. viewers. (Ad Age)

Read more

Murdoch, BSkyB Deny ‘Unfit’ Report Findings

Following what The New York Times calls a “damning report” from a parliamentary committee that concludes Rupert Murdoch “is not a fit person” to lead an international company, News Corp. has issued a statement acknowledging “wrongdoing” at the now-shuttered News of the World, but highlighting the partisan nature of the findings.

In a statement, News Corp. didn’t specify the nature of the “wrongdoing,” but admitted that its response was too slow. However, the statement says the report had comments that were “unjustified and highly partisan.” And the company has taken steps to correct the problems and done an investigation. So, you know. We’re done here, right?

Read more

Former NYC Education Comms Director Joins News Corp

Just one day after it was announced that News Corp‘s SVP of public affairs and communications, Teri Everett, would be stepping down, the company has announced that another comms director is stepping in.

Natalie Ravitz, the communications director for the New York City Department of Education, is joining News Corp as Rupert Murdoch’s chief of staff. The change takes effect in two weeks. A focus of her job will be to “prioritize my commitments to align with key News Corp. initiatives,” according to an internal email from Murdoch.

Ravitz has a history with another News Corp exec, Joel Klein, the former NYC Department of Education who left in 2010 to serve as EVP at News Corp. According to the L.A. Times, Klein’s influence at the company is growing.

Julie Henderson has been promoted to Everett’s previous position.

[via]

Zoinks! Everyone Fooled by Fake @Wendy_Deng

Looks like some people are still in a holiday-induced daze. An account that had been given the Twitter verified seal of approval as Wendy Deng, wife to News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, has been declared a fake. But not before news outlets around the world reported on “her” wacky tweets over the past few days.

@Wendy_Deng began tweeting on New Year’s Day and since then commented on how hot Ricky Gervais is, cautioned her hubby to delete a tweet, and blamed her nails for all the misspellings in her postings. News of the new Twitter account has appeared in AllThingsDigital, The Guardian, and other outlets.

But despite the verification and after some confusion even on the part of the folks at News Corp., the handle was declared a fake and the spoofer came clean.

Read more

James Murdoch Gets ‘No Confidence’ Vote

The Murdochs kept their seats after the votes from News Corp.‘s Friday shareholders meeting were tallied. But James Murdoch got the most votes against his election, 35 percent. Some analysts say anything more than 25 percent is a no confidence vote.

Rupert Murdoch received only 14 percent negative votes. Rupert’s other son Lachlan didn’t fare very well either. So the Murdochs survive, but it doesn’t look good. An analysis in The Guardian says that it’s now unlikely that James will take over when his dad steps down.

Revolving Door: Questions about Ghadafi Coverage, the Murdochs, ‘USA Today,’ and More

Traffic to newspaper websites is up 20 percent since last year. Page views and time spent is also up. [via Fishbowl NY]

The media is predicting that Rupert Murdoch and his sons will have a tough time at this year’s shareholders meeting. They’re pretty much guaranteed continued spots on the board, but they should expect an earful from the folks gathering in L.A. today. The New York Times outlines a few things to watch out for. The Guardian is live-tweeting the meeting.

USA Today has begun offering commercial access to its data and content, which is useful for developers building apps. [via Nieman Lab]

Lisa Simeone, host of radio program World of Opera, will be allowed to keep her show, though it’s unclear whether the show will be distributed by NPR. Simeone was dismissed initially for breaking with the NPR ethics code prohibiting contributors from participating in rallies that the company is covering. World of Opera is produced by a member station. [via AP, Poynter]

Click through for more changes in the media world.

Read more

Revolving Door: Occupy Wall Street in the News, ‘WSJ Europe’ in Hot Water, and More

Photo: Reuters

Pew Research Center data shows that coverage of Occupy Wall Street has reached early Tea Party levels. The research indicates that, after a slow start, the turning point was a question posed to President Obama during a presser last week. During the first week of October, OWS consumed seven percent of news coverage.

The Wall Street Journal Europe may be in hot water over allegations it sold copies of the paper in bulk to a consulting company it has close business ties to in order to maintain circulation numbers. In other News Corp. news, more investors are calling for Rupert Murdoch to get dumped from the company board. Investors are also questioning the board members’ ability to effectively and lawfully run the company because of its deference to Murdoch.

Rachael Ray is moving her magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray from Reader’s Digest Association to Meredith. Reader’s Digest Association has experienced the turmoil of multiple CEOs over the past five months. And EDWRR has taken hits in circ and advertising numbers recent months. [via NY Post]

The New York Times has announced plans to cut 20 newsroom staffers. The paper hopes that 20 candidates will volunteer for buyouts. The company is also seeking to save some money in its business units. The NYT will announce third quarter earnings next Thursday.

Click through for more of this week’s media changes.

Read more

Revolving Door: More Murdoch News, An ‘InStyle’ App, and More

Sources  in the know are murmuring about the possibility that James Murdoch will step out of the picture at News Corp. During his appearance on the earnings conference call last week, Rupert Murdoch said COO Chase Carey was his right-hand man, seeding the idea that Murdoch is not next in line to the top. News Corp. denies this. Arrests related to the phone hacking scandal continue and a letter has surfaced indicating that those in charge knew hacking was happening. [via Reuters]

InStyle has launched a mobile pop-up store for iPhone and Android users. [via Mashable]

The Huffington Post re-introduces Stylist.com. But AOL is still having issues.

Speaking of The Huffington Post, they’ve got a big update on Capital New York, a New York-centric site that’s got new reporters and funding.

And PRWeek is looking for a new news editor.

Click through for more news you can use about changes in the media.

Read more

Revolving Door: Murdoch’s Successor, ‘Times’ Testing, and a ‘WaPo’ Partnership

Rupert Murdoch sat in on News Corp.‘s earnings call the other day and, according to Reuters (h/t FishbowlNY), he said he had “full confidence” in Chase Carey — rather than son James — to take the reigns should the need arise.

Also this week, The New York Times launched Beta620, a testing site for digital offerings from Times developers. Oooh… There’s a crossword app on there now.

And former Engadget EIC Joshua Topolsky will write an exclusive weekly column for The Washington Post as part of a partnership between The Verge, an upcoming tech news site where Topolsky is now EIC, and the Post. Other reporters will also contribute tech stories to the newspaper.

After the jump, we have more of the latest media news and moves.

Read more

NEXT PAGE >>