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☆ Elon Musk faces sales staff exodus after chaotic month and daring advertisers to pull their spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Many junior and senior level sales staff exited X over the past month, according to a new report. On Wednesday, Elon Musk told advertisers to "Go fuck yourself." AdvertisementThere's been a sales staff exodus at Elon Musk's social media company X over the past month, according to a recent report. Sales staff began exiting the company shortly after X handed out bonus checks this month, according to the report. "Go fuck yourself," Musk told advertisers, including Disney, IBM, and Apple, who have fled the platform.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, There's, Claire Atkinson, Atkinson, Musk, Andrew Sorkin, Bob Iger, Iger, Linda Yaccarino, Axios, Yaccarino, NBCUniversal — Organizations: Disney, Apple, Service, Elon, Twitter, IBM, Musk

☆ The difficult task of verifying truth in a war zone, especially now
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A report of "40 beheaded babies" in Israel made the rounds last week as journalists worked to verify it. AdvertisementAdvertisementLast week, I was watching CNN and heard a someone describing the Hamas attacks on a kibbutz referencing 40 beheaded babies. The i24news' online story references "40 babies and young children" taken out on gurneys from the town of Kfar Aza. "I just wanted to clarify that I did not tweet 40 babies had been beheaded. Clearly fed up with the mess, BBC's Sardarizadeh, wrote on X, "War is not a game for retweets and likes on social media."

Persons: Claire Atkinson, —, Cooper, Nic Robertson, Robertson, Rashida, Kfar Aza, Marc Owen Jones, JK, Bel, Anna Botting, hadn't, Justin Peden, Sardarizadeh, Elon, Elon Musk, Thierry Breton, Musk, BBC's Sardarizadeh, Rupert Murdoch, She's, Atkinson Organizations: Media, Service, CNN, Fox, Fox News, The Independent, Sky News, Comcast, Times, The Media Locations: Israel, Kfar, Gaza

NEW YORK (AP) — The departure of Rupert Murdoch as the leader of Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings after decades at the helm is unlikely to have as much of an impact on conservative media overall as it would have a decade ago. “I think if Rupert Murdoch had stepped down in 2000 it would have had a much greater impact," said Howard Polskin, whose website The Righting.com monitors conservative media. "The conservative media landscape is just much more diverse now.”Fox News' website had nearly 74.8 million viewers in July 2023, while the No. Conservative media personalities such as Tucker Carlson, who was ousted by Fox in April, Daily Wire podcaster Ben Shapiro, and talk show host and podcaster Megyn Kelly, also a former Fox host, are increasingly influential as well. While Rupert Murdoch had a complicated relationship with Trump, Fox News' audience largely admires him.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Howard Polskin, ”, Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, podcaster Megyn Kelly, Polskin, Donald Trump, Lachlan Murdoch, Nicole Hemmer, Fox, Megan Duncan, Lachlan, “ He’s, Claire Atkinson, Trump, Brooke Lefferts, James, Kathryn Murdoch Organizations: News Corp, ” Fox News, Washington Examiner, Epoch Times, Conservative, Fox, Republican, Trump, Fox Media, Vanderbilt University, Fox News, Virginia Tech, Associated Press, AP

☆ Who will be the next CEO of CNN? 12 execs who could be in the running to replace Chris Licht, according to company insiders and news veterans.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav is faced with finding another CEO for CNN after Chris Licht's exit. Just over a year after appointing Chris Licht to run CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav now faces the task of finding his replacement. He might look for a woman or person of color to bring diversity to a Warner Bros.

Persons: David Zaslav, Chris Licht's, Amy Entelis, Chris Licht, Zaslav, he's, he'll, CNN's, WBD, that's, Licht, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling, David Leavy, Claire Atkinson Organizations: Warner Bros . Discovery, CNN, Company, that's, Warner Bros, Discovery, Comcast

☆ Who will replace Chris Licht as CEO at CNN? These 12 execs could be in the running, according to company insiders and news veterans.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ From right-wing backlash to Apple's TV play — these 3 big questions will dominate conversations at the Cannes Lions.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Lauren Johnson | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This year's Cannes Lions ad festival is taking place as advertisers are reeling from major shifts. The Cannes Lions organizers said that none of the three execs have been confirmed as speakers. Generative AI must boost creativity without stealing jobsThe rapid rise of generative AI took the advertising and media worlds by storm. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hobnob with the company that kicked off the generative AI storm last November. Simon Cook, Cannes Lions CEO, told Insider that top executives from ChatGPT developer OpenAI like chief operating officer Brad Lightcap will attend the festival.

Persons: Twitter's Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Oliver Schusser, Michael Kassan, he's, execs, Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud, Busch, Fura, Leslie Klein, Sir Martin Sorrell, David Droga, Nick Law, Simon Cook, Brad Lightcap, Huge's, Elon Musk, Ben Hovaness, They've, Jon Williams, Akram Chetibi, Craig Atkinson Organizations: Cannes Lions, Apple, Twitter, Netflix, Hollywood, UTA, Target, Bud Light, Anheuser, Busch, Accenture, Cannes, Apple News, Carlton Hotel, Omnicom Media, Amazon Web Locations: Cannes

☆ CNN's Chris Licht is facing an outraged newsroom and some are wondering if he'll survive — here are 16 top execs he's counting on to help him dig out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht hopes to win back his staff's trust after a damaging magazine profile of him. Discovery exec David Leavy has been dispatched to help Licht run the network. Here are the 16 key CNN deputies under Licht leading news efforts, business development, and more. CNN boss Chris Licht has had the most scrutinized and toughest year of all Warner Bros. Leavy will report to Licht when he officially starts June 20, taking oversight of operations, marketing, and PR.

Persons: Chris Licht, David Leavy, Licht, Jeff Zucker, Oliver Darcy, Brian Stelter, that's, Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Athan Stephanopoulos, Chris Marlin, Ted Turner's, John Malone, Donald Trump, Christiane Amanpour, He's, Kaitlan Collins, Gayle King, Charles Barkley, Barbara Starr, Ana Cabrera, Don Lemon, Nikki Haley wasn't, Lemon Organizations: CNN, Top Warner Bros, Discovery, Warner Bros, CNBC, Trump, White House, CBS News, WBD Sports Locations: WBD, York

☆ Middle Eastern investors are pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment — here are the 9 most active players and their key leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Investors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

Persons: Jamal Khashoggi's, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, —, WME, Jimmy Finkelstein's, Abu Dhabi's, It's, Yasir Al, Rumayyan, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Sam Barnett, Peter Smith —, Christina Wayne, SRMG, Mohammed bin Salman, Alrashid, Johnny Depp, Jeanne du Barry, Sharon Stone, Bruno Mars, Luca Guadanigno, Vince McMahon's, Turki Al, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Dayel, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al, Mahmoud, Peter Chernin, Nasser Al, Germain, BeIN, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad, Khalifa Al, Vincent, Asghar Farhadi's Oscar, Nart Bouran, JAF, Jeff Zucker, Graydon Carter's, it's, Semafor, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber Organizations: United, Sovereign, Saudi, Washington Post, Saudi Crown, Endeavor, UFC, IMI, Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Aramco, Newcastle United, English football, PGA, MBC, Shahid, Netflix, Vice Media, Variety, MBC Group's, Antenna Group, Cineflex Studios, NBCUniversal International, Amazon, AMC, Saudi Research, Media, Publicly, Red Sea, Cannes, Penske Media Corporation, Bloomberg Media, Vince McMahon's WWE, country's General Entertainment Authority, Development, Cultural Development Fund, George Washington University, American University . Qatar Qatar Investment, Qatar Investment Authority, Providence, BeIN Media, Paris Saint, Miramax, Paramount, Doha Film, Doha Film Institute, H.E, Hollywood Reporter, United Arab Emirates Abu, Investment Authority, UAE, Abu, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Hollywood, Dubai Studio, Dubai Media City, National Geographic, BBC News, International Media Investments International Media Investments, National, CNN, Sky News Arabia, Reuters, JAF Communications, Grid, RedBird Capital Partners, Punchbowl News, New York Times, Manchester City, The, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Saudi, East, North Africa, Al Arabiya, Netherlands, Greece, Dubai, Jeddah, SRMG, Riyadh, Doha, Europe, Americas, ViacomCBS, Qatari, Thani, Abu Dhabi

☆ Cheddar News laid off a team of respected reporters who once created content for its popular YouTube channel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Embattled network Cheddar News cut six roles in a small layoff round in April, Insider has learned. Affected employees previously worked on Cheddar's highly-regarded YouTube team. Cheddar News quietly laid off half a dozen staffers who formerly worked on its highly-regarded YouTube team creating original video content, Insider has learned. As Insider reported earlier this year, sources at Cheddar said management had indicated cost-cutting and profitability concerns were behind the shift in strategy away from creating original YouTube content, which Cheddar had done for years. Do you work for Cheddar News or Altice USA, or are you a media insider with insight to share?

Persons: Cheddar, Anna Delvey, Kristin Malaspina, Altice, Malaspina, Claire Atkinson, Reed Alexander Organizations: Cheddar, YouTube, News12, Altice, Cheddar News, Altice USA, New, BuzzFeed Locations: New York, News12 New York, Altice USA, Russian, Cheddar

☆ Cheddar News quietly laid off a handful of video producers as its newsroom reels from continued defections and organizational changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Embattled network Cheddar News cut six roles in a small layoff round in April, Insider has learned. Affected employees previously worked on Cheddar's highly-regarded YouTube video team. Cheddar News quietly laid off half a dozen staffers who formerly worked on its highly-regarded YouTube team creating original video content, Insider has learned. Altice, which bought Cheddar in 2019, set out to implement a series of content changes at the 7-year-old news outlet in mid-2022. Do you work for Cheddar News or Altice USA, or are you a media insider with insight to share?

☆ Apple's nascent ad business faces more competition than ever, and it's set to launch a major charm offensive to get big advertisers to buy in
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple usually plays it so low-key at big industry events, you wouldn't even know the company had attended. It has rented a space at the top of the iconic Carlton hotel, situated on the busy Croisette promenade, according to multiple advertising industry sources. It's also planning a week of programming, with panel topics expected to include sports on Apple TV+, Apple News, apps, and the broadening Apple advertising offering, those sources said. All of which were "not necessarily a strong-point with Apple advertising in the past," Auzins said. Today, Apple's ad business largely consists of search ads sold within the App Store, which Insider Intelligence forecasts will generate $8.7 billion this year.

☆ Vice Media's bankruptcy has 'killed the ad pipeline' for the company, sources say, as questions about its future roil staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, leaving current and laid-off staffers anxious over what's next. One advertising source told Insider, "The bankruptcy has killed the ad pipeline." Employees who were laid off in recent weeks are demanding answers about how the company's bankruptcy will affect the terms of their departure. One of the former execs told Insider they were just keeping their fingers crossed that payments come through. A person close to the company said Vice Media intends to pay severance and COBRA, subject to court approval.

☆ We identified the 112 top executives at Warner Bros. Discovery under CEO David Zaslav as the year-old company takes aim at Netflix and Disney
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | Taylor Tyson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Warner Bros. One year after Discovery acquired WarnerMedia, WBD CEO David Zaslav faces economic headwinds and an ad slump. Insider mapped out the 112 most powerful people under Zaslav leading WBD film and TV studios, HBO, CNN, and more. One year after the merger that created Warner Bros. While Kathleen Finch has joined the mix with her portfolio of Discovery channels, top TV execs from the WarnerMedia regime — HBO's Casey Bloys and Warner Bros. TV studios chief Channing Dungey — are still in place.

☆ Once valued at nearly $6 billion, Vice files for bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice filed for bankruptcy, wiping out equity holders who poured in hundreds of millions, including TPG and James Murdoch. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in New York's Southern District Court. The company's filing listed assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. Vice had run multiple sales processes with a range of different banks but never received an offer palatable to its owners. The bankruptcy filing reveals just how many companies and investors pinned their hopes on Smith's hype about the potential growth trajectory of the TV and online venture.

The departure of ads chief Linda Yaccarino to Twitter has thrown NBCU into chaos. The exit comes on the heels of the departure of NBCU CEO Jeff Shell after sexual harassment allegations. One advertising executive who works closely with NBCUniversal described the situation inside the company as a "Cuban missile crisis." NBCU does have a deep bench of ad executive talent that's highly regarded in the ad industry. Although Yaccarino's departure from NBCUniversal to Twitter was a surprise, she had been close with the company and its billionaire owner.

☆ CNN staffers were horrified watching their network conduct the Trump town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CNN staffers were horrified watching their network conduct a town hall with former President Donald Trump. CNN staffers were horrified watching their network conduct a town hall with former President Donald Trump. They were mocking her," said one former CNN executive, also granted anonymity to speak openly, who wondered why they hadn't conducted a Trump interview separately from the town hall. The Trump interview also put the #boycottCNN hashtag back into circulation. Ahead of the town hall, anchor Wolf Blitzer asked one panelist what he was most looking forward to from the town hall and he responded: "The exits."

Elon Musk made a surprise announcement that he'd found Twitter's next CEO. Twitter employees think they may know who Elon Musk has picked to replace himself as CEO of the social media company. Chatter from the media industry points to Linda Yaccarino, head of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. Yaccarino has told friends in the past that she wanted to be CEO of Twitter, one person familiar with the situation said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Yaccarino is in talks to be Twitter CEO.

☆ Disney's revenue is on the rise, giving CEO Bob Iger a victory lap amid legal battle with Florida's Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney announced its fiscal second quarter earnings, with 13% revenue growth in the three months ending April 1. The results come as CEO Bob Iger reorganizes the company and pursues a legal battle with Florida Gov. Walt Disney Co. reported $21.79 billion in second quarter revenue, which topped Wall Street expectations for the period and marked 13% growth for the three months through April 1, the company said. The company noted decreases in advertising revenue at non-sports channels including both ABC network and A&E cable channels. Still, Disney's direct-to-consumer unit grew revenue by 12% in the second quarter to $5.5 billion while its operating losses decreased.

☆ Vice staffers fear salary and severance payments could be impacted as the company moves closer to bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice is expected to file for bankruptcy, and some staffers fear salary or severance payments could be affected. The WGA East represents the Vice Union and said it will work to ensure members receive "everything owed." Vice has cut dozens of staff along with canceling its cable show "Vice News Tonight." Last month Vice said it was axing "Vice News Tonight," which once aired on HBO but shifted in 2019 to Vice's own cable channel, Vice TV. A second Vice insider said: "Hundreds of people lose their jobs and Shane gets his back?

☆ Lachlan Murdoch says there's 'no change to our programming strategy' at Fox News in wake of Tucker Carlson's firing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lachlan Murdoch told analysts Tuesday that "programming strategy" at Fox News wouldn't change. Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp. and Rupert Murdoch's son, was involved in Tucker Carlson's firing, Insider reported. Media scion and Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch told analysts on Tuesday that it would be programming as usual in the wake of host Tucker Carlson's abrupt firing from the network. Murdoch, the son of News Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch, said on the company's earnings call that "there's no change to our programming strategy at Fox News. Representatives for Fox Corp. and Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

DreamWorks Animation has laid off 33 staffers, or around 2%, in recent days. DreamWorks' parent company, NBCUniversal, has been laying off staff across divisions in recent months. The cuts were confirmed by a spokesperson from DreamWorks Animation, whose parent company, Comcast's NBCUniversal, has eliminated roles across the organization over the past six months. DreamWorks Animation said in a statement that the layoffs were part of an overall cost reduction and that a majority of those affected were in support functions. This person said staffers laid off in this round learned the news several weeks ago, giving those affected some time to prepare.

☆ CNN CEO Chris Licht marks one year on the job with a network rebrand, upcoming ad campaign, and a Trump town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The network is hoping its May 10 Trump town hall, to be anchored by Kaitlan Collins, delivers ratings. One year into his new role, CNN CEO Chris Licht is quietly working on a major brand refresh of the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned global news network. CNN is planning a new ad campaign, according to this person and a separate person familiar with conversations, once the changes are finalized and approved by Warners CEO David Zaslav. The town hall will mark the first time Trump has appeared on CNN in years. At least on the business side," they added, referencing the audiences and ad dollars a Trump campaign would bring.

☆ Fox News has a secret file of damaging info on Tucker Carlson in case he starts trashing the network: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News PR keeps an "oppo file" on Tucker Carlson in case he lashes out, Rolling Stone reported. One insider told the outlet that such files are kept on all the network's talent. Fox News' PR chief has a dossier of damaging information on Tucker Carlson to be used in the event that he comes out swinging against the network, Rolling Stone reported. Some grievances against Carlson and his team have recently emerged, with former "Tucker Carlson Tonight" producer Abby Grossberg filing a lawsuit last month which alleged a "sexist" work environment. In response to the lawsuit, Fox told Insider the allegations have "no merit" and that it would "vigorously defend" the network.

☆ Insiders say Tucker Carlson overplayed his hand at Fox but the 'whole universe' of right-wing media is courting him now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

the Fox insider said. Lachlan Murdoch had defended Carlson time and again, most publicly in April 2021, pushing back against Anti-Defamation League complaints of the anchor's "great replacement theory" comments. Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch. A second Fox News insider, who is familiar with conversations happening in Australia, said Lachlan Murdoch was looking long term. The board has also put pressure on the Murdoch family to change things at Fox News.

☆ NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell exits after an 'inappropriate relationship,' shocking insiders, and Comcast won't rush to replace him as corporate exec Mike Cavanagh steps up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell's exit shocked company insiders and all of Hollywood. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell's bombshell departure on Sunday night was a surprise to the well-regarded executive and also to his closest colleagues. Deadline reported that Shell's relationship was with CNBC's senior international correspondent, Hadley Gamble, which lasted 11 years but had ended a couple of years ago. "Comcast is as buttoned-up and straight as ever — this is a black eye for Brian Roberts," the Comcast CEO. A second company insider, however, said that Cavanagh is expected to remain in the role for some time.

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