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The Daily Beast’s new leaders will do a round of voluntary buyouts intended to cut costs by $1.5 million, in one of their first major moves to try to revitalize the flagging digital tabloid. The new leaders, Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood, both media veterans, joined the company in April in exchange for an equity stake in the business. Barry Diller’s company, IAC, maintains control of the publication. The Daily Beast’s union told its members in a memo this week that workers would have until June 14 to apply for a buyout, after which the publication would accept applications “in reverse seniority order until they meet their $1.5 million threshold.”Decisions on additional applications beyond that threshold would be up to the company, and there would be “a moratorium” on further layoffs until the end of the year, according to the union’s memo. The cuts are not targeting any particular coverage area.

Persons: Joanna Coles, Ben Sherwood, Barry Diller’s Organizations: IAC, Daily

☆ Fraud Trial to Begin for Ozy Founder Carlos Watson
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 2010s were a frothy time for digital publishing. Billions of dollars flowed into publishers like BuzzFeed and Vice, with big media companies and venture capitalists betting those start-ups would eventually make lots of money. The jury trial of Carlos Watson, who is charged with trying to defraud investors in the digital media start-up he co-founded, Ozy Media, is scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection in federal court in Brooklyn. Mr. Watson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. It remains unclear what Mr. Watson’s defense will be when the trial begins, or whether he will take the stand.

Persons: BuzzFeed, Carlos Watson, Watson, bluffing ” Organizations: Ozy Locations: Brooklyn

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have taken a significant step forward in their effort to court Paramount, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Paramount previously shared materials with another suitor, the Hollywood studio Skydance. Early this month, Sony and Apollo sent Paramount a nonbinding expression of interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion. But Sony’s shareholders have fretted over the possible acquisition, given the potential cost of a bid for Paramount and the headwinds facing the subscription streaming business. Sony and Apollo are now contemplating a variety of approaches to acquire the company’s assets, but are backing away from their plan to make an all-cash, $26 billion offer for Paramount, two of the people said.

Organizations: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Paramount, Hollywood, Sony, Apollo, CBS, MTV

☆ New Editing Layer Adds Angst Inside NPR
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Michel Martin, a host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” pressed Edith Chapin, NPR’s chief content officer, to identify the source of the funding in an editorial meeting at the network’s Washington headquarters, according to four people with knowledge of the exchange. Ms. Chapin declined to elaborate on the source of the money but said that it wouldn’t be a surprise to NPR’s editorial staff. Ms. Martin replied she would not accept that answer from a source, the people said. The meeting was held to discuss the new layer of editing, called the Backstop, that was announced to the full staff on Wednesday. The group, to be made up of six senior editors, will review all of NPR’s journalism before it is released.

Persons: Michel Martin, ”, Edith Chapin, NPR’s, Chapin, Martin Locations: Washington

☆ Boeing Violated Settlement Over 737 Max Problems, Justice Dept. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that Boeing was in violation of a 2021 settlement related to problems with the company’s 737 Max model that led to two deadly plane crashes in 2018 and 2019. In a letter to a federal judge, the department said that Boeing had failed to “design, implement and enforce” an ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws in the company’s operations. Creating that program was a condition of Boeing’s settlement, which also carried a $2.5 billion penalty. The determination by the Justice Department opens the door to a potential prosecution of a 2021 criminal charge accusing Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration, though Boeing can contest Tuesday’s decision. In a statement, Boeing said that the company believed that it had honored the terms of the settlement, adding that it was looking forward to the opportunity to respond.

Organizations: Justice, Boeing, Justice Department, Federal Aviation Administration

☆ Comcast Plans Streaming Bundle With Netflix, Apple TV+
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Discovery said that they would bundle their streaming services, selling users a package that included Disney+, Hulu and Max. For years, the company has offered services like Netflix and Apple TV+ as add-ons to its existing television bundle, acting as a vendor for those companies. Comcast, which has millions of broadband and cable television customers across the United States, has different incentives to bundle streaming services together than many of its competitors do. Many other internet providers have sold bundles that include streaming services. When the short-lived short-form streaming service Quibi launched, T-Mobile offered to bundle its wireless offering with that service.

Persons: Quibi Organizations: Warner Bros, Discovery, Fox, Disney, National Basketball Association, National Football League, Max, Comcast, Netflix, Apple, Verizon, Mobile Locations: Xfinity, United States

Splitting the Paramount empireEver since Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management expressed interest in buying Paramount Global, a big question has loomed over the potential $26 billion deal: What would they do with the company? The answer: Break it up, write The Times’s Ben Mullin and DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch. Sony and Apollo would keep Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures would become part of a joint venture controlled by Sony, with Apollo taking a minority stake in the new entity that it could eventually sell to Sony or to another buyer. The venture would also keep Paramount’s library of films and TV shows, as well as the rights to characters like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Persons: Ben Mullin, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch, “ Organizations: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Paramount Global, Sony, Apollo, Paramount Pictures, Paramount

☆ Sony and Apollo’s Plan for Paramount: Break It Up
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shari Redstone helped build Paramount Global into a sprawling media empire, but if Sony Pictures Entertainment and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management succeed in acquiring it, they plan to break it all up, according to three people familiar with the matter. Paramount Pictures — home to blockbusters like “The Godfather,” “Top Gun” and the “Mission Impossible” franchise — would be combined with Sony’s existing business. They have not yet outlined this plan to Paramount or its advisers. CBS and Paramount have been controlled by the Redstone family for decades, since the media mogul Sumner Redstone assembled the sprawling conglomerate in a series of audacious deals. His daughter, Shari Redstone, championed a 2019 deal to reunite it through a merger with CBS, and remains Paramount’s controlling shareholder.

Persons: Shari Redstone, SpongeBob, Sumner Redstone Organizations: Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, CBS, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Sony

☆ How a Tiny Chicago News Organization Won 2 Pulitzers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Jamie Kalven met Yohance Lacour in 2017, the two men quickly realized they had something important in common. Mr. Kalven, the founder of the Invisible Institute, a nonprofit Chicago newsroom, was working in Chicago’s Stateway Gardens housing development in 1997 when a vicious hate crime wounded the community there deeply. And Mr. Lacour helped a local newspaper cover that story at the time. Mr. Lacour’s podcast won one of two Pulitzers this year for the Invisible Institute, a small, crusading newsroom on Chicago’s South Side known for holding city authorities to account. The other prize, for local reporting, went to the organization’s data director, Trina Reynolds-Tyler, who reported an investigative series on missing Black girls and women in Chicago.

Persons: Jamie Kalven, Yohance Lacour, Kalven, Lacour, Kalven’s, —, Trina Reynolds, Tyler Organizations: Invisible Institute, Monday Locations: Chicago

☆ Sony and Apollo in Talks to Acquire Paramount
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Paramount has decided to formally open negotiations with a bidding group led by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move comes after a period of exclusive talks with the Hollywood studio Skydance lapsed on Friday night. A special committee of Paramount’s board of directors met Saturday and signed off on beginning deal talks with Sony and Apollo, which last week submitted a letter of interest valuing the company at $26 billion, the people said. The committee also decided to push for further negotiations with Skydance, a studio founded by the technology scion David Ellison. Any deal between the Sony group and Paramount faces hurdles.

Persons: David Ellison Organizations: Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hollywood, Sony, Skydance, Nickelodeon, MTV, CBS, Paramount Pictures Locations: Japan, United States

Kim Godwin, the president of ABC News, told employees on Sunday night that she was retiring, capping a tumultuous tenure marked by infighting, damaging leaks and a major shake-up of the news division’s leadership ranks. In an email to employees, Ms. Godwin said that she reached her decision to leave after a period of “considerable reflection.” In a separate note to employees, Debra O’Connell, a longtime Disney executive, said she would be overseeing ABC News. “Anyone who’s passionate about what we do knows there’s no other business like it, so this was not an easy or quick decision,” Ms. Godwin said in her note. “I’m certain it’s the right one for me as I look to the future and prioritize what’s most important for me and my family,” she added. Ms. Godwin, the first Black woman to run a broadcast news division, has had a rocky tenure atop ABC News.

Persons: Kim Godwin, Godwin, Debra O’Connell, ” Ms, “ Organizations: ABC News, Disney, ABC

The development throws up a major roadblock for Skydance, a movie studio that has been negotiating a complicated deal to merge with Paramount for months. Many Paramount investors have come out against that deal, saying it would enrich Shari Redstone, the company’s board chair, at the expense of other shareholders. The 30-day period for exclusive talks with a special committee of Paramount’s board expires at the end of Friday. The company could wait for Paramount to re-engage in negotiations, could make a higher bid or could walk away. The company is wary of being used by Paramount to drive up the price for another bidder.

Persons: Shari, David Ellison Organizations: Paramount, Hollywood, MTV, Nickelodeon, RedBird Capital Partners, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management

Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo Global Management have formally expressed interest in acquiring Paramount for roughly $26 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter, a move that adds drama to an already chaotic deal making process. The nonbinding expression of interest, sent in a letter this week, comes as Paramount approaches an agreed-upon Friday deadline for the expiration of an exclusive negotiating period with Skydance, a Hollywood studio run by the tech scion David Ellison. Paramount has been in talks with Skydance for months, discussing a complicated transaction that would involve a merger and an investment from the private equity firm Redbird Capital Partners. The new, joint expression of interest would make Sony a significant majority and controlling shareholder and Apollo a minority shareholder. The proposed all-cash acquisition may appeal to Paramount shareholders who have come out against the Skydance deal over concerns it benefits the company’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, at the expense of others.

Persons: David Ellison, Skydance, Shari Redstone Organizations: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Paramount, Redbird Capital Partners, Sony Locations: Apollo

☆ Republicans Call on NPR’s C.E.O. to Testify About Political Bias
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NPR declined to comment, but Ms. Maher may have a scheduling conflict. According to an agenda of NPR’s upcoming board of directors meeting, Ms. Maher is scheduled to convene with NPR’s board all day on May 8. Mr. Berliner’s essay has generated vociferous pushback from many employees at NPR, who say that many of his points were factually inaccurate. In one post, from 2018, Ms. Maher called Mr. Trump a “racist”; another from 2020 showed her wearing a hat with the logo of the Biden campaign. NPR has said that Ms. Maher, the former chief executive of Wikimedia, wasn’t working in news at the time she made the posts, and added that she was exercising her First Amendment right to free expression.

Persons: Maher, Uri Berliner, Berliner, Hunter, Tony Cavin, NPR’s, Robert S, Mueller III, hewed, Donald J, Trump, Biden Organizations: NPR, Trump, Wikimedia

☆ Paramount’s Chief Executive, Bob Bakish, Steps Down
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bob Bakish, the chief executive of Paramount, is stepping down effective immediately, the company announced on Monday, a stunning shake-up in the top ranks of the company as it considers a major merger. Mr. Bakish, 60, will be replaced by an “office of the C.E.O.” run by three executives: Brian Robbins, head of the Paramount movie studio; George Cheeks, chief executive of Paramount’s CBS division; and Chris McCarthy, chief executive of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios. Like many media companies, Paramount has struggled in recent years to get its streaming business off the ground as audiences for its cable channels have diminished. In recent months, the company has been in discussions to merge with Skydance, a media company run by the tech scion and Hollywood executive David Ellison. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, has already signed off on a potential deal for her stake, but the company’s directors have yet to reach an agreement for the whole company.

Persons: Bob Bakish, Bakish, Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, Bakish’s, David Ellison, Shari Redstone Organizations: Paramount, Paramount’s CBS, Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios

☆ Skydance Offers Paramount a Deal Sweetener: A $3 Billion Cash Infusion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With the fate of Paramount hanging in the balance, its leading suitor has just upped the ante. Skydance also offered to give Paramount shareholders a larger stake in the combined company than it had initially proposed. The vociferous pushback by investors, combined with the complicated nature of the transaction, means the Skydance deal could still fall apart, people familiar with the process said. Paramount has been in deal discussions with the movie studio Skydance for months, after Ms. Redstone decided late last year to consider a sale for her media empire. Since then, the company has entertained interest from suitors including Apollo, the private-equity giant, and Skydance, which is proposing a merger.

Persons: Skydance, Shari, Redstone Organizations: Paramount

Paramount is preparing to announce the departure of its chief executive, Bob Bakish, as soon as next week, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, a sudden development that would come even as company is exploring a merger. Ms. Redstone grew frustrated with what she saw as his inability to get important deals across the finish line, including a sale of the Showtime and BET cable channels, the people said. The company is in talks to merge with Skydance, a media company controlled by the tech scion and Hollywood producer David Ellison. It is also negotiating a lucrative deal to keep channels like Nickelodeon and MTV on the Charter cable system. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Paramount’s board was considering replacing Mr. Bakish.

Persons: Bob Bakish, Bakish’s, Shari Redstone, David Ellison, Bakish Organizations: Paramount, Showtime, BET, Nickelodeon, MTV, Street

☆ Inside the Crisis at NPR
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Jeremy W. Peters | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NPR employees tuned in for a pivotal meeting late last year for a long-awaited update on the future of the public radio network. After many tumultuous months, marked by layoffs, financial turbulence and internal strife, they signed in to Zoom hoping to hear some good news from NPR’s leaders. What they got instead was a stark preview of the continued challenges ahead. For the past two weeks, turmoil has engulfed NPR after a senior editor assailed what he described as an extreme liberal bias inside the organization that has bled into its news coverage. The editor, Uri Berliner, said NPR’s leaders had placed race and identity as “paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace” — at the expense of diverse political viewpoints, and at the risk of losing its audience.

Persons: Daphne Kwon, Uri Berliner Organizations: The New York Times, NPR Locations: America

☆ Sony in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even as Paramount, the home of the “Top Gun” movie franchise and “SpongeBob SquarePants,” continues its talks to merge with another media company, Skydance, a new suitor has emerged. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, have been in discussions about teaming up for a joint bid to acquire Paramount, two people familiar with the situation said Thursday. The two companies have not submitted an official bid, as Paramount is still in exclusive conversations with Skydance, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss delicate negotiations. Apollo previously reached out to Paramount about buying the company for at least $26 billion, including debt. A joint bid with Sony would almost certainly reduce those concerns, adding operational experience and additional capital to Apollo’s already significant war chest.

Persons: SpongeBob, ”, Skydance, Paramount’s Organizations: Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Sony Locations: Apollo’s

☆ NPR Editor Who Accused Broadcaster of Liberal Bias Resigns
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Uri Berliner, the NPR editor who accused the broadcaster of liberal bias in an online essay last week, prompting criticism from conservatives and recrimination from many of his co-workers, has resigned from the nonprofit. Mr. Berliner said in a social media post on Wednesday that he was resigning because of criticism from the network’s chief executive, Katherine Maher. “I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new C.E.O. whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay,” Mr. Berliner wrote. In his brief resignation letter, addressed to Ms. Maher, Mr. Berliner said that he loved NPR, calling it a “great American institution,” adding that he respects “the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism.”

Persons: Uri Berliner, Berliner, Katherine Maher, “, ” Mr, Ms, Maher, Mr, ” Organizations: NPR

☆ NPR Suspends Editor Whose Essay Criticized the Broadcaster
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

NPR has suspended Uri Berliner, the senior business editor who broke ranks and published an essay arguing that the nonprofit radio network had allowed liberal bias to affect its coverage. Mr. Berliner was suspended by the network for five days, starting last Friday, for violating the network’s policy against doing work outside the organization without first getting permission. Mr. Berliner acknowledged his suspension in an interview with NPR on Monday, providing one of the network’s reporters with a copy of the written rebuke. In presenting the warning, NPR said that Mr. Berliner had failed to clear his work for outside outlets, adding that he would be fired if he violated the policy again. Mr. Berliner’s essay was published last week in The Free Press, a popular Substack publication.

Persons: Uri Berliner, Berliner Organizations: NPR, The Free Press

☆ Barry Diller Bets on Media Veterans to Turn Around The Daily Beast
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Daily Beast has long been an outlier in the digital empire of the billionaire Barry Diller. As sites like Match.com and Expedia made millions over the years, Mr. Diller’s digital tabloid lost money, publishing scoop after scoop but struggling to turn a profit. Mr. Sherwood and Ms. Coles will be granted an equity stake equivalent to roughly half of The Daily Beast, with IAC keeping the majority, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Sherwood, 60, will be its chief executive and publisher, and Ms. Coles, 61, will be chief creative and content officer. The decision to bring in Mr. Sherwood and Ms. Coles came after Mr. Diller considered a sale of The Daily Beast and had conversations with various suitors.

Persons: Barry Diller, Expedia, Diller, he’s, Ben Sherwood, Joanna Coles, Sherwood, Coles, Janice Min Organizations: Disney ABC Television Group, Hearst Magazines, IAC, Daily, Hollywood, Ankler Media, The Hollywood Locations: Ben

☆ NPR C.E.O. Faces Criticism Over Tweets Supporting Progressive Causes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Katherine Maher, the chief executive of NPR, is facing online criticism for years-old social media posts criticizing former President Donald J. Trump and embracing liberal causes. The posts, published on the social media platform Twitter, which is now called X, were written before she was named chief executive of NPR in January. “Also, Donald Trump is a racist,” read one of Ms. Maher’s posts in 2018, which has since been deleted. Another post, from November 2020, shows Ms. Maher wearing a hat with the logo for the Biden presidential campaign. “Had a dream where Kamala and I were on a road trip in an unspecified location, sampling and comparing nuts and baklava from roadside stands,” Ms. Maher wrote, an apparent reference to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Persons: Katherine Maher, Donald J, Donald Trump, ”, Maher, “, Kamala, ” Ms, Kamala Harris Organizations: NPR, Trump, Biden

☆ NPR in Turmoil After It Is Accused of Liberal Bias
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NPR is facing both internal tumult and a fusillade of attacks by prominent conservatives this week after a senior editor publicly claimed the broadcaster had allowed liberal bias to affect its coverage, risking its trust with audiences. Uri Berliner, a senior business editor who has worked at NPR for 25 years, wrote in an essay published Tuesday by The Free Press, a popular Substack publication, that “people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview.”Mr. Berliner, a Peabody Award-winning journalist, castigated NPR for what he said was a litany of journalistic missteps around coverage of several major news events, including the origins of Covid-19 and the war in Gaza. He also said the internal culture at NPR had placed race and identity as “paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace.”Mr. Berliner’s essay has ignited a firestorm of criticism of NPR on social media, especially among conservatives who have long accused the network of political bias in its reporting. Former President Donald J. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to argue that NPR’s government funding should be rescinded, an argument he has made in the past.

Persons: Uri Berliner, Mr, Berliner, ” Mr, Donald J, Trump Organizations: NPR, The Free Press Locations: Gaza

☆ A Looming Question for Paramount’s Board: How to Navigate Shari Redstone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shari Redstone won control over her media empire in 2018 after a hard-fought struggle with CBS. Now, Ms. Redstone has decided to sell her controlling stake in Paramount, a decision that could put her in conflict with some of the company’s shareholders. The question that Paramount’s board has to answer — and may eventually have to defend in a courtroom: Is the deal under consideration good for all shareholders, or just Ms. Redstone? “Are these decisions that are being made in the best interest of Paramount generally?” said Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia. “Or are they basically the types of decisions that are only going to give Shari Redstone a nice nut but pretty much stick it to the other minority shareholders?”

Persons: Shari Redstone, ”, Eric Talley, Shari Organizations: CBS, Viacom, Paramount, Columbia

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