 Kevin Mayer |
Disney is undergoing an executive shuffle that underlines the company’s emphasis on streaming as it prepares to complete a $52.4 billion deal for a range of Fox holdings. Kevin Mayer, currently Disney’s chief strategy officer, will now head its Direct-to-Consumer and International segment. That segment will include Disney’s proposed family-friendly streaming service, as well as ESPN+ and the company’s majority stake in Hulu. Mayer will also oversee BAMTech, the streaming video technology company in which Disney acquired a majority stake last year, and the global distribution of all direct-to-consumer content. A new Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products division, to be led by current Disney Parks and Resorts chair Bob Chapek, will merge Disney’s consumer products business with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The Media Networks division, co-chaired by ESPN president James Pitaro and Disney/ABC television group president Ben Sherwood, will shift international Disney Channel operations to Mayer’s division, which will also pick up the program sales function of the Studio Entertainment division, headed by Alan F. Horn. “We are strategically positioning our businesses for the future, creating a more effective, global framework,” said Disney chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger.
 Shepard Smith |
FOX News re-signed Shepard Smith, who has been with the network since its startup in 1996, to a multiyear deal. Smith will continue to serve as chief news anchor and managing editor of breaking news, as well as hosting “Shepard Smith Reporting.” The program averages 1.6 million viewers, with 335,000 in the 25-54 demographic in its 3 p.m. ET slot, leading both CNN and MSNBC in the time period, according to Nielsen Media Research. In announcing the deal, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch referred to Smith as “an exemplary journalist whose skill in anchoring breaking news is unrivaled.” Terms of the new contract were not disclosed.
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Lauren Skowronski, director of communications at Snap Inc., has been named senior VP-communications at CNBC.
Trust in the news media has continued to decline among Americans, with skepticism especially growing among younger audiences, according to a recent study.
Amazon may be coming to TikTok’s rescue in the nick of time as the app faces an April 5 deadline to cut ties with its Chinese owner or face a ban in the US, according to the New York Times... Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones is heading out the door at the Condé Nast title she has headed up since 2017... Newspapers have dodged the bullet as regards the proposed tariffs on newsprint—for now.
Financial Times group chief executive John Ridding is stepping down after close to 20 years in the position... MSNBC hires Scott Matthews as SVP of newsgathering, effective March 17, as the network prepares for life after its connection to NBC News... Gallup has released a report showing that two-thirds of Americans either do not trust the media very much (31 percent) or do not trust it all (36 percent). 
Last week, Jeff Bezos just did something rare in today’s media landscape: he embraced common sense.
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