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| Piers Morgan |
News Corp is bringing Piers Morgan back to the airwaves as the centerpiece in its launch of talkTV, a British channel set to launch early next year. According to News Corp’s British arm, News UK, the network “will be streamed live and made widely available on all platforms including linear TV and OTT with content available across social media as well as News UK’s own broad inventory of websites and apps.” In the US, Morgan’s chat show will run on the Fox Nation streaming service, and it will appear on Sky News Australia. Morgan will also write a weekly column that will appear in The Sun and the New York Post. Most recently, he hosted ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” but he exited that position in March following his on-air accusation that Meghan Markle was not telling the truth in her CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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Fox Corporation buys celebrity gossip brand TMZ from AT&T’s WarnerMedia. TMZ co-founder Harvey Levin will stay on as managing editor. Fox will operate TMZ’s main website, its culture site TooFab.com, its syndicated television programs and celebrity bus tours. “The unique and powerful brand Harvey has created in TMZ has forever changed the entertainment industry and we’re excited to welcome them to Fox,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. TMZ is one of the assets that AT&T is selling as it prepares for the spinoff of WarnerMedia, which is to merge with Discovery.
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| Roger Darnell |
Roger Darnell, founder of The Darnell Works Agency, has written a book aimed at professionals and students who want to improve their prospects in business. “The Communications Consultant’s Foundation” outlines how readers can develop the soft skills required for a successful career as a communicator, as well as offering tips on effective ways to work remotely and independently. Incorporating knowledge from established industry figures and first-hand insight from Darnell’s own career, the book explores such topics as essential business imperatives, what it means to be a PR expert in the creative industry, customer service and the basics of positive, proactive, strategic communications. Darnell has worked on projects including music videos; featured, short and brand films; integrated marketing campaigns; and Super Bowl spots.
Rupert Murdoch, 92, is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp., effective at the November annual meeting of each company. He will take on the chairman emeritus post at both companies.
Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed Mark Thompson, former director-general of the BBC and CEO of the New York Times Co., chairman/CEO of CNN Worldwide, effective Oct. 9.
Olivia Petersen, head of communications at Morning Consult, will join the Washington Post next month as VP-PR.
The San Diego Union-Tribune is sold to Alden Global Capital's MediaNews Group... The New York Times closes its sports desk... Microsoft’s wins reprieve as judge squashes FTC's effort to block its $69B Activision Blizzard deal.
The Irish Voice, a New York-based newspaper that focuses on news and stories from an Irish-American perspective, put out its last print edition on July 5... Canada's federal government plans to pull all its advertising from Facebook and Instagram... Threads, Instagram's bid to unseat Twitter, goes live.
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Sep. 20, 2021, by Joe Honick
Few are as crafty and almost frighteningly smart as the Murdoch operation that is wheeling and dealing its virtual collection and financing of one of the most powerful propaganda operations the world has ever known...including making multi-millionaires of willing "mouths" like Morgan, Carlson et al. The question might now or soon be what collection of "robotic" politicians they might select to "bless" around the world but certain in the upcoming mid-term elections in the United States.