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Cox Media Group is looking to sell the Austin American-Statesman. Named Texas Newspaper of the Year by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors for three of the past four years, the Statesman will be put on the market along with its seven community newspapers and multiple websites. Cox is also selling the Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News. The Post does not count President Trump among its fans. "One of the country's dumbest newspapers—The Palm Beach Post—should be put to sleep," he tweeted in 2013. "It's dying." Cox Media Group president Kim Guthrie said in a statement that the decision to sell the papers is part of a move toward markets where Cox has multiple media assets, such as Atlanta and Dayton, Ohio. “We have made the decision that we will be better equipped to operate our newspapers in Atlanta and Ohio, where we have the integrated opportunity with our TV and radio operations,” she said. This isn’t the first time that cox has put the Statesman on the auction block. It put the paper up for sale in August 2008, but took it back off the market in August 2009, saying it would remain part of the converged newspaper, TV and radio media company Cox was creating.
 Kevin Spacey in "All the Money in the World" |
Sony’s Tri-Star Pictures could turn out to be an additional casualty in the current round of sexual harassment claims that are running like wildfire through the entertainment industry. All the Money in the World, a Ridley Scott-directed film concerning the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, stars Kevin Spacey as the victim’s grandfather, billionaire J. Paul Getty. In the wake of sexual accusations made against Spacey (most notably by actor Anthony Rapp), Tri-Star’s ability to use Spacey to promote the film, and as part of any related Oscar campaign, would appear to be limited. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony has so far declined comment regarding Spacey's participation in the film's marketing campaign going forward. Plans to screen the film at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles on Nov. 16 are still in place, with a planned Dec. 22 commercial release. In addition, Netflix has announced that it is shutting down production on House of Cards, which stars Spacey, after its sixth season. Gore, a Netflix film in which Spacey plays Gore Vidal, is still set for release next year.
 Michael Oreskes |
Michael Oreskes, senior vp of news and editorial director at NPR, has resigned following charges from two women who say he made unwanted physical contact with them while he was employed as Washington bureau chief of the New York Times nearly two decades ago. Each woman said that after she met with Oreskes to discuss job prospects, he unexpectedly kissed her on the lips and stuck his tongue in her mouth. The women spoke with NPR’s attorney in charge of labor and employment matters in mid-October. Oreskes, who came to NPR in March 2015, said in a statement that his behavior "was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility." An NPR statement said: “We take these kinds of allegations very seriously. If a concern is raised, we review the matter promptly and take appropriate steps as warranted to assure a safe, comfortable and productive work environment. As a matter of policy, we do not comment about personnel matters.”
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
