 Barbara Jones |
21st Century Fox, in the wake of a $90 million settlement of shareholder claims arising from the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News Channel, has formed the Fox News Workplace Professional and Inclusion Council. The Council will advise Fox News and its senior management as the company works to put into place measures that it says are designed to “ensure a proper workplace environment for all employees and guests.” Those measures are to include bolstering employee training and furthering the company’s recruitment and advancement of women and minorities. The council’s four independent members include Barbara Jones, a former judge in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Virgil Jones, who has served as vp, talent acquisition and diversity at the Gannett Company. “The Workplace Council gives our management team access to a braintrust of experts with deep and diverse experiences in workplace issues,” Jack Abernethy, co-president of Fox News Channel, said in a statement. “We look forward to benefiting from their collective guidance.”
 Eric Schmidt |
Google says that it plans to "derank" stories from Russian-sponsored news sites Russia Today and Sputnik in response to allegations that they have been used as a tool in U.S. election meddling by the Russian government. Google's move would de-prioritize the sites in search algorithms, making it less likely that users would see their content via search. In a statement published on RT by Sputnik and RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, she accuses Google of censorship. However, Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, disputes the censorship claim. “I am strongly not in favor of censorship,” Schmidt said at the Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “I am very strongly in favor of ranking. It’s what we do.” RT has also been forced to comply with the requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. That move has provoked a retaliatory effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Sputnik, Putin has signed into law amendments that will allow international media outlets that operate in Russia to be listed as “foreign agents”.
 Warren Schlichting |
DISH Network has reached a multi-year agreement with CBS Corp. to carry its owned and operated local stations, as well as CBS Sports Network, Pop and the Smithsonian Channel. The channels will be restored to DISH customers. “We are grateful to our customers for their patience this holiday week as months of work has resulted in a deal that delivers CBS for years to come,” said Warren Schlichting, DISH executive VP of marketing, programming and media sales. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
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.
