A new report by the Pew Research Center has provided more documentation on the growing popularity of audiobooks, reports Publisher's Weekly.
In a survey of 1,502 American adults conducted from January 8 to February 7 this year, Pew found that 20% of adults listened to an audiobook in the 12 months prior to the period in which the survey was conducted. In 2011, only 11% of adults said they listened to an audiobook.
The strongest gains have come since 2016—the dawning of the digital audiobooks age. The percentage of adults listening to audiobooks rose six percentage points between 2016 and the 2019 survey, after rising only three percentage points between 2011 and 2016. According to Pew, since 2018, college students and adults with household incomes over $75,000 are the two groups who have adopted listening to audiobooks the quickest.
The Pew survey also found that while listening to audiobooks has risen steadily since the 2016 survey, reading e-books had declined. Twenty-eight percent of adults reported reading an e-book in 2016—double the number who listen to audiobooks that year. By the most recent survey, e-books had only a 5% edge over audiobook usage.
Overall, the Pew survey found a gradual reduction in the percentage of Americans who are reading. In 2011, 79% of those surveyed said they had read a book in the previous 12 months, a number that fell to 72% in early 2019. Print remained by far the book format of choice, with 65% or adults surveyed reporting that had read a print book within the last year, down from 71% in 2011.
The percentage of adult who read a book in any format fell from 79% in 2011 to 72% in 2019.
➦In 1919...Radio, TVAlan Young was born in England.
He moved to Vancouver at 6, and had his own CBC Radio show by the age of 17. He got a big break when he was hired as the 1944 summer replacement for Eddie Cantor’s NBC radio show.
He hit the big time in TV as co-star to the talking horse on the Mr. Ed series. He also has done voices for many cartoon characters, notably Scrooge McDuck. Happy 96th Birthday, Mr. Young! ➦In 1933…Radio, TV talk show host, Larry King was born Larry Zeiger in Brooklyn.
Larry King
King got his first job in radio in 1957, when the manager of a small station, WAHR (now WMBM 1490 AM) in Miami Beach, hired him to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks. When one of their announcers quit, they put King on the air. His first broadcast was on May 1, 1957, when he worked as the disc jockey from 9 a.m. to noon. He also did two afternoon newscasts and a sportscast. He was paid $55 a week.
He acquired the name Larry King when the general manager Marshall Simmonds said that his real last name Zeiger was too ethnic and difficult to remember, so Larry chose the surname King, which he got from an ad in The Miami Herald for King's Wholesale Liquor, minutes before air.
He started doing interviews on a mid-morning show for WIOD 610 AM, at Pumpernik's Restaurant in Miami Beach. He would interview anyone who walked in. His first interview was with a waiter at the restaurant. Two days later, singer Bobby Darin, in Miami for a concert later that day, walked into Pumpernik's as a result of coming across King's show on his radio; Darin became King's first celebrity interview guest.
Larry King circa 1960
His Miami radio show launched him to local stardom. A few years later, in May 1960, he hosted Miami Undercover, airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on WPST-TV Channel 10 (now WPLG). On the show, he moderated debates on important issues of the time.
King credits his success on local television to the assistance of comedian Jackie Gleason, whose national TV variety show was being taped in Miami Beach during this period. "That show really took off because Gleason came to Miami," King said in a 1996 interview he gave when inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. "He did that show and stayed all night with me. We stayed till five in the morning. He didn't like the set, so we broke into the general manager's office and changed the set. Gleason changed the set, he changed the lighting, and he became like a mentor of mine."
In 1978, King went national, inheriting the nightly talk show slot on the Mutual Broadcasting System, broadcast coast-to-coast, that had been "Long John" Nebel's until his death, and had been pioneered by Herb Jepko. King's Mutual show developed a devoted audience.
It was aired live Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time. King would interview a guest for the first 90 minutes, with callers asking questions that continued the interview for another 90 minutes. At 3 a.m., he would allow callers to discuss any topic they pleased with him, until the end of the program, when he expressed his own political opinions. That segment was called Open Phone America.
The show was successful, starting with relatively few affiliates and eventually growing to more than 500. It ran until 1994.
For its final year, the show was moved to afternoons. The afternoon show was eventually given to David Brenner and radio affiliates were given the option of carrying the audio of King's new CNN evening television program. The Westwood One radio simulcast of the CNN show continued until December 31, 2009.
➦In 1954…The First practical transistor pocket radio, the Regency TR-1 went on sale.
Earlier in the year, Texas Instruments was looking for an established radio manufacturer to develop and market a radio using their transistors. No major radio maker, including RCA, Philco, and Emerson, was interested. The President of I.D.E.A. at the time, Ed Tudor, jumped at the opportunity to manufacture the TR-1, predicting sales of the transistor radios would be "20 million radios in three years.
One year after the TR-1 release, sales approached 100,000 units. The look and size of the TR-1 were well received, but reviews of its performance were typically adverse.
The Regency TR-1 circuitry was refined from the Texas Instruments drawings, reducing the number of parts, including two expensive transistors. Though this severely reduced the audio output volume, it let I.D.E.A. sell the radio for only a small profit. The initial TR-1 retail price was $49.95 (roughly $443 in year-2016 dollars) and it sold about 150,000 units.
The TR-1 uses Texas Instruments' NPN transistors, hand-picked in sets of four. A 22.5 volt battery provided power. The current drain from this battery allowed 20 to 30 hours of operation.
While the radio was praised for novelty and small size, the sensitivity and sound quality were behind the tube-based competitors. A review in Consumer Reports mentions the high level of noise and instability on certain radio frequencies, recommending against the purchase.
➦In 1957…The local chapter of the Elvis Presley fan club
picketed Chicago
radio station WCFL 1000 AM (now Sports WMVP) after it banned Presley's records (before the station
flipped to Top 40). The station didn’t overturn its no-Elvis policy until almost a decade later..
Bill Stern 1949
➦In 1971…Sportscaster Bill Stern died at age 64 (Born - July 1, 1907). In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame's inaugural class which included sportscasting legends Red Barber, Don Dunphy, Ted Husing and Graham McNamee. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame (1988) and has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bill Stern's Sports newsreel was a show about the way Bill
Stern broadcast baseball games from 1937 to 1956. Stern made famous the
dramatic pause, the over emotional call and exaggerated words.
Stern began doing radio play-by-play commentary in 1925, when he was hired by a Rochester station, WHAM, to cover football games. Shortly after that, he enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College, graduating in 1930.
NBC hired him in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. Stern was also one of the first TV boxing commentators.
He broadcast the first televised sporting event, the second game of a baseball doubleheader between Princeton and Columbia at Columbia's Baker Field on May 17, 1939. On September 30, he called the first televised football game.
According to the book Sports on New York Radio by sportscaster and Westwood One executive David J. Halberstam, Stern's remarkable career flourished despite a physical handicap. In 1935, on his way home from a football game in Texas, the car Stern was in got into an accident, injuring him severely enough that his left leg had to be amputated just above the knee.
Some observers consider Stern's style a blueprint in the 1940s for the style of Paul Harvey, ABC Entertainment Network commentator, who adapted both Stern's newscasting (transforming his Reel One to 'Page One') and his stories about the famous and odd (to Rest Of The Story), although Stern made no effort to authenticate his stories and, in later years, introduced that segment of his show by saying that they "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting." Harvey, on the other hand, said he told only stories he had authenticated in some way.
After many years with NBC he switched to ABC, where he lasted until 1956. After retiring from television broadcasting, Stern did radio sports reports and commentaries for the Mutual Broadcasting System in the late 1950s and 1960s.
➦In 1980…the "Sunday Morning Oldies Show" with
Roger Ashby debuted on CHUM 1050 AM in Toronto.
Tencent Holdings Ltd. is in talks with potential co-investors for its proposed bid for a minority stake in Universal Music Group from Vivendi SA, according to Bloomberg citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Hillhouse Capital and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. are among potential investors that the Chinese tech giant has approached, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Tencent plans to lead the consortium for the 10% stake in UMG with a goal to carry out the purchase within the next few months, the people said.
The Chinese tech giant is weighing to raise about $1.1 billion in debt to help fund the deal, while the rest will likely be funded in equity, the people said.
Vivendi said in August that it’s in talks to sell 10% of UMG to Tencent in a deal that values the world’s biggest music company at 30 billion euros. The Chinese tech firm has a one-year call option to acquire an additional 10% at the same price and terms. Vivendi also plans to sell an additional minority stake in UMG to other potential partners.
Enlisting minority investors would help Tencent share the costs and risks of buying as much as 20% of UMG, the people said. No final decision has been made as talks are still ongoing and could fall apart, the people said.
Tencent could bring Universal Music closer to consumers in Asian markets that are relatively underserved by the world’s major music labels. The Chinese company could help promote Universal’s stable of artists, which include Drake, Taylor Swift and U2, and identify talent in new markets.
Senegalese-American singer Akon says young music artists should avoid looking for lucrative record deals and instead focus on building their careers independently.
Akon
“In the next 3 to 5 years, the major labels won’t exist anymore,” the multi-platinum selling R&B artist told CNBC in an interview. “So just stop looking for a record deal.”
“You’re wasting your time, you’re losing money doing it obviously, and you’re gonna lose control,” he added.
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, enjoyed much popularity in the mid-2000s with hits like “Smack That” and “I Wanna Love You.” He started two successful record labels, and more recently launched a third in partnership with Motown veteran Kedar Massenburg.
Artists have increasingly gone down the route of launching their careers through unorthodox methods like releasing a mixtape online to gain traction for their music. Chance the Rapper is one artist in America that managed to do exactly that, while Stormzy in the U.K. went viral with a track posted onto YouTube.
According to Akon, that might be the way to go for other emerging musicians, though he says he himself was “super lucky” because he “actually went through the system” to learn the music business.
“Now it’s a totally different game,” he said. “You’re almost negotiating against yourself when you decide to go to a major.”
“All you know is they offered you a million bucks,” Akon added. “You’re not even realizing your streaming revenue alone before you’ve monetized it is worth five million bucks.”
“You gotta understand the business, learn how it actually works and just stay independent because that’s the best way to go.”
The post-Mike Francesa era is coming into focus, and it will amp up WFAN’s rivalry with ESPN New York, Andrew Marchand at The NYPost reports.
He believes Bart Scott is expected to leave WFAN 660 AM / 1019 FM to join crosstown rival, where he will be part of a new 1-3 p.m. local team on WEPN 98.7 FM. ESPN has had interest in Chris Carlin, but Alan Hahn is emerging as a potential internal candidate to be Scott’s partner, according to The Post report..
Meanwhile, the duo of Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts has become the favorite to move to afternoons on WFAN and replace Francesa, according to sources. Nothing yet is finalized.
Francesa is moving the majority of it to Radio.com beginning next year as part of a three-year deal.
Maggie Gray is expected to be half of the midday show, if the “Joe & Evan” show goes to afternoons when the new schedule begins in January.
For ESPN, it could offer the Scott show regionally, as well with a still-to-be announced national 1-3 p.m. program for ESPN Radio.
According to The Post, the national show opening came about with Stephen A. Smith moving off radio with his new five-year deal worth a little less than $8 million annually. Will Cain remains the favorite to host the 1-3 p.m. ESPN national show.
Scott’s new role will also give him prominence on TV, as he will be a football analyst on “Get Up!” and other ESPN shows.
Talk show Host Craig Silverman KNUS 710 AM, said he was fired mid-show Saturday after criticizing President Donald Trump.
Silverman was in the middle of a segment about Roy Cohn, Trump’s former personal attorney, when he suddenly was interrupted by network news, he told The Denver Post.
Silverman’s producer threw his hands up in the air, indicating it wasn’t him.
Instead, program director Kelly Michaels came through the door.
“You’re done,” Silverman recounted Michaels as saying.
The former prosecutor, who has hosted “The Craig Silverman Show” from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays for more than five years, responded to the sudden firing on Twitter.
Thanks Dylan. I cannot and will not toe strict Trump party line. I call things as I see them. I see corruption and blatant dishonesty by President and his cronies. I also see bullying/smearing of American heroes w/courage to take oath and tell truth. Their bravery inspires me. https://t.co/o9Z4cb7pfe
Representatives from KNUS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The page for Silverman’s show appears to have been removed from the station’s website. A link to his show gives a “404 Error — Not Found” message.
Silverman’s last segment of the hour, before he was taken off the air, was to “observe how toxic Trump is in Colorado,” he said in a text. “And to continue my show theme today that Democrats are making a strong case at the House impeachment hearing.”
Big Machine Records reportedly opted to close its Tennessee headquarters early for the weekend due to death threats aimed at label employees amid its ongoing battle with Taylor Swift, according to The NY Daily News.
The Nashville-based office closed its doors just after noon on Friday following “hostile death threats” that made staff feel unsafe, a source told Entertainment Tonight.
It’s only the latest drama between Big Machine and 29-year-old Swift, who recently alleged her former label is preventing her from playing her older songs at the American Music Awards later this month, where she is being honored as artist of the decade.
In a social media post on Thursday, Swift took direct aim at Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, who own the music rights to her first six albums.
“Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year,” she wrote, adding that the pair are also preventing her from using songs and performance footage in an upcoming Netflix documentary.
The pop superstar earlier this year blasted Braun as a bully after he acquired Borcehtta’s Big Machine Records, a hefty purchase that includes the masters to all of Swift’s music outside of her most recent “Lover” album. The songstress subsequently announced that she would re-record her first albums as soon as she is allowed to in November 2020.
According to Swift, Borchetta said he would only allow the use of her old tunes during the AMA medley if she stopped speaking about them in public and vowed to never record copy-cat versions of her music.
“This is WRONG. Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans. So this is where I’m asking for your help,” Swift tweeted on Thursday.
The label lashed out Friday in response to her claim that Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun are blocking her from singing her earlier hits at the American Music Awards.
"As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her Tumblr statements yesterday based on false information," the label posted on its website. "At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special. In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere."
Billboard reports within hours after Taylor Swift took to social media to put Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta on blast for supposedly not allowing her access to her older music for an upcoming American Music Awards performance and a Netflix special, tens of thousands of fans have rallied in her support.
A Change.org petition started by fan Jade Rossi has gathered 35,000+ signatures in just three hours, calling on Braun, Borchetta and investment firm The Carlyle Group to stop holding Swift’s art hostage.
In the petition, Rossi calls out sexism, the misuse of power and hints at “blackmail”.
Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren came to the defense of Swift:
Unfortunately, @TaylorSwift13 is one of many whose work has been threatened by a private equity firm. They're gobbling up more and more of our economy, costing jobs and crushing entire industries. It's time to rein in private equity firms—and I've got a plan for that. https://t.co/r2UD4CT1Ba
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and two other top Republicans sent a letter to ABC News on Sunday demanding the network explain why it “quashed” ABC News anchor Amy Robach’s story that would have exposed allegations against the now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein three years ago. reports Fox News.
The letter, to ABC News President James Goldston, was first reported by Megyn Kelly, formerly of Fox News. House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mike McCaul of Texas and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins of Georgia also signed it.
Brian Epstein
Video captured Robach on a hot mic claiming higher-ups at her network killed the story. The footage was published earlier this month by Project Veritas, whose controversial founder, James O'Keefe, has described himself as a “guerrilla journalist.” The video included Robach saying ABC refused to air an interview she
“I’ve had the story for three years. ... We would not put it on the air,” Robach said on the hot mic. “Um, first of all, I was told, who’s Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.”
She also said she tried to get the interview on the air for three years “to no avail.”
Less than two weeks after the footage was published, the House Republicans wrote the letter, asserting, “What appears to have been presented to Ms. Robach is first-hand evidence of human trafficking.”
They noted they were “deeply concerned that this victim, in search of justice, went to ABC News, provided information and an interview and then ABC News chose to bury the truth. This was a decision that Ms. Robach alluded was due to protecting powerful people or financial interests.”
Robach admitted the authenticity of the video, which has not been independently verified by Fox News, but dismissed the notion of unethical journalism.
“As a journalist, as the Epstein story continued to unfold last summer, I was caught in a private moment of frustration. I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with [Epstein accuser] Virginia Roberts didn’t air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standards about her allegations,” Robach said in a statement provided to Fox News earlier this month.
McCarthy, R-Calif., and the other Republicans wrote in the Sunday letter, “Although it is unclear whether anyone thought to alert authorities to further examine these deeply disturbing allegations, it is clear that ABC News’ enabling of Mr. Epstein has consequences: fewer victims willing to come forward to bring perpetrators of this modern-day slavery to justice and, more grievously, the possibility that any number of minors could have been spared from human trafficking over the past three years.”
The three Republicans wrote that they were requesting more information from ABC News. They asked if the network will provide Congress with the interview Robach conducted with the victim, what ABC News learned about Epstein after Robach first presented her story to executives and who was involved in deciding the story was not of public interest as well as any rationale for that decision.
As podcasts attract more advertisers, podcast publishers and ad sellers are beginning to embrace tactics that are common on the internet, including the automated buying and selling of targeted ads, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Midroll Media, a podcast ad sales group that offers 200 to 250 shows daily, plans to expand programmatic sales in 2020 after a small number of tests this year.
“With the range of shows we work with and the advertisers we talk to, it makes sense to start bringing in a whole range of ad products that meet brand needs across the board—and take more of their ad dollars, frankly,” said Erik Diehn, the chief executive of Midroll parent Stitcher Inc., a podcast platform owned by broadcasting company E.W. Scripps Co.
Podcasts are shifting from a “nice to have” element of marketers’ brand campaigns to becoming integral elements, said Rachel Lowenstein, associate director of Invention+ at WPP PLC -owned agency Mindshare. That adds to the pressure to implement ad technology.
“If there is any way we can make things more efficient and targeted, it’s going to happen,” Ms. Lowenstein said.
But not everyone wants to follow the web-advertising playbook.
The vast majority of podcast ads today are sold directly, not auctioned through programmatic technology vendors. Most also are read by hosts or producers and baked into episodes during the recording, though they are sometimes edited in afterward.
Barstool Sports Inc., whose podcasts include “Pardon My Take” and “Spittin’ Chiclets,” refuses any podcast ad formats except live reads. It is on track to generate more than $22 million in podcast ad revenue this year, all from ads read by the hosts, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company has 31 different podcast series with clients that include PepsiCo Inc.’s Mountain Dew brand, Nascar Holdings Inc. and New Amsterdam Spirits Co.
“Podcasting is a great medium because there’s essentially a relationship between a host and a listener—they are in your ears, they are telling you stories and it creates an ongoing relationship,” said Barstool Sports Chief Executive Erika Nardini. “That’s also what makes advertising so effective.”
The programmatic advertising now seeping into podcasting could erode that intimacy, Ms. Nardini said. And pooling ad inventory for auction could sap prices, she added.
Others worry ad tech will encourage publishers to pack podcasts with more commercials, because it’s easier with automation than doing more live reads.
The UK’s first 24-hour radio station devoted exclusively to podcasts is launching in London.
A news release states Podcast Radio will showcase podcasts from all over the globe enabling content providers to market and promote their audio across broadcast radio.
CEO Gerry Edwards says: “Podcast Radio will allow listeners to discover, engage with and consume an ever-changing and diverse range of podcasts across all genres.”
The new station, which will broadcast on DAB+ to a potential audience of 12 million people across the capital, was announced to an international audience of podcast, digital and radio delegates at today’s 8th annual RAIN (Radio and Internet News) Summit at the Congress Centre in London.
Consultant Paul Chantler, who previously helped set up successful builder and tradespeople station Fix Radio in 2017, has been working with Gerry to develop and devise Podcast Radio since the spring.
Paul says: “The popularity of podcasts and live radio is intoxicating. Radio is a natural way for people to sample different podcast content and find out what they like so they can download more episodes.”
Edwards, from Liverpool, started his radio career as a presenter and producer on radio in New Zealand. In the UK, he has worked for Global Radio and for the last few years designed and managed Panda Radio for the European-based media company GB Times.
“I’m excited to combine my love of podcasts with radio. We already have a wide variety of podcast partners to provide content and this will be growing over the next few months as we bring on some big names. The aim is more effective discovery.” he says.
Gerry will be Podcast Radio’s first “podjock” – a cross between a DJ and a continuity announcer – who will link the podcasts throughout the day and also present podcast related features such as a top 40 of the most popular, reviews and recommendations as well as interviews with content creators.
The exact launch date for Podcast Radio and some of the stars appearing on podcasts to be featured on the station will be revealed shortly.
Cable cord-cutting is unlikely to abate any time soon, because consumers today can drop cable and replace it with an array of streaming services for less money. It's possible to get nearly every channel via streaming, so consumers can theoretically save money and still get what they want.
How bad is it?
USAToday reports the major pay-television providers lost a total of 2.87 million net customers in 2018, up from 1.49 million the previous year, according to data from Leichtman Research Group (LRG). Those numbers got even worse in the first half of 2019, when the industry dropped another 2.88 million subscribers. And matters got still bleaker in the third quarter: According to the report LRG released Wednesday, the pay-TV companies lost another 1.74 million customers in Q3, the biggest single-quarter loss the industry has ever posted.
Arguably, those declines are even worse than the headline numbers would suggest because LRG counts 3.83 million streaming cable customers as part of the total. But those are subscribers who opted for cheaper plans, so they are probably significantly less profitable to the cable companies serving them.
This accelerating pace of people dropping cable coincides with a slowdown in the growth of broadband subscriptions – signing up new internet customers no longer compensates for the earnings lost from cord-cutting pay-TV customers. After adding 2.4 million broadband users in 2018, the industry has added about 1.9 million so far in 2019. That's still strong, but it's well below the approximately 4.5 million net decline in cable customers.
Britain is a nation of "desk jockeys" - with half of employees listening to music while they work, reports The Sun.
A study of 2,000 employed Brits found many slip on headphones as soon as they sit down in a bid to concentrate more - or block out colleague’s chit-chat. A third even think they work harder when listening to music, while two in five get more done.
Almost half (47 per cent) also claim to feeling less stressed with background melodies and more than a third said their productivity improves.
But the study, commissioned by Scala Radio, found that while more than a quarter use music to block out their colleagues' noise, a tenth do so to avoid silence.
The results come after an experiment saw four office workers given a 600-word task to complete to see how music affects their productivity compared to being in a silent room.
It found that when music was played, workers completed the task three minutes faster than they did with no background tunes.
Psychologist Dr Becky Spelman said: “Music has a really powerful impact on the brain, it affects mood and mental and physical performance.
The study also found that of those who listen to music at work, six in ten are based in an office, with 49 per cent either always or sometimes working from home.
More than two thirds of those who work from home would "struggle" to concentrate without having music on.
A quarter of home-based workers listen to classical music and 37 per cent admitted they find it easier to hear instrumental-only songs.
One in four workers opt for R&B to soundtrack their day, while almost three in 10 choose rock.
Half play music to help pass the time, four in 10 like to fill the silence of being the only one in their home office, and a further 28 per cent feel less alone.
In comparison, almost a third of employees have communal music played in their offices but 36 per cent prefer to keep themselves to themselves with their personal music selection.
Shari Redstone, the ViacomCBS heiress, thinks the media industry has a poor “track record” when it comes to paying its executives, reports The NYPost.
“I believe that it should be performance-based,” Redstone told a crowd at a media conference in Manhattan Friday.
“The media industry does not have a good track record of doing that in the past, and I hope to lead that charge going forward,” she said.
Redstone gave the remarks just days after it emerged that acting CBS Chief Executive Joe Ianniello will be getting $100 million for not being named head of to-be-merged ViacomCBS — despite remaining head of the network.
Ianniello, who will grab the reins as chairman and CEO of CBS after it merges with Viacom, was promised $70 million in severance if he was not named head of ViacomCBS. That payment deal was made well before the companies agreed to join forces in August in a long-anticipated deal.
The sum has since been juiced by a $10 million payment to extend his CBS contract in June, plus $20 million in stock in the newly combined firm.
Redstone on Friday appeared to be saying Ianniello’s pay package will not be replicated.
“In terms of executive compensation, I can only say that ViacomCBS is going to be fully aligned with the interest of all of our stakeholders,” Redstone told the crowd at the event hosted by the Paley Center for Media.
Redstone, who will serve as vice chair of ViacomCBS when the two companies merge, vowed to “be very involved in what happens going forward.”
Most Americans – 86 percent – think people should have access to local news – even if they don’t pay for it, a new Gallup/Knight study published today has found. However, as local outlets continue to adapt to the digital landscape, Americans are divided along partisan lines on how – or whether – to sustain local news organizations.
Most Americans (76%) say they need local and state news organizations to be informed, and 59% see their local newspaper as an important symbol of civic pride. But when it comes to financial support, Americans’ behaviors do not match the value they place on local news, the report, “Putting a Price Tag on Local News” found.
With just 1 in 5 Americans subscribing or donating to local news organizations, the financial base for the industry is limited, the report found. Americans believe that individuals, philanthropic organizations and tech platforms should help close the financial gap for local news.
Americans are deeply divided on whether subsidies are appropriate, even as some experts have argued that they are a key part of the funding puzzle: 66% oppose support from the federal government for local news, and 60% from the local government.
Views on subsidies vary greatly by political affiliation, with most Democrats (53% and 61%) saying they favor federal tax funds and local tax funds, respectively, to support local news organizations, while most Independents (30% and 37%) and Republicans (8% and 14%) do not.
One of the challenges facing local news is that Americans still believe local news is doing well financially. Yet as news publishers compete with search engines and digital platforms for advertising revenue, the financial strain on local news organizations – especially newspapers– has hollowed out newsrooms, leaving some communities without a fundamental democratic institution.
In addition, the Gallup/Knight report found:
Americans take pride in their local newspapers. Six in 10 Americans consider the local newspaper in their community an important symbol of civic pride (44%) or the most important symbol of civic pride (15%).
The subscriber base for local news has shrunk dramatically: 57% say they at one time subscribed but only 33 % – 1 in 5 – subscribe today.
No one type of content will help news organizations regain subscribers: When asked what would make news consumers re-up their subscriptions, no common themes emerged, though special content and discounts were the most often chosen responses, each by 31%.
There’s little consensus on how – or whether – to sustain local newspapers. Nearly half (47%) of Americans say local newspapers are vital and should be preserved, but there is a deep partisan division about whether those newspapers should be allowed to fail if they can’t sustain themselves.
Age and political affiliation are important lenses to view how Americans support local news organizations. U.S. adults over 55 years old are more likely to subscribe, while those 18 to 34 years old are twice as likely as people 55 and older to donate to a news organization. Democrats are also more likely to have donated to news organizations (30%) over the past 12 months than Republicans (8%) and Independents (17%).
Information on the industry can change minds. When provided information about the financial situation facing local news organizations and the ways in which local journalism supports a healthy democracy, respondents were significantly more likely to donate to a non-profit organization that supports local journalism (54%) than those in the control group (40%).
The Detroit Free Press has announced it will lay off four employees this year, ahead of a sale that will leave the daily in the hands of a hedge fund-backed media conglomerate, reports Deadline Detroit.
Three reporters and one photographer will be let go, according to an email sent by the union to its members Wednesday and obtained by Deadline Detroit. Free Press Editor and Vice President Peter Bhatia, the notice says, is looking for staff to voluntarily leave. Those who do would receive a week of severance for every six months they've been with the paper, up to 40 weeks.
This is the latest in a series of layoffs at the Free Press over the past decade, as the print media industry grapples with shrinking ad revenue and print circulation. The news comes after Free Press parent Gannett reported last week that 3rd quarter revenues were down 8 percent. Free Press employees last year managed to escape layoffs when some senior staff took buyouts.
It's unclear whether layoffs are planned at Gannett's other properties. The company, which owns USA Today, is also in a partnership with the business side of the Detroit News. That paper's editor and publisher, Gary Miles, said in a memo to staff Tuesday that it would "entertain a voluntary layoff for those who are interested," but that preliminary budget projections were "better than in many years."
Gannett earlier this year announced its pending sale to hedge fund-backed media group GateHouse, in a deal expected to bring even more layoffs — though mostly in back-offfice administrative operations, rather than newsrooms. Shareholders are due to vote on the sale Thursday.
