Twitter fires its new head of VR… in the same week it hired him October 19, 2016 Twitter is ploughing on into the world of virtual reality, though it faced a small setback today after announcing it had fired its new head of VR (roughly 48 hours after he started his new job). A Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Gregory Gopman, had joined the struggling social network to work on a nascent team charged with [...]
Independent profitable for first time in 23 years after print closure, says owner October 19, 2016 The Independent is profitable for the first time in more than 20 years after it went online-only earlier this year, its owner has revealed. The Independent and Independent on Sunday print newspapers were closed earlier this year after owner ESI Media, which also publishes the Evening Standard, sold the i newspaper, their cut-price sister title. Read [...]
Yahoo beats Wall Street estimates ahead of Verizon takeover October 18, 2016 Yahoo beat Wall Street earnings estimates in its third quarter earnings, which was a welcome bit of good news for Marissa Mayer’s firm. The company said it earned 20 cents per share on an adjusted basis, above analyst predictions of 14 cents and reported a 6.5 per cent rise in quarterly revenue. But although Yahoo reported [...]
PA to use robots to write market reports and election coverage October 18, 2016 Hello Siri, can you write me a story please? This could be the future of digital journalism after the Press Association said they are looking at using robots to report some stories in the next few months, Press Gazette reported today. Speaking at the Society of Editor's conference this morning, the agency's editor-in-chief, Pete Clifton, [...]
Netflix shares soar thanks to Stranger Things boost, but it’s putting the brakes on its roll-out in China October 17, 2016 After much doom and gloom ahead of Netflix's third quarter update today, shares soared 20 per cent in after-hours trading after stronger than expected earnings. Global streaming revenue surpassed $2bn for the first time – up 36 per cent year-on-year, which Netflix attributed to its strong original content, including Stranger Things and the second series of [...]
Editor of Russia’s state broadcaster says UK bank account frozen October 17, 2016 Russia’s state-run broadcaster has had its NatWest bank account frozen, according to its editor-in-chief. Margarita Simonyan tweeted today: “Our accounts in Britain have been blocked. All of them. ‘Decision not to be discussed’. Hail to freedom of speech!” Read more: US ends Syria ceasefire talks with Russia RT, formerly known as Russia Today, reported that NatWest [...]
Could you be watching Trump TV if Donald loses the US election? October 17, 2016 What do you do when the media is, in your view, rigging an election against you? Set up your own media organisation, of course. Donald Trump's son-in-law has been having talks about helping his dad set up a new TV network, just days after the Republican candidate claimed that the media was rigging the US election. Jared [...]
Great British Bake Off might have a new presenter October 17, 2016 Crumbs. Those devastated by Mel Geidroyc and Sue Perkins' decision to ditch Great British Bake Off on the grounds of loyalty might just come around to the show's new direction if reports of the new presenter its production company has lined up are accurate. The Sun has suggested Love Productions, the company which came under fire [...]
Sales at former FT publisher fall, but expectations steady thanks to reduced cost base October 17, 2016 Pearson's share price fell seven per cent on Monday morning after the education business, which sold the Financial Times last year, reported sales falling at a greater pace than anticipated. But the FTSE 100 company said its cost base was also lower than expected, with 2016 guidance and 2018 goals unchanged. [stockChart code="PSON" date="2016-10-17 08:59"] Read more: Pearson [...]
New BBC cost-cutting plans restrict presenters’ foreign travel October 15, 2016 Presenters on some of the BBC’s most popular programmes are to be prevented from going abroad as part of the corporation’s cost-cutting plans. They mean presenters from news programmes such as BBC Breakfast and Newsnight will not be permitted to travel abroad to cover breaking international news. Instead, reporters could stand in for presenters. Read [...]