SAN FRANCISCO President Barack Obama poked a litte fun at rapper Kanye West on Saturday for saying he planned to run for the White House and offered some tongue-in-cheek advice on how to achieve a successful political career. “First of all, you’ve got to spend... More »
President Barack Obama’s administration has backed away from seeking legislation that would give U.S. law enforcement agencies access to individuals’ encrypted messages, the White House said on Saturday. “We are actively engaged with private companies to ensur... More »
Netflix Inc said on Thursday it has increased the subscription rate for some new members by $1.00 a month to $9.99 in the United States, Canada and Latin America. The price increase only affects new customers to the company’s “standard” plan, which allows two ... More »
STOCKHOLM/MINSK Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday for her portrayal of the harshness of life in the Soviet Union and in her first public response denounced Russia’s intervention in Ukraine as an “invasion”. T... More »
Sony Corp (6758.T) is proceeding with a plan to sell its half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the world’s largest music publisher, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sony, which owns the unit with Michael Jackson’s estate, recently triggered a clause in its contr... More »
Gannett Co Inc, publisher of USA Today, said on Wednesday it will buy Journal Media Group for $280 million. The price of $12 a share represents an almost 45 percent premium to Journal Media’s closing share price of $8.29 Tysons Corner, Virginia-based Gannett s... More »
The New York Times Co said it aimed to double its annual digital revenue to $800 million by 2020 with a concentrated effort to win over more readers on smartphones. The company has crossed 1 million digital subscribers and it needed to create the same “must-re... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Martian” blasted off with a massive $55 million this weekend, nearly surpassing another space-based adventure, “Gravity,” as the highest-grossing October debut in history. The Ridley Scott release was bolstered by rapturous rev... More »
NEW YORK Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dropped in at the late night comedy show “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, appearing in a sketch as a bartender alongside comedian Kate McKinnon, who played the former United States senator and secretary of stat... More »
Google Inc has morphed into Alphabet Inc. After U.S. markets closed on Friday, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google’s search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its “moonshot” ventures such as driverless ... More »
Dish Network Corp’s affiliates on Thursday surrendered 197 spectrum licenses to the U.S. government after they were held ineligible for $3.3 billion in small-business discounts earlier this year, according to a senior U.S Federal Communications Commission offi... More »
News Corp said it sold its digital education brand, Amplify, to a management team supported by a group of private investors following slowing growth in the digital curriculum market. The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal. News Corp said in A... More »
BEIJING/WASHINGTON On Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed the symbolic high point of his first state visit to the United States – a 21-gun salute as he stood with President Barack Obama outside the White House. For most Americans, it was a sid... More »
LONDON Talks between Vodafone and Liberty Global about exchanging assets to better compete in Europe’s converging mobile, broadband and TV markets collapsed on Monday because they could not agree on the value of their businesses. Vodafone, the world’s second-b... More »
TOKYO Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co is considering buying a majority stake in Sharp Corp’s loss-making LCD business for up to 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion), Japan’s Mainichi newspaper said on Monday, without citing any sources. The newspaper said Hon... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Hotel Transylvania 2” easily topped the weekend box office, sinking its teeth into an impressive $47.5 million, and providing a big win for star Adam Sandler and Sony Pictures, the studio behind the animated franchise. Both had end... More »
MENLO PARK, California Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome at Facebook headquarters on Sunday for a town hall hosted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that focused as much on the two men’s backgrounds as the business potential of the world’s secon... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the politically damaging “drip, drip, drip” of revelations about her use of a private email server is out of her control and she is unsure when the controversy might end. Clinton, who ... More »
WASHINGTON Former U.S. President Bill Clinton likened the controversy over his wife Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account while secretary of state to the same Republican and media tactics to stir controversy during his presidency, according to an i... More »
UNITED NATIONS (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and a host of celebrities kicked off a campaign on Saturday to make Internet access universal, saying this was critical to fulfilling the United Nations’ newly adopted agenda to com... More »
HANOI Vietnam will trim its state-run media and publishing sector, with the loss of about 10,000 jobs and some widely circulated newspapers, as the ruling Communist Party tightens its control over the booming industry, a report said on Saturday. The number of ... More »
Time Warner Cable Inc’s shareholders approved the company’s $56 billion takeover by Charter Communications Inc, according to preliminary votes at a special shareholder meeting. Later on Monday, Charter also said more than 99 percent of the votes cast at its sp... More »
BOSTON Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet. The company disclosed the effort after several cyber secur... More »
LOS ANGELES HBO shows “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” won the top prizes at the Emmy Awards for the first time on Sunday, bringing a breath of fresh air to television’s biggest night on an evening that also made history for black actresses. Jon Hamm finally snare... More »
U.S. video camera maker GoPro Inc (GPRO.O) shares could plunge to $25 from a recent $35 as its latest product launch underwhelms consumers and competition comes on strong, Barron’s said in a report on Sunday. Barron’s said investors in GoPro are “skittish” abo... More »
BOSTON Apple Inc APPL.O said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet. The company disclosed the effort after several cyber secur... More »
LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – Mobsters, mountain climbers, and teenage racers piled into multiplexes this weekend, lifting the overall box office, but preventing any one film from dominating ticket sales. “The Maze Runner: Scorch Trails,” a sequel to last year’... More »
LONDON London Fashion Week has sharpened its business focus over the past few years to usher in a new generation of fashion designers who blend creativity with a healthy dose of commerce. Long known as the little sister to Paris, Milan and New York, London is ... More »
Tumblr co-founder Marco Arment, who developed the most popular paid ad-blocker on Apple Inc’s U.S. app store, has pulled the product, citing concerns that the tool could hurt independent Web publishers. In a blog post on Friday, Arment, wrote that he was pulli... More »
Apple Inc is stepping up aid to the thousands of migrants that are streaming into Europe from war-torn countries, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told employees in an internal message on Friday. Cook wrote in a message on the company’s intranet site that the ... More »
NEW YORK The daily fare of a big city tabloid such as the New York Daily News includes provocative gossip, arresting headlines, snappy features and at its heart and soul, sports. That’s why sweeping layoffs in its sports department on Wednesday caught many off... More »
The Republican presidential candidates’ prime-time debate on CNN attracted an average of 22.9 million viewers, the network said on Thursday, making it the highest-rated program in the channel’s 35-year history. The figures, based on Nielsen data, fell shy of t... More »
News Corp said it would buy Unruly Holdings Ltd, a UK-based video advertisement technology company, giving it the technology that analyzes historical sharing behavior to predict the potential for video ads to go viral. Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Corp will ... More »
Google Inc said it named auto industry veteran John Krafcik as chief executive of its self-driving car project from late September. With the hiring of Krafcik, currently the president of automotive pricing terminal Truecar Inc and a former CEO of Hyundai Motor... More »
Georgia contestant Betty Cantrell was crowned 2016 Miss America on Sunday in a pageant that was overshadowed by events from three decades ago. Singer, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams received a public apology from the pageant organization that... More »
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), which recently slipped below their initial offering price after having rocketed 75 percent in their first two months of trading, could lose another 50 percent of their value, Barron’s said in the cover story of its... More »
WASHINGTON Days before a Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library, an immigration advocacy group invoked the former president to attack the tough immigration rhetoric of certain candidates, including front-runner Donald Trump. A television a... More »
When the contestants for the 2016 Miss America pageant take the stage in Atlantic City on Sunday night, they’ll be greeted by two blasts from the past — and a new social media feature. Singer and actress Vanessa Williams, the first African American to be crown... More »
TORONTO After winning widespread acclaim in “Breaking Bad”, Bryan Cranston is tackling one of Hollywood’s darkest eras, portraying radical screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, a high profile victim of the blacklist era of the 1940s and 50s. “Trumbo”, which had its worl... More »
Want to own the new iPhone without burning a hole in your pocket every month? Sprint seems to be the cheapest option in the United States. Sprint Corp’s offer for the 16 GB iPhone 6S with a basic data, calling and text plan costs between $3 and $10.50 less per... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Friday started a non-binding 180-day countdown to review the proposed $56 billion merger of cable rivals Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC.N) The FCC said it will collect th... More »
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Friday he had bought NBC’s share of the Miss Universe Organization and that all lawsuits against the media company had been settled. “Just purchased NBC’s half of the Miss Universe Organization and settl... More »
NEW YORK Disgraced journalist Brian Williams will return to U.S. television on Sept. 22 as an anchor for breaking news on cable channel MSNBC, the network said on Thursday. Williams, 56, was dropped from his job as news anchor of NBC’s flagship “Nightly News” ... More »
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc said it will expand its 18-year partnership of operating National Geographic TV channels to include the latter’s magazines and digital platforms, in a deal valued at $725 million. Fox will own 73 percent of the joint venture and th... More »
Google Inc’s YouTube is planning to provide advertisers with data on how many of the ads on its internet video service can be seen by viewers, in response to advertiser complaints, according to the Financial Times. The online story, which cited unnamed people ... More »
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will make gaming a key part of an Apple TV product it is expected to unveil at an event on Wednesday, according to a New York Times online report on Sunday. The article, which cited unnamed people briefed on Apple’s plans, said the new produ... More »
A weekend screening of “Steve Jobs,” a biopic about Apple Inc’s famous co-founder, drew high praise from some reviewers and suggestions that actor Michael Fassbender could be an Oscar contender for his portrayal of Jobs. While the positive views were not unani... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Sony’s faith-based drama “War Room” has the edge on N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton” with $9.3 million to lead the modest U.S. box office over the Friday-Sunday weekend. “Straight Outta Compton” took in $8.9 million at 3,094 lo... More »
VENICE Few people have been left untouched by the plight of desperate refugees trying to make it to Europe, and at the Venice Film Festival, actors and directors alike shared their distress over the crisis, pleading for tolerance and compassion. Mexican direct... More »
LONDON/WASHINGTON When the once toxic Rebekah Brooks returns to run Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers on Monday she will face the toughest challenge of her career — rebuilding her reputation and the company in the harsh glare of the public spotlight. Brooks,... More »
VENICE So the question that will arise — if only jokingly — with the premiere of the transgender movie “The Danish Girl” on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival is should Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne win another for best actor or best actress? The British actor... More »
Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA, Europe’s largest media group, is close to acquiring a minority stake in learning technology firm HotChalk, according to people familiar with the matter, as the educational technology sector continues to grow. Bertelsmann is leading a ... More »
WASHINGTON Republican Jeb Bush’s first TV ads of his 2016 White House campaign will target New Hampshire, his team said on Friday, in a reflection of his need to do well in an early voting state where rival John Kasich has been making inroads. The initial $500... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Ride services Lyft and Uber have poached dozens of key Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) employees over the past year, including top engineering managers, to help personalize their apps. Twitter’s management turmoil and 44 percent stock fall over the last 12 ... More »
LONDON Rebekah Brooks, the Rupert Murdoch protegee cleared last year of orchestrating a criminal campaign that damaged the British establishment, will return to her old job running the tycoon’s British newspapers next week in a stunning comeback. Brooks, who w... More »
PARIS French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA) reported higher second-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong growth in its Universal Music division, and said recent asset sales could enable it to consider more acquisitions in the future. The company, with a ... More »
LOS ANGELES Justin Bieber might be making a comeback and Taylor Swift is leading nominees, but at Sunday’s annual MTV Video Music Awards, all eyes will be on the show’s wildcard host, Miley Cyrus. After twerking her way into national headlines with a latex lin... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The box office underwent a religious conversion this weekend as Christian crowds flocked to “War Room,” lifting the low-budget salute to prayer above the Zac Efron drama “We’re You’re Friends” and the Owen Wilson thriller “No Escape... More »
TORONTO The owner of adultery website Ashley Madison had already been struggling to sell itself or raise funds for at least three years before the publication of details about its members, according to internal documents and emails also released by hackers as ... More »
LONDON Rebekah Brooks will return to her old job heading Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper division, the Financial Times reported, just over a year after being cleared of criminal charges in a phone-hacking scandal. Her return to News Corp could be as soon as... More »
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter awarded $75 million on Friday to help a consortium of high-tech firms and researchers develop electronic systems packed with sensors flexible enough to be worn by soldiers or molded onto the skin of a pla... More »
LONDON The piano used to play the glissando that kicks off ABBA’s disco hit “Dancing Queen” will be one of the star attractions at a rock and pop auction at Sotheby’s next month where it is expected to sell for up to 800,000 pounds ($1.24 million). The instrum... More »
SANTIAGO When the creators of an elaborate 2013 Cadillac commercial began to scout for shooting locations three years ago, they began in Argentina, where varied landscapes and creative talent had long attracted ad producers. But when it came time to import the... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler on Wednesday called for an emergency meeting with Dish Network Corp and Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc over the continuing blackout affecting 129 TV stations. Sinclair, the largest U.S. broad... More »
MILAN A 1896 film of a woman plucking babies from a cabbage patch marks a whimsical start to a Milan exhibition that examines artistic representations of motherhood, but the mood turns more sinister as the show moves into the 20th century. “The Great Mother” r... More »
LONDON Benedict Cumberbatch delivered a “Hamlet” for our time in London in a production that played to his strengths, dresses up Shakespeare for a younger crowd and had the British actor’s fans roaring in approval at the end. Ever since the 12-week run was ann... More »
SEOUL North and South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire and had ratcheted up tension on one of the world’s most heavily-fortified borders. Under an accord reached in the early hours, following m... More »
Infidelity website Ashley Madison and its parent company have been sued in federal court in California by a man who claims that the companies failed to adequately protect clients’ personal and financial information from theft, saying he suffered emotional dist... More »
Apple Inc’s Chief Executive Tim Cook took an unusual step of reassuring shareholders on Monday in comments to CNBC about the iPhone maker’s business in China ahead of a dramatic 13 percent drop and rebound in its stock that put it in positive territory. Chines... More »
Rapper Wiz Khalifa was handcuffed and then released by U.S. Customs officers after refusing to stop riding his hoverboard at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said on Sunday. A video on Khalifa’s Instagram site shows three U.S. Customs and Border ... More »
The New York Daily News is no longer for sale, according to a memo sent to employees by the newspaper’s owner, Mort Zuckerman, on Thursday. The memo from the media and property mogul said that, after meeting with several potential suitors, he had “decided to w... More »
Financial news agency Bloomberg plans to cut about 100 jobs in its editorial division, the New York Post reported. The announcement could come as soon as Labor Day in early September, the Post said, citing sources. Many of the layoffs will affect political and... More »
SEOUL His father was afraid to fly, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has taken to the skies, building a series of small runways long enough to land light, private aircraft next to some of his palaces, satellite imagery shows. Construction on Kim’s personal ... More »
Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal said on Tuesday it had invested $200 million in online publisher BuzzFeed, the latest move by the media conglomerate to tap into a younger audience. NBCUniversal invested $200 million last week in Vox Media, owner of tech-focused we... More »
News Corp (NWSA.O) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by cost cuts in its news and information services business that includes Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal. Shares of the company, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, rose a... More »
NEW YORK/BOSTON The slowdown in the Chinese economy, which prompted the Chinese government to devalue the yuan currency on Tuesday, has already hammered the shares of U.S. industrial companies. Yet some contrarian U.S. fund managers say there is still room to ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Scathing reviews and an indiscreet tweet left “Fantastic Four” on the slab after the franchise reboot flopped at the weekend box office. Fox’s hopes of rejuvenating the comicbook characters and turning the super-team into a cinemati... More »
U.S. media stocks have taken an indiscriminate beating this week, but many big fund managers still like entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Co while turning negative for the long term on Discovery Communications, owner of several niche television franchises... More »
AMC Networks Inc’s (AMCX.O) shares fell as much as 14 percent despite the company’s strong results, continuing a slide triggered by Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) forecast that suggested that more customers were deserting paid TV than expected. Walt Disney Co (DIS.N... More »
New York Times Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as its print advertising sales fell for the fourth straight quarter. Shares of the company, which also forecast a decline in its current-quarter ad revenue, fell as much as 6 percent on Thursday.... More »
Viacom Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by lower advertising revenue from its U.S. cable TV business as viewers increasingly shift to online streaming services. The results add to investor concerns over the U.S. cable industry after di... More »
Media company Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) on Wednesday reduced its profit expectation for the coming year, citing foreign currency impacts, the timing of film releases, and sports and digital investments in India. Fox had projected earnings in the mi... More »
MEXICO CITY A prominent Mexican news photographer was among five people found dead in a middle-class neighborhood of the capital on Friday, the city’s prosecutor told reporters at a Sunday press conference. Ruben Espinosa, who a month ago claimed in interviews... More »
WASHINGTON Donald Trump, the man to beat in this week’s first televised Republican presidential debate, said on Sunday he does not plan to attack his rivals and downplayed expectations for his performance, saying “I’m not a debater.” The combative real estate ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” dominated the U.S. box office this weekend with an impressive $56 million at 3,956 locations. The Paramount/Skydance tentpole generated $20.3 million at the Friday box office, settin... More »
VIENNA The chief executive of BMW hinted in a German paper that there was potential for another of its “i” electric car models. “Between the i3 and the i8, there is space if you look at it from the number point of view,” Harald Krueger told Frankfurter Allgeme... More »
SEATTLE A Washington state judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit seeking photos from the death scene of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain because the journalist who wants them violated legal procedures, Seattle’s attorney said. Independent journalist Richard Lee sued... More »
WASHINGTON The cybersecurity issues that led Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to recall 1.4 million vehicles this month could pose a problem for cars and trucks from other automakers, the top U.S. auto safety regulator said on Friday. Mark Rosekind, who heads the ... More »
SEATTLE A Washington state judge should dismiss a lawsuit seeking photos from the death scene of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain because public-disclosure laws do not apply and the journalist who wants them violated legal procedures, Seattle’s attorney will argue... More »
NEW YORK Dish Network Corp said on Friday that Comcast Corp’s broadcast television network NBC is not airing ads promoting its Sling TV video streaming service in some markets. While NBC, part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal film and TV unit, has banned Sling TV ads... More »
LOS ANGELES Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal film and television unit is close to making an investment in online publisher BuzzFeed and is in talks to raise its stake in Vox Media, a person with knowledge of both sets of discussions said on Thursday. The ... More »
LONDON European pay-TV group Sky said on Wednesday it expects to perform strongly in its new financial year after better-than-expected 2014/15 profits prompted investors to rethink their growth forecasts for the newly-enlarged group. Sky, formed from the combi... More »
BAYREUTH, Germany A renovated Richard Wagner Museum opening in Bayreuth this weekend to coincide with the Bavarian city’s annual Wagner opera festival puts the composer’s anti-Semitism and his family’s later ties to Adolf Hitler center stage for the first time... More »
TORONTO Cheating spouses website AshleyMadison.com, facing hackers’ threats to leak clients’ nude photos and sexual fantasies, said it is heartened by some initial public response that sees the site as a victim. The website’s Canadian parent, Avid Life Media, ... More »
RAGLAN, New Zealand Deep in New Zealand’s dairying heartland, drone maker Aeronavics tests aircraft designed to corner the fast-growing emerging market for unmanned aerial vehicles in the film and television business. The developer of drones used in the produc... More »
NEW YORK A U.S. judge ruled on Thursday that online television service FilmOn X LLC should be treated like a traditional cable system in order to transmit the programs of the nation’s broadcasters over the Internet. The ruling, coming as consumer TV-watching h... More »
LOS ANGELES Cable television channel TLC canceled its reality show “19 Kids and Counting” on Thursday, citing controversy surrounding the disclosure of child molestation in the Duggar family at the heart of the series. But the network said it planned to work w... More »
LONDON Britain’s newly elected Conservative government signalled on Thursday it would cut back the BBC, the opening salvo in a battle over the future of the world’s biggest public service broadcaster. Any attempt to change the 92-year-old broadcaster provokes ... More »
