For the Record

Lai Denied Bail After Fraud Charge:

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai "was denied bail on Thursday on a charge of fraud related to the lease of a building that houses his Apple Daily, an anti-government tabloid," according to Claire Jim of Reuters. Although Lai's charge does not fall under a Beijing-imposed national security law implemented last summer, "it marks the latest crackdown on pro-democracy figures in the former British colony, which was handed back to Beijing in 1997 with a promise of keeping its free-wheeling way of life for 50 years." Local media have reported that the case was adjourned until April, while Lai did not respond to Jim's request for comment. 

Digital Platforms Dominate Pandemic Advertising:

More than half of U.S. advertising spending "is set to go to digital platforms such as Google and Facebook in a reflection of marketers’ strategy shift as the coronavirus pandemic pummeled the industry this year," according to a GroupM report obtained by Suzanne Vranica of The Wall Street Journal. The company "expects marketers to spend $110.1 billion on digital ads this year, or 51% of the total $214.6 billion total U.S. advertising-spending forecast," with a 3% increase next year. As recently as three years ago, digital advertising only accounted for one-third of all U.S. ad spending. "The biggest beneficiaries are Google, Facebook and Amazon," said Christian Juhl, GroupM’s global chief executive. "They have done a good job of showing ad performance — and when they show performance marketers shift dollars."

New York Times Obtains Headway Support:

The New York Times announced Tuesday that it "has raised $4 million to launch Headway, an initiative to investigate global and national challenges." Initial funding will be offered by the Ford Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, while Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors will serve as a nonprofit fiscal sponsor. Overseen by two-time Pulitzer finalist and Editor at Large Michael Kimmelman, the initiative "aims to produce 10-12 deeply researched, visually ambitious, data-rich projects a year." The Times "will retain full editorial control over everything Headway will publish," although the coverage will remain available to the public without a subscription due to the endowment.

Politico Reporters Start Newsletter:

Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan of Politico "will launch a daily newsletter in 2021 as a stand-alone company," Sara Fischer of Axios reported Tuesday. The newsletter "will include a heavy focus on Capitol Hill reporting, given the expertise of the trio, but it's not designed to be a carbon copy of Politico's flagship newsletter Playbook," which is currently written by Sherman and Palmer. The venture also will "include other offerings aside from the newsletter," while Sherman and Palmer "have been soliciting emails via social media to get set up quickly after they depart."

Publishers Mull Hybrid Events:

Some publishers "have begun testing the limits of hybrid events" amid dissatisfaction with digital events more than eight months after "the pivot to virtual [...] inexorably changed the events business," according to Kayleigh Barber of Digiday. Digital travel magazine Atlas Obscura is planning U.S.-based road trips to select locations, while entertainment site PopSugar recently hosted a drive-in premiere in Los Angeles. "[T]here are fewer clients that are willing to experiment with the hybrid concepts," said Geoff Schiller, chief revenue officer of Group Nine, which owns PopSugar. "But clients don't want to be in the mindset of simply checking off the virtual box. We are thinking about what can we do to break through the clutter."

Heyman Leaves Entertainment Weekly:

Meredith Corporation "has parted ways with J.D. Heyman, the editor in chief of Entertainment Weekly magazine," Katie Robinson of The New York Times reported Monday. The reason for Heyman's departure was not disclosed. In a statement, the company thanked Heyman "for his contributions to the E.W. and People brands over his many years of service."  Heyman's appointment "came as the publication cut its print edition from weekly to monthly and shifted much of its focus to its digital media and video" after Meredith acquired the property from Time, which started the magazine in 1990. He previously served as deputy editor of People.

FCC's Pai Announces Resignation:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will resign on January 20, Russell Brandom of The Verge reported Monday. Appointed to the commission in 2012 and elevated to his current position by President Trump in 2017, Pai "began his term with the [...] decision to roll back Title II classification, undoing the net neutrality rules put in place under President Obama." In addition to overseeing the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, his tenure "coincided with a significant shift in Republican telecom policy," with commissioners such as Brendan Carr "advocating for a more aggressive FCC role [in] regulating social media platforms."

Investors Call for New Maven Board:

Investors Bryant Riley and Kevin Rendino have urged The Maven "to pursue a new direction" in addition to requesting the resignations of five board members in a November 24 letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing reported Friday. The Seattle-based media company, which licensed the publishing rights to Sports Illustrated from Authentic Brands Group last year, has had two rounds of layoffs, salary reductions and the August resignation of CEO Jim Heckman. Bucholtz added that a May SEC filing "suggested they only had resources to operate through April 2021."

Biden, Harris Announce Women-Led Communications Team:

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have announced their incoming communications team, Errin Haines of The 19th reported Sunday. Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield will serve as White House communications director, while Jen Psaki (who was communications director from 2015 to 2017) will become White House press secretary. Other appointees include Karine Jean-Pierre (principal deputy press secretary), Symone Sanders (senior advisor and spokesperson for Harris) and Elizabeth Evans Alexander (communications director for incoming First Lady Jill Biden). "I don't believe the Biden-Harris transition set out to create an all-women communications team," said Jennifer Palmieri, a former White House communications director. "They wanted an all-star team. It just so happened the best for the job was a diverse group of women."

Bertelsmann To Buy S&S for $2.2 Billion:

Bertelsmann has emerged as the winning bidder for Simon & Schuster. The parent company of Penguin Random House said it had reached an agreement to buy S&S from ViacomCBS for $2.175 billion. Following regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to be completed sometime in 2021.