Mediagazer: Filmmaker Brett Ratner to “step away from all Warner Bros.-related activities” amid sexual misconduct allegations (Beatrice Verhoeven/The Wrap)

12:55 PM ET, November 2, 2017

Top News:

Memo: Breitbart benefactor Robert Mercer to sell his stake in Breitbart News to daughters and disavows Milo Yiannopoulos as he steps down as RenTech co-CEO — Renaissance Technologies' Robert Mercer plans to step down as co-chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, according to a letter he sent to investors in the firm's funds.

Discussion: @joshuagreen, New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, The Wrap, Business Insider, @buzzfeedben, @cristianafarias, @joshuagreen and Axios

Alexandra Steigrad / WWD:

Conde Nast will close Teen Vogue print edition; cut 80 jobs, equivalent to 2.5% of their workforce; and lower frequency of some titles, including GQ and Glamour — The publisher continues to slash costs as it builds up its digital business. — Condé Nast headquarters at 1 World Trade Center.

Discussion: The New York Observer, Adweek, Folio, Fast Company, Mediaite, The Wrap, Variety, Mashable, Jezebel, @clarajeffery, @kimberlynfoster, Fashionista and twitchy.com

Washington Post:

Lawmakers release a sampling of Russian Facebook ads placed during and after campaign — Lawmakers on Wednesday released a trove of ads that Russian operatives bought on Facebook, providing the fullest picture yet of how foreign actors sought to promote Republican Donald Trump …

Politico:

Prior actions shows Facebook, Google, and Twitter cannot be counted on to police themselves; it's time for proactive prevention with real oversight — Google, Facebook and Twitter took a beating on Wednesday testifying in front of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees …

Discussion: Washington Post, Stratechery, CNBC, Pew Research Center, @kurafire, Washington Post, @kumailn, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, GeekWire, TechCrunch and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:
E-mail: Twitter offered Russia Today “share of voice” increase from 2% to 15% for $3M via ads during US election vs 56% SoV for CNN, 32% for Fox; RT declined

Discussion: Nieman Lab, The Daily Caller, @juliadavisnews, Engadget, @adviserdavid, @topherspiro, @renan, @joshsternberg, @crewcrew, @pdanahar, @adamblickstein, @zerlinamaxwell and @jennwongsilver

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook says Clinton and Trump campaigns spent combined $81M on ads on the platform, compared to $46K spent by Russian Internet Research Agency

Discussion: Recode, Mother Jones, Slate, Forbes, Motherboard, The Verge, Engadget, @umairh, Fast Company, @hannahkuchler, Axios and TechCrunch

Beatrice Verhoeven / The Wrap:

Filmmaker Brett Ratner to “step away from all Warner Bros.-related activities” amid sexual misconduct allegations — Brett Ratner has decided to “personally step away from all Warner Bros.-related activities” following a Los Angeles Times report Wednesday in which six women accused the producer of sexual misconduct.

Sean Burch / The Wrap:

AMC Networks profit jumps 25% YoY in Q3, revenue rises 2.1% YoY to $648M but narrowly misses estimates — AMC Networks — the entertainment conglomerate that includes a number of popular cable channels, including AMC, IFC and SundanceTV — posted a 25 percent increase in profit year-over-year …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable and @thr

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Discovery Communications Q3 revenue rises 6% YoY to $1.65B while profit remains flat; ad and distribution revenue offset cost of Scripps Networks acquisition — Discovery Communications said its third-quarter profit was essentially flat as improvements in operations due to revenue …

Discussion: The Wrap

CNNMoney:

Memo: NPR's Senior Vice President of News Michael Oreskes has resigned over allegations of sexual harassment — NPR's senior vice president of news Michael Oreskes resigned on Wednesday amid allegations of sexual harassment and improper behavior in his past. — “I am deeply sorry to the people I hurt.

Discussion: NPR.org, NPR, CNNMoney, Code Words, @nprkelly, Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, NPR, iMediaEthics, @davidfolkenflik, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, @davidfolkenflik and The New York Observer

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Wall Street Journal alumni and staff fear an exodus of top reporters after recent editorials that attacked special counsel Mueller and undermined reporting — A series of virulent anti-Mueller editorials has reporters worried about their paper's credibility.

Discussion: Washington Post, @jonfavs, MediaFile, @brianstelter, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, @oliverdarcy, @jayrosen_nyu and New York Times

Ken Doctor / TheStreet:

Print advertising now makes up 17% of revenue for The New York Times, and reader revenue tops 60%; 43% of ad revenue is digital — Roll those digital presses. With its third straight better-than-the-economy-growth- rate quarter, New York Times Co. (NYT) can almost mark 2017 as its turnaround year.

Discussion: New York Times and @jayrosen_nyu

New York Times Company:
In Q3, NYT adds 154K net digital-only subscribers, up 14% YoY; Cooking app, which launched early in the quarter, adds 23K subscribers; revenue up 6% YoY

Discussion: Recode, Publishing Executive, Editor & Publisher and @dleonhardt

Erich Schwartzel / Wall Street Journal:

Disney sets tough rules for theaters showing The Last Jedi: a 65% cut of ticket revenue for studio, a four-week minimum run, and a 5% penalty for violations — Exhibitors say the studio's top-secret terms are the most onerous they have ever seen — LOS ANGELES—The box-office domination of the …

Discussion: CinemaBlend, Business Insider, The Week, /Film, Mashable, io9 and @dangillmor

Mike Snider / USA Today:

President of Gannett domestic publishing and USA Today publisher John Zidich retiring in April 2018 after more than 40 years at Gannett — McLEAN, Va. — After more than 40 years with Gannett, John Zidich is ready to hand off the responsibilities of the media company's domestic publishing portfolio.

BBC:

Three more men have alleged that actor Kevin Spacey sexually harassed or assaulted them; one was a teenager when the incident happened — A man has said he was left traumatised after waking up to find Hollywood star Kevin Spacey lying on him when he was a teenager in the 1980s.

Discussion: Variety, BBC, Mediaite, The Guardian, Home Media Magazine, @vallmeister, IndieWire, Vanity Fair, New York Times, The Daily Beast and Just Jared

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

During a conference call, Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley said Bill O'Reilly did approach the company but said they have “no interest” in hiring him — During a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley fielded a question …