Return to work after maternity leave employers rights

A Fox News producer claims that she was “coerced” and “intimidated” by the network’s legal team into providing misleading and evasive testimony in a deposition in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case. Abby Grossberg , who has worked on shows hosted by Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson , also claimed that the network’s attorneys were trying to subtly shift “all responsibility for the alleged defamation against Dominion onto her shoulders and by implication, those of her trusted female colleague, Ms. Bartiromo, rather than the mostly male higher ups at Fox News who endorsed the repeated coverage of the lies against the Dominion.” Her suit was filed in federal court in New York and Delaware Superior Court, where Fox and Dominion are delivering oral arguments on Tuesday in the summary judgment phase of the case. Grossberg also claims that she was retaliated against after she complained about unlawful harassment based on her gender and Jewish religion. She claims … [Read more...] about Fox News Producer Sues Network Claiming She Was Coached To Give Misleading Testimony In Dominion Case

Top International execs from ZDF Studios, Fremantle , All3Media and Banijay have said the potential U.S. writers strike and changing market economics can create opportunities to strike new business. As Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne put it, likening the challenging of leaving previous market conditions behind to bouncing back after being dumped: “When one door closes, another one opens.” She was talking during a Series Mania panel on windowing and content financing this afternoon in France. International distribution companies are already wrestling with myriad content financing issues as the U.S. market corrects after streamers’ spending momentum slows. All eyes are now turning to the discussions between the WGA and AMPTP, and one potential upshot if a strike kicks off will likely be more international business for U.S. networks. All3Media International CEO Louise Pedersen said U.S. execs at the London TV Screenings at the start of the month had begun … [Read more...] about Banijay, Fremantle, All3Media & ZDF Debate Market Economics And Writers’ Strike: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens” — Series Mania

GLAAD has released its 18th annual “Where We Are on TV” report. It counted 596 regular and recurring LGBTQ characters across broadcast, cable and streaming shows that have been released (or are expected to) between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. This is a decrease of -6.44% from the previous year’s 637 LGBTQ characters. Streaming continues to dominate with 356 LGBTQ characters on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, and Paramount+ vs. 141 LGBTQ characters on broadcast, and 139 LGBTQ characters on cable. All broadcast networks saw a decrease in their percentage of LGBTQ series regulars from the previous report. The CW remains on top with 14.8 percent of all series regulars being LGBTQ. That is down -2.3%, and the report expresses concern how the network’s changed ownership would impact LGBTQ representation. In total, 51 percent (304) of the 596 LGBTQ characters are people of color. For the first time, in 2022-23 streaming features a majority … [Read more...] about LBGTQ Representation On TV Dipped During 2022-23 Season, GLAAD Reports

Welcome to Global Breakouts , Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you. This week we head down under to Australia , where Paramount+ original Last King of the Cross has been making a serious racket. Telling the true story of gang warfare in the notorious Sydney Kings Cross district, the 10-part crime thriller harks back to classics such as The Godfather . Its journey to screen has been a lengthy but enjoyable one, say producers. Name : Last King of the Cross Country : Australia Network : Paramount+ Australia Producer : Helium Pictures International sales : Cineflix Rights For fans of : Godfather, Gomorrah Neighbours may have felt like the only Australian TV drama … [Read more...] about ‘Godfather’-esque Crime Thriller ‘Last King Of The Cross’ Is Proving That Australian TV Drama Is So Much More Than ‘Neighbours’

UK sales and production firm Embankment Films ( The Father, The Wife ) has set a wholesale rejig of its nonfiction arm with four new senior hires. Producers Nick Taussig, Malcolm Neaum, Sophie Harmer, and researcher Henry Farrington will join the company, taking on their new positions with immediate effect. Taussig ( McQueen, Audrey, Killing Escobar ), a BAFTA and Grierson nominated feature documentary producer, will team with Neaum ( I Shouldn’t Be Alive, Savile Row ) to produce unscripted series formats, including returnable series, for Embankment. Those two will be joined by Harmer, who, with Taussig, recently produced the feature docs Call Me Kate and Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and Me . Harmer will be Head of Production Unscripted at Embankment, while Henry Farrington joins as a senior researcher. These four new hires are the latest to be announced by Embankment since veteran UK producer Kevin Loader ( The Death of Stalin, … [Read more...] about Embankment Beefs Up Nonfiction Arm With Four Hires

Amazon is laying off another 9,000 workers as job cuts in the tech sector expand at a time of growing economic uncertainty. It follows cuts last fall and early this year. “Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount,” Jassy said in a memo to staff today. “As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan (“OP2”) this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks—mostly in AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” he said. (PXT is People eXperience and Technology,) Tech companies have been shedding staff at a rapid clip. Meta Platforms, the corporate parent of Facebook , Instagram and WhatsApp, recently announced plans to cut another 10,000 jobs and undergo a hiring freeze in what CEO Mark … [Read more...] about Amazon Laying Off Thousands More As Job Cuts In Sector Expand

Rupert Murdoch is engaged — again. The 92-year-old billionaire announced, via an interview with the New York Post , that he will wed Ann Lesley Smith , the former San Francisco Police chaplain who is 26 years his junior. Murdoch divorced Jerry Hall, his fourth wife, last August. Speaking of his new love, he told the Post ‘s Cindy Adams: “I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.” Murdoch said he nervously popped the question last week on St. Patrick’s Day in New York, adorning Smith’s finger with an Asscher-cut diamond engagement ring. They will marry in late summer. He told the Post that they met at his vineyard Moraga in Bel Air, CA. Smith’s late husband Chester Smith, the country singer, also owned a vineyard, so the pair hit it off discussing wine. “We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together,” said Murdoch, who plans to split his time with his new wife between California, the … [Read more...] about Rupert Murdoch On Getting Engaged Again: “I Knew This Would Be My Last. It Better Be.”