Morning Media Newsfeed: Dish, FNC Reach Deal | Local Stations Test Drones

Dish, Fox News Channel Reach Deal (TVNewser)
Dish Network and Fox News have announced a multi-year agreement for carriage of Fox News Channel and Fox Business. The networks were pulled from Dish on Dec. 21, after the two companies could not come to an agreement. THR The pact covers a multi-year agreement for carriage of both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Channel. Terms were not disclosed. GigaOM When Fox News and Fox Business went dark on Dish last month, Dish complained that Fox was trying to add other channels to the bundle that hadn’t been part of the original agreement. \»It’s like we’re about to close on a house and the realtor is trying to make us buy a new car as well,\» said Dish’s senior vice president of programming Warren Schlichting back then. It’s unclear whether the new agreement includes any of those additional channels, or just the two channels that went off the air in December. Variety The new deal does not include any agreement to have the two cable networks distributed through Dish’s new broadband-distributed Sling TV service, according to a person familiar with negotiations. As part of the pact, both networks will be on the same pricing tier and Fox News is expected to fetch more than $1.50 per subscriber per month. Mediaite Just this week, Fox News had raised the stakes of its campaign to get viewers to drop Dish and switch to other pay-TV providers, enlisting star anchors Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly to appear in an ad that accused Dish of \»censoring\» Fox’s content. \»They’re censoring what you see,\» O’Reilly said to viewers in the ad. \»Enough is enough.\»

Local Station Groups Helping Test Drones for News Gathering (TVSpy)
Virginia Tech is working with 10 news organizations as part of a coalition safety testing drones in news gathering. Politico / Dylan Byers on Media The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, NBCUniversal, Gannett Co., Getty Images, The E.W. Scripps Company and Sinclair Broadcast Group are part of the coalition that will work with the university to test the safety of real-life scenarios where a media organization would want to gather news. NYT The partnership, the companies said in a statement, is \»designed to conduct controlled safety testing of a series of real-life scenarios where the news media could use small U.A.S. technology to gather the news.\» The college is one of six sites designated by the Federal Aviation Administration for testing of unmanned aircraft systems, or U.A.S. Capital New York On Monday, CNN, which already works on drone research with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, signed a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration, the government agency that regulates small unmanned aircraft systems.

NBCUniversal Is Using Big Data to Launch Its Audience Targeting Platform (Adweek)
After 18 months of development, NBCUniversal is leveraging third- and first-party data to create what the company is calling its Audience Targeting Platform. THR / The Live Feed At the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Thursday, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment announced that its entire suite of networks will now be holding off on ratings reporting until “live +3″ measurements (which include DVR and on-demand) are factored in. Those networks include Bravo Media, E! Entertainment, Esquire Network, Oxygen Media, Sprout, Syfy and USA Network. Variety This large group of networks joins FX, which last year became the first network to move away from \»same-day\» ratings and use \»live +3″ as a starting point for disseminating numbers to the press. Premium cablers HBO and Showtime have also adopted this stance. Deadline \»Increasingly, ‘live+3′ metrics are a more accurate reflection of the performance, appeal and reach of our networks’ original programs,\» said Liz Mahaffey, EVP, brand strategy for NBCU Cable Entertainment.

News Corp. Steps Up Security in Wake of Charlie Hebdo Attack (Capital New York)
In the wake of last week’s terrorist attack at the Paris headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, News Corp. has taken steps in response to the massacre. The heads of two of the company’s operating units, Dow Jones and News U.K., issued memoranda to staff this week to allay safety concerns. Mashable Hackers have attacked 19,000 French websites in the aftermath of the raid on the office of Charlie Hebdo, according to France’s cyberdefense chief. The attacks were carried out by “more or less structured” groups, including some well-known Islamic hacking groups, Adm. Arnaud Coustilliere, head of the French Army’s cybersecurity department, told reporters on Thursday. HuffPost / AP Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of speech, especially when it insults or ridicules someone’s faith. Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one’s mind for the sake of the common good. Recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that, while denouncing the Paris attacks, urged the media to treat religions with respect.

New York Leads 2015 National Magazine Awards Nominations (Adweek)
Thursday, the American Society of Magazine Editors released the list of finalists for the 2015 National Magazine Awards (or “Ellies,” after the elephant-shaped statuette given to winners). For the second year in a row, New York magazine racked up the most nominations — 10 in total, including Magazine of The Year — for a single title. FishbowlNY Condé Nast is the most nominated media company, with 22 nominations. HuffPost A total of 66 outlets were nominated across two dozen categories, with publications competing for distinctions in everything from reporting to fiction to design to video. Better Homes And Gardens, Cosmopolitan, The Hollywood Reporter, New York and Vogue, however, are the five publications in the running for the group’s most esteemed award, Magazine of The Year. Bloomberg Businessweek, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Politico and The New Republic are also among the magazines to receive multiple nominations.

Meredith Long Promoted to Publisher of Time Magazine (FishbowlNY)
As announced Thursday by Time Inc., Meredith Long, who started with the magazine as a San Francisco-based account manager in late 2002, is Time magazine’s new publisher. Poynter / MediaWire Long, 38, began her 12-year career at Time as an account manager and has worked in the magazine’s offices in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a release announcing her hire. In February 2013, she was promoted to her most recent position, executive director of West Coast operations. WWD / Memo Pad Long fills the gap left by former group publisher Jed Hartman, who departed the company in November for The Washington Post to become its chief revenue officer.

Gawker Media Merging Gizmodo, io9 Teams (FishbowlNY)
Few companies take themselves more seriously than Gawker Media. Case in point: Its announcement that Gizmodo’s team is merging with io9’s to form something called Future Initiative. Capital New York Gawker Media has promoted io9 editor Annalee Newitz to editor-in-chief of Gizmodo. As part of the transition, io9, Gawker Media’s science and science fiction blog, is being placed under the umbrella of Gizmodo, Gawker Media’s technology blog. Charlie Jane Anders, previously the managing editor of io9, has replaced Newitz as editor of the site. The 11 members of io9’s staff will join Gizmodo’s 22-strong team.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman Extends Contract Through 2018 (THR)
Philippe Dauman has extended his contract as Viacom president and CEO for an additional two years, keeping him at the helm of the conglomerate whose assets include MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures through the end of 2018. Variety The extension for Dauman comes at a time when there’s much speculation about the future of Sumner Redstone’s media empire. Redstone, 91, is the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS Corp. CBS chief Leslie Moonves set a deal last month to extend his prexy-CEO contract through June 2019.

Vimeo to Invest in Content From Disney’s Maker Studios YouTube Creators for Paid VOD (Variety)
Maker Studios has cut a deal with Vimeo to help some of its smaller YouTube creators cash in on their video fare — off of YouTube. Vimeo and Disney-owned Maker, the biggest YouTube multichannel network, have formed a partnership to provide tools to Maker’s network of 55,000 creators for distributing their content on Vimeo’s paid video-on-demand platform. Deadline The development deal somewhat echoes one announced last week between Vimeo and New Form Digital Studios, which calls for developing four online-based series this year from among 14 projects incubated last year by New Form with other YouTube creators.

Lucky Deputy Editor Gets Bumped to Exec Editor (FishbowlNY)
A source at The Lucky Group says that Leigh Belz Ray, who joined Lucky in August 2013, was just promoted from deputy editor to executive editor. Immediately before joining the shopping mag, Ray was the deputy editor at Time Inc’s People StyleWatch.

Obama to Host Selma Screening at White House (Variety)
The movie Selma may have scored only two Oscar nominations, but on Friday it will get a special distinction: A screening at the White House. President Obama is scheduled to host a screening of the movie, the latest in a line of Oscar contenders like last year’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and 2012’s Lincoln and Beasts of The Southern Wild to be shown in the White House.

Veteran Broadcasting Executive Jonathan Barzilay Named PBS COO (Deadline)
Jonathan Barzilay was named COO of PBS Thursday, the public broadcaster’s president and CEO Paula Kerger announced. Barzilay — a former executive at ABC, CBS, FLO TV and the Ford Foundation — most recently served as director, freedom of expression for the Ford Foundation, overseeing its global programs in media and arts and culture.

Birdman, Grand Budapest Hotel Top Oscar Nominees (Variety)
Fox Searchlight soared on Thursday at the 87th Academy Award nominations after two of its films, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, led the field with nine nominations each. Both movies were also nominated for best picture. Adweek / Ad Freak Everyone’s favorite teenage M.D., Douglas Howser, will be the host of this year’s broadcast, and will certainly not disappoint like that shlub Neil Patrick Harris usually does. Kidding aside, the Oscars rolled out a 30-second spot Thursday featuring a little optical trickery to promote the show, which will air Sunday, Feb. 22, on ABC.

Natasha Vargas-Cooper Resigns From The Intercept, Heads to Jezebel (HuffPost)
Natasha Vargas-Cooper is leaving First Look Media’s The Intercept and joining Jezebel, the journalist announced on Twitter Thursday. Vargas-Cooper made headlines in recent weeks after landing an interview with Jay Wilds, a key witness in the murder trial of Adnan Syed who refused to speak with the popular WBEZ podcast Serial.

Huffington Post Adds Global Editorial Director (Poynter / MediaWire)
The Huffington Post, which has expanded its international presence in recent months, announced Thursday the creation of a new editorial position overseeing its global news operation.