Author: Michael

Welcome back to the “Media Front.” Simon & Schuster released Jason Arday’s memoir on Aug. 11 in the U.S. amid mounting questions about parts of the extraordinary personal story at its center. Three days later, the 41-year-old former Cambridge professor was found dead at a south London property. Arday’s death transformed an already contentious publishing story into a particularly difficult test for Simon & Schuster: How does a publisher stand behind a recently deceased author while addressing questions about factual claims included in his book? The answer matters beyond one memoir. The controversy has exposed a gap most readers rarely…

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Following more than a month of indirect verbal sparring via media appearances and press releases, Paramount’s legal team and California Attorney General Rob Bonta were finally poised to discuss terms face to face on Monday. That is, until Bonta canceled the talks late Sunday, accusing Paramount of leaking details of the agenda and noting he’s happy to meet once the company “stops playing games and engages sincerely.” So no Monday meeting, but settlement talks seem inevitable at this point, sooner or later. Who’s entering the room with the most leverage? After all, this is turning into the mother of all…

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Wendy Williams is pleading for freedom in her first public sighting since February as she remains stuck in an ongoing court-ordered guardianship case. On Aug. 19, the former daytime diva, 62, told a paparazzo, “I want out!” as she entered a building with a few shopping bags in tow. Williams, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023,…

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