Hasta La Creative!

News Corp., the Wall Street Journal and New York Post publisher controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as a decline in ad sales outweighed an increase in digital revenue in its real estate business.

Earnings, excluding some items, were 10 cents a share, short of analysts’ estimates of 13 cents a share, the average of projections compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue was $2.23 billion, the New York-based company said in a statement Monday. That exceeded predictions for $2.06 billion.

As more readers get their news online, News Corp. has been trying to compensate for falling print revenue by boosting digital sales, especially at its online real estate business. At the same time, the company has remained wary of the publishing industry’s growing alliance with Facebook.

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A word that was once almost exclusively a descriptor for custom-made men’s suits now applies to just about everything.

Lawyers for the former Fox News chairman had tried to move the case, filed by the former anchor Gretchen Carlson, to Manhattan.

Back in June, the Florida Lottery handed over its general market advertising duties to Tampa-based agency PP+K, following a somewhat controversial review. The appointment hit a snag, however, when incumbent St. John & Partners filed a bid protest, recalling a similar protest lodged by Zimmerman Advertising when Florida Lottery awarded its account to St. John & Partners in 2009.

Among the complaints alleged in the agency’s 166-page bid protest was that Tallahassee consultant, and former deputy secretary of the Florida Lottery David Bishop, failed to observe a law regarding a two-year ban on former agency officials lobbying their former employers, as Bishop allegedly lobbied on behalf of PP+K some 15 months after leaving his position with the Florida Lottery. 

Now the dispute appears to be resolved.

St. John & Partners settled its bid complaint over the $125 million contract with the Florida Department of Lottery last week, Tampa Bay Business Journal reported on Monday, finally making PP+K’s account win official. St. John & Partners and PP+K issued this joint statement on the issue:

“Recently, representatives from PP+K and St. John & Partners reached an amicable agreement to end the administrative protest over the Florida Lottery’s decision to enter an advertising and marketing services contract with PP+K. In order to avoid the potential expense and uncertainty of resolving the protest through legal or administrative proceedings, the parties came to an agreement to compromise and settle all claims that were raised. The administrative protest has been voluntarily dismissed. In keeping with the spirit of the amicable resolution, there will be no further comment from either party at this time.”

For a look inside Creative Artists Agency, the author has simply organized more than 700 pages of raw interviews in more or less chronological order.

Carmichael Lynch promoted Julie Batliner and Marty Senn to roles as managing partners. They join the agency’s current managing partners, Mike Lescarbeau, Marcus Fischer and Mark Feriancek.

“These two brilliant young leaders are each rightly famous within the increasingly integrated fields of advertising and public relations,”Carmichael Lynch CEO Mike Lescarbeau said in a statemetn. “Their deep insights and modern worldview will keep our offerings relevant, continuing our longstanding tradition of providing groundbreaking work to our clients.”

Senn was promoted to chief creative officer at Carmichael Lynch last December, after serving as executive creative director for over three years. During his time with Carmichael Lynch he’s helped the agency win new business including U.S. Bank, Truvía and Arla Global. Before joining Carmichael Lynch he spent two and a half years as a creative director with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, following over three years as a senior creative with Cutwater and two years in that role with Fallon London. 

“It’s an honor to help build this next iteration of Carmichael Lynch,” Senn said. “There’s so much talent here already, in so many different capacities, that I think we’re in a really unique position to be that ‘agency of the future’ that everyone is trying to be.”

Batliner has served as president, managing director and senior partner of Carmichael Lynch PR division Spong since May of 2010. Prior to that she spent five years as Spong’s managing principal and chief client relations officer. Before joining Carmichael Lynch in August of 2005, she spent seven years as senior vice president with Fleishman-Hillard International Communications. 

“I am proud to work with the team to take the agency to the next level in this ever-evolving marketing landscape with an even sharper focus on our client-centric approach,” said Batliner. “We are poised to help our clients’ businesses succeed as marketing disciplines continue to become more interdependent.”

BamTech, which handles streaming for baseball teams and Time Warner’s HBO, will help Disney introduce an ESPN-branded subscription service.

If selfies are the ultimate expression of digital narcissism, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is doing it all wrong. 

Ronaldo’s new smartphone app, CR7Selfie, seems appropriately vapid on first blush—it lets you fake a selfie with the chiseled athlete by dropping in shots of him in various states of attire or undress.

But the app is actually a charity push, with a portion of proceeds from the $1.99 purchase price on iTunes and Google Play going to Save the Children. Future photos and filters will be sold in-app for 99 cents, and an unspecified portion of that revenue will also go to the charity.

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McDonald’s Holdings Co. Japan posted a profit in the second quarter, ending a streak of seven consecutive losses by attracting more customers with promotional menus as it sought to rebuild its image after a series of food scandals.

Net income was 300 million yen ($2.9 million) in the three months ended June, based on first-half results the company reported Tuesday. Sales jumped 19% to 52.7 billion yen in the quarter, the highest in about two years.

The Japanese unit of McDonald’s is moving on after food scandals in 2014 and 2015 contributed to the closing of more than 100 stores. The stock has since drawn investor attention after a collaboration with Pokmon Go last month, turning the chain’s outlets into “PokStops” and “PokGyms” to lure players of the mobile game. Sales jumped 27% in July, with demand by families for children’s meals that include Pokmon toys and the Pokmon Go collaboration driving traffic, it said.

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Mr. Schwartz starred as Fred the Furrier in commercials in the 1970s and ’80s for the Fur Vault, retail outlets that offered mink coats at relatively modest prices.