We're back! Brian Stelter here at 10:10pm ET on Sunday, July 10 with the latest on Twitter, Sun Valley, Mark Leibovich, the "Uber files," TheWrap, Shawn Mendes, and more... Twitter's next flight? |
By the time Elon Musk took the stage at Allen & Co's off-the-record Sun Valley Conference on Saturday, some of his fellow tech and media moguls had flown home. But Twitter management was in attendance – and in the room – as Musk talked about his reasons for trying to terminate his Twitter takeover agreement. In conversation with Sam Altman, Musk doubled down on his complaints about spam bots, a source in the room told me. He essentially advanced the same argument that his lawyers made in Friday night's SEC filing. Musk argued, according to the source, that no one believes Twitter's assessment that bots account for less than 5% of the total user base. (Some people do, in fact, believe it, and many onlookers think Musk's bot complaint is an excuse.) After the event, Musk flew back to Texas. He has not tweeted anything about Twitter for several days. So everyone is left to wonder: What's next for the much loved and much hated social network? One potential outcome: Years of litigation. Twitter's board says it will hold Musk to his $54.20 per share agreement. Friday's press release said "we are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery," and on Sunday Bloomberg reported that Twitter "has hired merger law heavyweight Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz," with plans to "file suit early this week." (A Twitter rep declined to comment when I inquired on Sunday night.) As the FT explained, "Wachtell Lipton has perhaps the leading litigation practice in Delaware," regularly defending companies in lawsuits "over breach of fiduciary duty and broken merger agreements in the state." Will Twitter the product suffer while Twitter the company wages legal war against Musk? Quite possibly so. "Nothing good is going to come of this" for Twitter, Kara Swisher said on "Meet the Press." Being in court against someone like Musk "is not good for the business, not good for employee retention, not good for branding, advertisers, so, not good." Will Musk win Twitter at a lower price? CNN's team spoke with Brian Quinn, a law professor at Boston College, and this was one of the key takeaways: Even as any litigation continues, "the two sides will likely keep talking, Quinn said, and the situation could resolve itself through a renegotiated sale price. That type of resolution is common in merger disputes, he said, citing the recent deal involving luxury brands Luis Vuitton and Tiffany, which went to court but was ultimately completed at a lower price." Read on... Will Musk's reputation suffer? Musk "simply appears to have had a childish fit of regret," William D. Cohan wrote in his Sunday column for Puck. He says Musk's handling of this matter would, in a normal and just world, "permanently damage his credibility," turning companies like Tesla and SpaceX into pariahs on Wall Street. "But, like many extremely wealthy people, Elon expects to get his way without any repercussions, as his legal strategy suggests," Cohan wrote. >> "In the end, Musk wrote a check his myth couldn't cash," T.C. Sottek wrote for The Verge. "We're left with two possibilities. Either Musk doesn't think he can do the job he promised at Twitter, and he's not the world-changing force he's been made out to be. Or, he was lying about the kinds of lofty ideals and visions that built his companies and his image. What kind of man trolls the world about a better future?" >> Musk's takeover crusade "quickly became entangled in American politics," Philip Bump said on Sunday's "Reliable Sources." Among some Republicans, Musk "became seen as the savior" – so now what? Has he abandoned the conservatives who thought he would rewrite Twitter's rules? Here is the WSJ's lead Cara Lombardo and Robert Wall write: Musk's showdown with Twitter "has set the stage for what could become one of the most unusual courtroom battles in corporate-takeover history — a spurned acquisition target that never sought to be bought potentially trying to force the buyer who soured on the deal to see it through," On the one hand, "corporate-law experts say Twitter appears to be on sounder legal footing than Mr. Musk." On the other, "the question remains whether it is really possible to force the eccentric billionaire... to buy a company he doesn't want to own." Much more here... |
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| -- The WSJ editorial board is disappointed: "Musk may be hoping to negotiate a lower purchase price, but if he does walk away it will be a loss for political discourse..." (WSJ) -- Dean Obeidallah says this is "the end of the Trump-Musk bromance..." (CNN) -- Matt Levine's conclusion: "The next time Elon Musk announces that he is going to buy a public company — and he will do it again! — I will know not to believe him. I will definitely know not to write about it..." (Bloomberg) -- Per Alex Heath, Twitter staffers were told that, "given that this is an ongoing legal matter, you should refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement..." (Twitter) -- On Thursday, Twitter, which previously said it had paused hiring, "laid off 30% of its talent acquisition team..." (WSJ) |
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Week ahead calendar Monday: "Better Call Saul" begins its final run of six episodes on AMC... Tuesday: Emmy nominations come out at 8:30am PT... Tuesday: New books include Ken Auletta's "Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence," plus several political titles... See below for details... Tuesday: The next public 1/6 hearing starts at 1pm ET... Here's a preview... Tuesday and Wednesday: Amazon's Prime Days... Wednesday: President Biden "begins a controversial trip to the Middle East..." Friday: "Where the Crawdads Sing," based on the bestselling book, and "The Gray Man," starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, hit theaters (the latter a week before Netflix)... Three new political tomes... And the titles say a lot about the state of US politics. Malcolm Nance is coming out with "They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency;" Dick Morris is promoting "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback;" and Mark Leibovich is rolling out "Thank You for Your Servitude." Right now Leibovich is leading the others on Amazon's chart. I highly recommend Michael Schaffer's profile of him for Politico Magazine... |
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-- The LAT's Eli Stokols writes: "'Unprecedented,' a three-part docuseries by British filmmaker Alex Holder, was released Sunday morning by Discovery+." It is "presented as prelude to the events of Jan. 6..." (LAT) -- One of the weekend's most-talked-about stories: Peter Baker's Page One piece about Biden "testing the boundaries of age and the presidency..." (NYT) -- Among many other things, Baker's story noted that Biden has "taken part in fewer than half as many news conferences or interviews as recent predecessors..." -- Coincidentally, or not, Biden spoke with reporters during his bike ride in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday... (Twitter) -- Democrats cheered Pete Buttigieg's appearance on "Fox News Sunday," particularly his smooth response to recent stories about protesters outside a Morton's steakhouse where Justice Brett Kavanaugh was dining... (Axios) -- Buttigieg's key quote: "Any public figure should always, always be free from violence, intimidation and harassment, but should never be free from criticism, or people exercising their First Amendment rights..." -- Andy Campbell's big-picture story: "Political violence Is the new American normal..." (HuffPost) |
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The "Uber files" The Guardian says it received a "leaked trove of confidential files," 124,000 documents in total, that reveal "the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion." |
The Guardian shared the files with other outlets via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, an increasingly common method of collaboration. In total, "more than 180 journalists at 40 media outlets" – including Le Monde, Washington Post and the BBC – are publishing stories and explainers. >> The rollout began on Sunday, and WaPo says it is publishing more at 7am and noon ET on Monday... >> The files are from the Travis Kalanick era of Uber, allowing the company to say it has transformed since then. Here is comms chief Jill Hazelbaker's full statement... |
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The discouraging truth about disinformation It's that the topic itself is almost impossible to talk about, since there is next to no agreement on what the term even means. I led Sunday's "Reliable Sources" with this topic, elaborating on a recent NYT story and an AP article titled "Choose your reality: Trust wanes, conspiracy theories rise." Then my guest Nina Jankowicz, who led the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board until it was disbanded, reflected on what went wrong with the board. She said DHS "rolled over to the critics" who distorted the board's purpose. When I pressed, she rejected the right's assertions that some of her past posts were examples of disinformation. This, I thought, was Jankowicz's most compelling point: Politicians, especially those who are "benefiting" from political disinfo, need to recognize that "they are putting the national security at risk and the democracy at risk. Someday, disinformation is going to come for them as well – and nobody wants that." To put it another way, a polluted info-environment poisons everyone. Here's the interview: Part one and part two...
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We're fully back from summer vacation (after sending out a short edition last Wednesday). Here are some headlines since the last time we were in your inbox: -- Bloomberg's David Shipley will succeed the late Fred Hiatt as the new editor of the WaPo editorial page... (WaPo) -- Bloomberg named Tim O'Brien to replace Shipley atop Bloomberg Opinion... -- Politico Playbook promoted Eli Okun to reporter and Garrett Ross to digital editor... -- ABC News named Joshua Hoyos as New York bureau chief... -- "CBS Mornings" touted its gains in female demographics... -- CNBC's "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" announced that it is relocating to the New York Stock Exchange later this month... -- WSJ's Christopher Mims explained what the "super app" craze is all about... -- BTW, thank you for all the kind notes after I mentioned my wife's ankle surgery. All went well, and she is already wheeling around the apartment on her knee scooter, challenging the kids to scooter races... |
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WWE scandal deepens The WSJ's Joe Palazzolo, Ted Mann and Joe Flint advanced the Vince McMahon story in a big way on Friday: WWE's longtime leader "agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity," they reported. The hush money payouts "went to four women, all formerly affiliated with WWE," and the details are unsettling. I'm surprised this story is not getting more attention. I discussed it with Claire Atkinson on Sunday's "Reliable..." |
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SNEAK PEEK "The Metaverse, Unwrapped" TheWrap is launching a four-part series on the metaverse, Web3 and entertainment starting Monday. With the series, months in the making, "we are aiming to tease out the facts from the hype, and really identify what the opportunity of Web3 is versus all the breathless speculation," EIC Sharon Waxman says. The first story features a quote that may (or may not!) ring true to you: "Nobody knows what the metaverse is. But nobody wants to be the person who admits that they don't know..." |
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FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE |
-- In Monday's WSJ: "Tech hiring spree starts to cool..." (WSJ) -- WaPo's most-read story right now: "America has decided the pandemic is over. The coronavirus has other ideas..." (WaPo) -- New reporting from Rosa Flores: "Investigative report into the Uvalde elementary school shooting could be released within 10 days..." (CNN) -- "Covering mass shootings has become routine – and endless. But it doesn't get easier," Nicole Carroll writes... (USA Today) -- Jake Tapper's final note on "SOTU" Sunday morning: "We're losing the last of the Greatest Generation — how do we best honor them?" (CNN) |
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Four good reads from the weekend -- "High Conflict" author Amanda Ripley on "news avoidance" trend: "If so many of us feel poisoned by our products, might there be something wrong with them?" (WaPo) -- "The fight over truth also has a red state-blue state divide:" Steven Lee Myers and Cecilia Kang show how "several states run by Democrats are pushing for stiffer rules on the spread of false information, while Republican-run states are pushing for fewer rules..." (NYT) -- Brandon Tensley's latest: "How 'woke' went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives..." (CNN) -- "Surprising good news" from Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris: "Bookstores are booming and becoming more diverse..." (NYT) |
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FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR |
-- Netflix "has acquired the rights to stream Johnny Depp's next film in France, a deal that will help fund the actor's first feature role following his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard," Benoit Berthelot scooped... (Bloomberg) -- When Berthelot's story hit, the streamer wanted to be clear that "the film is not a Netflix original..." (Variety) -- Amber Heard is facing a new legal battle, "this time with her insurer" over the Depp suit, Anousha Sakoui reports... (LAT) -- CAA is ousting dozens of ICM agents "in the wake of its $750 million acquisition," and it's "devolved to the point where several of the ousted ICM people have hired a top litigator," Matt Belloni reports... (Puck) -- In Sun Valley, "the newly betrothed Bryan Lourd of CAA and Chris Silbermann of ICM" were "seen palling around together..." (Variety) -- News from Julia Boorstin's exclusive interview with Roger Goodell at Sun Valley: The NFL "plans to select a streaming service as its new Sunday Ticket partner and will choose a winner by the fall..." (CNBC) |
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The God of Thunder still has some pop |
"Thor: Love and Thunder," the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, made an estimated $143 million domestically for its opening this weekend, according to Disney. That number is on par with industry expectations, which had the film making around $150 million in North America. Despite it not being a record-shattering debut, or even the biggest opening for Marvel this year — which belongs to May's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" — it marks another strong premiere for Hollywood's most reliable blockbuster franchise. Read on... |
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FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE |
-- Just in: "Beanie Feldstein will be leaving 'Funny Girl' on Broadway at the end of this month." She says the production is heading in a "different direction..." (TheWrap) -- Shawn Mendes is postponing his world tour: "The pressure has caught up to me and I've hit a breaking point..." (BuzzFeed) -- "How To Build a Sex Room," new on Netflix, is one of Lisa Respers France's "three things to watch" this week... (CNN) -- Deepest condolences to Oprah Winfrey on the death of her father Vernon. He was 89. (CNN) |
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LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST... CNN pet of the day "Inside Politics" video producer Maria Awad writes: "I just got a cockapoo puppy who is so sweet and playful. Her name is Pepper and she loves playing with her pepper toy! She's 10 weeks old and was born on a farm." |
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Thank you for reading! Feel free to email us anytime. See you tomorrow... |
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