Thursday, October 13, 2022

The week is nearly over. Scroll down below for details on the stunning footage played during the 1/6 hearing, what a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families said about Alex Jones, the specifics on Netflix's ad-supported tier, TikTok's new advertising features, and Martin Scorsese's thoughts on the box office obsession. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Behind the Bombshells

CNN Photo Illustration/Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Last Thursday, at precisely 5:29pm Pacific Time, a mysterious Twitter account with the handle @LAunionLaundry posted secretly taped audio of now-former Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Ron Herrera. The account tagged two reporters at the Los Angeles Times, as well as the newspaper's politics account.

The move successfully caught the attention of The LAT. Its reporters soon discovered that additional audio recordings, which captured Los Angeles City Council members making racist and bigoted remarks at the Federation of Labor headquarters, had been posted to Reddit by an anonymous user 14 days prior.

David Zahniser, one of the reporters who was tagged by the Twitter account, quickly got to work on the story with the help of four colleagues: Julia Wick, Benjamin Oreskes, Dakota Smith, and Gustavo Arellano.

The team worked swiftly, but diligently, guided by their editor Steve Clow. Thursday blended into Friday, which blended into the weekend, and conference calls were convened late into Saturday night so that the team could discuss their reporting. More conference calls were held early Sunday morning until the reporters and editors agreed on a final draft.

From there, The LAT's general counsel, Jeff Glasser, quickly dealt with a legal threat from the Federation of Labor which had warned that the audio could have been the result of "illegal" recordings. Glasser dispatched a pointed response to the union that said, "It is a fundamental principle in the United States that we do not prohibit or punish the receipt and publication of newsworthy information."

After that, it was time to set the story live. At approximately 9am PT on Sunday, The LAT published its first story: "Racist remarks in leaked audio of L.A. council members spark outrage, disgust."

The fallout from the story has been enormous, throwing the city into tumult and reverberating throughout the country.

President Joe Biden even weighed in, calling on the three council members caught on the tapes, all Democrats, to resign. Nury Martinez relinquished her position as council president before resigning from office Thursday. The other two council members have not stepped down. Herrera resigned as the Federation of Labor head.

"We knew this was going to be big because the contents of the tape were so shocking and it deals with so many issues we felt were important: racism, bigotry, back-room dealmaking, voter representation," LAT's deputy managing editor of news Shelby Grad told me Thursday evening, "but it is always hard to know when a local story like this will capture national attention."

Since Sunday, the reporting team has expanded considerably. Grad told me that there are now more than two dozen journalists at The LAT working on the story. And the paper has been publishing stories daily, covering the fallout while still trying to determine who is behind the leaked audio.

Days later, there is still no telling how big the blast radius might ultimately be and whether more audio tapes might find their way into the public square.

"I think the fallout has the potential to last for quite a long time," Metro deputy managing editor Hector Becerra told me, "in one form or another."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Capturing 1/6 Chaos: The dramatic footage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer making calls behind closed doors on January 6 entranced viewers who tuned into the committee's final hearing ahead of the midterms Thursday. But how was the footage captured? WaPo's Jacqueline Alemany scooped that it was Pelosi's documentary filmmaker daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, who shot the stunning images. "She was present to capture her mother during the historic day, but instead ended up capturing stunning video of congressional leaders working to get the National Guard and law enforcement to the Capitol while it was under siege," Alemany wrote. CNN exclusively aired more of the footage on Thursday in prime time.

OFF THE WIRE

ABC News' big exclusive: The network announced that David Muir will sit down with Mike Pence for an interview airing November 14. It's the first broadcast network interview since 1/6.
The big headline to emerge from the hearing: "Jan. 6 Panel Votes to Subpoena Trump, Setting Up Court Fight." (NYT)
Here's how Breitbart framed the news: "The U.S. House January 6 Committee used its first hearing in months on Thursday to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify before it — after failing to produce evidence tying him to the Capitol riot, and just days before the 2022 midterm elections." (Breitbart)
Fox News also framed the news in a similar way. After the hearing aired, an on-screen banner on "The Five" described the Trump subpoena as a "MIDTERMS HAIL MARY."
On a related note: Andrea Mitchell, Katy Tur, and Hallie Jackson spoke to Ted Johnson about what it has been like to cover the 1/6 hearings over the last few months. (Deadline)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media/AP

How Much Will Sandy Hook Families See? That is the big question after a Connecticut jury decided Alex Jones must pay families of victims and a first responder nearly $1 billion in damages. "Legal experts said there is a good chance the final amount will be reduced, either by the trial judge, an appeals court or a bankruptcy court," CNN's Chris Isidore reported Thursday. Isidore also noted that "it is also possible the plaintiffs' attorneys could negotiate a reduced settlement with Jones."

But if Jones thinks that the plaintiffs won't see any money, he is sorely mistaken. Appearing on MSNBC Thursday, Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said, "We're going to chase Alex Jones to the ends of the earth, just like he maligned these families for 10 years, exposing them to harm and maligning them and ruining their safety and security. These families have been patient and they will make Alex Jones pay every last dollar that he has."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Chris Stokel-Walker writes about the "$1 billion Alex Jones effect," noting that the punishment he has been dealt "sends a message to anyone thinking of deliberately deploying disinformation to disrupt people's lives for financial gain." (WIRED)
Marianna Spring: "The question everyone is asking now: Will this put an end to these kinds of conspiracies and the harm they can cause?" (BBC)
Justin Baragona looks at how, before becoming his defender, Tucker Carlson was no fan of Jones or his conspiracy theories. (Daily Beast)
Some Republicans are rushing to Jones' defense. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed "all he did was speak words." (WaEx)
Meanwhile: The Daily Wire's co-CEO Jeremy Boreing is speaking out against Candace Owens, who has defended Kanye West. (Mediaite)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Delmas/AFP/Getty Images

Netflix With Ads In November: Netflix's ad-supported tier is readying for takeoff. The streamer announced Thursday that the service will come in at $6.99 (a full dollar cheaper than Disney+) and launch November 1. The ad-supported tier, the main component of the company's plan to boost its crawling subscriber growth, will be available in 12 countries at launch. The ads, which will range from 15 to 30 seconds, will play both before and during movies and shows. The cheaper service, however, will have some limitations, including a smaller content library. CNN's Frank Pallotta has all the details here.

► Netflix boasted about the technology it will harness to offer targeting capabilities that will enable advertisers to "reach the right audience."

► Nielsen ratings are also en route to Netflix, with the company starting to provide measurement numbers sometime in 2023.

► Wall Street loved all the news. Netflix's stock price jumped at 1pm when it was announced and ended the day up more than 5%.

IN THE MARKET

Don't miss Lucas Shaw's big story: "Netflix changed the entertainment industry forever. Can the company change itself now that it finally faces some real streaming competition?" (Bloomberg)
Amazon's Erika North talks about Prime's growth strategy in Asia: "There is no Asian content strategy that doesn't have a Korean pillar." (Deadline)
Another carriage fight: Fox tells Altice customers that a blackout might be on the way. (Deadline)
Marketwatch is turning 25! To celebrate, Dow Jones boss Almar Latour and Marketwatch Editor-In-Chief Mark DeCambre will head to Wall Street Friday to ring the closing bell at the Nasdaq Marketplace.
Former Gawker editor Max Read reflects on the one-year anniversary of his Substack and what he's learned writing it. (Read Max)
Dylan Byers reports that he's recently spoken to nearly two-dozen current and former employees of The NYT: "The vast majority of them cite a similar source of frustration: namely, an institutional bureaucracy that they say stifles the career growth of all but the most famous reporters." (Puck)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable: Max Tani is joining Semafor as a media reporter. It had been rumored about, but now it's official. Tani joins from POLITICO where he has co-authored West Wing Playbook. Prior, he was at the Daily Beast and Business Insider.
Claudia Eller has returned to Variety in the newly created role of chief production officer. (Variety)
Daysia Tolentino is heading to NBC News from Daily Dot. (Twitter)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

TikTok's Advertising Answers: TikTok on Wednesday kicked off its second product summit, TikTok World, with the announcements of new features aimed at helping advertisers. "Engagement is TikTok's superpower and an opportunity for brands," the company said, announcing one feature it dubbed as "Focused View." The feature allows brands to only pay for ads "when users have voluntarily watched an ad for at least 6 seconds or when they interacted with the ad within the first 6 seconds." TikTok also launched a feature called Showtimes, which will provide in-app information on movie showtimes while an ad or trailer for a film plays.

TOO MANY TABS

Developing: In a new filing, Twitter's lawyers say that Elon Musk "is presently under investigation by federal authorities for his conduct in connection with the acquisition of Twitter." (Bloomberg)
Nick Bilton tackles the "many questions surrounding" Musk's Twitter takeover: "Will employees flee—and Trump return?" (Vanity Fair)
Ben Cohen profiles Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who is overseeing the Elon Musk-Twitter case and has done so with a "firm hand while keeping the courtroom remarkably free of chaos." (WSJ)
Musk's SpaceX has informed the Pentagon that it can no longer fund the critical Starlink services in Ukraine, Alex Marquardt scoops. The letter requested the Pentagon take over funding. (CNN)
Twitter is testing a feature that would let users control who is able to @ them. (The Verge)
Quite the headline: "Meta's new headset will track your eyes for targeted ads." (Gizmodo)
The Metaverse is about to welcome the UFC. The first fight event to be featured will be Friday's LFA 144. (UFC)
Kali Hays writes about how investors have not been impressed with Meta's product launch reveals. (Insider)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Scorsese Slams Box Office Obsession: Speaking at the New York Film Festival, Martin Scorsese laced into the obsession over box office numbers. The legendary filmmaker described cinema's current state as "devalued, demeaned, belittled from all sides, not necessarily the business side but certainly the art." He then said the focus on returns is "kind of repulsive" and "really insulting." IndieWire's Ryan Lattanzio has more here.

OFF STAGE

Cuba Gooding Jr. will get no prison time after pleading guilty to harassment in a sexual misconduct case. (Rolling Stone)
A lead member of Kevin Spacey's defense team has tested positive for Covid, throwing a wrench into the trial. (Variety)
Olivia Wilde is expressing strong displeasure with the media, telling Elle magazine "it pits women against one another." (Elle)
Ken Jennings talks about ascending to the "Jeopardy" podium: "It's unprecedented for somebody who's not a broadcaster to get dropped into a spotlight like this." (Vulture)
Broadway theaters will remember Angela Lansbury by dimming their lights for one minute on October 15. (THR)
"Succession" is headed to Norway for season four. (Variety)