Thursday, October 20, 2022

Friday is near. Newsmax has banned Lara Logan, TikTok is fuming at Forbes, CNN is previewing its new morning show, Post-Gazette staffers are picketing, Twitter is facing massive cuts, President Biden is engaging in a TV blitz, Kevin Spacey has won in court, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Snap Sinks Stocks

CNN Photo Illustration/Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Snap Inc.'s shares are spiraling.

The company, first of the Big Tech firms to report earnings, delivered weaker-than-expected Q3 revenue on Thursday, sending its shares sinking more than 25% in after-hours trading. Year-to-date, Snap had already lost about 77% in value, making it one of the worst performers in the Nasdaq.

Like other social media companies, Snap is navigating arduous terrain. The digital ad business is deteriorating amid an uncertain economic outlook and being hindered by Apple's privacy changes. Additionally, companies like Snap are seeing increased competition from TikTok.

"Our revenue growth continued to decelerate in Q3 and continues to be impacted by a number of factors we have noted throughout the past year, including platform policy changes, macroeconomic headwinds, and increased competition," Snap succinctly summarized in its letter to shareholders.

Snap elaborated that it is seeing ad partners "decreasing their marketing budgets, especially in the face of operating environment headwinds, inflation-driven cost pressures, and rising costs of capital."

Translation: The digital ad market that Big Tech relies heavily upon is performing very poorly.

The grim Q3 earnings report from Snap will drag down the entire tech sector, with the company's earnings serve as a bellwether for the industry. In after-hours trading, shares in Meta dropped nearly 4%, shares in Alphabet sunk almost 2%, and shares in Pinterest fell 7%.

There is some reason, however, to believe that Meta and Alphabet will fare better than Snap when they report earnings. That is because Snap, which is solely app-based, is getting hit particularly hard by Apple's new privacy features, whereas Google and Facebook have robust desktop products that remain impervious to the iPhone maker's changes.

Regardless, Snap's earnings are distressing for the digital ad business. They forecast a punishing climate ahead for Big Tech, which has already seen layoffs, hiring freezes, and other cost-cutting measures put into place.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Leon Neal/Getty Images

A Loss Of Truss: The chaotic six-week leadership of Liz Truss came to a historic end Thursday, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. The conclusion of the disastrous term was captured in the British press Friday, with front pages trumpeting the turmoil. "The Worst PM We've Ever Had," The Metro blared. "General Election Now," The Mirror thundered. But the political chaos wasn't without tabloid stunt. A head of lettuce became a viral sensation when The Daily Star set up a YouTube stream that drew thousands of live viewers who came to watch if Truss's deteriorating leadership would outlast the wilting vegetable. In the end, the lettuce was victorious.

Biden's Midterm TV Blitz: The White House is making sure President Joe Biden is plenty visible ahead of the quickly approaching midterm elections. MSNBC is airing an interview Friday evening that Jonathan Capehart conducted with Biden. NowThis is streaming a forum with Biden across its social channels, including TikTok, on Sunday. And, in the last week, Biden spoke to Jake Tapper and Jill Biden even appeared on Newsmax.

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/From Newsmax TV

Logan in Loonyland: Lara Logan has gotten herself banned from yet another network. After being dumped by Fox News for comparing Dr. Anthony Fauci to an infamous Nazi doctor, the one-time "60 Minutes" correspondent appeared on Newsmax and went full QAnon, claiming that "the open border is Satan's way of taking control of the world" and that the elites "want us eating insects [and] cockroaches" while they "dine on the blood of children." In a Tuesday evening statement, Newsmax said that it "condemns in the strongest terms the reprehensible statements made by Lara Logan" and that the channel has "no plans to interview her again." The Daily Beast's Justin Baragona has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: Conservatives often complain about being deplatformed. But it is notable that, in this case, Logan has effectively been deplatformed by right-wing media outlets such as Fox News and Newsmax, two channels that often fuel complaints about the supposed censorship of conservatives. It shows that people like Logan are often exiled from platforms not for holding conservative views, but because they use their platforms in a grossly irresponsible way.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly is facing a flood of backlash after falsely tweeting that a "scary # of kids are dying" from Covid-19 vaccines. (The Hill)
Peter Kafka breaks down why Infowars is still in business streaming after Alex Jones lost more than $1 billion in trials. (Vox)
Always read Andrew Marantz: "A decade or two ago, an ascendant Kanye West would have been too proud, too self-conscious, to be caught wearing a mid-tier outfit or using a played-out sample. The newly stagnant West, both as an artist and as a propagandist, keeps reaching for clichés." (New Yorker)
Steven Lee Myers and Sheera Frenkel: Ahead of the midterms, "the proliferation of alternative social media sites has helped cement false and misleading information as a defining feature of American politics." (NYT)

THE BUSINESS

Picketing in Pitt: Ahead of the crucial mid-term elections in swing state Pennsylvania, newsroom employees at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are off the job, set to strike for a third day Friday after walking out over bargaining disagreements. Some newsroom staffers have crossed the picket lines and continued work, however. A spokesperson for the paper told me, "The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will continue to serve the Pittsburgh community, our readers and advertisers, despite any work stoppage."

🔎 Zooming in: Among the concerns of union members is the financial condition of newspapers, said Zack Tanner, head of the Newspaper Guild. "That definitely came up," he told Reliable Sources Thursday, "'What if we strike and the Post-Gazette isn't around any more, will there still be journalism jobs left in Pittsburgh?' But I don't think the Post-Gazette is going to stop publishing and when we win we will come back to a stronger Post-Gazette."

News about Newsletters: The NYT's Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson published a story Thursday that asked the simple question: "Are we past peak newsletter?" They may have not definitively answered that, but they did pack their story with a number of newsletter-related scoops. Per the duo, Puck is approaching 20,000 paid subscribers and has mulled raising $15 million at a valuation of $75 million. And over at The Atlantic, the mag's newsletter program has allowed some writers the ability to earn as much as $400,000 a year. Read the full story here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

CNN has released the promo for its new marquee morning show. Exec Ryan Kadro told Brian Steinberg that viewers will see a "more relaxed approach" from the hosts. ( Variety)
A memorial service was held Thursday evening for the late Bernard Shaw. CSPAN will air the memorial on Saturday at 8pm. (CSPAN)
Accepting the Freedom of Press Award on Wednesday, Lester Holt said, "Freedom of speech can be more than freedom to be the loudest voice on the soap box. It can also be freedom to listen." (Media Institute)
Laura Wagner wrote a critical piece on Semafor, arguing that the article format it asserts is unique to it "sounds more or less like the existing format you might find at any other traditional news organization." (Defector)
Reuters revoked an award for Palestinian journalist Shatha Hammad after a media watchdog revealed social posts praising Hitler. (Mediaite)
Nielsen has upgraded Pluto to The Gauge, making it "the first free, ad-supported streamer to migrate from Nielsen's 'other' category to a spot among the most popular streamers overall." (Vulture)

MEDIA MOVES

Kristen Hall is departing Amazon and heading back to CBS Studios as EVP of comms. (Variety)
Longtime WaPo reporter Michael Rosenwald is joining the paper's obit desk, which he describes as his dream job. (WaPo)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

TikTok Tracking: "A China-based team at TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, planned to use the TikTok app to monitor the personal location of some specific American citizens," Forbes' Emily Baker-White reported Thursday. Baker-White reported that the team usually looks at potential misconduct by ByteDance employees. "But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit team also planned to collect TikTok data about the location of a U.S. citizen who had never had an employment relationship with the company," Baker-White reported, citing documents. Read the full story here.

► In response to this story, TikTok released a scathing statement attacking Forbes, asserting the outlet's reporting "continues to lack both rigor and journalistic integrity."

Elon's Edict: If Elon Musk completes his takeover of Twitter, he plans to reduce the social media platform's workforce of 7,500 workers by a staggering 75%, WaPo's Elizabeth Dwoskin, Faiz Siddiqui, Gerrit De Vynck, and Jeremy B. Merrill scooped Thursday. But even if Musk doesn't gain control, the WaPo team reported that current management plans to "pare the company's payroll by about $800 million by the end of next year, a number that would mean the departure of nearly a quarter of the workforce."

🔎 Zooming in: As the WaPo team noted in their story, the cuts to Twitter — which is already small in size compared to other platforms such as Meta — will likely "have major impact on its ability to control harmful content and prevent data security crises."

TOO MANY TABS

Elon Musk said on Tesla's earnings call that he is "obviously overpaying" for Twitter, but believes the company's long-term potential "is an order of magnitude greater than its current value." (Variety)
The Oversight Board said that it now can issue decisions on Meta's use of warning screens. (Reuters)
Facebook is cutting its employee shuttle service as it cuts costs. (CNBC)
The price of YouTube Premium family plans is going up. (9to5Google)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images

Rebuking Rapp: Kevin Spacey emerged from court Thursday victorious. The actor was found not liable by a New York jury for battery against actor Anthony Rapp. Jurors, who deliberated for about an hour, effectively rebuked Rapp and concluded that he had not proven that Spacey "touched a sexual or intimate part" of him. CNN's Lauren del Valle has more here.

OFF STAGE

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is on track for a massive $175 million opening weekend. (THR)
The trailer for season five of "The Crown" has arrived. (YouTube)
"The cross-examination of Jane Doe #1 in the Danny Masterson rape trial continued Thursday and at times turned into a battle of wills between the witness and the defense," Dominic Patten reports. (Deadline)
Trevor Noah's third comedy special for Netflix will debut on the streamer November 22. (Variety)
Chelsea Handler will host 2023's Critics Choice Awards. (Deadline)
Warner Bros. Discovery is selling "Lord of the Rings" NFTs. (IGN)