Thursday, October 6, 2022

Scroll down below for the latest on drama between Elon Musk and Twitter, the Alex Jones trial, and Jim Scuitto's absence from air. Plus, President Biden visits the home of James and Kathryn Murdoch, Prince Harry and Elton John sue the Daily Mail's publisher, and a media merger is facing skepticism from Nancy Pelosi. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Trouble in Tehran

CNN Illustration/AFP/Getty Images

Nationwide protests have gripped Iran for weeks following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into custody by the government's morality police for apparently not wearing her hijab properly. Her death has sparked violent clashes between demonstrators and authorities, reportedly leaving scores dead.

The uprising has received considerable attention in the Western press, especially as the fundamentalist Islamic regime has cracked down on the demonstrations with brute force.

But as protesters surge through the streets of Iran, Western news organizations largely aren't filing stories from the authoritarian-led country that has curtailed the free press, jailed journalists, and shut down the Internet. NBC News does have a correspondent in Tehran (kudos to them), but because of logistical issues and security concerns, the vast majority of Western outlets do not maintain a presence in the country. Most datelines on stories are from the nearby region, outside Iran. The Associated Press and Reuters, for example, are filing stories about the unrest from Dubai.

Western news organizations are largely relying on networks of contacts, groups like Amnesty International, a student-run news agency, as well as social media reports for information. CNN's stories notably state that the network has "not been able to independently verify the number of the dead and injured."

Pouria Mahrouyan, a senior editor at BBC News Persian who oversees the social media and interactive team, told me that because the news organization has no reporters in Iran, they are "largely relying on social media and user-generated-content" each day.

But doing so doesn't come without risk. Of particular concern, Mahrouyan said, some videos posted to social media sites are part of a government disinformation campaign. "They have a cyber army and they massively produce social media videos, even fake interviews," Mahrouyan said of the Iranian regime. The government, he said, has also attempted to set traps to manipulate Western media into reporting falsehoods: "They can then say foreign media is reporting fake news."

While the Iranian government is seeking to manipulate the conversation outside its borders, it is simultaneously using its state-controlled television and radio apparatus to control the narrative inside the country.

Trita Parsi, a prominent Iran expert, said the outlets have worked to "downplay the protests, ignore the protests, or cast them as a conspiracy." Amir Hossein Mahdavi, another Iran expert, said state-controlled media is "depicting these events" in the same way the country's supreme leader has: "Initiated by the outside, by the CIA and Mossad."

Recent stories from Fars News Agency and Press TV, which both publish and broadcast in English, have breathlessly echoed the deceptions pushed by the country's government.

But the regime's attempts to control the narrative has faced setbacks. "There is a massive amount of people who have access to satellite dishes and getting their news from the outside," Parsi explained. "It's not like they are only relying only on Iranian news outlets, which they take with a grain of salt."

In fact, BBC Persian is one of the most influential sources of information for those inside Iran. Mahrouyan noted the outlet's Instagram account has one of the largest followings within Persian media, boasting 18.6 million followers.

"The ability of the state," Parsi said, "to be able to push their narrative has been significantly weakened."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Illustration/Megan Varner/Getty Images

Behind the Bombshells: "It's just curiosity." That is how Roger Sollenberger, the Daily Beast reporter who has this week delivered the digital news outlet two explosive scoops on Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, responded when asked by Vanity Fair's Charlotte Klein about how he landed the bombshells. Sollenberger explained that he was "just googling" around in June and came across some "dusty old sites" that led him to the stunning story that has upended the political world and become a true October surprise. "I'm drawn to things that are weird and contradictory. And Herschel Walker is one of the weirdest, most contradictory people I've ever come across." Read Klein's full story here.

Biden Visits the Murdochs: President Joe Biden attended a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser on Thursday evening at the New York City home of James and Kathryn Murdoch, according to the White House pool report. James Murdoch, the son of right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has quit the family business. In recent years, he and his wife have donated large sums of money to progressive causes, including millions to Biden's campaign efforts.

OFF THE WIRE

The top story leading the homepages tonight of CNN, The NYT, WaPo, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, HuffPost: Biden pardons all federal offenses of marijuana possession.
The January 6 committee has announced the date of its postponed hearing. It will take place next Thursday at 1pm. (CNN)
CNN's Zachary Wolf examines "why the Supreme Court is so afraid of cameras." (CNN)

THE VALLEY

Deal Or No Deal?: More drama between Elon Musk and Twitter played out on Thursday. In a legal filing, Musk said that he was willing to close the original deal for the social platform, but that Twitter would "not take yes for an answer" and had "insisted on proceeding" with litigation. Twitter shot back that Musk was still declining to accept his "contractual obligations."

Regardless of the back and forth, the trial over the dispute will no longer proceed as originally planned next week. The judge overseeing the case put it on pause Thursday, a move Twitter opposed. "If the transaction does not close by 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates," the judge said in the order. CNN's Clare Duffy untangles the latest developments.

TOO MANY TABS

A sticking point in the negotiations between Musk and Twitter: Musk said his offer is contingent on receiving $13B in debt financing. (Bloomberg)
TikTok's parent company ByteDance "saw its operating losses more than triple last year to above $7 billion as it spent heavily to continue its torrid growth," Salvador Rodriguez reports. (WSJ)
Meanwhile, "Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel has sued TikTok over scam ads on the platform that featured her. (WaPo)
Twitter is — finally — rolling out an edit button, but it is only for paying Twitter Blue subscribers. (The Verge)
Steven Levy talks to Facebook app chief Tom Alison about the changes the platform is making to News Feed. (WIRED)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Jury Deliberates on Jones : A Connecticut jury on Thursday began deliberating in a case that will determine how much right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will have to pay the families of eight Sandy Hook victims. Jones' attorney asked the jury to consider whether the plaintiffs had exaggerated the harm the Infowars founder had caused them. Meanwhile, plaintiffs' attorney Josh Koskoff offered harsh words for Jones. "When it comes to the truth, Alex Jones is nothing but an arsonist," Koskoff said. "He sets fire to the truth and he spreads that growing fire immediately from his place in Austin, up to Connecticut, to Washington."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott warned after the 2020 election: "We can't give the crazies an inch," David Folkenflik reports. (NPR)
Kanye West chatted with Tucker Carlson, telling the right-wing cable host that people close to him warned if he wore a MAGA hat his life and career would be ruined. (Mediaite)
Jim Hoft, founder of the right-wing Gateway Pundit blog, has "laid out a 7-point plan for midterm chaos," John Knefel reports. (MMFA)
The Kremlin is telling state media to start admitting the failings of Putin's Ukraine invasion, worried its upbeat propaganda is fueling public doubt. (Bloomberg)
Most people on Twitter don't live in political echo chambers — but mostly because they don't care enough to bother building one. (Nieman Lab)

THE BUSINESS

Tegna Takeover Faces Skepticism: Two of the top House Democrats wrote the FCC on Thursday to express concern about hedge fund Standard General's proposed acquisition of Tegna. In a letter, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone, wrote, "After reviewing the public record, we are concerned that this transaction would violate the FCC's mandate by restricting access to local news coverage, cutting jobs at local television stations, and raising prices on consumers." Standard General responded by saying Pelosi and Pallone had been misled. Deadline's Ted Johnson has more here.

Scuitto's Absence: Jim Sciutto, the CNN anchor and chief national security correspondent, who has been off the air for days, is expected to return in a few weeks, a network source said on Thursday. His conspicuous absence follows reports that he is the subject of an internal HR probe over conduct that occurred earlier this year. CNN declined to comment on the matter again when I reached out on Thursday.

The Spotify Squeeze: Streaming audio giant Spotify "is axing a small portion of its original podcast programming slate — canceling 11 out of approximately 500 current shows — as it looks to concentrate firepower on the biggest original and exclusive hits," Variety's Todd Spangler reported Thursday. Spangler reported that the cuts will impact roughly 5% of the company's total podcast staff.

IN THE MARKET

About 200 newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital will no longer endorse political candidates in their opinion pages. (NYT)
"Starting a profitable media company is very difficult." Jim VandeHei talks about the success he has had building media outlets. (PressGazette)
Brookfield Asset Management has struck a $2 billion deal with Primary Wave Music to invest in music copyrights. (WSJ)
KGO AM, the last talk-radio station in San Francisco, says goodbye and announces a formatting change. (SF Chronicle)

MEDIA MOVES

Alison Mitchell has been tapped as NYT's int'l news director. (NYT)
Riley MacLeod has been named as the lead assignment editor for WaPo's video games vertical. (WaPo)
David Nevins, the chief content officer of scripted originals for Paramount+ and head of Showtime is stepping down. (WSJ)
Rob Wade has been elevated to CEO of Fox Entertainment. (Variety)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Illustration/Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Daily Mail Publisher Sued: Prince Harry and Elton John are among some of the high-profile figures who have filed an explosive lawsuit against Associated Papers, the publisher of the Daily Mail. Hamlins, the law firm representing some of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that its clients had been made aware of "highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims" of phone-tapping and other privacy violations. Allegations include the placing of listening devices in victims' homes and cars, bugging phone calls, and paying police for information. An Associated Papers spokesperson said they "utterly and unambiguously refute these preposterous smears." Reuters has more.

OFF STAGE

In a first, Netflix's "Knives Out" sequel is headed to theaters for one week before streaming. (CNN)
Quite the headline: "Kevin Spacey trial opens as Harvey Weinstein, Danny Masterson, & Paul Haggis' sex crimes cases head to court next week." (Deadline)
The much-anticipated trailer for the second season of HBO's "The White Lotus" has arrived. (YouTube)
The trailer for "The Super Mario Bros." is also here. (YouTube)
Most of the first act of "Avatar 4" has been completed. (Variety)
Disney is preparing to celebrate its 100-year anniversary. (Collider)
"Where the Crawdads Sing" has crossed $90 million at the domestic box office. (Deadline)