Monday, November 21, 2022

Welcome to Thanksgiving week! Tension mounts in Qatar, the Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster deal is officially dead, the AP has fired a reporter, Twitter Blue is delayed (again), Jay Leno is out of the hospital, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Iger's Return To The Kingdom

CNN Photo Illustration/Charley Gallay/Getty Images

One day after the shock announcement of Bob Iger's return to Disney, and the resulting ouster of his successor-turned-predecessor Bob Chapek, an astonished Hollywood is grappling with what exactly the move will mean for the entertainment behemoth's short-term and long-term future.

But while there is no shortage of questions that are being asked, two things are certain. First, investors are thrilled to have him once again reigning over the Magic Kingdom. Disney's shares ended Monday up more than 6% on a day that the Dow Jones was slightly down. Second, Iger is moving fast — not even waiting a full 24 hours to announce sweeping changes — to dismantle Chapek's reorganization of the company.

The speed at which Iger is hurtling is especially remarkable given that Disney's board only made its overture for Iger to return to the embattled company on Friday. "It literally started Friday and ended Sunday," a person with knowledge of the matter told me, adding that Iger "felt a sense of obligation to go back because he really does care about the company."

Now he's already calling big plays.

In a Monday evening memo sent to employees of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, a key organ of the company created by Chapek that frustrated some creatives, Iger announced that Kareem Daniel, the division's chief and a Chapek ally, would "be leaving the company."

Iger also announced the entertainment giant will be undergoing a broader transformation with him back at the helm. "Over the coming weeks, we will begin implementing organizational and operating changes within the company," Iger wrote to employees. "It is my intention to restructure things in a way that honors and respects creativity as the heart and soul of who we are."

Iger added that he had asked Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Jimmy Pitaro, and Christine McCarthy to "work together on the design of a new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs." Iger said the goal "is to have the new structure in place in the coming months."

Outside Iger's reorg of Chapek's reorg, the Disney chief could also unwind another key decision made by Chapek that is just weeks from taking effect: Disney+'s price hike. Iger launched Disney+ at a mere $6.99 a month and, as CNBC's Alex Sherman reported, his strategy was to "slowly raise prices over time." Chapek, however, ditched that modus operandi earlier this year when he spiked the price to a whopping $10.99 a month.

Looking further into the future, bigger questions abound: What will Disney look like when Iger's two-year deal is up? How will Iger position and reshape the company for the digital age? Could he make a move to shed ABC and the broadcast division? Or perhaps execute a mega-deal to eat a company like Netflix? Or will Disney itself be eaten by a Big Tech giant such as Apple?

One source at a top talent agency pointed out to me that the biggest question Iger will have to answer is how he "tops his last run as CEO."

"The world is a much more complicated place than it was a few years ago and it is going to be hard to live up to the reputation he built as the most formidable media CEO ever," the source said. "And he's going to have a short runway to pleasing Wall Street, his staff, creative partners, and the audience."

"So much for going out on top."

THE SIDEBAR

Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy was one of the people who had expressed a lack of confidence in Chapek to the board, Robbie Whelan, Emily Glazer, Joe Flint, and Jessica Toonkel report. (WSJ)
"It wasn't just that some senior Disney leaders were aghast about the quarterly results and Mr. Chapek's seemingly delusional delivery of them: Several began speaking openly about resigning if he remained, talk that swiftly reached the Disney board," Brooks Barnes, Benjamin Mullin, and James B. Stewart add. (NYT)
Iger could receive as much as $27 million as CEO under his new Disney contract. (THR)
"On the Chapek side, as much negative press as the recent poor earnings generated, I kept hearing that it was his handling of the call and its aftermath that was really questioned internally and by the board," Matthew Belloni writes. (Puck)
"Disney board's decision to replace Bob Chapek with Bob Iger makes everyone look bad," Alex Sherman writes. (CNBC)
"Everyone is too polite to say this but this is the second time Iger and his board have decided the guy they picked to replace Iger wasn't good enough to replace Iger," Peter Kafka comments. "Which makes it an Iger problem." (Twitter)
This headline caught my eye: "Disney brings back a star of the past. But its real problem is the script." (The Economist)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Contention in Qatar: The World Cup is underway — and the tournament is already testing the relationship between country and journalists. CBS Sports analyst and Substacker Grant Wahl tweeted Monday that he was detained for wearing a rainbow colored t-shirt to the US vs. Wales match. Wahl also said The NYT's Andrew Das was detained when Wahl informed him what was happening (spokespeople for The NYT didn't respond to a request for comment). Eventually, Wahl said he was allowed to enter the stadium and that a FIFA rep apologized. But the incident only highlights tensions between journalists covering the games and the abysmal human rights record of the country hosting them.

► Don't miss Tom Kludt's excellent story in Vanity Fair on how "reporters and broadcasters are grappling with how to handle human rights concerns, political protests, and unusual restrictions—from filming to buying beer—while not missing the action on the pitch." One journalist told Kludt, "It feels like a country that's being unboxed for a World Cup."

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mega-Merger Terminated: Penguin Random House's deal to acquire Paramount's Simon & Schuster has officially collapsed. Paramount said Monday it would no longer sell its publishing arm to Penguin, representing the final nail in the coffin of the $2.175 billion deal after a judge blocked the merger on anti-trust grounds. Penguin said that it believed the October ruling should have been overturned, but that the company accepted Paramount's decision. Meanwhile, Paramount indicated that it still would like to sell Simon & Schuster, which it described in a statement as a "non core asset." The company explained, "Simon & Schuster is a highly valuable business with a recent record of strong performance. However, it is not video-based and therefore does not fit strategically within Paramount's broader portfolio." CNN's Ramishah Maruf has more here.

AP Fires Reporter: The Associated Press has fired reporter James LaPorta, who cited a single unnamed U.S. intelligence official to inaccurately report that Russian missiles had killed two people in Poland, a person with knowledge of the matter told me Monday. The Daily Beast's Corbin Bolies and Lachlan Cartwright first reported the news. The story, for which the AP ultimately published a correction, was the subject of much criticism after it was revealed to be incorrect. LaPorta couldn't be reached for comment.

► A spokesperson for the AP said in a statement Monday night, "The rigorous editorial standards and practices of The Associated Press are critical to AP's mission as independent news organization. To ensure our reporting is accurate, fair and fact-based, we abide by and enforce these standards, including around the use of anonymous sources. When our standards are violated, we must take the steps necessary to protect the integrity of the news report. We do not make these decisions lightly, nor are they based on isolated incidents."

IN THE INDUSTRY

CNN's profit will decline to between $700-$750 million this year, the FT's Alex Barker, Christopher Grimes, and Anna Nicolaou reported in a deep-dive look into the network under new chief Chris Licht. It's the first time since 2016 that annual profits have fallen under $1 billion. (FT)
CNN programming chief Michael Bass is exiting the network at the end of the year. Licht said in a note to employees the decision was Bass', as Brian Steinberg reports. (Variety)
Another HBO communications executive is departing: Angela Tarantino, senior VP of media relations, will depart after 32 years. (Variety)
"Meet the Smiths": That's the headline on Adam Piore's latest. (CJR)
HLN is trying something different this Thanksgiving weekend. For the first time ever, the channel will run a marathon of a scripted series, "The West Wing." (Deadline)

MEDIA MOVES

Former National Geographic editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg has been named CEO of GBH, the Boston's public media powerhouse. (GBH)
CNN has nabbed Alex Charalambides from Insider to serve as chief technology officer. (Insider)
Tom Giratikanon is returning to The NYT after serving as deputy publisher at Vox Media. Giratikanon will be senior editor for The Upshot. (NYT)
Dell Cameron is joining WIRED from Gizmodo. (Twitter)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Patrik Pleul/AFP/Getty Images

Feeling Blue: Elon Musk has — once again — delayed the rollout of his paid verification plan for Twitter Blue. "Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation," Musk tweeted Monday. "Will probably use different color check for organizations than individuals." Musk had last said the service would ship on November 29.

A One Man Moderation Council: Days after welcoming former President Donald Trump back onto Twitter, Elon Musk has done the same for right-wing conspiracy theorist — and congresswoman — Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene's personal account had previously been permanently suspended for "repeated violations" of Twitter's Covid-19 policies. She's one of several previously banned far-right accounts Musk has reinstated in recent days, including Project Veritas, Jordan Peterson, and others.

🔎 Zooming in: Musk is being anything but transparent on who he is allowing back on the platform. Previously he said he would form a so-called "content moderation council" to recommend decisions. But he never announced members of this supposed council and over the weekend appeared to base his decision to allow Trump to return on an unscientific Twitter poll.

TOO MANY TABS

While Musk has reinstated banned accounts, he has made it clear Alex Jones won't be allowed back on. Musk said he has "no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame." (CNN)
Another major departure at Twitter: Eric Zuckerman, head of US News partnerships, said he has departed. Do news organizations even have a contact at Twitter anymore? (Twitter)
More Twitter employees were also laid off on Monday. The latest round of job cuts hit the company's ad sales team. (The Verge)
Matt Gertz posted a thread highlighting how Musk spends his days on the platform "interacting with sycophantic right-wing influencers." (Twitter)
CBS News has resumed tweeting after pausing its use on the platform over "security concerns." (Variety)
Moving on to non-Twitter tech news: Meta will roll out new privacy updates for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook. (TechCrunch)
While most Silicon Valley tech companies are cutting workers, TikTok says it remains committed to hiring nearly 1,000 engineers. (CNN)
Melina Delkic looks at how TikTok is "changing language" by introducing new vocabularies into society. (NYT)

THE INFO WARS

Taking Tucker To Task: GasBuddy chief Patrick De Haan is calling out Tucker Carlson for fear mongering about fuel shortages. De Haan on Monday resurfaced an October monologue from the right-wing host, which warned the country was on the verge of running out of diesel. At the time, Carlson said on his program that "everything will stop" as a result of the supposed looming shortage. "It's been 25 days since [Carlson] reported that we'd run out of diesel in 25.9 days... and we have actually more diesel then we did when his wildly inaccurate report ran on Oct. 28," De Haan tweeted. Of course, that's how it works for Carlson. He makes wild claims and Fox News never holds him accountable. Mediaite's Alex Griffing has more here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Maricopa County elections official Bill Gates was moved to an undisclosed location after threats to his safety on social media. (CNN)
The Daily Wire says its "most ambitious" project to date will be an adaption of the "Pendragon Cycle" novels. (Deadline)
NBC's Ben Collins and FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver exchanged words on Monday about the misinformation beat. (Mediaite)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Grossman Burn Center

Leno Discharged: Jay Leno was released from a hospital on Monday after undergoing two surgeries for extensive burns from a gasoline fire. A photo released by the burn center showed Leno with scarring on his face, neck, and hands. "Jay would like to let everyone know how thankful he is for the care he received, and is very appreciative of all of the well wishes," the Grossman Burn Center said in a statement. "He is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with his family and friends and wishes everyone a wonderful holiday." CNN's Stella Chan has more here.

OFF STAGE

Oof. "She Said" opened to just $2.25 million at the box office. (THR)
"Black Panther," meanwhile earned an additional $67.3 million. (Variety)
Trevor Noah opened up to Lacey Rose about his forthcoming departure from "The Daily Show." (THR)
Miley Cyrus will co-host her NYE NBC special with country music icon Dolly Parton. (Deadline)
Whoopi Goldberg returned to "The View" Monday after a "rough" battle with Covid. (Deadline)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will be back in your inbox tomorrow.