Wednesday, November 9, 2022

It's the day after. Murdoch media is unloading on Trump, Biden was peppered by the press, Disney's stock is in the dumps, Elon Musk is pleading with Twitter advertisers, Meta has executed mega layoffs, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Media's Big Miss

CNN Photo Illustration/Washington Post.

The White House believes that the press has "egg on their faces, yet again."

That's according to a White House official who spoke candidly with me on Wednesday about the media's "red wave" narrative that wasn't.

Heading into Tuesday, the dominant narrative in the press — especially right- wing media — was that Republicans were on track to have a big, if not monster, night. Focusing largely on the fragile state of the economy, coupled with the fact that the incumbent party historically doesn't perform well in such elections, the press had all but declared that Democrats would get trounced from coast-to-coast.

But, as election results came in Tuesday night the great wave turned into a mere ripple. Pundits such as Ben Shapiro noted the view had gone "from red wave to red wedding." Even on Fox News, the right-wing cable network that had heavily hyped the red wave presumption to its audience, pundits acknowledged the reality. Marc Thiessen, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, called it an "absolute disaster" for the GOP.

So what happened?

Norman Ornstein, emeritus scholar at the center-right American Enterprise Institute, suggested to me that a few factors were at play. Chief among them, a reliance on bad polls (i.e. InsiderAdvantage and Rasmussen), a herd mentality that swept the press, and the tendency to treat this election like midterms of the past when other significant issues (like democracy and abortion) were at play.

But Ornstein also warned of a "more troubling" factor that he believed impacted coverage. "There is so many in the mainstream press that are just fearful to a remarkable degree of being branded as having a liberal bias. And what we see is that the reaction to that is to bend over quadruply backwards to show there is no bias."

In other words, Ornstein argued, mainstream journalists went along with a red wave narrative because it showed that they were being tough on Democrats. "This business of both-sidesism to show that there is no bias gives us another kind of bias," he said.

"You put all of that together and it is a shit show," Ornstein said.

And while it is likely the GOP will still take the House and could eke out a victory in the Senate, the White House official I spoke with dinged the press for taking jabs at the administration for its focus on issues outside the economy.

"We talked about fighting inflation constantly," the official said. "There is also a very significant constituency in this country that is extremely concerned about reproductive rights after Dobbs. The same with political violence and extremism. These all overlap, too."

"The idea that because inflation is a big problem, we aren't supposed to address any other issue, that's just a fallacy and not how campaigns are supposed to work," the White House official continued, adding that "oversimplification is a trap that it's important for the press not to fall into."

It turned out it wasn't all about the economy as some media pundits had suggested. As CNN's exit poll showed Tuesday, abortion and the state of democracy were also significant factors in the election.

More than a quarter of voters listed abortion access as a top issue. About 61% said they were unhappy with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and about 7 in 10 of those voters backed a Democratic House candidate. Voters were also deeply concerned about the state of the country's democracy: about two-thirds said they felt that democracy in the country is somewhat or very threatened.

Bottom line? "Politics has become extremely volatile," the White House official said, "and I'm not sure that these kinds of sweeping narratives and this obsession with predictions helps anyone." It's hard to argue with that.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

The President's Presser: Biden celebrated the midterm elections as a "good day for America," in a lengthy press conference in which he took more than a dozen questions from reporters. Speaking from the White House, Biden also declared his intention to run again in 2024. The presser was Biden's first solo in the country since January. But as NPR's Tamara Keith noted, "This is the traditional post-midterms press conference the [White House Correspondents Association] and its members have been lobbying for. Every president since Clinton has done this...and many before him."

Crunching the Numbers: An estimated 25.4 million people tuned in Tuesday night for coverage of the midterm elections, according to Nielsen Media Research. A few takeaways:

► Down from 2018: Overall, the ratings were down from the last midterm elections, which drew 32.5 million viewers. As The NYT's Michael Grynbaum wrote, it was the lowest ratings for a midterm since 2014. Of course, it's worth noting that far less people have cable these days, and so we can probably expect this trend to continue short of another Trump bump.

► The majority watched on cable: Nielsen said 57% of viewers watched on cable, vs the 43% who tuned into the broadcast networks. On cable, Fox News dominated, averaging 7.4 million viewers. ABC finished first in total viewers among the broadcast networks, averaging 3.3 million viewers.

► CNN slipped: As The LAT's Stephen Battaglio noted, "Tuesday was not a good night for CNN from a ratings standpoint." The network finished behind MSNBC in total viewers for the first time on an election night (CNN averaged 2.6 million to MSNBC's 3.2 million), though it did rate #2 among cable and broadcast networks in the key demo.

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/New York Post.

Murdoch Media's Major Move: "It is not an accident." That is what a source familiar with how Rupert Murdoch runs his media empire told me when I asked about the fact that Fox News, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal were all signaling in their own ways that Ron DeSantis is the future of the GOP. In other words, Murdoch is making it clear that he would prefer to cast Trump aside for the Florida governor.

That has perhaps been most obvious at the Post, where the Wednesday front page headline blared, "DeFUTURE." And on Thursday, the Post is set to feature a cover bashing Trump in brutal terms, calling him "TRUMPTY DUMPTY." Meanwhile, The WSJ Editorial Board published a scathing piece Wednesday evening, declaring Trump to be "the Republican Party's biggest loser." (If there is one thing Trump doesn't like to be called, it's a loser.) The board wrote that Trump "botched the 2022 elections" and that he "has led Republicans into one political fiasco after another." More in my story here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Elsewhere in conservative media: The Washington Examiner pulled no punches, writing: "These midterm elections have made it crystal clear that voters want to move past the chaos and dishonor" of Trump. (WaEx)
Don't miss Donie O'Sullivan's piece: "Not much can grow naturally in the barren desert landscape of Arizona's Maricopa County, but given its pivotal role in shaping national politics, it's fertile ground for conspiracy theories to take root." (CNN)
Maggie Haberman reported that Trump was "furious" Wednesday morning and "blaming everyone who advised him" to back Mehmet Oz. It's worth noting that Sean Hannity was a big proponent of Oz. (Twitter)
Fox News host Jesse Watters: "There's just not the hatred for Joe Biden the way there is for Barack Obama and the Clintons. There's not a 'Hate Biden' vote that's out there!" (Baragona/Twitter)
In other news, some drama at TheBlaze: Leon Wolf knocks colleague Jason Whitlock for zinging Ben Shapiro over his calling out of Candace Owens. (Mediaite)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Disney in the Dumps: Disney shares ended Wednesday down a staggering 13% after the company missed on earnings the day before. The stock price of $86.75 represented the lowest price the company's shares since 2020. And the slide was the most dramatic on the books for Disney since September 2001, per The WSJ's Will Feuer. Read Feuer's full story here.

► CEO Bob Chapek spoke Wednesday at the Paley Center for Media where he noted that "investors expect" the company "to have a return" on their investments. Chapek also said he believed blockbusters have made a comeback in theaters, but said "beyond that, it gets sketchy." THR's Alex Weprin has details here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Meanwhile: Jim Cramer says Bob Chapek "absolutely" has to be fired after weak earnings report. (IndieWire)
Warner Bros. Discovery's stock closed Wednesday under $10, the "lowest level since the merger," Caitlin Huston points out. (THR)
Forbes is in advanced talks to sell itself to a group of investors for at least $800 million. (NYT)
MSNBC and the anchors of "Morning Joe" are considering hourlong prime-time specials. (Variety)
Logging out: Will consumers cut streaming TV services as prices rise during an economic downturn? (THR)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Sven Hoppe/Picture Alliance/Getty Images

Meta's Mega Layoff: Shares in Meta ended Wednesday up 5% after Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would slash 13% of its workforce, a move that represented the first time the tech giant has made cuts in its 18-year history. Zuckerberg announced the news to staffers in a morning memo, saying he had decided to "let more than 11,000" employees ago to lean the company out and get it in a better position as the digital ad market further deteriorates. Notably, Zuckerberg said he does "take accountability" for the cuts, explaining he misread economic trends and grew the company too fast. CNN's Catherine Thorbecke has more here.

Elon's Plea: Elon Musk implored advertisers on Wednesday to stick with Twitter during a lengthy call with several top company reps that was broadcast live on Twitter Spaces for anyone to hear. Musk, who recently threatened to "name and shame" advertisers who pause marketing campaigns on his website, was far more conciliatory. "I understand if people want to give it a minute and see how things are evolving," he said. "But really, the best way to see how things are evolving is just use Twitter. And see how your experience has changed. Is it better? Is it worse?" CNN's Brian Fung has more here.

► The call with advertisers came after Musk abruptly nuked a just-rolled out plan adding a second check mark on certain accounts that verified their identity. When asked on the call about the verification mayhem, Musk said, "I'm not saying we should somehow downplay the major publications or prominent journalists. I'm simply saying we should elevate people and give voice to the people. Much more."

TOO MANY TABS

Peter Kafka on advertiser concerns: "They tell me they don't mind what Musk says in outreach calls like this. They're concerned about what he does and what he tweets." (Vox)
A blistering headline from CNBC Wednesday: "Elon Musk took over a struggling business with Twitter and has quickly made it worse." (CNBC)
Biden said at his press conference that Musk's relationship with other countries is "worthy of being looked at." (CNN)
As many Twitter users flee the platform, Joanna Stern checks out Mastodon to see if its the future of social media. (WSJ)

CURTAIN CALL

Sister Channels No More: VH1 is getting a new home. The longtime MTV sister channel is moving under the BET Media Group, Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish announced Wednesday, as part of the latest shakeup at the entertainment company. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva has the details.

OFF STAGE

Universal Pictures is developing a film about the life of Snoop Dogg, the first project under Death Row Pictures. (Deadline)
After cutting ties with Kanye West, Adidas plans to sell Yeezy shoes under new branding. (Insider)
Andrew Wallenstein argues that "for Netflix, sports rights isn't a matter of if, but when." (Variety)
To promote his new album, Bruce Springsteen will debut four new songs during appearances on the "Tonight Show" next week. (Deadline)
"Hollywood's largest studios are backing away from blanket vaccine mandates on some productions," Winston Cho reports. (THR)

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.