Tuesday, November 15, 2022

We're in your inbox later than usual because of, well, you know who. David Zaslav talks at RBC, Protocol is shut down, Kara Swisher interviews Chris Licht, Elon Musk clashes with staffers, Swifties get bad blood with Ticketmaster, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Trump Test

CNN Photo Illustration/Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Donald Trump on Tuesday night made it official, declaring his candidacy for 2024 — forcing news organizations to grapple with how to cover the campaign of a twice-impeached president who incited an attack on the US Capitol after misleading his loyal supporters with disinformation about the American election system.

The big three broadcast networks, to no surprise, ignored Trump and didn't interrupt normal programming to carry the speech.

But the situation was different on cable. While MSNBC decided not to take the speech live, Fox News and CNN both aired large portions of Trump's fairly low-energy and misinformation-peppered announcement. Newsmax aired it in full.

CNN cut away from the Palm Beach spectacle after about 25 minutes, turning to a panel of analysts as well as network fact-checker Daniel Dale, who knocked down his "wildly incorrect" statements. Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump's former communications director-turned-CNN-analyst, pointed out that the speech included "outright lies" and that Trump was "dabbling into conspiracy" theories that she hasn't "even seen on the dark corners of the internet."

It was a very different scene on Fox News where Trump propagandist Sean Hannity cut away from the speech after roughly 40 minutes. Hannity, whose show hyped Trump's announcement throughout the event in the chyron, turned to pro-Trump commentators Pete Hegseth and Mike Huckabee for analysis. "Nothing like the original," Hegseth said, surprising no one with commentary that praised Trump.

Fox News ultimately returned to carry much of what was left of Trump's speech, perhaps indicating that while some arms of Rupert Murdoch's media machine might be battering Trump, his most powerful mouthpiece is still reluctant to forcefully do so.

It's also worth noting how print and digital outlets covered the speech. Here are some ledes and highlights from around the web:

► The WaPo: "Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president who refused to concede defeat and inspired a failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election culminating in a deadly attack on the Capitol, officially declared on Tuesday night that he is running to retake the White House in 2024."

► The NYT: "Donald J. Trump, whose historically divisive presidency shook the pillars of the country's democratic institutions, on Tuesday night declared his intention to seek the White House again in 2024, ignoring the appeals of Republicans who warn that his continued influence on the party is largely to blame for its weaker-than-expected showing in the midterm elections."

► NewsMax: "Former President Donald Trump, eschewing establishment calls to hold off and endless Democrat efforts to stop him, officially declared his 2024 presidential campaign Tuesday night."

► The National Review editorial board published a piece simply titled, "No."

Of course, as the Drudge Report noted on its front page Tuesday night, there are still 721 days until the election. Which is to say, a lot can change. But the manner in which news organizations approached the speech is likely a good general barometer for what audiences can expect moving forward.

There is also the question of how Trump will treat the press. During his speech on Tuesday night, he struck a lighter tone, needling the media though refraining from doing it in the harsh terms that defined his relationship with news organizations at the end of his stay in the White House. Instead, Trump joked he would not "use the term 'fake news media'" because he wanted to keep the event "elegant."

We'll see how long that lasts.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images

As A Meta Of Fact : It's not just news outlets that have to grapple with Trump's campaign. Social media platforms will be faced with challenges as well. Case in point: Facebook's fact-checkers will stop fact-checking Trump after his announcement, according to a company memo obtained by Donie O'Sullivan. While Trump remains banned from the platform, its policy has a special carveout for politicians, meaning others can post Trump's statements and they won't face fact-checking.

► The memo underscores the challenges social media platforms — and indeed traditional media outlets, who have faced blame for amplifying and giving free publicity to Trump — will confront in deciding how to handle another Trump campaign. O'Sullivan has more here.

► Looking ahead: Trump could still regain access to both his Facebook and Twitter accounts in the coming months.

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

War in MAGA Media: Dana Loesch zings Steve Bannon, saying, "I've never met anyone so politically stupid and strategically dumb in my entire life, and rides the coattails of everyone else, and people just fall for it. It's amazing." (MMFA)
Nikki McCann Ramirez documents how MAGA Media "is melting down" over Kari Lake's loss in Arizona. (Rolling Stone)
"What's the best way to deal with a flood of misinformation?": Joshua Benton argues that "maybe it's time for some deliberate ignorance." (NiemanLab)
Voice of America removed a story that embarrassed Vietnam's prime minister after a Vietnamese official complained, emails obtained by Paul Farhi reveal. Farhi said the decision to scrub the story "disturbed journalists" at VOA. (WaPo)
Another reminder to be careful what you share: A false claim about Iran sentencing 15,000 protesters to death has gone viral after celebrities and even some politicians shared it on social media. (NBC News)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

In the Zas Zone: Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav spoke Tuesday at the RBC Capital Markets media conference, making news on a number of fronts. (WBD is, of course, CNN's parent company.) Some highlights from Zaslav's remarks:

► Zaslav warned that the advertising market is worse now than it was during the pandemic. He said if it doesn't improve, WBD would have a "hard" time hitting its $12B 2023 earnings forecast.

► Zaslav said that the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger has been "unexpectedly worse" than his team previously thought, disclosing that HBO lost $3 billion last year after spending roughly $7 billion on content. Zaslav, however, said he didn't want to acquire a company "that was really well run" because it would have limited the benefits of merging. CNBC's Alex Sherman has more on that here. Former WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar declined comment.

► Zaslav, speaking about sports rights, said the company doesn't "have to have the NBA," though Variety's Brian Steinberg noted that the company "values its NBA programming so much that it recently struck a multi-year deal to keep its top basketball analysts in their chairs over at TNT."

First in Reliable | Swisher Talks To Licht: Kara Swisher spoke on Tuesday afternoon with Chris Licht for a wide-ranging interview with the CNN boss. The interview, which will arguably be the most rigorous Licht has faced since taking the CNN job, will post here on Thursday morning. I'm told Swisher brought her signature tough questions to the table for an in-depth conversation.

► Earlier in the day, Licht participated in an internal hour-long CNN town hall moderated by anchor Alisyn Camerota where he fielded a number of difficult questions from staffers about looming cuts at the organization. Licht said the layoffs will occur in early December. Insider's Claire Atkinson and Lucia Moses have more here.

First in Reliable | Pain at Protocol: Bad news greeted the staffers of the upstart tech news website Protocol on Tuesday when they were informed that the outlet, which was launched by Robert Allbritton in early 2020, would shutter this week. The decision to end the site will impact approximately 60 staffers, I'm told. They will remain active employees through December 16 and then be eligible for eight weeks of severance. The outlet will largely stop publishing this week, with the exception of its flagship newsletter Source Code, which will continue to be sent for a little while longer. Here's my full story.

🔍 Zooming in: Protocol, which had operated independently, was folded into Politico Media Group when Allbritton sold to Axel Springer last year. In recent months, PMG CEO Goli Sheikholeslami has conducted a long-term strategy review with the aim of doubling the company by 2027. Protocol was missing revenue targets and, as one source explained to me, the tightening of the ad market in the tech space also "exacerbated some existing challenges that are typical for a news startup." The decision was ultimately made to cut it and then bolster Politico's tech coverage.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports laid off about 70 people on Tuesday, John Ourand reports, noting the cuts "affected Turner Sports, Bleacher Report and the company's studio operations in Atlanta." (SBJ)
Forbes Media is in "exclusive talks to sell to a consortium of investors that includes India-based SUN Group and GSV Ventures," Kia Kokalitcheva and Sara Fischer report. (Axios)
Another from Fischer: CVC Capital Partners and Group Black "are pursuing a joint bid to buy Vox Media." (Axios)
Vets of the Lincoln Project and ABC News (Stuart Stevens, Rick Wilson, Reed Galen, Joe Trippi, Paul Slavin, and Keith Summa) are launching the pro-democracy media company Resolute Square. (Axios)
Apple optioned Maggie Haberman's "Confidence Man" months ahead of publication, but decided recently not to advance the project, Andy Lewis reports. (The Ankler)
Endeavor is instituting a hiring freeze through the end of the year. Mark Shapiro told Erik Hayden at an RBC Capital Markets event that no broader cost-cutting measures will be implemented. (THR)
Michael Depp writes about the CBS Local News Lab. (TV News Check)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | Former Mic Editor-In-Chief Shanté Cosme is joining the global non-profit news organization Global Press as chief content officer. At Global Press, Cosme will lead a newsroom of 115 staffers across 37 international news bureaus.
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has named Margaret Talev director of the Syracuse University Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute. She will transition to a senior contributor at Axios. (Newhouse)
WSJ taps Josh Jamerson as its new East Coast Bureau Chief. (WSJ)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Patrik Pleul/AFP/Getty Images

Slack Attack: The turmoil continued at Twitter on Tuesday where Elon Musk, the self-described "free speech absolutist," reportedly fired as many as 20 Twitter engineers after they apparently criticized the company's new owner on Slack and Twitter. The staffers were notified by email overnight that they had been terminated, with the reason stated as: "Your recent behavior has violated company policy." Screenshots of the email were soon posted on Twitter. "Looks like I just got fired for sh*tposting too," one Twitter staffer chimed in. Musk, as a parting gift, ridiculed the fired staff: "I would like to apologize for firing these geniuses. Their immense talent will no doubt be of great use elsewhere." Here's the full story from Clare Duffy, Donie O'Sullivan, and me.

TOO MANY TABS

Musk has pushed back the relaunch of his paid verification scheme until November 29 "to make sure that it is rock solid." (WSJ)
Musk ignored Twitter's internal warnings about paid verification that predicted the chaos to come with "eerie accuracy." (The Verge)
Big picture: Andrew Wallenstein writes that "the staggering scale of the idiocy emanating from Twitter HQ must mean doom is around the corner for this company." (Variety)
The US is "extremely concerned" about China's influence through TikTok, raising national security risks, FBI Director Chris Wray said. (Reuters)
TikTok has "built itself into a digital advertising juggernaut," Kalley Huang, Isabella Simonetti, and Tiffany Hsu report. (NYT)
YouTube is adding shopping features to Shorts as it races to compete with TikTok in the short-form video space. (TechCrunch)
Amazon began laying off corporate workers on Tuesday, becoming the latest tech giant to slash its workforce in recent weeks. (WaPo)
Meanwhile, over at Meta, the company's India policy chief and WhatsApp India boss resigned. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Bad Blood With Ticketmaster: Couldn't get Taylor Swift tickets on Tuesday? It's a feeling Swifties know all too well and it's hard to shake it off. (OK, I'll stop now.) As pre-sales for Swift's "The Eras Tour" launched, Ticketmaster became unusable and froze for countless people. Ticketmaster later said that there was "historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up" to purchase tickets, advising fans to "hang tight." The site later shifted start times for pre-sales. CNN's Jordan Valinsky has more here.

OFF STAGE

The 2023 Grammy nominations are here. Beyoncé led the pack with nine nominations for her album "Renaissance." (CNN)
The latest "SNL," which featured Dave Chappelle as host, drew a ratings high for the 48th season of the show with 4.8 million viewers. (Deadline)
LeBron James' media company SpringHill has partnered with Marathon Films for the definitive docuseries on Nipsey Hussle. (LAT)
Former DC Films president Walter Hamada has inked a deal with Paramount to oversee the studio's horror franchises. (THR)
Season five of "The Crown" has been crowned Netflix's top television show from November 7-13, with 107.39 million hours streamed. (Variety)
A series about "Gringo Hunters" is in the works at Netflix. The series is based off of a WaPo story and is the first article to be optioned since the outlet signed a deal to partner with Imagine Television. (Deadline)
Candace Cameron Bure said her new Christmas movies on Great American Family will focus on "traditional marriage." (EW)
"The Walking Dead" producers have filed a $200 million lawsuit against AMC Networks in a struggle over profits from the hit show. (LAT)

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.