Monday, December 5, 2022

ABC News benches Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, Robin Meade signs off HLN, Rupert Murdoch gets a deposition date, Jeff Shell warns the advertising market is getting worse, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle focus on leaks in new Netflix trailer, and an AI chatbot scares pretty much everyone. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Meta's Threat

CNN Photo Illustration/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Imagine logging on to Facebook, scrolling through your news feed, and coming across zero news stories.

It's a scenario that the social media company warned on Monday could happen if Congress passes the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, legislation that would create an exemption under antitrust law to allow newsrooms to collectively negotiate with Big Tech on fair compensation for their content.

It comes after the local news industry has been decimated by the swift shift in advertising dollars from print to online platforms where publishers' stories are posted without compensation. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote this week: "Since 2005, more than one-fourth of U.S. newspapers have died; by 2025, one-third of them will be history. More than 30,000 reporters, editors, photographers and videographers have lost their jobs."

There have been rumblings in the last few days that the bipartisan legislation, introduced by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, could soon get added to a larger bill (likely the National Defense Authorization Act) and passed by Congress — a possibility that Facebook parent Meta wants to make clear would not sit well with it.

"If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement, "we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions."

In his fiery statement, Stone went on to add: "Put simply: the government creating a cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private entities is a terrible precedent for all American businesses."

While it might be tempting to read Stone's statement as an empty threat, the company has taken such action before. In early 2021, when Australia considered legislation that would force tech companies to pay publishers, Facebook prohibited users from sharing news on the company's platform. (Facebook later said it had reached "an agreement" with Australia after the government "agreed to a number of changes" that satisfied its "core concerns.")

It's not just Meta that is opposing the legislation. On Monday, 26 organizations — including the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others — wrote a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them not to pass it. The groups, many of whom have been critical of decisions from Big Tech, argued the legislation "will compound some of the biggest issues in our information landscape and do little to enable the most promising new models to improve it."

Of course, the JCPA still has supporters. Klobuchar's office did not comment on Monday, but the News Media Alliance, which has played an important role pushing the legislation, returned a blistering statement to Meta.

"Facebook's threat to take down news is undemocratic and unbecoming," the organization said. "As the tech platforms compensate news publishers around the world, it demonstrates there is a demand and economic value for news."

"These threats were attempted before the Australian government passed a similar law to compensate news outlets, played out unsuccessfully, and ultimately news publishers were paid," the News Media Alliance added. "The Australian law resulted in countless jobs for local journalists and $140 million to news outlets, which translates to billions in the U.S."

Time will tell what happens here in the states.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/RW/MediaPunch/IPX/AP

'GMA3' Anchors Benched: The situation at ABC News isn't taking a breather. On Monday, network boss Kim Godwin told staffers that she had made the decision to bench both Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, pending a review. The move comes after Godwin previously allowed them to return to air last week, after tabloids had run stories about their romance. While addressing the matter during the network's Monday editorial meeting, a source told me that Godwin described the situation as a "distraction" and said that while the relationship "is not a violation of company policies," pulling them from air was "necessary for the brand." Godwin also asked staff to "stop whispering in the hallways" about the matter. "We can't operate with gossip and speculation and rumors," she said. Here's my full story.

► So who's filling in? Correspondents Gio Benitez and Stephanie Ramos were in the anchor chairs on Monday.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/HLN

HLN Signs Off: Live programming on HLN is officially no more. After an incredible 21 years on the air, Robin Meade signed off "Morning Express" on Monday, telling viewers that the show was ending as a result of the CNN budget cuts. Meade, surrounded by her team on set, thanked the staffers who have made the show possible over the years and expressed gratitude to the audience. "Doing this show, with you, has been the joy of my life," Meade said. Meade signed off telling viewers, "You will always be my morning sunshine."

►Related: Brian Stelter wrote about how HLN's end "is a reminder of the creeping nature of media obsolescence."

► Some more notable CNN departures: John Antonio, SVP of programming and in charge of all dayside/weekend shows, announced to staffers he will exit the company. Antonio submitted his resignation in an attempt to save jobs in his department and best position it for the future, I'm told; Javi Morgado, a veteran CNN executive producer, will be departing, he announced to staffers Monday; and two media colleagues, analyst Bill Carter and reporter Frank Pallotta were impacted by last week's layoffs.

Fossil Feud: Drama at Semafor is spilling out into public view. Over the weekend, ex-climate editor Bill Spindle posted a Twitter thread saying that he had departed after expressing concern over Chevron sponsoring the site's climate coverage. Spindle stressed he was not saying the oil company "improperly influenced" coverage, but that the optics were not great. Spindle said the outlet acknowledged his concerns and removed Chevron ads from his newsletter, but not his stories. "Despite my expressed discomfort and concerns, the ads remained," Spindle wrote. "Weeks before our parting of ways last week, I told Semafor leadership I saw no easy path forward as long as fossil fuel ads were in the climate stories and newsletter."

Semafor, however, is pushing back. "We decided to part ways with Bill due to issues that were unrelated to any advertising partnerships," the outlet said in its own statement. "Semafor adheres to robust ad acceptability guidelines that we stand by, and that are industry standard. We did not remove advertising due to editorial requests and have a number of rotating sponsors of the climate newsletter." Reached by email Monday, Spindle declined to comment beyond his original tweets.

IN THE INDUSTRY

A 24-hour strike at The NYT planned for Thursday is one day closer as management works with union members to hash out a new contract. A spokesperson for the paper says its next bargaining session is Tuesday.
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell said at the UBS TMT Conference that Peacock has hit 18 million subscribers. (THR)
Shell also —unsurprisingly — warned that the advertising market is getting worse. (TVNewsCheck)
Magna Global also warned that global advertising spending has slowed "significantly." (THR)
Warner Bros. Discovery is "close to formalizing" a new name for its forthcoming super-streamer, Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo reported. The duo said the expected name is simply "Max," though they note it "could still be changed." (CNBC)
Former WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar wrote about "the chaotic streaming wars" and what the future holds for entertainment giants. (WSJ)
Heather Hust River, SVP of comms at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, a Bob Chapek-crated division that Bob Iger is restructuring, will leave the company after 17 years. (Variety)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | Mediaite has hired Isaac Schorr from National Review as a staff writer.
First in Reliable | Slate has hired Braden Goyette as news editor. Goyette has previously worked at The Appeal, CNN, and The LAT.
Hallmark Media has hired Kelly Garrett from Disney as VP of development. (Deadline)
James Dolan has been named interim executive chairman of AMC Networks. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Mary Altaffer/AP

Murdoch's Moment: Like father, like son. Lachlan Murdoch was scheduled to be deposed Monday morning by Dominion Voting Systems, as we previously reported. Now we are getting word Rupert Murdoch is also set to be deposed in the $1.6 billion lawsuit. The elder Murdoch's deposition is scheduled to take place December 13 at 9:30PT and "will be conducted remotely," according to a Monday court filing. Here's my full story.

The Fox Goes Blind: What's Fox News really good at doing? Ignoring important news stories. The right-wing channel has largely turned a blind eye to former President Donald Trump's disturbing call to terminate the US Constitution and install him as president or hold a new election. MMFA's Matt Gertz reported that up until noon Monday, the channel had "spent just over one minute on the story." You can be certain, however, that if a Democrat — any Democrat — had made the same statement, the network's stable of propagandists would be covering the story in overdrive.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Trump's candidacy for president means Lara Trump's Fox News gig is up, Stephen Battaglio reports. (LAT)
Michael Grynbaum writes about how the so-called "Twitter Files" has "offered a window into the fractured modern landscape of news, where a story's reception is often shaped by readers' assumptions about the motivations of both reporters and subjects." (NYT)
The White House is continuing its pressure on Twitter, saying the Elon Musk-owned social site "is facing very real and very serious questions" about rising hate on the platform. (Mediaite)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Carol Yepes/Getty Images

AI Robot's Scary Powers: Did an artificial intelligence robot write this? That might be a question you ask in the near future as you read news articles, given how well artificial chatbot ChatGPT works. The OpenAI chatbot, which has gone viral in recent days, is already proving that it can write news stories effectively. New York magazine contributor Ben Jacobs asked the AI bot to write a fictional news story — and the final product was "pretty decent," he said. Read the story here.

► The NYT's Kevin Roose declares that ChatGPT "is, quite simply, the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public."

TOO MANY TABS

Elon Musk's Neuralink company is facing a federal probe over potential violations of animal-welfare laws. Reuters reports that hundreds of animals have died following experiments. (Reuters)
Musk says Twitter's ads are "way too big" and that the company will "fix it this week." (Twitter)
Some Meta employees are claiming they're not getting their promised severance after being laid off, Jonathan Vanian reports. (CNBC)
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is arguing Apple and Google's refusal to remove TikTok from their app stores showcases its "gatekeeping" powers and should be made part of anti-trust reviews, Brian Fung reports. (CNN)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Netflix

A Royal Rumble: Get ready to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go after Buckingham Palace for "leaking" and "planting" stories in the press. That's according to the official trailer Netflix dropped Monday for its much-anticipated docuseries about the couple. "It's a dirty game," Prince Harry says in the new footage. Watch the full trailer here.

► The trailer caused a stir among the journalists who cover the royal family. Robert Jobson tweeted about one image used in the trailer, writing, "This photograph used by [Netflix] and Harry and Meghan to suggest intrusion by the press is a complete travesty. It was taken from a accredited pool at Archbishop Tutu's residence in Cape Town. Only 3 people were in the accredited position. H & M agreed the position. I was there." Netflix isn't commenting on the criticism.

OFF STAGE

This Just In: Kirstie Alley, the star of "Cheers," dies at 71. (CNN)
The man who shot Lady Gaga's dog has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. (Associated Press)
Angry Taylor Swift fans are now suing Ticketmaster. (CNN)
"Dahmer" has crossed 1 billion hours viewed, just the third Netflix series to do that in the streamer's history. (Deadline)
"The Flash" will flash into theaters a week ahead of time. (Deadline)
The "Property Brothers" talk about how they have incorporated social media trends into their shows. (Variety)
Dolly Parton has joined TikTok. (Billboard)
Ice Cube is very mad at Warner Bros. (Variety)

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 this time tomorrow.