Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Cable news networks are in special election mode, BuzzFeed lays off 12% of its staff, CNBC makes key personnel changes, Chris Licht talks with CNN employees, Elon Musk fires Jim Baker, HBO Max heads back to the Amazon, first reviews come in for "Avatar: The Way of Water," and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Showdown at The Times

CNN Photo Illustration/Gary Hershorn/Corbis/Getty Images

The New York Times is preparing for more than 1,100 of its union staffers to go on strike for a full day Thursday — an act of protest that has not been staged by employees at the paper of record since the late 1970s.

The historic work stoppage is set to go in effect at midnight December 8 and last for an entire 24 hours. Instead of filing stories, employees will be seen picketing outside The Times' offices at 1pm, with prominent journalists such as Nikole Hannah-Jones set to speak during a solidarity rally.

Some major desks at the paper could lose a staggering 90% of their workforce during the strike, according to the NewsGuild of New York, which represents journalists and other staffers at The Times.

In effect, the public will get a glimpse of a world without much of The Times' hard-hitting and informative journalism.

"We had hoped to reach a fair deal before our deadline, but more than 1,100 of us are ready to take a stand together, for each other and for journalists everywhere," reporter Jenny Vrentas said in a statement Tuesday evening.

The threatened strike comes as the gray lady and the NewsGuild remain at odds over a number of issues, particularly wages. The Times says it has offered the guild "significant increases," but the union counters that the paper has "frequently misrepresented its own proposals." The two parties have been bargaining since the last contract expired in March 2021. After a year-and-a-half, unionized workers have had enough and so, last Friday, the NewsGuild informed The Times about its plans to stage a walkout.

Both sides have been working to reach a deal and avert the 24-hour strike. Bargaining persisted into the evening on Tuesday, I'm told, continuing beyond the planned 9am-5pm window. And it is possible an agreement will somehow be struck before the work stoppage goes into effect.

But it's not looking great.

A spokesperson for The NYT said "no decisions have been made" about bargaining on Wednesday. But NewsGuild spokesperson Wen Zhuang told me that there are no more planned sessions on the schedule, which would make it far more difficult to hammer out a last-minute agreement.

"It's very likely that the walk out will be happening," Zhuang told me.

Management at The NYT, while initially "blindsided" by the walkout threat, according to a source, has started preparing for the scenario. The NYT's human resources chief, Jacqueline Welch, stressed to staffers Tuesday morning, in a memo I obtained, that employees who participate in the work stoppage "will not the paid by the company for the duration of the strike." Welch added that employees "cannot use vacation or personal days to account for this time" unless it was approved prior to last Friday.

And as Vanity Fair's Charlotte Klein reported Tuesday, management is also working to find content to fill the paper during the day of work stoppage. Klein reported that managers are exploring a range of options to keep the news flowing, including pulling from wires and asking reporters to file stories early, as if they were readying for a major holiday. And much of the paper's international staff is also not in the guild, meaning they are expected to continue their reporting.

"While we are disappointed that the NewsGuild is threatening to strike, we are prepared to ensure The Times continues to serve our readers without disruption," a spokesperson for The NYT reiterated to me Tuesday.

But, with a mostly empty newsroom, that might prove difficult.

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CNN Photo Illustration/CNN

All Eyes on Georgia: It's election night in America — again. CNN and MSNBC are in special coverage mode over the high-stakes US Senate runoff in Georgia between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock. The hotly-contested race, separated by just 1% of votes last month, suggested networks could once again be in for a long night. "NATION WATCHING TODAY'S RUNOFF," Tuesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution front page blared. The paper posted live updates from the contest online free to readers, and yes, The NYT has even brought back its anxiety-inducing election needle.

💰 Cashing In: The runoff caps an unusually long election season that has turned into a cash bonanza for local media in battleground Georgia, with top rated ABC affiliate WSB-TV raking in $86 million in political advertising this year, the WSJ reported, more than any other station in the country.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

BuzzFeed Buzzes Workforce: Another day, another layoff at a media company. BuzzFeed said Tuesday that it would lay off approximately 12% of its staff — which translates to about 180 employees — amid the deteriorating economic climate. In a note to impacted staffers, founder and CEO Jonah Peretti blamed the cuts on "worsening macroeconomic conditions" and changes in media consumption. The move also comes as the company's stock hovers at an all-time low of about $1.10 per share. The layoffs targeted sales, technology, production, and content teams, a spokesperson told me, adding that no cuts were made to Tasty, BuzzFeed News, or HuffPost. More in my story here.

🔎 Zooming In: Inside the company, morale has taken a hit. "People are pissed about the timing," one staffer candidly said about the cuts. "Two weeks before Christmas." For his part, Peretti acknowledged to staffers, "I know that there's nothing I can write here to make this easier for anyone losing their job today."

Licht Looks to Future: CNN boss Chris Licht on Tuesday addressed staffers following last week's layoffs, outlining his vision for the news network heading into 2023. Holding a town hall from the network's Atlanta headquarters, Licht told staff, "I want to thank you for your grit, resolve and commitment to hang tough throughout a very difficult 2022. I want us to come back in 2023 stronger, ready to take on the world. I could not be more enthusiastic about our future, your future, this team." Licht also confirmed internal rumblings that the CNN Los Angeles bureau will move from its Hollywood home on Sunset Blvd. to the former KNBC building in Burbank, now owned by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

► Licht additionally met with CNN founder Ted Turner on Tuesday. Licht shared his vision about the future of the news network, I'm told, and the two recollected about Turner's early days building the pioneering news network.

IN THE INDUSTRY

The NewsGuild-CWA is reiterating its concerns with the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and denouncing Meta's threat as an illustration of the company's "strong-arm" tactics. (NewsGuild)
Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav's top priority? "Get the cash flowing again," Alex Sherman reports. (CNBC)
Paramount boss Bob Bakish tells investors at the UBS Global TMT Conference that turning a profit in the streaming business "takes a while." He can definitely say that again. (THR)
🎙️ A good listen: Julia Alexander, director of strategy at Parrot Analytics and Puck contributor, talks with Nilay Patel about Bob Iger and Bob Chapek, and the state of streaming. (The Verge)

Changes at CNBC: The financial news network CNBC's daytime producing teams are being overhauled, with the network announcing a series of changes. Most notably, senior executive producer Max Meyers will depart "Squawk Box" to begin working on the network's new 7pm business show. Taking his place will be CNBC veteran Anne Tironi, who will be elevated to senior executive producer. Rebecca White will also move from "Power Lunch" to "Squawk Box." Executive producer Maria Boden will depart "Power Lunch" and "The Exchange" for "TechCheck." And senior executive producer Matt Quayle will take over "The Exchange" and "Power Lunch." More here.

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | Celia Wu has joined Global Press News Services as managing director.
Sandra Stern has been promoted to vice chair at Lionsgate Television Group. (THR)
Warner Bros. executive James Brown is departing the studio after 26 years. (Deadline)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Tick-Tock for TikTok: Will the Biden administration and TikTok hammer out its anticipated national security deal by year's end, as once expected? According to reporting from The WSJ's John D. McKinnon, Aruna Viswanatha, and Stu Woo, the potential agreement "has run into more delays." The trio explained, citing sources, that "the review has dragged on amid a range of concerns, including how TikTok might share information related to the algorithm it uses to determine what videos to show users." TikTok simply said in a statement it looks forward to a "timely conclusion to our agreement with the U.S. government." Read the full story here.

🔎 Zooming In: "The delay is raising political risks for TikTok ... as both Biden administration officials and newly-empowered congressional Republicans amp up their rhetoric on the company," The WSJ noted. "ByteDance has spent around $9 million lobbying in Washington over the past two years, according to disclosure reports."

More 'Facebook Files' Fallout: The WSJ's so-called Facebook Files series is still having impact. On Tuesday, the Oversight Board told Meta that the company's controversial "cross-check" program, which gave preferential treatment to VIPs on the platform, should be overhauled. The Oversight Board took on the case after The WSJ's explosive reporting. CNN's Clare Duffy has details here.

TOO MANY TABS

The European Union is set to prohibit Meta from running ads based on personal data, unless the user consents, Foo Yun Chee and Chavi Mehta report, citing a source. (Reuters)
Former Twitter employees are planning on "bombarding" the company with lawsuits related to the severance they were promised. (WIRED)
Elon Musk's hand-picked reporter, Matt Taibbi, says Twitter deputy general counsel Jim Baker has been fired from the company. (Twitter)
Some of Twitter's iOS features are riddled with glitches, Amanda Silberling reports. (TechCrunch)
YouTube copying Twitch too? The company is rolling out its own custom emotes. (The Verge)
Snap is testing a new feature that allows for paid add ons for its AR lenses. (Engadget)

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Molly Jong-Fast on Kanye West, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump: "The media is trapped in a narcissist vortex." (Vanity Fair)
Exiled Russian channel TV Rain has been shut down by Latvian authorities over its Ukraine war coverage. (Semafor)
Google has launched an anti-misinformation project in India. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Presley Ann/Getty Images

Back to the Amazon: Warner Bros. Discovery has reversed another decision made by former WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar, who wanted greater access to streaming data. As of Tuesday, Amazon Prime Video users can once again subscribe to HBO Max inside the e-commerce company's app. WBD chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell said the company "is committed to making HBO Max available to as broad an audience as possible while also advancing our data-driven approach to understanding our customers." Deadline's Dade Hayes has more here.

OFF STAGE

The first reviews are coming in for "Avatar: The Way of Water" and they are largely very good. (THR)
Lizzo stands atop TikTok as the social media platform's top music artist of 2022. (Variety)
It's another record for "The White Lotus." The series saw a 22% increase in viewership from last week, which was already a series high. (Variety)
Meanwhile, Netflix has a major hit on its hands. "Wednesday" is on pace to pass a billion hours streamed in its first four weeks. (THR)
After almost three decades, "Stomp" will leave Broadway in early 2023. (THR)
Hugh Grant will join Kate Winslet in HBO's limited series "The Palace." (Variety)
The Roku Channel has snagged the exclusive streaming rights for the 71st Miss Universe competition. (Deadline)
Rita Wilson has launched a film production company. (Deadline)
Correction: What a difference one word can make! In the previous edition of this letter, we wrote that the man who shot Lady Gaga's dog had been sentenced to 21 years. The item should have said the person who shot Gaga's dog walker received 21 years. Thank you to all those who flagged the error.

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.