Monday, December 12, 2022

Hello from a frigid NYC. Dominion will get to depose Fox News boss Suzanne Scott again, Emma Tucker is The WSJ's next editor, ABC News President Kim Godwin confirms "GMA3" probe, Grant Wahl's body has been returned to the US, right-wing media continues to vilify Brittney Griner, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Twitter Files Dilemma

CNN Illustration/Win McNamee/Getty Images

It's a huge bombshell with stunning revelations. Or is it?

With the so-called "Twitter Files," Elon Musk is openly engaged in a game of information warfare, one that is shining a spotlight on the fragmented and partisan state of the modern day media landscape.

Led by Fox News, the right-wing media machine is treating the ongoing series of stories as if they were the next Pentagon Papers, breathlessly hyping each new batch of documents as earth-shattering scoops that illuminate horrific abuses of power by woke Twitter overlords of yesteryear.

In that distorted universe, Musk is being hailed a hero at the center of one of the biggest stories of 2022.

The establishment press, however, has shown far less interest in the documents themselves, with most news organizations outright ignoring various entries in the continuing series. The right-wing media apparatus pushing the story has, naturally, asserted that the mum reaction is effectively because the mainstream press is made up of left-wing hacks who want to hide the truth from the public.

But, of course, the truth is far more complicated, with news organizations having good reason to view the different drops with a skeptical eye.

The chief reason most news organizations aren't up in arms about the story is because the releases have largely not contained any revelatory information. So far, the files have failed to do much outside highlight exactly how messy content moderation can be — especially when under immense pressure and dealing with the former President of the United States. That was the case on Monday when the fifth installment of the Twitter Files were released revealing some of the behind-the-scenes debate that preceded Donald Trump's ban.

Don't take it just from me. Gerard Baker, the conservative former top editor of The Wall Street Journal, wrote Monday: "The Twitter Files tell us nothing new. There's no shocking revelation in there about government censorship or covert manipulation by political campaigns. They merely bring to the surface the internal deliberations of a company dealing with complex issues in ways consistent with its values."

The lack of explosive new details is coupled with the fact that Musk refuses to open up the "Twitter Files" to the press at large. Instead of providing multiple news outlets with access to the documents and Twitter personnel, he has instead opted to exclusively share them with writers of his own choice. In other words, Musk has relied on a set of handpicked gatekeeping writers to cover the story, while keeping the raw materials — and context — locked away from the rest of the news media and broader public. That has without question increased skepticism.

There is a downside, however, to newsrooms generally choosing to avoid the Twitter Files mess: doing so allows the saga to become defined by dishonest actors in right-wing media. When I searched Google for the term "Twitter Files," the three top stories on Monday were from Fox News, the New York Post, and the Washington Examiner. The right is flooding the zone with a warped interpretation of each new release while the rest of the press turns a blind eye toward each installment.

If you're just a regular person trying to make sense of what is going on, it can be awfully difficult. And the solution isn't so clear. On one hand, if newsrooms covered each installment, they risk giving air to and further amplifying a storyline that has been selectively framed by Musk as he wages an information war. On the other hand, not dissecting each drop allows him and others to define it in the public square.

It's a difficult needle to thread, arguably with no perfect solution.

THE SIDEBAR

"I think these conversations look like people were trying to be really thoughtful and careful," a former Twitter executive told Clare Duffy about what the Twitter Files have revealed. (CNN)
Yoel Roth, the former head of Trust and Safety at Twitter, has been forced to leave his home due to threats amid the release of the "Twitter Files," Donie O'Sullivan scoops. (CNN)
On a related note: Twitter has dissolved the Trust & Safety Council: "As Twitter moves into a new phase, we are reevaluating how best to bring external insights into our product and police development work." (Twitter)
Katherine Cross highlights the "transparency theater" of the Twitter files: "Far from exposing the nefarious inner workings of the platform, the files reveal an ethos of 'transparency for thee, but not for me.'" (WIRED)
Greg Sargent writes about how Musk's attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci "shows how right-wing info warfare" works: "In much of the right-wing info-ecosystem, liberal outrage is a sign of an attack's effectiveness. It can be only confirmation that the Libs Were Owned. Shaming is useless in such an environment, and in some ways can backfire." (WaPo)
Musk on Monday night urged people to "follow 🐰," which QAnon author Mike Rothschild interpreted to be a reference to the conspiracy theory. (Twitter)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

First in Reliable| Back in the Hot Seat : As Fox Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch readies himself for his Tuesday deposition in Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion lawsuit against his media company, the special master in the case has ordered Fox News boss Suzanne Scott to sit down for an additional deposition. That's according to a new court filing which indicated that after Scott's November 1 deposition, Dominion asked for three additional hours of deposition time from her. The special master in the case granted an additional deposition, but with a one-hour time limit. Spokespersons for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Succession at WSJ: Rupert Murdoch looked inside his media empire to find the next editor of his top financial broadsheet. The Wall Street Journal on Monday announced that Emma Tucker will take the editor-in-chief post, succeeding Matt Murray who has held the job since 2018. Tucker has served as the editor of The Sunday Times, a Murdoch-owned UK newspaper. Murray will remain at News Corp. in a senior role. More in my story here.

First in Reliable | Godwin's 'GMA3' Probe: It's official. ABC News boss Kim Godwin confirmed in a Monday memo to employees, which I obtained, that "GMA3" co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach will "remain off-air pending the completion of an internal review." The memo is the first time that Godwin has acknowledged to the company the existence of a formal internal probe. We reported last week, after Semafor broke the news, that the network's legal department was conducting a review. Godwin also said that a rotating cast of hosts will continue to fill in on the show. More details in my story here.

First in Reliable | Mediaite's Most Influential: Get ready. Mediaite's most influential list is set to drop Tuesday at 10am, accompanied by a party later in the evening celebrating 2022's honorees. Here are some early names from the list: Steve Kornacki, Suzanne Scott, Chris Licht, David Zaslav, Tucker Carlson, Kara Swisher, Elon Musk, Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity, Jake Tapper, Stephen A. Smith, and Greg Gutfeld.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Grant Wahl's body has been returned to the US. It arrived Monday at JFK and was accompanied by a U.S. official. (Associated Press)
Al Roker has returned home after being hospitalized recently again for a blood clotting issue. Roker described his recovery as a "tough slog." (CNN)
Fox Business is launching a daytime roundtable show. It will be co-hosted by Taylor Riggs, Brian Brenberg, and Jackie DeAngelis. (Variety)
CNN has renewed "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" The second season will premiere in January. (TV Newser)
WaPo is boasting about its climate coverage expansion with a new ad campaign targeting major airports on the West Coast. (WaPo)

MEDIA MOVES

WaPo has named Megan Magnatta head of brand strategy. (WaPo)
NYT has poached Rob Copeland from WSJ to cover banking. (NYT)
IMAX China has named former CAA agent Daniel Manwaring as its CEO. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Vilifying Griner: Right-wing media outlets are priming their audience to despise Brittney Griner. Since the announcement of her release Thursday, figures in the right-wing universe have worked to smear the WNBA star as an anti-American, drug-using activist — claims that are nothing short of an exaggeration. The media landscape occupied by the right has been saturated with charged commentary about Griner, with hosts and personalities making vile remarks about her.

🔎 Zooming in: As MMFA's Madeline Peltz pointed out, both "Russian state TV and right-wing media are pushing the same line of attack" against Griner.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Hunter Walker has obtained all of the 2,319 text messages that Mark Meadows turned over to the House 1/6 Committee. Walker is publishing the material in a series of stories for Talking Points Memo. (TPM)
Joe Scarborough says some of the right's inflammatory rhetoric does get some on MSNBC to "scream" and react. But, he notes, "They'll be preaching to the choir. The choir will like it. Fox News preaches to the choir. The choir likes it. (Mediaite)
Jennifer Rubin writes about the right's desire to revisit defamation law: "As the increasingly bitter litigation between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News indicates, the right-wing media misinformation machine is a prime beneficiary of this legal protection." (WaPo)

THE VALLEY

Striking Gold: Let's try this one more time. Twitter on Monday relaunched Elon Musk's paid verification scheme, allowing users to purchase a blue badge for $8 a month. As part of the relaunch, the company also rolled out a new gold badge for businesses (and news organizations), indicating those organizations' profiles have been verified. Gray checks are, meanwhile, being given to government entities. CNN's Clare Duffy has the details here.

TOO MANY TABS

Twitter is selling its office furniture in a January auction. (Vice)
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has responded to Sony's criticism of the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal. Spencer is accusing Sony of trying to "grow" by "making Xbox smaller." (The Verge)
Meta has tapped Shaquille O'Neal to host a New Year's Eve virtual reality special. (Variety)
Meta has shut down Facebook Connectivity. (Light Reading)
Apple's iPhone sales forecasts are not looking so good. (Barrons)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Return of the Golden Globes: One year after being banished from NBC's airwaves, the Golden Globes are preparing to return in 2023, announcing nominees for the 80th annual ceremony on Monday. You can see the full list of nominees here. Some key takeaways:

► "The Banshees of Inisherin" led the film categories with eight nominations.

► Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and Jennifer Lawrence were all snubbed.

► Female directors were shut out.

► Netflix and HBO tied for television nominations, with 14 each.

OFF STAGE

"The White Lotus" hit another series high on Sunday, with the season two finale drawing 4.1 million viewers. (Variety)
Actor Will Sharpe spoke to "CNN This Morning" about the show's season two finale and how difficult it was to keep it under wraps. (CNN)
Dan Heching looks at what could be next for "The White Lotus" season 3. I personally would like to see a crossover episode with the "Succession" cast! (CNN)
Alexandra Pelosi talks to Charlotte Klein about her upcoming documentary, "Pelosi in the House," set for Tuesday release on HBO. (Vanity Fair)
Christopher Nolan talked to Total Film magazine about the "huge challenge" of "recreating" a nuclear weapons test without CGI for "Oppenheimer." (Total Film)
Ticketmaster is giving Taylor Swift fans another chance at scoring "Eras Tour" tickets. Good luck! (Vulture)
DC Studios co-boss James Gunn says Superman might be "the biggest priority" for the new DC universe. (Variety)
The gods give, and the gods take away: HBO Max has reversed its decision to renew "Minx" for a second season. (THR)
The BBC is having to defend itself over complaints it gave the Netflix series on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "excessive" coverage. (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.