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Wednesday, January 11, 2023

CNN revamps its dayside lineup, DirecTV warns about the future of linear as it executes layoffs, President Biden writes in The WSJ about Big Tech, Netflix scores the rights to stream the SAG awards, ABC retains its "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" rights, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Cesar's Palace

CNN Photo Illustration/Wilfredo Lee/AP

On paper, Cesar Conde is the chair of NBCUniversal News Group. But on Wednesday he also appointed himself as the effective president of NBC News.

After Noah Oppenheim — who has led the network during a tumultuous period in the media industry and through Donald Trump's chaotic presidency — told staff that he would vacate the role of NBC News president in favor of returning to screenwriting, Conde disclosed his succession plan.

But the NBCU News Group boss notably declined to select a single successor to oversee the sizable portfolio of Oppenheim. Instead, Conde moved to split the role up amongst a team of three executives.

Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy managing editor of The New York Times, will assume a swath of Oppenheim's duties, taking on a newly created role as president of editorial at the network. Blumenstein has a lengthy history working in print, but glaringly lacks experience in television news. She will oversee some of NBC News' television portfolio, such as "Meet the Press," but will not have purview over the two cornerstone programs, the "Today" show franchise and "NBC Nightly News."

Those duties will fall to the other two executives that Conde has elevated to run the NBC News portfolio: Libby Leist and Janelle Rodriguez, two longtime network executives who both received promotions to executive vice president. Leist will continue to oversee "Today" and Rodriguez will oversee "Nightly" and NBC News NOW.

All three executives — Blumenstein, Leist, and Rodriguez — will report directly to Conde, making him the ultimate network boss.

"The appointments of Rebecca, Libby and Janelle provide a powerful foundation for the News Group as it continues to grow its leadership position," Conde said in a press release announcing the news, adding that "the extraordinary accomplishments of Rebecca, Libby and Janelle and their visions will keep us on the path of continued success."

Inside NBC News, the announcement puzzled some staffers, according to people familiar with the matter. "It is certainly leading to some head scratching around the newsroom," as one person put it.

Of course, there is another way to look at the decision to divide Oppenheim's portfolio amongst three executives: linear television is dying and the days in which a heavyweight, singular television news executive reigned over a fiefdom are rapidly coming to a close.

As one former television news executive put it to me Wednesday evening, the industry has a case of the "incredible shrinking news president."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Aluka Berry/Reuters

Changes at CNN: Get ready to see a revamped dayside lineup soon at CNN. The network on Wednesday announced it was overhauling the late-morning and early afternoon programming with a new schedule and format. Part of the new format, a CNN spokesperson said, will be that anchors will no longer sit behind desks as they deliver the news. CNN boss Chris Licht, who described the dayside lineup as "highly influential, with executives and leaders watching from their offices around the country," said that the new format will allow anchors the ability to be "more authentic" and put the network "in a position of strength going into the evening and primetime hours." Among the changes:

► The network will split dayside programming into two distinctive three-hour blocks: one set in NYC and one in DC. The first block, which will air 9am to noon, will be anchored by John Berman, Kate Bolduan, and Sara Sidner. The second block, which will air 1pm to 4pm, will be anchored by Brianna Keilar, Boris Sanchez, and Jim Sciutto.

► As a result of the changes, anchors Victor Blackwell and Alisyn Camerota will transition to new roles. Blackwell will move back to hosting the network's weekend morning show. Camerota will focus on the 10pm program, a time slot she has been guest hosting with Laura Coates for months. Coates will focus solely on anchoring the 11pm hour.

► Jim Acosta will expand his role on the weekends after the network announced Pamela Brown, who anchored weekend prime time, had been named chief investigative correspondent. Acosta will anchor 4pm to 8pm on Saturday and 4pm to 7pm on Sunday.

CNN didn't say specifically when the new schedule will go into effect, but the network said it will happen in the coming months. Here's my full story.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images

Cutting The Cord: DirecTV sounded the warning siren about the future of linear television on Wednesday as it announced that it would lay off about 10% of its staff, which translates into hundreds of employees. "The entire pay-TV industry is impacted by the secular decline and the increasing rates to secure and distribute programming," the company said. "We're adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements." CNBC's Lillian Rizzo reported that most of the cuts will target employees who are at the manager level. Read more from Rizzo here.

Down Day At Dow: Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones on Wednesday also underwent limited layoffs. I'm told that less than 2% of jobs were impacted and that The WSJ newsroom was untouched. "Dow Jones is focused on continuing to build on the momentum it has generated across its wide range of leading brands and platforms," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Like any business, we adjust to market demands and pressures, while staying focused on our mission. In light of that, several teams have partially reorganized to align with our priorities and position us for further growth. Certain positions have been eliminated, and we are committed to supporting affected individuals."

IN THE INDUSTRY

Hackers accessed passport, bank account, and other personal information from staff at the Guardian, Max Tani reports. The company's offices are closed. (Semafor)
CNET has been "quietly publishing entire articles" via AI, Frank Landymore reports. (The_Byte)
PBS NewsHour is "hitting pause" on its Monday segments of "Political Stakes." Tamara Keith says she doesn't have "a lot of answers" on the decision. (Twitter)
A fundraiser to support Blake Hounshell's family and two young children has raised more than $160,000 in 12 hours. (GoFundMe)
Disney is pushing back on a request from activist investor Nelson Peltz for a board seat, Lauren Hirsch and Brooks Barnes report. (NYT)

MEDIA MOVES

Disney has elected Mark Parker as chairman of its board. He will replace Susan Arnold. (Deadline)
Vaughn Sterling is joining The Wall Street Journal's video leadership team as senior executive producer. (Twitter)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Biden Targets Big Tech: President Joe Biden on Wednesday published an op-ed in The WSJ, calling on Republicans and Democrats to "unite against Big Tech abuses." In the piece, Biden praised the tech industry as "the most innovative in the world." But, he added, "I'm concerned about how some in the industry collect, share and exploit our most personal data, deepen extremism and polarization in our country, tilt our economy's playing field, violate the civil rights of women and minorities, and even put our children at risk." The president said the risks posed by the industry "are clear" and that Americans must "unite behind our shared values and show the nation we can work together" to tackle the issues. Read the full piece here.

TOO MANY TABS

For the first time in more than a decade, Glassdoor is no longer listing Big Tech giants Apple and Meta in its 100 best places to work. (CNBC)
Twitter is considering selling user names in a bid to generate more revenue, Ryan Mac and Kate Conger report. (NYT)
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have sent a joint letter to Twitter expressing concerns with "the rapid deterioration of basic human rights standards" on the platform. (CPJ)
Google, trying to kill a government antitrust lawsuit, argued on Wednesday it does not block its rivals. (Reuters)
Meta has rescinded some full-time job offers as the company continues to navigate difficult economic waters. (TechCrunch)
Experts worry that TikTok could be adding to the mental health crisis hitting teenagers, Vanessa Yurkevich reports. (CNN)
TikTok's true crime community "is turning on Idaho murder survivors," CT Jones reports, writing that it raises "larger questions about the ethical nature of treating murder like entertainment." (Rolling Stone)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/CNN

To Ban Or Not To Ban? : In the coming weeks, Meta is set to announce its decision on whether Donald Trump will be permitted back on its platforms. In advance of it, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan sat down with two former Facebook executives who recalled the process and debates that led to the platform's initial decision to boot the former president: Katie Harbath, former public policy director, and Crystal Patterson, former head of global civic partnerships. Harbath, who worked in Republican politics, told O'Sullivan she believes Trump should be allowed back on the platform under certain conditions, while Patterson disagreed. Watch the interview here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Matt Gertz points out that "the right-wing media push for a debt ceiling crisis is underway." (MMFA)
Ted Cruz reveals that he once called Rupert Murdoch and pitched the conservative media mogul to hire Jay Leno. (Mediaite)
The daughter of a Romanian politician says Andrew Tate DM'd her on Instagram when she was a minor. (BuzzFeed)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Delmas/AFP/Getty Images

SAG Goes Streaming: The Screen Actors Guild Awards are heading to Netflix. The 29th annual ceremony will stream live on Netflix's YouTube channel in 2023, followed by a live broadcast on the actual Netflix platform starting in 2024 as part of a "multi-year partnership" with the SAG Awards. The awards show previously aired on TNT, which is owned by CNN-parent Warner Bros. Discovery, but that deal expired after last year, leaving SAG without a home. CNN's Jordan Valinsky has details.

► Related: Rotten Tomatoes has posted the full list of SAG nominations, which were also announced Wednesday. They're led by "The Banshees of Inisherin" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

Not So Golden: The Golden Globes didn't come with golden ratings this year. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual awards show, which skipped a year due to scandal, saw a dramatic decline in the ratings from 2021, the last time it was broadcast on NBC. The show drew a mere 6.3 million viewers, representing a 26% drop from 2021 and its lowest ratings ever. Variety's Jennifer Maas has more here.

ABC's Big Renewal: "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" are not leaving ABC's airwaves anytime soon. The Disney-owned broadcaster said Wednesday that it had retained the rights to both game shows, with Disney Networks chief Debra O'Connell calling them "national treasures." The renewal is for five years, meaning they'll be sticking with ABC until 2028. Deadline's Peter White broke the story here.

OFF STAGE

Filmmaker Andrew Callaghan is being accused of sexual misconduct. Rolling Stone says he did not respond for comment. (Rolling Stone)
Cynthia Littleton's Variety cover story is about how Hollywood's "next reckoning" is studios getting serious "about runaway spending on streaming." (Variety)
"General Hospital" is readying to celebrate its — wait for it — 60th anniversary. (Decider)
"The Jennifer Hudson Show" has been renewed for a second season by Fox TV Stations. (THR)
Nick Carter has dropped a tribute song to his late brother, Aaron Carter. It's titled "Hurts to Love You." (Rolling Stone)
Kerry Washington and Oprah Winfrey will star in Tyler Perry's Netflix drama. (Deadline)
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell will star in a romantic comedy from Will Gluck. (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 around this time.