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Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Welcome to February! "Dr. Phil" hints at a prime time future, Gawker shutters again, Meta's shares rocket, the SPLC publishes Alex Jones' texts, Beyoncé announces tour that will test Ticketmaster, "The Blacklist" will end, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Right's Satellite Fight

CNN Photo Illustration/Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images

The right is not retreating from its fight with DirecTV.

Several Republican senators unleashed on the satellite carrier Wednesday over its move to drop the right-wing channel Newsmax from its lineup, adding to mounting pressure DirecTV has faced over the matter. The senators — Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee, and Tom Cotton — wrote in a letter to the company that they are "deeply disturbed" by the decision.

The senators suggested DirecTV's move was all part of a nefarious plot to "censor" conservative viewpoints. The Republican National Committee also got in on the action, saying that DirecTV must be held accountable for its "censorship of Republican voices."

It's all part of a familiar theme that Republicans have pushed over the years: that Big Tech and the mainstream media hold disdain for conservatives and want to scrub their voices entirely from the public conversation.

Of course, rarely is reality in sync with that narrative. And, in this case, Republicans — who purport to embrace a pro-business posture and support the free market — are ignoring glaring facts to effectively help bully a private company into paying for a product it doesn't want or believe would be financially prudent.

At the center of the battle: Newsmax demanded DirecTV pay a carriage fee — tens of millions of dollars, I'm told — to continue carrying the channel in the satellite carrier's lineup. DirecTV refused, saying that it did not want to pass additional costs down to subscribers for a low-rated channel that a small percentage of viewers actually watched. DirecTV also balked at paying for the same content that streams to users for free on other platforms, such as Roku.

It was a run-of-the-mill carriage dispute — a quarrel not unfamiliar in the television industry (YouTube TV, for instance, dropped MLB Network this week after a contract dispute). But the right-wing channel, led by Chris Ruddy, who is well-connected in GOP circles, has sought to leverage its political power to pressure DirecTV into paying up.

In response, DirecTV has tried to placate Republicans. Last week, it added to its lineup the right-wing channel The First, which features hosts such as Bill O'Reilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler, and Jesse Kelly. The company touted the move as an example that the carrier holds no bias against conservatives and was happy to offer similar content — so long as it meant it wouldn't have to pass on higher costs to customers.

But that gesture hasn't quelled Republicans, who are now using this contract dispute as another example illustrating that conservatives are supposedly under attack by leftist, corporate forces. Which is to say that DirecTV now finds itself squarely in the middle of a raging battle in the information wars — and there are no signs it will end anytime soon.

In fact, all signs point to this escalating in the weeks and months ahead. And if history is any guide, we could soon see Republicans drag executives from DirecTV and AT&T, whose shareholders own a majority of the company, before Congress over the dispute.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

Dr. Phil's Next Move: Where is Phil McGraw headed next? One day after stunning fans by announcing his program would come to an end after 21 seasons, the longtime daytime personality spoke to "Entertainment Tonight" and stressed that he is "not moving on from television." Instead, McGraw said, he is simply departing daytime television. "I can't talk about it yet because I'm about to close all the details of this, but I wanted to partner with a network, so I can do some things in primetime that really have significance," McGraw said, adding that he is "concerned that the American family's under attack, that our values are under attack, that the very concept of truth is under attack." McGraw added that he simply "wanted a bigger audience." We'll see what that translates into.

THE BUSINESS

Goodbye, Gawker (again): Digital media conglomerate BDG became the latest media company on Wednesday to slash its workforce. CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg told employees in a memo that the company will lay off 8% of its workforce and shutter the recently relaunched Gawker. "We are proud of the site that [editor-in-chief Leah Finnegan] and her team built," Goldbeg wrote. "Gawker published a lot of brilliant pieces in these nearly two years. But in this new reality, we have to prioritize our better monetized sites. It's a business decision, and one that, reluctantly, must be made." Editor-In-Chief Leah Finnegan said her time leading Gawker was an "incredible 1.5 years" and described the move as "a staggering shame." Here's my full story.

Hallelujah at HuffPost: Negotiations went late into the night, but, at 1:43am, the HuffPost Union reached a tentative deal on a new contract with parent company BuzzFeed, averting a threatened strike. The union said that the deal "is full of victories, big and small" and added that they are "incredibly proud" of the new contract. BuzzFeed said it believes the deal "will help us build a bright future" for HuffPost. Deadline's David Robb has more.

IN THE INDUSTRY

"The Five" was the top rated show on Fox News in January; "The Beat with Ari Melber" was the top-rated for MSNBC; and "Erin Burnett OutFront" was top-rated program for CNN. (TV Newser)
CNN has selected Chris Russell as the next executive producer of "CNN This Morning," Alex Weprin reports via a source. A CNN spokesperson told me that "no offer has been made or accepted at this time." (THR)
Bloomberg is "adding more documentaries and talk shows to its rebranded streaming platform," Alexandra Bruell reports. (WSJ)
Former ABC News national security producer James Gordon Meek, who abruptly resigned from the network in April 2022, has been charged by federal prosecutors for child pornography. (WaPo)
"Jim Cramer versus the world": That's the headline on this piece from William D. Cohan looking at "how the 'Mad Money' host went from stock-picking star to the 'anti-Midas.'" (Spectator)
More non-profit local newsrooms are popping up. The latest: Houston Landing, which launched Wednesday. (Houston Landing)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | The Economist Group appointed Nada Arnot as executive vice president of marketing for The Economist.
The Associated Press announced a raft of hires and promotions for teams across the U.S. (AP)
The NYT hired Brolley Genster as a staff editor in Seoul. (NYT)
The CW named Heather Olander as the network's head of unscripted programming. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Joyless Jones: The Southern Poverty Law Center on Wednesday published the first in a five-part series examining Infowars founder Alex Jones' text messages, which have spilled into the public view following an accidental disclosure made during a Sandy Hook trial. The first entry of the series depicts a man "overshadowed by a sense of isolation," who describes himself as living "in hell" Michael Edison Hayden and Megan Squire write. Read the report here.

► Mark Bankston, the Sandy Hook family attorney who came into possession of the text, told me in a statement: "A redacted copy of Mr. Jones' text messages was included as an exhibit in a recent court filing. Over the past week, on three separate occasions, my law firm invited Mr. Jones' lawyers to obtain a sealing order under Texas Rule 76(a)(5) to protect any confidential information in that exhibit, which we did not oppose. For unknown reasons, Mr. Jones' lawyers declined our invitations and chose not to take any steps to prevent these messages from entering the public record."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Hunter Biden is calling for authorities to launch criminal investigations of a computer repair shop owner, Rudy Giuliani and a number of right-wing political figures involved in disseminating contents of his laptop. (CNN)
Molly Jong-Fast writes about covering Trump: "Mainstream political journalists find themselves on the defensive, worried about how their own coverage will be perceived and concerned that their institutions won't protect them." (Vanity Fair)
Erik Wemple takes Rolling Stone to task over a report on January 6 organizers using burner phones, writing that "the saga underlines potential pitfalls of reporting out tips on Trump World shenanigans as well as the relative powerlessness of journalistic investigative methods compared to those of government." (WaPo)
Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night launched an extended attack on Lindsey Graham for his pro-Ukraine foreign policy positions. "LINDSEY GRAHAM HAS NEVER SEEN A WAR HE DIDN'T LOVE," the chyron said. Later in the show, Carlson also hosted a segment ripping into Nikki Haley.
Just another day on Fox News: Host Greg Gutfeld referred to Greta Thunberg as a "bug-eyed brat." (MMFA)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Laure Andrillon/Reuters

Meta Magic: Congratulations to readers who invested in Meta prior to Wednesday's earnings report. Shares of the company spiked nearly 30% in after-hours trading after it beat earnings expectations and announced a $40 billion stock buyback. That said, the company did post a drop in revenue for the third consecutive quarter, as the tech giant battles the weakening ad market, faces competition from TikTok, and grapples with Apple's privacy changes. In a statement, Mark Zuckerberg also described 2023 as the "Year of Efficiency," writing that Meta is "focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization." CNN's Clare Duffy has details here.

► How much did all those cost-cutting restructuring measures Meta announced in Q4 (layoffs, retreating on office space, etc.) cost the company? $4.2 billion. The NYT's Mike Isaac has details.

TOO MANY TABS

The Federal Trade Commission has lost its antitrust lawsuit against Meta over the tech company's acquisition of Within Unlimited. (WSJ)
Pinterest is laying off 150 employees, affecting less than 5% of it's total workers (Bloomberg)
OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Plus, a $20 monthly plan with "faster response times" and "priority access to new features." (CNN)
Microsoft is set to infuse Bing with "a faster and richer version of ChatGPT" in the coming weeks, Reed Albergotti reports. (Semafor)
Meanwhile: Google is working on its own AI, asking employees for help with testing. (CNBC)
Twitter's ad bookings for the Super Bowl are not near where they were in previous years, but some big-name brands are hopping on board (Insider)
Against the conventional wisdom: Glenn Gerstell argues that a ban on TikTok "might ultimately put our national security at greater risk." (NYT)
Tate Ryan-Mosley writes about "how the Supreme Court ruling on section 230 could end Reddit as we know it." (MIT Tech Review)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The Beyhive Buzzes: Here comes Beyoncé. The superstar singer on Wednesday announced the "Renaissance World Tour 2023," her first solo tour in seven years. The announcement immediately prompted questions about whether Ticketmaster will be up to the task following the Taylor Swift debacle. The company published a blog post noting that "demand for this tour is expected to be high" and offering fans instructions for how to get tickets. CNN's Danielle Wiener-Bronner has more here.

► Dean Budnick asks: "Will the Taylor Swift-Ticketmaster Senate hearing actually change anything?"

OFF STAGE

Ozzy Osbourne is retiring from touring because he says he is "not physically capable" of traveling. (LAT)
Tom Brady has, once again, announced his retirement. (CNN)
Tom Girardi, the disbarred former lawyer and LA power broker who appeared on "Real Housewives," is indicted on fraud charges. (LAT)
End of an era: "The Blacklist" will conclude with season 10. (Deadline)
You can watch the trailer for the final season of the James Spader-led NBC show here. (YouTube)
"Avatar" has entered the top 10 at the domestic box office. (Variety)
But James Cameron is finally going to get some competition: M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock At The Cabin" will likely knock "Avatar" out of the top spot in the U.S. (Deadline)
James Mangold is in early talks to direct DC Studios' "Swamp Things." (Variety)
"The Terminal List" is getting a second season on Amazon. (Deadline)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox this time tomorrow.