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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Tucker Carlson now claims he loves Donald Trump, right-wing media forces are assailing Manhattan's DA, Sundar Pichai is telling Googlers "things will go wrong" as people experiment with Bard, and "Yellowjackets" is rocking a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score as reviews for the second season roll in. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Fox and the Future

CNN Photo Illustration/Mark Lennihan/AP

A portal into the future has opened up in Wilmington, Delaware.

That is where the public is getting a preview this week of what might transpire if Dominion Voting Systems' monster defamation lawsuit against Fox News actually proceeds to trial next month.

In a lengthy court hearing on Tuesday, which will bleed into Wednesday as well, lawyers for the election voting company and right-wing media channel attempted to bring their legal arguments to life before the judge. To that end, much of the day consisted of each side rehashing their strongest arguments previously laid out in legal filings.

What really stood out was how Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who has been urged by both parties to rule from the bench in their favor, responded to the legal quarrel taking place before him. To be certain, the judge did caution observers from reading too much into his questions. And he did stress that he has "not made a decision" or "pre-decided" the case.

But it was clear that he was skeptical of some of the legal assertions being advanced by Fox News. At one point in the hearing, Davis said an argument deployed by the network's lawyers didn't "seem to be intellectually honest." At another point, he wondered, "How can you be fair if you are knowingly providing false information?"

Davis even went as far as to question the editorial judgment of Fox News, noting the "bigger story" in the wake of the 2020 election was not the conspiracy theories the network chose to give a platform to, but the fact that the former president was "making all these unsubstantiated false allegations."

"Part of what we saw here was the judge highlighting a tension between Fox's assertion that it was merely neutrally reporting important newsworthy information and the evidence from Dominion that suggested there was a conscious corporate plan to tell a known lie," said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor and First Amendment scholar at the University of Utah. "There seems to be at least some skepticism from the judge about whether this was mere neutral journalism or instead the deliberate endorsement of a falsehood."

So what happens next?

The hearing will continue in court on Wednesday and Davis will then have to rule on each side's motion for a summary judgment. Fox News has asked the judge to dismiss the case in its entirety. Dominion has said it has proven "actual malice" and should win outright without a trial. Neither outcome is likely, according to legal experts I've spoken with, and the case will likely head to trial. But it's possible Davis could rule on some aspects of the case.

An alternative possibility in this final phase ahead of a trial, where attorneys for Fox can get a preview of how their legal arguments might be greeted in court, could prompt the network to reconsider whether it wants to make a serious move to settle the financially perilous case.

"The summary judgment stage gives a bit of a preview of both the judge's attitude toward the case and the evidence that will go before a jury it if proceeds to trial," Andersen Jones said. "This can — and often does — spur settlement talks."

"On the other hand: in some respects, the moment when we might have expected Fox would have been most motivated to settle was before the full record of its internal decision-making and discord were made public in these recent filings," the professor added. "It seems Fox already made the decision not to settle before the public saw potentially embarrassing details about its hosts' comments about Trump and its executives' dialogue about their own audience. That might suggest that it expects to forge ahead."

We will stay tuned.

THE SIDEBAR

Marshall Cohen, who was inside the Wilmington courthouse, has a comprehensive rundown of precisely what happened on Tuesday. (CNN)
The lede over at Murdoch's The WSJ: "A Delaware judge on Tuesday voiced skepticism that Fox News and Fox Business on-air hosts reported fairly and neutrally about unsupported allegations that a voting-machine company helped rig the 2020 presidential election." (WSJ)
Meanwhile, I spoke to Fox News producer Abby Grossberg about her lawsuit against the network and what she thinks about the right-wing channel: "Fox just does not care," Grossberg told me. "It summarizes everything perfectly. They don't care about their employees … and they don't care about their viewers." (CNN)
Grossberg's attorney also told me that she has "ample documentary evidence in all forms to support a broad swath" of the explosive allegations in her lawsuit. (CNN)
Despite a mountain of evidence painting a very clear picture of what Fox News is, and what it is not, The NYT is still referring to the right-wing channel as a "news" network. Per the Grey Lady, it's only a "right leaning network." 🤔 (NYT)
Bill Carter, the longtime former media reporter for The NYT on the paper's characterization of Fox News: It's "like calling the NRA a 'gun- curious' organization." (Twitter)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Richard Drew/AP

The Cowardly Carlson: Right-wing conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson, who was caught trashing Donald Trump in private texts brought to light by Dominion's lawsuit against Fox News, is attempting to clean up his mess after blistering comments he privately made about the former president who his audience adores were exposed. During an appearance on WABC's Bo Snerdley's show this week, Carlson declared, "I love Trump."

Yes, the same Carlson that privately confessed he hated Trump "passionately" now wants you to believe he loves him. Carlson told Snerdley that he only made the remarks about hating Trump in a moment of frustration. But it is worth noting that the messages that have come to light have shown Carlson assailed Trump at multiple different points in time. For instance, Carlson called Trump a "demonic force" the day after the January 6 attack. Months before, in November, Carlson said Trump's decision to snub Joe Biden's inauguration was "so destructive" and that his post-election behavior was "disgusting." Which is all to say that this wasn't a one-time attack on Trump. It was a pattern — one Carlson is now trying to wash his hands clean of.

► Of note: Carlson also told Snerdley that after his private texts were exposed, Trump called him "wounded" about the messages. But if Trump were upset, he's not showing it. Instead, he's been praising Carlson on social media.

THE BUSINESS

IN THE INDUSTRY

David Folkenflik takes a hard look at Rolling Stone's story on the raid of former ABC News national security producer James Gordon Meek, who was ultimately charged over child pornography: "Why did Rolling Stone suggest Meek was targeted for his coverage of national security, rather than something unrelated to his journalism?" (NPR)
ESPN EVP Rob King was fired by the sports outlet "after he was accused of harassment," Andrew Marchand reports. (New York Post)
Jen Psaki's Sunday debut was a smash success. The former White House press secretary turned MSNBC host drew an impressive 1.1 million viewers, nearly doubling her lead in. (The Wrap)
Brian Stelter writes about whether David Sirota, whose news site The Lever has been "ahead of the media pack" recently, can be both a journalist and an activist. (Air Mail)
Analysts are predicting steamers will slow their spending in 2023 as they look to cut costs, Sara Fischer reports. Of note, MoffettNathanson on Tuesday predicted a "flattening in 2023" on growth. (Axios)
Gavin Bridge argues that YouTube TV's price hike is "the latest sign virtual MVPDs are backfiring." (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Win McNamee/Getty Images

Bombarding Bragg: Right-wing media is still working overtime to defend Donald Trump as he faces a possible indictment in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Outlets and influencers in the space are zeroing in on attacking the credibility of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. "Bragg is guilty of prosecutorial misconduct and he should be disbarred," declared Fox News host Jesse Watters. Online, the anti-Bragg rhetoric is just as fervid. The top story on Breitbart on Tuesday, for instance, was hyping how some GOP lawmakers are demanding Bragg appear before Congress. While these are just two isolated examples, right-wing media outlets have quickly coalesced around this rhetoric.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

A dose of what consumers of right-wing media are hearing: Charlie Kirk told his audience that in "the new America" politicians jail their opponents. He suggested Republicans, once in power, start going after members of the "Democrat mafia." (MMFA)
While most of right-wing media is offering a full-throated defense of Trump, Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones says he has "an issue" with the former president calling for protest: "He basically is lighting up a cigarette while he's playing with gasoline." (Daily Beast)
Images purporting to show Trump being arrested in New York City have started to circulate. The images are bogus and were created with A.I. (AP)
To smile or not? Michael Bender and Maggie Haberman report Trump has "mused openly about whether he should smile for the assembled media" if "paraded by the authorities before a throng of reporters and news cameras." (NYT)
Former University of South Carolina Dean of Comms Charles Bierbauer: "On the one hand, [Trump] didn't get arrested today. Nor have there been protests. On the other hand, there's been no indictment. Winner? Not the media's three days of breathless anticipation. Maybe the guy they are talking about even when nothing happens." (Twitter)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Pichai's Prediction: "Things will go wrong." That is what Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees Tuesday as the company launched its A.I. chatbot Bard for public testing. "As more people start to use Bard and test its capabilities, they'll surprise us," Pichai told employees in an internal email obtained by CNBC's Jennifer Elias. "But the user feedback is critical to improving the product and the underlying technology." Pichai told staffers they should be "proud" of the company's work on A.I., but acknowledged they're still in the "early stages" after years of development. Elias has more.

🔍 Zooming in: "The release represents a significant step to stave off a threat to Google's most lucrative business, its search engine," The NYT's Nico Grant and Cade Metz point out. "Many in the tech industry believe that Google — more than any other big tech company — has a lot to lose and to gain from A.I., which could help a range of Google products become more useful, but could also help other companies cut into Google's huge internet search business."

TOO MANY TABS

Bill Gates said OpenAI's ChatGPT is "the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface." (Bloomberg)
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said he's alarmed by the advent of A.I. technologies and the risks they might post to children. (The Hill)
Microsoft's Bing will now allow users to create images using words via OpenAI's DALL-E A.I. (CNBC)
Adobe showcased its new creative generative A.I., "Firefly." (CNBC)
TikTok disclosed that it has more than 150 million users in the U.S. (THR)
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who will testify in front of Congress later this week, posted a video on his platform warning users about a possible ban: "Almost half of the US" is on the app. (The Verge)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME

Yearning for 'Yellowjackets': The reviews are rolling in for season two of Showtime's "Yellowjackets" ahead of its Sunday premiere — and they're strong. 100% Rotten Tomatoes strong. With the second season, the show, which left viewers on a cliffhanger at the end of season one, is "expanding the tapestry, continuing to service the elements that fans embraced in the first season while even, thankfully, offering some answers to the story's mysteries and paying off some long-promised events," THR's Daniel Fienberg wrote Tuesday. Meanwhile, over at Variety, Joshua Alston described the show's "intense" return as "bolder and bloodier." I'm looking forward to it.

OFF STAGE

As the "Phantom of the Opera" prepares to exit its legendary run on Broadway, the show has hit its highest growing week in 35 years. (THR)
Bad Bunny's ex-girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, is suing him for $40 million, alleging that he sampled a voice recording she made for him without her consent. (LAT)
GLAAD reported a decrease in LGBTQ+ representation on the silver screen during the 2022-2023 period. (Deadline)
Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy will return to Broadway this October in Theresa Robeck's "I Need That." (NYT)
Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel will star in A24's upcoming "Mother Mary," directed by David Lowery. (THR)
Tom Cavanaugh is slated to host the Game Show Network's latest venture, "Hey Yahoo!" set to debut this summer. (Deadline)
"Stranger Things" star Gaten Matarazzo speaks out about his "deep fear" of going freelance once more after the show's conclusion. (Variety)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.