Received this email from a friend? Subscribe here.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Right-wing media is playing a blame game after the Nashville shooting, AMC Entertainment shares are surging, Q1 cable news ratings are in, Prince Harry is back in court, Meta employees are getting more bad news, a judge is "troubled" by an Alex Jones tactic, Disney is exiting the metaverse, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Fox on the Stand

CNN Photo Illustration/AP/Getty Images

It's shaping up to be one of the most extraordinary media trials in modern American history.

As Dominion Voting Systems' monster $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News careens toward a trial, details are emerging about who exactly might be called as witnesses to the stand.

Among the network personnel that Dominion wants to call are chief executive Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace; hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Laura Ingraham, and Bret Baier; and former executive Bill Sammon and politics editor Chris Stirewalt.

Dominion also said it wishes to call to the stand Abby Grossberg, the now-fired Fox News producer who filed lawsuits against the network last week that alleged network lawyers coerced her into providing misleading testimony. Grossberg has signaled she would be open to testifying on Dominion's behalf.

Previously, Dominion asked Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who is presiding over the case, to force Fox Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch and chief executive Lachlan Murdoch to testify, as well as former House speaker turned Fox Corporation board member Paul Ryan.

Davis has yet to make a decision on which witnesses he might compel to take the stand. And Dominion's potential witness list is not final and will surely face legal challenges from Fox's lawyers. However, in its own court filings, Fox News did suggest it wants to put Scott, Wallace, Hannity, Carlson, Bartiromo, and Baier on the stand as witnesses.

It's possible that Dominion and Fox News will somehow reach a last-minute settlement, just before the clock strikes midnight. But time is running out. And if that doesn't happen, jury selection will begin in Wilmington, Delaware, in just over two weeks. And then a trial will get underway on April 17.

Given what we know, it's fair to say a trial will be a painful event for the right-wing talk network. It will be forced to endure weeks and weeks of highly publicized testimony, likely coming from some of its most recognized and prominent hosts. It's possible Fox News will ultimately prevail on the legal merits. But it's really difficult to see how it will emerge from a trial without seeing what's left of its reputation torn to tatters.

The trial promises to be a grueling affair for Fox News, with daily coverage no longer limited to the mediums that typically cover controversies about the network (places like this newsletter, outlets like Mediaite, MSNBC, etcetera). Instead, news about the trial will exit the stratosphere and seep into the mainstream consciousness.

One question hanging over the prospect of a trial: Can Fox News keep its loyal audience in the dark about the damning revelations? Yes, Fox News has effectively locked its viewers into a box and shielded them from unpleasant news about its affairs. But it is difficult to see how viewers would not find out about their favorite Fox News stars being called to testify for extended periods of time on the witness stand.

What happens if Fox News viewers learn the extent to which Hannity, Carlson and Ingraham were trashing their beloved president's election lies, while trying to sell them on those conspiracy theories? Maybe nothing. That's probably the safe bet.

But there is always the possibility that the revelations won't sit well with the audience. That it will damage the credibility of Fox News stars in a way that prompts some of the audience to rebel. As Carlson said about Bill O'Reilly roughly 20 years ago, the success of the then-Fox News host was "built on the perception that he really is who he claims to be." Carlson put it like this: "If he ever gets caught out of character, it's over."

A trial would give us the chance to see if Carlson was right all those years ago.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Jonathan Mattise/AP

The Blame Game: In the wake of the attack on a Nashville elementary school, right-wing media figures and outlets have rushed to assign blame for the deadly shooting. The villain: gender identity. "TRANSGENDER KILLER TARGETS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL," blared the Tuesday front page of Rupert Murdoch's New York Post. On Fox News Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson dubbed the trans movement the "natural enemy" of Christianity. A graphic on his top-rated show included a photo of the shooter with the words "TRANS KILLER" emblazoned on-screen. Right-wing media has been doused with rhetoric in this vein over the last 24 hours. The examples across television, talk radio, social media, and the web of various right-wing websites are far too numerous to list. But it's important to note that the narrative has provided a deflection to the very real questions about gun safety. NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald and Mike Hixenbaugh have more here.

🔎 Zooming in: The anti-trans coverage comes as Republicans around the country move to ban LGBT books from schools and gender-affirming care for minors. "We do know that every study available shows that transgender and non-binary people are much more likely to be the victims of violence, rather than the perpetrator of it," the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Amir Hamja/Bloomberg/Getty Images

AMC to the Moon: AMC Entertainment saw shares spike more than 20% on Tuesday, ultimately ending the day up 13% after a report in Joe Bel Bruno's The Intersect indicated Jeff Bezos was exploring acquiring the beleaguered movie theater company. Bruno reported: "The thinking is that Amazon can use AMC's nearly 600 theaters across North America, Europe and the Middle East as 'marketing weigh stations,' said one Amazon insider. This would be used for promoting Amazon Prime movies for awards contention, cross-selling services such as grocery delivery, serving as local distribution hubs, and collecting crucial data from AMC's annual 200 million moviegoing customers." Whether such a deal ever materializes, however, is very much up in the air. Amazon and AMC declined to comment to Bruno.

The Cable News Ratings Scoreboard: The Q1 cable news ratings are in, showing MSNBC continuing the trend of besting CNN in total audience, with sizable leads in total day and prime time viewership, according to Nielsen data released Tuesday. MSNBC averaged 703,000 total day viewers versus CNN's 478,000 in Q1 and averaged 1.1 million prime time viewers versus CNN's 568,000. CNN continued, however, to lead MSNBC in the advertiser important 25-54 demo across both total day and prime time, averaging 94,000 in the day versus MSNBC's 78,000, and 124,000 in prime versus MSNBC's 111,000. Both cable news networks were down from previous quarters, but CNN notably fell the most, dropping 10% from Q4 2022 numbers and 27% from Q1 2022 when Ukraine drove the news cycle. A CNN spokesperson underscored the outlet's advantage with young viewers and said, "The impact of CNN's journalism and the reach of the brand cannot be measured by a single metric." TV Newser's A.J. Katz has a complete breakdown here.

► Right-wing talk channel Fox News maintained its large audience (1.4 million total day viewers and 2.1 million prime time viewers), but also saw a decline in viewership. The network fell 6% from Q4 2022 and 15% from Q1 2022.

► On the broadcast evening news front, David Muir's "World News" led the pack with 8.7 million total viewers, Lester Holt's "Nightly News" placed second with 7.4 million total viewers, and Norah O'Donnell's "Evening News" came in third with 5.3 million total viewers.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Prince Harry, in U.K. court for a second day, accused Associated Newspapers of "unchecked power, influence and criminality." (BBC)
"We ask for your contribution if you can offer money": Staffers at The Texas Observer are asking the public for help to keep the publication alive after its nonprofit parent organization decided to shutter the outlet and cease publication on Friday, March 31. (Observer)
The Salinas Californian is officially a newspaper without journalists, its last reporter having left the 152-year-old Gannett-owned periodical. (LAT)
Google is launching a new feature called Perspectives that will appear below top stories and "showcase insights from a range of journalists, experts, and other relevant voices." (TechCrunch)
Charlotte Klein is out with a great profile on Kara Swisher: "The ultimate media insider is juggling podcasts, writing a memoir, and texting with 'half the planet.'" (Vanity Fair)
The NFL Network has opted not to renew the contract of Jim Trotter, who previously pressed commissioner Roger Goodell on diversity issues: "One of the problems with sports leagues hiring reporters to cover those leagues is that unspoken limits apply to how aggressively those reporters can cover the league," Mike Florio writes. (NBC Sports)
The NFL and Redbird "are creating a venture to stream NFL games and eventually other live sports and events to commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants," Joe Flint reports. (WSJ)
In a 2-1 decision, a Maryland court has reinstated the murder conviction of "Serial" subject Adnan Syed. (CNN)

MEDIA MOVES

The NYT hired Nicholas Nehamas from the Miami Herald to cover the likely candidacy of Ron DeSantis. The paper also hired Christopher Maag from The Record for its metro section. And it said Karen Zraick will take over the Brooklyn courts beat. (NYT/NYT/NYT)
The WaPo tapped Christina Passariello as deputy business editor for technology and personal finance; Lauren Stevens as technology industry editor; and Alexis Sobel Fitts as technology enterprise editor. (WaPo)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Erin Scott/Reuters

Missing the Mark: More bad news for Meta employees: Some staffers will receive "a smaller percentage of their bonus and restricted stock award due in March 2024," The WSJ's Salvador Rodriguez reported Tuesday. Per Rodriguez, the change will impact employees who were given the "met most expectations" review at the end of 2023. For those staffers, the bonus multiplier was reduced from 85% to 65%. Rodriguez also reported that Meta will ramp up staff performance reviews to twice a year. Read his full story.

🔎 Zooming in: The changes come as Meta plows forward in what Mark Zuckerberg has called a "year of efficiency." The company, which is suffering from low morale, announced a second round of layoffs earlier this month and has looked for various ways to reduce its costs as it faces severe industry and economic headwinds.

TOO MANY TABS

Elon Musk's latest claim: That he's "working on" offering "good customer service" for paying Twitter users. (Twitter)
Once upon a time, Musk claimed he wanted Twitter to be a "digital town square." But now he says he'll only allow paying users to vote in polls and their tweets to surface in the "For You" feed. (CNN)
More bizarre changes: "Now, when you're looking at replies, tweets don't actually show who the user is replying to, making them look like a confusing string of out-of-context missives," Jay Peters points out. (The Verge)
And more power users rebel: Jason Alexander announced he will leave Twitter if is his verification badge is taken away. "Without it, anyone can allege to be me. So, if I lose that ✔️ know I will leave this platform. Anyone appearing with it=an imposter." (Twitter)
Is Twitter dying? Natasha Lomas makes the case. (TechCrunch)
Retailers on Amazon are using ChatGPT to write their listings. (CNBC)
Spotify users will be able to build niche playlists using text-based descriptions via a new feature on the platform. (TechCrunch)
Apple has announced "Apple Pay Later," which will allow users to split payments into four installments over six weeks and manage loans using the company's Apple Wallet app. (CNBC)

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

A judge says he is "troubled" by a move InfoWars founder Alex Jones employed to shift funds away from his bankrupt Free Speech Systems. (Reuters)
But the judge did hand Jones a win, letting his company reorganize itself as a small business in bankruptcy. (Bloomberg)
Suspected North Korean hackers have been posing as journalists to coax U.S. and South Korean government officials into divulging information concerning nuclear security policies. (Bloomberg)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Fabrice Dimier/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Disney Dumps Division: Don't expect to see your favorite Disney characters in the metaverse anytime soon. As the entertainment giant works to restructure and lay off 7,000 staffers over the next few months, the company on Tuesday eliminated its next-generation storytelling unit, which was tasked with examining various metaverse strategies, The WSJ's Robbie Whelan and Joe Flint reported. According to Whelan and Flint, the roughly 50 staffers who comprised the unit all lost their jobs. Bob Iger's move to axe the division represents another step in undoing changes implemented by successor-turned-predecessor Bob Chapek, who had championed the metaverse, describing it as "the next storytelling frontier." More from Whelan and Flint here.

OFF STAGE

"Marvel's big mess": Adam Vary and Angelique Jackson report longtime executive Victoria Alonso's reported firing "presents a rare public drama for the studio." (Variety)
The season premiere for HBO's "Succession" drew a record audience for the show, with 2.3 million viewers. (Variety)
The season premiere of Showtime's "Yellowjackets" also hit a series high with about 2 million viewers. (THR)
Bruce Miller, showrunner for "The Handmaid's Tale," will step away from the series ahead of its final season to begin development of its sequel, "The Testaments." (The Wrap)
Mike Fleiss, creator of "The Bachelor," will leave the show after more than two decades. (THR)
Theatrical releases in China for "The Little Mermaid" and "Fast X" have been green-lit. (Deadline)
Wes Anderson's latest film, "Asteroid City," will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. (Deadline)
Season three of HBO's "The White Lotus" will be set in Thailand. (Esquire)
An adaptation of A.J. Quinnell's five-book series "Man on Fire" will be heading to Netflix. (THR)
Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion will headline the 2023 L.A. Pride in the Park festival. (LAT)

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.