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Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Another blockbuster media news day is in the books. Tucker Carlson continues to lie about the January 6 attack, Ned Price steps down as State Dept. spokesperson, senators propose legislation that would spell major trouble for TikTok, Ron DeSantis comes out against a bill requiring some bloggers to register with the state, HBO announces "Barry" will end, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Frauds at Fox

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Helgren/Reuters

Fox News continues to be exposed like never before.

In legal filings made public Tuesday as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the right-wing channel, a trove of private text messages, emails, and deposition transcripts offered a new look at how the sausage is made behind the scenes at the channel — and it is ugly.

The filings expose the face of the network, Tucker Carlson, as a fraud. They show that Rupert Murdoch rejected conspiracy theories about Dominion, despite allowing them to be promoted on his network. And they show the contempt that hosts like Sean Hannity have for some of their colleagues who tried to tell the truth about what actually transpired in the 2020 election.

The legal filings total hundreds and hundreds of pages. Journalists will unquestionably be sifting through them for days and weeks to come. But here are some immediate takeaways:

► Carlson "passionately" hates Trump: In a number of private text messages, Carlson was harshly critical of Trump. In one November 2020 exchange, Carlson said Trump's decision to snub Joe Biden's inauguration was "so destructive." Carlson added that Trump's post-election behavior was "disgusting" and that he was "trying to look away." In another text message conversation, two days before the January 6 attack, Carlson said, "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait." Carlson added of Trump, "I hate him passionately." The Fox host said of the Trump presidency, "That's the last four years. We're all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest. But come on. There isn't really an upside to Trump."

► Murdoch rejected conspiracies: In his January deposition, Murdoch was repeatedly asked about various electronic voting conspiracy theories — and he rejected all of them. "You've never believed that Dominion was involved in an effort to delegitimize and destroy votes for Donald Trump, correct?" a Dominion lawyer asked at one point. "I'm open to persuasion; but, no, I've never seen it," Murdoch replied.

► Top hosts probably " went too far": In an email to Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott, Murdoch conceded that some of his top hosts probably crossed the line in the aftermath of the 2020 election. "Maybe Sean [Hannity] and Laura [Ingraham] went too far," Murdoch wrote Scott, in an apparent reference to election denialism after Trump's loss.

► Fury at Fox News' decision desk: Murdoch lashed out in an email on November 7, 2020, over an imminent decision by Fox News to project that Biden would become the next president. "CNN declares and FOX coming in minutes," Murdoch wrote to former New York Post editor-in-chief Col Allan. "I hate our Decision Desk people! And pollsters! Some of the same people I think. Just for the hell of it still praying for Az to prove them wrong!," he said in reference to Biden's victory over Trump.

► Murdoch wanted to "help" his friend Jared Kushner: In his deposition, Murdoch was asked why he divulged confidential campaign ad information to Kushner. "I was trying to help Mr. Kushner," Murdoch said. "he's a friend of mine."

► Hannity, Carlson, and Ingraham discussed their power: In a group text message, the Fox News prime time bloc, concerned about losing viewers and upset about the direction the network was going, talked about flexing their muscle. "I think the three of us have enormous power," Ingraham texted, adding that they have "more power than we know or exercise." She continued, "we should think about how together we can force a change." Hannity said he had to hop on calls but urged Ingraham to "keep thinking." Carlson said that "the first thing" they needed to do is "exactly what we want to do." Carlson added in another message to the group, "We are all officially working for an organization that hates us."

► Hannity and Doocy mocked Fox's journalists: In a series of November 2020 text messages, Hannity and Steve Doocy attacked the reporting from their colleagues on the so-called "straight news" side of the network. "'News' destroyed us," Hannity complained. "Every day," Doocy replied. "You don't piss off the base," Hannity said. "They don't care. They are JOURNALISTS," Doocy texted back. Hannity said he has "warned" people at the network "for years" and there is "NOTHING we can do to fix it."

► Bartiromo refused to call Biden President-elect: In text messages to Steve Bannon, after the election had been called for Biden, Bartiromo said she had instructed her staff to not refer to the Democrat as President-elect. "I want to see massive fraud exposed ... I told my team we are not allowed to say pres elect at [all]. Not in scripts or in banners on air. Until this moves through the courts," Bartiromo wrote, saying she is "scared & sad." Bannon said she is a "fighter" and that the movement needed her. "Ok," Bartiromo replied.

► Fox D.C. chief decried "existential crisis" at network: More than a month after the 2020 election, then-Fox News DC Managing Editor Bill Sammon decried the network's coverage of false election claims in private messages to a colleague, fearing it had become an "existential crisis" for the right-wing channel. "It's remarkable how weak ratings makes good journalists do bad things," Sammon wrote then-political editor Chris Stirewalt. Stirewalt replied, "It's a real mess."

THE SIDEBAR

In a statement Tuesday, Fox News accused Dominion of distortions, misinformation and misattributing quotes as part of an attempt to "smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press."
Dominion responded that the "emails, texts, and deposition testimony speak for themselves." Dominion added, "We welcome all scrutiny of our evidence because it all leads to the same place — Fox knowingly spread lies causing enormous damage to an American company." (CNN)
The WaPo has a running live-blog where reporters are posting updates with new information from the filings. (WaPo)
CNBC's Brian Schwartz reports he has reached out to more than a dozen Fox News advertisers to see what their plans are, given the controversy the network is ensnared in. "No response," Schwartz tweeted. (Twitter)
Richard Painter: "But why did the network buy into this approach? Why did the hosts say things they knew weren't true? Why did they destroy their journalistic reputation for the sake of lies? There's an easy answer: money. Lies make money." (MSNBC)
Columbia Journalism School professor Bill Grueskin: "Fox is not really a news company." (Twitter)
Will the Fox News audience ever see the explosive revelations that are being exposed by the Dominion lawsuit? The network is still not covering them and its media host, Howard Kurtz, has said he has been barred from talking about the matter on the channel.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Jason Koerner/Getty Images

Carlson's Con: Right-wing conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson continued to lie to his audience on Tuesday night about the attack that transpired at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The attack, of course, was prompted by election lies pushed by outlets including Fox News in the wake of Donald Trump's 2020 defeat. Carlson spewed his propaganda amid mounting condemnation — including from GOP senators who pushed back against his characterization of events, but notably were mum on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who knowingly handed the surveillance tapes to the 1/6 truther.

► U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger ripped into Carlson, saying his special was "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions" about the attack. "The program," Manger said in an internal memo, "conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video."

► Several Republican senators pushed back on Carlson, including Mitch McConnell who said, "It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that is completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at Capitol thinks."

► The family of Brian Sicknick, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died one day after the attack, released a blistering statement blasting Fox News as a "fictitious" news organization: "What will it take to silence the lies of people like Carlson? ... Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again and we are frankly sick of it. Leave us the hell alone and instead of spreading more lies from Supreme Leader Trump, why don't you focus on real news?"

► Bret Baier aired a report casting doubt on Carlson's special. "To be clear, no one here at Fox News condones any of the violence that happened on January 6," Baier said.

► Speaking to reporters Tuesday night, McCarthy said he had had no regrets about releasing the footage to Carlson: "I didn't see what was aired," he claimed. "What I want to do exactly is give transparency to everybody, and everybody can make up their own conclusion."

► Jake Tapper asked McCarthy's office four simple questions about Carlson's claims on the Jan. 6 footage. The speaker did not respond.

► Adam Kinzinger responded to Carlson calling him a liar: "He is an unserious man who is doing serious damage with the cooperation of Kevin McCarthy who wants to have Tucker Carlson on his speed dial," he told Tapper.

► Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell: "Congrats to Fox News for following up their public exposure of knowingly lying to their audience about the 2020 election with knowingly lying to their audience about January 6th."

► But Elon Musk was quick to jump on the Carlson conspiracy train, tweeting: "This is crazy. The public was misled."

THE BUSINESS

IN THE INDUSTRY

Ned Price will step down this month as State Department spokesperson, a position he has served in since January 2021. (POLITICO)
Biden's FCC nominee, Gigi Sohn, has withdrawn after Sen. Joe Manchin said he would not vote for her. Sohn said she faced "unrelenting, dishonest, and cruel attacks" on her character and career. (CNN)
Semafor is "drawing criticism in the U.S. for partnering with a think tank in China that is known to have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party," Sara Fischer and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian report. (Axios)
Gannett has "shed nearly half its workforce" since its merger with Gatehouse in 2019, Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn report. (Axios)
Another one from Fischer: Graydon Carter's Air Mail is planning on expanding into print, Sara Fischer reports. (Axios)
Important story from Masha Gessen, who reported on how "Russian journalists in exile are covering the war in Ukraine." (New Yorker)
Mika Brzezinski will moderate a Forbes 30/50 Summit panel for International Women's Day in Abu Dhabi with Hillary Clinton that will air live on "Morning Joe" at 7am Wednesday. (Twitter)
A new report by the Media Insight Project found that 60% of Americans between the ages of 16 and 40 pay for or donate to news. (Poynter)

MEDIA MOVES

Compass Media Networks signed a deal with Erick Erickson to syndicate his radio show across the country. (Radio Online)
The NYT has promoted Alicia Wittmeyer, Madeleine Kruhly, Jeff Geld, Tim Schneider, and Jennifer Brown. (NYT)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

TikTok Tumult: More steam is gathering at the federal government level to potentially ban TikTok. A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would give the Biden administration new authority to ban the popular video-sharing app if it is deemed to pose a national security threat. In a statement, TikTok said a ban on it would translate to "a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide." CNN's Brian Fung has more here.

📈 Snap shares continued to surge on the bad news for TikTok, ending Tuesday up another 1%. Earlier in the day, it had even spiked another 5%.

TOO MANY TABS

Meanwhile, TikTok introduced a new feature that gives creators another way to monetize content: paywalled 20-minute videos. (CNBC)
Meta, having already cut thousands of staffers, is planning a fresh round of layoffs and will cut thousands more as soon as this week, Sara Frier, Edward Ludlow, and Kurt Wagner report. (Bloomberg)
Facebook head Tom Alison tells CNN's Clare Duffy the platform is testing bringing messaging capabilities back to the Facebook app. (CNN)
Hundreds of deepfake sexual ads using the faces of Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson ran on Facebook and Instagram. (NBC News)
Musk continues to antagonize Twitter staff, mocking a worker with a disability who is unsure if he's been laid off. Musk later apologized. (CNN)
Ari Emanuel's Endeavor "invested in Twitter in mid-January," Sara Fischer scoops, citing two sources. (Axios)
Slack is about to be infused with ChatGPT. (The Verge)
Miles Kruppa and Sam Schechner report on how Google's caution over AI "gave Microsoft an opening." (WSJ)
Sundar Pichai "is facing what may likely be Google's biggest competitive challenge in the 25 years since it was founded," Christiaan Hetzner writes about the search giant facing Microsoft's AI threat. (Fortune)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Cheney Orr/AFP/Getty Images

Ron's Response: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came out on Tuesday against a restrictive bill filed by a state Republican legislator that would require bloggers writing about elected officials to register with the state. "That's not anything I've ever supported," DeSantis said at a news conference. "I don't support [it]." The governor added, "I don't control every single bill that has been filed or amendment, so just as we go through this session, please understand that." The condemnation comes after days of bipartisan opposition to the bill. The ACLU said, as well, that the legislation would have violated the First Amendment if passed. Raw Story's David Edwards has more.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Christina Buttons penned a piece announcing that she had resigned from right-wing outlet The Daily Wire over some of her colleagues' incendiary trans rhetoric. Buttons said her reporting on the issue was "rendered meaningless when the company's flagship entertainers and personalities speak impulsively and deploy divisive rhetoric for entertainment and clicks." (Reality's Last Stand)
Twitch said it will take a tougher stance on explicit deepfakes after a streamer admitted paying for videos of female streamers. (Engadget)
Chris Cuomo says "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams should be reinstated after his racist comments led to the worldwide cancelation of the comic strip. "He's not David Duke," Cuomo said. (Daily Beast)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/HBO

'Barry' Bows Out: Another HBO show is coming to an end. On Tuesday, the premium television channel unveiled the trailer for the fourth season of the hit series — and co-creator Bill Hader simultaneously revealed to Variety's Kate Aurthur that it will be the show's last. Hader said that as they wrote the final chapter a "very clear ending presented itself" to the team. Read Aurthur's full interview with Hader here.

OFF STAGE

Missed "Avatar: The Way of Water" in theaters? Or just want to head back to Pandora again? The film is set to be released for digital purchase on March 28. (Collider)
More Oscars presenters have been announced, including Jessica Chastain and Nicole Kidman. (The Wrap)
Jimmy Kimmel talks to Lacey Rose about hosting the Oscars Sunday, addressing what might happen if there is another slap situation: "Well, I size them up, and, if I'm bigger than they are, I beat the s**t out of them on television. And if it's The Rock, I run." (THR)
Amazon's Prime Video announces it will stream the first-ever Black Friday NFL game in 2023 for free to all. (Streamable)
A survey of the top 100 grossing domestic releases of 2022 found that women only comprised 33% of protagonists. (Variety)
J.J. Abrams + Broadway? Bad Robot has formed a theatre division called Bad Robot Live. (THR)
Ted Danson and Mike Schur will work on a Netflix series adaption of "The Mole Agent." (Variety)

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 tomorrow.