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Wednesday, March 22, 2023

You're over the hump! Rupert Murdoch may be forced to testify in the Dominion case, Hearst employees are planning a walkout, NPR is starting to lay off staffers, DirecTV and Newsmax have made up, Apple puts "Friday Night Baseball" behind a paywall, "Succession" sports a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

TikTok's Time

CNN Photo Illustration/Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Shou Zi Chew is getting ready for his inaugural trip to Congress.

The TikTok chief executive has, for the last week, participated in near-daily, multi-hour prep sessions, I'm told, as he readies to face a bipartisan grilling on Thursday from lawmakers on a number of issues, most notably data privacy and security, in his first sworn testimony before U.S. lawmakers.

In prep sessions, which have taken place in Washington, D.C. ahead of the high-stakes hearing, TikTok personnel have worked to sharpen and polish Chew's presentation. They have played the roles of lawmakers with various questioning styles, peppering Chew with practice queries and scenarios to ready him for hours of relentless interrogation.

TikTok is hoping that all the prep pays off. Chew's testimony comes at a pivotal moment for the short form social media company that stormed onto the scene in 2016 with viral goofy dance videos and now faces serious threats to its very existence in the U.S. and other Western countries. The Biden administration demanded earlier this month that the company's Chinese owners divest from the company or be exiled from the country.

The app has raised bipartisan national security concerns and growing worries that its sophisticated algorithm poses a danger to young people. While some of those concerns are more hyperbole than fact, the company has become a political football amid deepening U.S.-China tensions, with some politicians taking a stiff stance on the company to signal their tough position on the Chinese Communist Party.

Chew is looking to push back on those narratives and will try to underscore four particular points to the committee: that TikTok has a commitment to safety, particularly for young people; that TikTok will "firewall" U.S. user data; that TikTok "will not be manipulated" by any government; and that it will "be transparent and give access to third-party independent monitors."

"I am well aware that the fact that ByteDance has Chinese founders has prompted concerns that our platform could be used as or become a tool of China or the Chinese Communist Party," Chew acknowledged in his prepared remarks posted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee ahead of the hearing.

But, Chew will argue that it is "emphatically untrue" TikTok's corporate structure "makes it beholden to the Chinese government or that it shares information about U.S. users with the Chinese government."

Whether the committee is receptive to his arguments is up in the air. If I were a betting man, I would not put money on it. Chew will not be on friendly grounds, as made clear by the statement Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the committee, issued in advance of the hearing.

"Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok's relationship with China," McMorris Rodgers said. "What's worse, we know Big Tech companies, like TikTok, use harmful algorithms to exploit children for profit and expose them to dangerous content online."

The congresswoman said she wanted Chew to "answer for" TikTok's "destructive actions." We'll see how that goes.

THE SIDEBAR

"For months, politicians have been debating fears, not facts about TikTok," executive Michael Beckerman told me Wednesday. "We're looking forward to setting the record straight on behalf of over 150 million Americans who love our platform as a destination for creative self expression and joy."
Mark Warner: "While I appreciate Mr. Chew's willingness to answer questions before Congress, TikTok's lack of transparency, repeated obfuscations, and misstatements of fact have severely undermined the credibility of any statements by TikTok employees, including Mr. Chew."
Ahead of the hearing, creators and and even some lawmakers held a rally expressing opposition to a TikTok ban. (NBC News)
"Chew's heightened visibility appears to be part of a larger messaging campaign by TikTok to bolster its reputation in the US and remind voters – and their representatives – how essential the social network is to American culture," Catherine Thorbecke writes. (CNN)
"It's clear that Chew faces a Sisyphean battle: Key lawmakers on the committee have already made up their mind," Matt Berg astutely points out. (POLITICO)
"TikTok's scale presents an enormous challenge to lawmakers trying to argue that the app's national security threat outweighs the wishes of the millions of people and businesses," Sara Fischer writes. (Axios)
Dan Milmo lists "six urgent questions" he believes Chew "needs to answer" during his testimony. Among them: "Has the Chinese government ever sought access to TikTok user data?" (Guardian)
"Given the stakes for the company and its users — and politicians' penchant for rousing anti-China sentiment — Thursday's TikTok hearing is likely to be explosive," Taylor Hatmaker writes. (TechCrunch)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Court Adjourned: Oral hearings for summary judgments in Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News concluded on Wednesday, after bleeding into a second day. Both sides have argued that they should be declared the winner without a jury trial, which is unlikely to happen. Judge Eric Davis can issue his decision on the matter at any given time now, so we're in wait and see mode. CNN's Marshall Cohen has the details.

► In court on Wednesday, the judge signaled that he may force Rupert Murdoch to testify in the case, which Dominion has requested and Fox opposes. The judge noted Murdoch "holds a special role at Fox Corporation" and stressed that "judges prefer live testimony."

► "After Fox finished its arguments, a lawyer for several media outlets... asked the judge to review redactions that Fox had made to some of the communications it handed over, arguing that Fox kept too much confidential," The NYT's Katie Robertson reported. "Judge Davis said he would consider the request."

The Donald Dominates: Switch on the news and it feels like you might have been transported back in time. After vanishing from the top headlines for a brief period, Donald Trump is once again front and center. In fact, he's dominating the news cycle as two cases put him in legal jeopardy. Headlines about the legal peril he faces sat atop all major news websites on Wednesday. And they're all over the evening news. It's 2016, in 2023.

► Related: Oprah and Netflix "are among the entertainment goliaths trying to secure the exclusive sit-down interview with porn star Stormy Daniels," Joe Bel Bruno reported Wednesday.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Daniel Barry/Getty Images

Hammering Hearst: Hundreds of unionized employees at Hearst Magazines are planning to stage a walkout on Thursday as negotiations come down to the wire on a contract. The employees, represented by WGA East, will walk off the job at 1pm and stage rallies at various Hearst locations. The walkouts, the WGA said, "are meant to demonstrate that the Union is ready to stand up to get this contract done." A spokesperson for Hearst responded, "We are committed to fostering a workplace where all employees feel supported. We've reached agreement on important issues and look forward to continuing to bargain in good faith and finalizing this process with a fair contract. Negotiations resume next week and we have offered future meeting dates."

NPR Gives Notice: One month after announcing that it would slash 10% of its staff due to a $30 million shortfall, NPR on Wednesday started notifying impacted employees that they had been laid off. "The first people to know about the role eliminations need to be those directly affected. We will not be commenting on any eliminations until all individuals are informed, and while negotiations with one of NPR's unions are still ongoing, this period may extend beyond this week," spokesperson Isabel Lara told me. "Every person on staff cares deeply about public radio's mission and has worked hard to contribute to it. This is a painful time for everyone in this organization."

First in Reliable | Marking 1,000 Episodes of 'VNT': Vice News is getting ready to celebrate a significant milestone on Thursday: The outlet will mark its 1,000th episode of "Vice News Tonight." To mark the big moment, the outlet has produced a video (you can watch it here) highlighting some of the show's biggest moments, which will air at the end of the episode. "Reaching this milestone as Vice News expands its audience across so many platforms and formats," executive producer Nikki Egan said, "is a source of deep pride for all of us and a time to say thank you to every person who has helped to create this powerfully important work along the way."

IN THE INDUSTRY

Jimmy Finkelstein's forthcoming news outlet has acquired Grid News, Charlotte Tobitt reports. (Press Gazette)
The News Media Alliance has had discussions about how publishers can be compensated when their content is used in responses produced by A.I. bots such as ChatGPT and Bard. (WSJ)
The Society of Professional Journalists has sent a letter to Congress asking that the Journalist Protection Act be reintroduced. (SPJ)
Fox News' Alicia Acuna covered the school shooting in Denver — where her own son attends class. She hugged him on air afterward. (Mediaite)
The WaPo has discontinued its on-site Covid-19 testing, per a memo that Maxwell Tani obtained. (Twitter)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images

A Deal With DirecTV: It's over. DirecTV and Newsmax on Wednesday announced a multi-year distribution agreement, putting to end a bitter carriage dispute that waded into political waters and saw the right-wing channel and satellite carrier savage one another in public. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Newsmax had sought millions of dollars from DirecTV to broadcast the network's low-rated programming. DirecTV had refused on business grounds, saying only on Wednesday that the new terms would allow it to offer the right-wing network "at the right value." Here's my full story.

► Notably, Chris Ruddy, the Newsmax boss who for months accused the satellite carrier of unfair anti-conservative censorship, has changed his tune. When announcing the deal, Ruddy said in a statement that DirecTV "clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

For the third consecutive month, Fox News has grown its digital audience in year-over-year traffic, Howard Polskin reports. The Gateway Pundit also saw a 22% increase in traffic. Meanwhile, Breitbart dipped 63% and The Federalist sunk 71%. (Righting)
The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles continues his anti-trans rhetoric: "Gender reassignment butchery should be banned for everybody." (MMFA)
Fake emails targeting Ukrainian refugees are being sent to organizations by "Ghostwriter," an anti-NATO group well-versed in propaganda and skirting cybersecurity. (Bloomberg)

THE VALLEY

TOO MANY TABS

"Utah's first-in-the-nation legislation to restrict how social media companies treat young users and allow individuals to sue over violations will set the stage for a tech industry legal battle regarding their constitutionality," Brenna Goth writes. (Bloomberg Law)
Spotify has spent less than 10% of its $100-million Creator Equity Fund, a grant the company designed to foster music and podcast diversity following transphobic comments made by Joe Rogan, Ashley Carman reports. (Bloomberg)
Apple will require a subscription to watch "Friday Night Baseball" this year on Apple TV+. (CNBC)
Meta VP of business messaging Dan Levy will exit the tech company, Katie Paul reports. (Reuters)
Meta rehired partnerships executive Nick Grudin, Sahil Patel and Sylvia Farnham O'Regan report. (The Info)
Amazon's sales of its Fire TV passed 200 million units. (Variety)
Headline of the day? "Google and Microsoft's chatbots are already citing one another in a misinformation s**tshow." (The Verge)
Lamenting a so-called liberal bias in A.I., conservative programmers move to create more right-wing alternatives, Stuart Thompson, Tiffany Hsu, and Steven Lee Myers report. (NYT)
Microsoft's GitHub will include both chat and voice A.I. to aid programmers with coding. (The Verge)
Goldman Sachs is testing how A.I.-driven assisted coding technology can aid its developers in generating code. (CNBC)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Macall Polay/HBO

'Succession's' Sterling Sendoff: The reviews for the final season of "Succession" are in — and the consensus is that the award-winning HBO show delivers big. The fourth season is currently sporting a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 35 reviews at the time of this writing. CNN's Brian Lowry wrote that the show heads to a conclusion "with trademark ferocity and a clear sense of purpose." Lowry adds, "How well the series pays that off remains to be seen, but based on its track record and this stellar start, there's every reason to believe the serious people behind 'Succession' can close the deal." Read Lowry's full review here.

OFF STAGE

Aaron Sorkin revealed he suffered a stroke in November 2022, saying he "was concerned I was never going to be able to write again." (Variety)
Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court after a skier filed a lawsuit against her, alleging she crashed into him and caused injuries in Utah in 2016. Paltrow has argued it was the skier who caused the accident. (Deadline)
"John Wick: Chapter 4," the latest installment in the franchise starring Keanu Reeves, is hoping to net $70 million at the box office on opening weekend. (The Wrap)
Eva Longoria has been named producer-director for the Spanish-language remake of the hit French TV series "Call My Agent!" (Variety)
Rashida Jones and Kate McKinnon will star in the upcoming sci-fi drama "In the Blink of An Eye." (THR)
Neil Patrick Harris is slated to don his old mantle as Barney Stinson in the mid-season finale for Hulu's "How I Met Your Father." (Variety)
HBO Max will develop an untitled series on Heidi Fleiss, the former madam whose clientele included wealthy Hollywood personalities. (THR)
A documentary on the '80s pop band "Devo" is in production. (Pitchfork)
Paramount+ has ordered up an Italian version of "RuPaul's Drag Race." (Deadline)
Netflix teases Season 3 of its Omar Sy heist series "Lupin." (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.