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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

A judge warns Fox News, Evan Gershkovich's family speaks out, Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to unleash its super-streamer, Substack launches its Twitter-like "Notes" feature, Wendy Schmidt talks A.I. and journalism, a NewsNation executive resigns, Cineworld shares plummet, WGA moves to get a strike authorization, and more.

THE A1

Tuck and Cover

CNN Photo Illustration/From Fox News

Tucker Carlson plays a straight-shooter on television.

From his prime time perch on Fox News, Carlson portrays himself to his loyal audience of millions as a truth-teller, someone who tells it like it is and calls out BS from whoever peddles it.

But it is all an act, as evidenced by his weak excuse for an interview with former President Donald Trump that aired on Tuesday night, Trump's first since being indicted on dozens of felony counts of business fraud.

Carlson sat silent as Trump rambled and ranted his way through the sit-down, making a number of eyebrow-raising comments on a host of topics that were never challenged by the right-wing talk host. Carlson made no effort to press the disgraced president on any of the issues that an actual news anchor would.

Instead, Carlson sung Trump's praises.

"For a man caricatured as an extremist, we think you'll find what he has to say moderate, sensible, and wise," Carlson told his audience. At another point in his program, Carlson mocked the "Neo-con media establishment" for suggesting Trump is a "dangerous lunatic."

It was all quite a sight to see coming from a man who has been exposed to hold Trump in great disdain, as evidenced by private messages he sent which have come to light as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News.

Carlson actually "hate[s]" Trump. And he hates him "passionately." He believes Trump is a "destroyer." A "demonic force." A president who was a "disaster." A politician whose behavior after losing the 2020 election was "disgusting."

Carlson just doesn't have the courage to say any of it on television — or apparently to the man whom he privately made such comments about.

Carlson's refusal to disclose to his viewers his true opinions of Trump reflect the grip the former president still exerts over the Republican Party. Even Carlson, the most popular MAGA Media figure whom most of the GOP fears, thinks it is necessary to kiss the ring of Trump.

It's a broader phenomenon reflected across Fox News, as also revealed by private messages uncovered in Dominion's lawsuit. Even GOP kingmaker Rupert Murdoch appeared to fear Trump's wrath. And it speaks to what could happen in 2024 and beyond.

Right-wing media stars like Carlson might want to move past Trump. Carlson, himself, confided in a producer after the 2020 election, "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait."

But the reality is it will be quite difficult to ignore him now that he is once again in the race for the White House and facing criminal charges. On Tuesday night, as Carlson bowed before Trump at Mar-a-Lago, he demonstrated exactly that.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Mary Altaffer/AP

Judge Warns Fox: Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis scolded lawyers for Fox on Tuesday at a pretrial hearing for not being fully forthcoming about Rupert Murdoch's official role at Fox News. While it is well known that Murdoch is the chair of Fox Corporation, it was not made clear in the case until just days ago that he is also an officer at the right-wing channel. When Davis learned of the revelation, he was not pleased. "You have a credibility problem," Davis told Fox's lawyers. When a lawyer for Fox pushed back by asserting Murdoch's title was merely "honorific," Davis said he hoped the attorney wasn't "being cagey" with him and added that he found it "extremely bizarre" Fox's legal team would not know who its own officers are. In a statement Tuesday night, Fox News countered, "Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion's own attorney during his deposition." CNN's Marshall Cohen has all the details here.

Davis also handed down a series of rulings on various "motions in limine." Such motions are routine pretrial efforts to block certain evidence and arguments from being used during the trial. Some highlights:

► Dominion can't bring up the insurrection: "That may be for another court at another time, but it's not for this court at this time," Davis said.

► Dominion can bring up threats its staffers faced in the aftermath of the 2020 election: The judge said, however, the company can't get into specifics about such threats. Davis also disclosed he has received death threats himself as he has presided over the case.

► Dominion can bring up Fox's financial information: "Economics are relevant," he said.

► Fox cannot bring up broadcasts where its anchors and reporters fact-checked Trump's election lies: Davis said such broadcasts "are not relevant" to the case, explaining that "you can't absolve yourself of defamation by putting someone else on at a different time."

IN THE FOX HOLE

Reminder: This case goes to trial in less than one week. Jury selection is Thursday and opening arguments begin Monday.
Elie Honig said he believes Fox is "headed for a full-blown journalistic and legal disaster." (CNN)
Diana Falzone reports former Fox News staffers are "paying the price" for working at the network amid Dominion's suit, with one telling her it's a "really bad" time to have the right-wing outlet on a resumé. (Daily Beast)
A Fox Corp. shareholder on Tuesday sued several members of the board of directors, "arguing that they violated their fiduciary duty to the company when they allowed Fox News to broadcast election conspiracy theories," Jane Timm reports. (NBC News)
Ex-Fox News producer Abby Grossberg "filed amended legal complaints on Tuesday claiming there are secret Fox audio recordings of Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies," Justin Baragona reports. (Daily Beast)
Jon Allsop looks back at "the legacy of the Murdoch phone-hacking scandal" as the Dominion case heads to trial. (CJR)

Empathy for Evan: The family of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich released a statement Tuesday, marking the first time the family has spoken about his detention by Russia. "In addition to being a distinguished journalist, Evan is a beloved son and brother," the family said in a statement. "There is a hole in our hearts and in our family that won't be filled until we are reunited." President Joe Biden also called the family on Tuesday. The family said Biden assured them the U.S. is "doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible."

► Meanwhile: "Moscow still hasn't granted U.S. Embassy officials permission to visit The Wall Street Journal reporter in detention—a pattern that follows other cases of American citizens jailed in Russia," The WSJ's Louise Radnofsky and William Mauldin reported Tuesday.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Dawn of the Superstreamer: A streaming service years in the making will be unveiled on Wednesday. That's when Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav is expected to announce the fusion of the various properties in the WBD portfolio, uniting brands such as HBO and Discovery+ under one roof. The platform is expected to be called "Max," according to reports from The NYT and CNBC, and cost about $16 a month, with a cheaper tier for those who are willing to live with advertising. WBD, of course, is CNN's parent company. The NYT's John Koblin has more.

► Some questions heading into the event: Many of the details about the streamer have already been reported about in the press. Will Zaslav have some surprises up his sleeve? Will the "Harry Potter" project, which has been reported to be in the works, be announced? On the live news and sports front, what longer-term role will that type of content play for the streamer?

IN THE INDUSTRY

After acquiring the Sunday Ticket, YouTube has unveiled its prices for the NFL package. The pricing structure is a bit complex, but those who subscribe early in the presale period will save. (The Verge)
Google TV "is launching free built-in channels that users can watch without downloading or launching an app. In total, it now offers over 800 channels and premium programming," Todd Spangler reports. (Variety)
Alfred A. Knopf will publish Brittney Griner's untitled memoir due out in 2024. (AP)
Nominees for the Peabody awards were announced Tuesday, with PBS leading the way with four nominations. (Variety)
Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt are effectively going public with their relationship. (Daily Mail)
Sarah Scire explains why outlets like ESPN and NPR are "putting their podcasts on YouTube." (NiemanLab)

IN THE MARKET

"The Netflix tax": Lawmakers in both the U.S. and around the world are eyeing new rules and taxes for streamers, Etan Vlessing and Scott Roxborough report. (THR)
Bad news for Cineworld investors: The company's stock collapsed 34% on Tuesday after it filed a final version of its restructuring plan to a bankruptcy court. (CNN)
Meanwhile, Brent Lang and Rebecca Rubin write about how Hollywood is falling "back in love with movie theaters" as profits take center stage at entertainment companies. (Variety)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | NewsNation vice president of programming John Ferracane announced to staffers Tuesday that he is resigning from the company. Ferracane said he's departing to be with his wife in Los Angeles: "We've hardly seen each other in two years. It's overdue."
First in Reliable | Public relations firm Global Situation Room hired Bloomberg executive producer and managing editor Christine Baratta as director of news and editorial.
Universal extended its deal with Dick Wolf. (Variety)
The CW tapped Roku exec Ashley Hovey as its first-ever chief digital officer. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Forgetful Fox: It's always telling when Fox News doesn't want to cover a news story. The right-wing talk channel only devoted 27 minutes from April 7-10 on the major court rulings regarding the abortion drug mifepristone, according to data from the progressive watchdog Media Matters. Meanwhile, on actual cable news networks, the decision was covered far more. MSNBC devoted 7 hours and 57 minutes to the story, while CNN covered it for 7 hours and 4 minutes.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Elon Musk declares that 4/20 will be the date Twitter purges blue checkmarks from accounts verified under the legacy program. (AV Club)
How is Musk determining which news organizations are slapped with a "government funded" warning label? Wikipedia, Musk told NPR's Bobby Allyn. (Insider)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Substack's New Service: Substack on Tuesday launched its much-anticipated Notes feature, which allows users to publish short-form content in a feed. "As well as being lightweight and fun, we hope that Notes will help writers grow their audience and revenue," Substack said. The new feature could represent a potential threat to Twitter, given the turmoil the Elon Musk-owned platform has been engulfed in since the billionaire took over. Musk evidently sees the threat as well, taking steps last week to limit the platform's reach on Twitter. The Verge's Jay Peters has more here.

Only in Reliable | Schmidt on Science: Wendy Schmidt believes journalism is more important than ever in the age of A.I., a technology she and her husband have invested large sums of money in. "It is a whole new age," she told me, stressing that "people writing about science and technology have a great task" at hand when it comes to covering the consequential technology. Schmidt spoke to me by phone Tuesday as she promotes the opening of submissions for the 2023 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, which aim to provide resources to journalists.

Schmidt, who told me journalists "deserve a place of honor in our society," said that A.I. can be wielded for good. "Like any tool you can throw a stone at someone and kill them or you can build a structure and house out of a stone," she said. Schmidt also emphasized she doesn't believe A.I. bots can replace insightful journalism. "I could read a paragraph written by a chat bot that would have all the information there, but it wouldn't have a voice there," she explained. Nevertheless, in our conversation, she acknowledged the dangers the tech poses — and said journalists will play a key role in holding leaders, companies, and institutions accountable. It's hard to disagree with her on that.

TOO MANY TABS

A.I.'s Well That Ends Well: As the A.I. arms race accelerates, the Biden administration eyes possible regulations aimed at minimizing harm, Ryan Tracy reports. (WSJ)
A.I.-generated photos have become so robust that even A.I. struggles to identify fakes, Ann-Marie Alcántara reports. (WSJ)
OpenAI said it would pay users between $200 and $20,000 for reporting bugs and other vulnerabilities in ChatGPT. (Bloomberg)
Elizabeth Holmes' latest bid to avoid prison time was denied. Holmes will begin her sentence on April 27. (CNN)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

WGA Inches Toward Walkout: Members of the WGA on Tuesday started voting on whether to authorize a strike should negotiations with studios fail to produce a new contract before May 1. "WGA members must demonstrate our willingness to fight for the contract writers need and deserve by supporting a strike authorization vote," the union's leadership said in a message to members ahead of the vote. Voting will last several days, closing on Monday at 12pm PT. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more here.

OFF STAGE

SAG-AFTRA purchased a new office building in North Hollywood for $46.6 million. (THR)
"Succession" took incredible measures to keep episode three's stunning death a secret, including having the character attend their own funeral. (The Wrap)
Chris Harrison laced into "The Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss, calling him a "narcissist." (Deadline)
"Extra" has been renewed for a season 30. The show is on the brink of surpassing a staggering 9,000 episodes. (Deadline)
Filming for the second season of HBO's "House of the Dragon" has begun. (THR)
Margot Robbie thought the "Barbie" movie would "never see the light of day" when she first read the script. (IndieWire)
Disney released the teaser trailer for "The Marvels." (The Wrap)
"The Night Agent" climbed to a spot on Netflix's top 10 chart of most popular series of all time. (Deadline)
"Strange Way of Life," a Pedro Almodóvar-directed LGBTQ Western with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, will make its silver screen debut at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. (Variety)
MGM+ OK'ed a four-part docuseries, "Hollywood Black," which will explore the experiences of Black Hollywood creatives. (THR)
BravoCon 2023 is heading to Las Vegas. (KVVU)

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.