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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Trump arraignment ratings land, Insider and union reach contract agreement, The Onion faces cuts, a bipartisan group of senators come together for TikTok legislation, Twitter gets sued by music publishers, "The Flash" filmmakers discuss private praise from Tom Cruise, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Fox Under Fire

CNN Photo Illustration/Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

The White House is disgusted with Fox News — even more so than usual.

Over the last 24 hours, the right-wing talk network has targeted President Joe Biden and his administration with unseemly lines of attack, bashing the Democratic White House with smears that represent even lows for a channel that is home to dangerous and incendiary rhetoric.

First, Fox News outrageously labeled Biden a "wannabe dictator" in an on-screen banner Tuesday night and declared that he had ordered his "political rival arrested." The banner matched hours of reckless commentary from the network's top hosts and personalities in the wake of disgraced former President Donald Trump's arraignment.

Then, on Wednesday, the outlet published an absurd story that cited "critics" to suggest that the White House had flown a "controversial new transgender flag that promotes grooming and pedophilia." It alleged "a mysterious and divisive new symbol of pride had a coming-out party" at the White House, with "some even saying" it "appears to reference a cult of pedophilia." The preposterous story failed to mention that Fox Corporation's own logo had been wrapped in the very same pride flag last year.

Americans might have grown desensitized in recent years to ugly political attacks, but the shocking claims Fox made are not trivial — particularly when they are leveled against the President of the United States and his White House. They are grave allegations. And yet, Fox News is tossing them around in a blasé manner, as if such dark rhetoric carries with it no consequences.

Which is why, perhaps, the White House felt the need to formally respond, even though, typically, the Biden administration opts not to get in the mud with the network.

Asked about the "dictator" charge on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied, "There are probably about 787 million things that I can say about this. That was wrong what we saw last night, but I don't think I'm going to get into it." Jean-Pierre's reference to 787 million was a not-so-subtle reference to the historic sum of money Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation case.

Meanwhile, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates went nuclear on the outlet for its story about the pride flag. In a Twitter thread, Bates said that Fox was "characteristically lying through their teeth," and posted a copy of the request for comment from a Fox News reporter that had been sent to the White House. The email made no mention of grooming or pedophilia, and Bates added, "Fox never even communicated the malicious and discredited foundation of this article to the White House."

For its part, Fox News released a weak nine-word statement on Wednesday about the "dictator" chyron. An unnamed network spokesperson said, "The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed." There were no further details provided about how the matter was "addressed." Notably, there was also no apology to the President.

No such statement was released about the story Fox News published about the supposed "controversial new transgender flag" the White House flew over the weekend for Pride Month. The outlet deleted its tweet and updated its story without apology or explanation.

But taken together, Fox's moves smack of desperation as it sees its ratings dwindle and it continues to hunt for a permanent prime time replacement for right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson (or a "popular nightside host" as The NYT feebly calls him) in hopes of keeping its audience tuned in. As the cache of messages released in the Dominion case showed, network executives were extremely concerned about its audience flipping the channel, airing bogus claims to keep viewers hooked. The events of this week suggest that same playbook is still in use.

"Fox paid the biggest settlement in media history because they platformed dangerous lies, and the lesson they took from that experience is to repeat the same behavior, including spreading baseless QAnon filth?" a Biden administration source told me Wednesday. "Fox is actively disrespecting their viewers, abusing people's trust for profit."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Tuned in for Trump: The ratings are in for the coverage of Donald Trump's historic indictment. Across the cable networks, approximately 5.6 million viewers tuned in for coverage. During the 3pm hour, when Trump was taken into custody and pled not guilty, CNN averaged 1.6 million total viewers, with 287k in the demo and MSNBC averaged 2.3 million viewers, with 311k in the demo. On right-wing talk TV, Fox News averaged 1.7 million total viewers, with 179k in the demo, during the 3pm hour and Newsmax averaged 361k in total viewers and 33k in the demo between the 2pm-4pm hours. In other words, ratings were elevated — but did not really exit the stratosphere either.

► Notably, Fox News and Newsmax saw a ratings boost during the 8pm hour when they aired Trump's speech, but interest in the former president doesn't seem nearly as strong as it once was. 2.4 million viewers watched on Fox and 832k on Newsmax. As Brian Stelter pointed out, "Another way to view the Trump ratings: His heavily-promoted address barely drew a million more than Fox + Newsmax's norm."

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Insider Union

Increases for Insider: It's over. The longest strike in digital media history concluded on Wednesday when Insider and the Insider Union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The union said the deal included a $65,000 salary minimum, in addition to other benefits. A spokesperson for Insider said in a statement, "With this contract, we will continue to offer pay and benefits at the high-end of our industry." The Insider Union said its members will go back to work on Thursday, putting an end to a nearly two-week long battle that at times grew tense with management. The WaPo's Will Sommer and Elahe Izadi have more here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

✂️ Cuts, cuts, cuts: The Onion Union said Wednesday that G/O Media laid off 13 employees, including four who belonged to the union. "We condemn this incredibly callous decision and we will fight for our laid-off colleagues in every way we can." (Twitter)
"Staff and laid-off journalists at LAist ... voiced outrage on Wednesday that layoffs cut 12% of jobs at the organization, while former CEOs raked in over $500,000 per year as recently as 2021," Loree Seitz and Sharon Waxman report. (The Wrap)
"Nearly three dozen U.S. senators wrote a letter to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, expressing their 'profound anger and concern' over his detention by the Russian government," Vivian Salama reports. (WSJ)
Julia Alexander takes a look at David Zaslav's "CNN streaming conundrum." (Puck)
Brian Steinberg writes about the challenges of finding the next chief executive of CNN: "They need someone with an Edward R. Murrow sensibility married with the strategic expertise of Roone Arledge, someone who has journalistic integrity with a flair," says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. (Variety)
Dylan Byers argues that Fred Ryan's near-decade at The WaPo "can be split into two: the Bezos-fueled resurrection years and then the post-Baron, post-Trump malaise." (Puck)
Could Rupert Murdoch make a play to purchase the Spectator? Thomas Seal, Sabah Meddings, and Alex Wickham raise the possibility in this story about how "the sudden prospect of an auction for the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine" has "sparked interest throughout the country's media and financial elite." (Bloomberg)
Ashley Carman reports on how Spotify has taken a "sharp turn" with its podcast division as it "is shifting away from exclusives to capture more ad revenue." (Bloomberg)
"He understands how to play the media": Don't miss Tom Kludt on Aaron Rodgers' press strategy. (Vanity Fair)

MEDIA MOVES

Yahoo hired Ryan Spoon as president of Yahoo Sports. (Variety)
The NYT hired Alexandra Garcia as deputy opinion video editor. (NYT)
The WaPo welcomed Federica Cocco as data reporter. (WaPo)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Taming TikTok: A bipartisan group of five senators reintroduced legislation on Wednesday "that would block companies including TikTok from transferring Americans' personal data to countries such as China, as part of a proposed broadening of US export controls," CNN's Brian Fung reported. The bill is being spearheaded by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis. Fung reported that it would "apply to thousands of companies that rely on routinely transferring data from the United States to other jurisdictions, including data brokers and social media companies." If passed, the legislation would address concerns over the app, without outright banning it. Read Fung's story here.

TOO MANY TABS

A group of 17 music publishers have filed a $250 million lawsuit against Twitter, accusing the company of copyright infringement. (NYT)
Meanwhile: Twitter is being evicted from its Boulder offices after failing to pay rent. (The Denver Post)
The Reddit protest that was initially due to last 48 hours remains ongoing, and the effects are noticeably impacting Google search results. (WaPo)
Meta staffers "are split" on the company's return-to-office mandate, Thomas Maxwell reports. (Insider)
Meta is trying to sweeten the deal for creators, expanding a bonus program related to Facebook posts as companies do their best to lure talent to their platforms. (Engadget)
Meta and Microsoft joined Partnership on AI, a group that's building a foundation that fosters responsible A.I. practices. (Axios)
The E.U. took a step forward toward adopting the E.U. A.I. Act, legislation that seeks to add guardrails to the emerging A.I. sector by banning strains of the technology that creates an "unacceptable level of risk." (WaPo)
Google was served an antitrust complaint by the E.U. on Wednesday, ramping up pressure on the tech giant to divest parts of its lucrative ad-tech business. (NYT)

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

TikTok is currently a breeding ground for conspiracy theories about the Canadian wildfires whose smoke last week engulfed the Northeast, reports MMFA's Ilana Berger. (MMFA)
Jack Dorsey has been hounded by Twitter users since he showed public support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Puck)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Warner Bros. Pictures

Cruise's Call: It's difficult to see how buzz for the much-anticipated DC film "The Flash" can grow any more ahead of its debut — but a Tom Cruise endorsement might just do the trick. In a conversation with GamesRadar's Molly Edwards, director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti confirmed that Cruise saw an advanced screening of the movie and liked it so much that he called the filmmakers and showered them in praise. "It's a very cynical industry, and to hear people that really have no skin in the game, because they have nothing to gain, just say something that lovely – in the case of Tom Cruise, he called us, talked for 15 minutes, praising Andy, praising the film," Barbara said. "The Flash" is eyeing a global box office debut of about $155-165 million. Read Edwards' story here.

► Related: The WaPo's Anne Branigin and Michael Cavna look at how Ezra Miller's "disturbing off-set behavior has created a unique PR problem for Warner/DC."

OFF STAGE

Kevin Spacey said he knows "people right now who are ready to hire me" if he's acquitted in an upcoming U.K. sex assault trial. (THR)
Production on two big superhero projects — "Daredevil: Born Again" and "The Penguin" — has been placed on indefinite hiatus until the conclusion of the WGA strikes. (Deadline)
"It was a kick in the teeth": Tom Holland responds to the very ugly reviews critics have given "The Crowded Room" in a wide-ranging cover piece by Seth Abramovitch for THR. (THR)
Samuel L. Jackson has returned to the MCU in Disney+'s "Secret Invasion" — though the reviews are mixed. (THR)
Apple TV+'s "Silo" was renewed for a second season. (The Wrap)
Carrie Fisher's final film, "Wonderwell," will be released seven years after the actress' passing. (Deadline)
Jason Bateman will direct and star in Netflix's adaptation of David Gauvey Herbert's 2021 Esquire article "Daddy Ball." (Deadline)

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.