Friday is near. Fox News and the "wannabe dictator" chyron writer have cut ties, Christine McCarthy is stepping down at Disney, Reddit is still facing protests, Nexstar has opened a probe into a Michigan station, and Showtime says "Billions" will conclude with its seventh season. But first, the A1. |
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CNN Photo Illustration/Desiree Rios/The New York Times/Redux |
Fox News is on the verge of settling another major lawsuit. Abby Grossberg, the former network producer who filed an explosive complaint against the company in March, is in the final stages of ironing out a settlement with the company, I'm told. The settlement will mark the fourth case in a string of lawsuits that the billionaire owners of Fox News, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, have moved to put an end to in recent months. The Murdochs, facing scrutiny on a number of fronts, have sought to disentangle themselves from a web of legal threats. Representatives for both Grossberg and Fox News declined to comment on Thursday. While the deal is close to being finalized, last-minute hiccups are always possible. The terms of the agreement are not known. Grossberg, a former top producer for the right-wing hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, made a series of stunning claims against the network in a lawsuit filed in March just as Dominion Voting Systems' historic defamation case was careening toward trial. Among many of the bombshell allegations included in her complaint was the charge that Fox News lawyers coerced her into providing misleading testimony when she was deposed as part of Dominion's billion-dollar lawsuit. She later accused Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott of being complicit in the alleged coercion and claimed Fox's lawyers deleted messages from her phone. Grossberg also made a number of eye-popping allegations about the workplace environment at Fox News, accusing the network of rampant sexism. Fox News previously said that Grossberg's lawsuit was "riddled with false allegations." The network repeatedly insisted that its lawyers always acted appropriately. Regardless, Grossberg's eleventh-hour lawsuit unquestionably changed the course of Dominion's case against Fox News, which ultimately settled for an unprecedented $787 million. Grossberg revealed that Fox News had not turned over some evidence related to Dominion's lawsuit, prompting the judge's ire and the appointment of a special master to investigate whether Fox News had followed the court's orders. The malfeasance alleged by Grossberg contributed to some of the judge's decisions that made it far more difficult for the company to argue its case in court. In May, Lachlan Murdoch told investors that such decisions by the judge contributed to Fox News' decision to settle the lawsuit with Dominion. Smartmatic, another election technology company suing Fox News, has also subpoenaed Grossberg to testify in its case against the network. How much Fox News ultimately agrees to pay Grossberg to end the ugly dispute remains to be seen. But it may become public at some point in time, given that New York law makes it exceptionally difficult for settlements of employment lawsuits containing sexual harassment claims to to remain entirely confidential. |
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CNN Photo Illustration/Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images |
Chyron Catastrophe: The fallout stemming from Fox News' outrageous chyron calling President Joe Biden a "wannabe dictator" just won't end. On Thursday, the fired Fox News host-turned-extremist vlogger Tucker Carlson said that Fox News and the author of the on-screen banner had severed ties. Carlson, who made the disclosure in his latest Twitter video, said that the chyron writer was a veteran of the company. Spokespeople for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. |
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- Fox News isn't just taking fire from Tucker Carlson. Right-wing Daily Wire personality Matt Walsh on Thursday posted purported internal documents showing the company encourage employees to celebrate Pride. While Walsh is attacking the network from the right, the documents he posted do raise a good question: Why is Fox targeting other businesses and the White House for the same behavior it is engaged in? (Twitter)
- Tommy Christopher obtained emails showing deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates rip Fox News for attacking the White House for flying an LGBTQ flag that it also used to celebrate Pride month: "Will Fox News retract their hateful, debunked lie of a story, or will they issue a statement condemning themselves for covering their own logo in literally the same flag? Which is it?" (Mediaite)
- Fox Corporation has revealed it now has a $1 billion credit agreement with a group of banks. The news, of course, comes months after the company settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 billion. (THR)
- Former Fox executive Preston Padden: "Is it time for the FCC to take a close look at Rupert Murdoch's licenses?" (Daily Beast)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Michael Kovac/Getty Images |
McCarthy's Move: Disney is losing one of its most revered executives. Chief financial officer Christine McCarthy will step down from her role and take a family medical leave of absence, the company said Thursday. "Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America," Bob Iger said in a statement, "and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated." Effective July 1, in the interim period, Disney said that Parks, Experiences, and Products CFO Kevin Lansberry will step in. CNN's Samantha Delouya has more. |
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- The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act advanced in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 14-7. The legislation would allow newsrooms to collectively bargain against Big Tech. (CNN)
- HarperCollins and KKR "are among the bidders for Simon & Schuster as the book publisher pursues a sale for the second time in three years," Jessica Toonkel and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg report. (WSJ)
- Bankrupt Vice Media is in talks to sell all of its assets to GoDigital, The WSJ's Alexander Saeedy reports.. (WSJ)
- The Guardian announced that it will ban advertising from the gambling industry, saying that it is unethical to accept money from organizations that can lead people to "addiction and financial ruin." (Guardian)
- Insider's top editor, Nicholas Carlson, sent a candid email to staff about the severe headwinds the outlet faces. Carlson said traffic, subscriptions, and video views are down at the outlet, portraying Insider as battling a "perfect storm" of "giant forces" beyond its control. Carlson said he expects employees to soon use A.I. to give the outlet a competitive advantage. Semafor's Max Tani has the memo here. (Twitter)
- To that end, Sophie Culpepper writes: "A.I. will soon be able to cover public meetings. But should it?" (NiemanLab)
- News junkies are turning "to TikTok to chart new paths in media," Magali Druscovich and Sheila Dang report. (Reuters)
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- The NYT named Rachel Dry editor of the "Run-Up" podcast. (NYT)
- POLITICO announced Dustin Gardiner as writer of its new flagship newsletter in California; Melanie Mason as senior politics reporter; and Jeremy B. White as senior reporter. (POLITICO)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/Shutterstock | No Reprieve for Reddit: The Reddit blackout that was only supposed to last for 48 hours is still going strong. "More than 5,000 subreddits have continued staying dark in protest of incoming changes to Reddit's API pricing policies," Forbes' Antonio Pequeño reported Thursday. The ongoing blackout was accompanied on Thursday by a partial outage, Mashable's Tim Marcin also reported. Suffice to say, it hasn't been a great week for the tech company hoping to put this API protest behind it. |
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- Meta's A.I. chief said that the technology will advance by leaps and bounds but is, at this current stage, just barely smarter than a dog. (CNBC)
- Alphabet warned employees against offering confidential material to A.I. chatbots — including the company's own, Bard. (Reuters)
- Yet another godfather of A.I. has come forward to say the job loss phase catalyzed by such programs won't last forever, adding that fears A.I. will eradicate humanity are "preposterously ridiculous." (BBC)
- Meta announced that Instagram's Channels feature will now be available to all users, not just creators and users. (TechCrunch)
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Pride and Prejudice: Nexstar on Thursday said that it is conducting an investigation after a leaked memo at a Michigan station said journalists need to "get both sides" on LGBTQ issues when covering Pride events because of their "polarizing" nature in the local community. "We're looking into the situation at WOOD-TV, as the communication regarding the station's coverage of PRIDE month activities in the area is not consistent with Nexstar's values, the way we cover the news, or the respect we have for our viewers," the company said in a statement. Nexstar added that it will "take appropriate action as necessary to address this situation" and said that it "apologize[s] for offending members of the LGBTQ community and WOOD-TV's viewers." | |
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- Elon Musk's Twitter suspended the account belonging to one of his prominent critics, Aaron Greenspan. (CNBC)
- GLAAD said that, under Musk, Twitter is "the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people." (NBC News)
- Ari Drennen writes about how the "edge lords" at The Daily Wire are being hit with YouTube strikes and suspensions. (MMFA)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Mark Seliger/SHOWTIME |
Bye-Bye, 'Billlions': Another prestige-TV series exploring power and corruption is coming to an end. Showtime officially announced Thursday that its acclaimed show "Billions" will conclude with a seventh season. The final season will consist of 12 episodes and debut August 11. Variety's Joe Otterson has more here.
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- HBO pushed back against a Page Six story that suggested "The Idol" will not be renewed: "It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined," HBO said. "It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night." (Twitter)
- Bill Cosby has been hit with a new sexual assault lawsuit from several women. (CNN)
- Pat Sajak, who hosted "Wheel of Fortune" for over 40 years, announced he will serve as the board chairman for Hillsdale College, a conservative Michigan school. (WDIV)
- Wes Anderson says his forthcoming Netflix project, "Henry Sugar," is only about 37 minutes long: "It's not a feature film." (IndieWire)
- Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen said "there's always a chance" he might reprise the role of Hannibal Lecter. (Deadline)
- The "Incredible Hulk" is — finally — heading to Disney+. (Variety)
- "Argylle," the thriller starring Henry Cavill, will be released in theaters ahead of its ultimate landing at AppleTV+. (The Wrap)
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| 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 next week. |
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