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Wednesday, June 28, 2023

You've made it over the hump! A quick housekeeping note: This newsletter is going on its annual summer vacation, starting after this edition. We will be off for the Fourth of July holiday week and then back in your inbox on July 10.

Now, onward to the news: WBD execs plan live CNN programming on Max, NatGeo lays off staffers, Breitbart takes heat from its own readers, TikTok reportedly plans a U.S. online retail shop, Madonna is recovering after an ICU scare, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

In Deep Watters

CNN Photo Illustration/John Lamparski/Getty Images

On a Friday morning in April, Fox News talk host Jesse Watters walked onstage to a room stuffed with hundreds of insurance executives and agents. Watters was the featured speaker at a breakfast for the Big "I" Legislative Conference, the signature annual event hosted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, where he was invited to participate in an interview with the organization's retiring president, Bob Rusbuldt.

Watters — who Fox News this week promoted to the all-important 8pm hour — began his interview with Rusbuldt at the Renaissance Washington hotel as expected. The gathered audience, which included a healthy contingent of conservatives, was excited to see Watters speak. But matters quickly took a turn, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity.

Watters, who has a history of making offensive remarks on Fox News, made a crude comment questioning the gender of Vice President Kamala Harris, the people said. The gross attempt at humor prompted some laughs, but also outrage.

Some executives, many of whom planned to attend a diversity and inclusion luncheon later in the day, squirmed in their seats as a wave of awkwardness washed over the audience. Others walked out of the room and conveyed to the trade association that they were appalled at the behavior exhibited by Watters.

"It was an epic meltdown afterward," one of the people familiar with the matter told me. "The organization went into damage control."

The chat between Watters and Rusbuldt, which continued on after the appalling remark, had immediate consequences. Rusbuldt, who was set to officially retire in August, apologized to those gathered at the diversity-focused luncheon later that day. But ultimately it was not enough to quell the outrage. He was later quietly sidelined from most duties at the insurance organization.

John Costello, the chairman of the association, condemned what transpired onstage with Watters: "The association acted quickly and decisively following the incident, and the interview session conducted at our event does not reflect the culture and values of the Big I," Costello said in a statement.

When asked for comment on Wednesday, a Fox News spokesperson told me that Watters had "no recollection" of the events.

"In fact, the unscripted Q&A he participated in was well received with executives thanking him profusely afterward, enthusiastically taking photos, and presenting him with an award," the network spokesperson said. "He was told it was one of the best talks they've ever held and never received feedback from the organization or his speaking agent after the event."

Regardless, the circumstances surrounding the event are representative of a larger phenomena occurring in America today.

On Fox News, and in the larger right-wing media universe, the degrading comments Watters was said to have spewed onstage are par for the course. The audience, which has become increasingly desensitized to the incendiary rhetoric in recent years, eats it up.

In fact, that affection for Watters and the brand of conservatism that he represents, is borne out in the numbers. Watters is one of Fox News' highest-rated and most visible hosts, and largely why he was promoted this week to the prime time perch previously occupied by Tucker Carlson.

Outside the Fox News bubble, however, Watters and the divisive comments that he peddles for a living are far less popular. In fact, to those outside the right-wing media bubble, questioning the gender of the first female and Black vice president is seen as downright inappropriate and utterly reprehensible. And there are consequences for those who make such remarks.

The events that transpired after Watters' appearance at the insurance breakfast underscores that split in society. "Jesse got promoted," the person familiar with the matter said. "Bob essentially got fired."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/CNN

OutFront on the Frontlines: Erin Burnett has been broadcasting this week from where most anchors don't dare to go. When U.S. anchors visit war-torn Ukraine, they typically broadcast from Kyiv, far from the frontlines. But Burnett, who arrived in Ukraine this week, has been anchoring from Dnipro, which has been repeatedly rocketed by Russian forces and is much closer to the battlefields of the country's devastating war with Russia. In fact, as Burnett explained on her show, the city is obscured in complete darkness after the sun goes down, with street lights even extinguished to conceal potential targets. During broadcasts, viewers can see first-hand the darkness surrounding Burnett. Due to security precautions, only a small amount of light is used to illuminate her face. "Witnessing this is important to me," Burnett told me, adding that she wanted "to see firsthand what is happening in a war we believe is impacting the entire world order."

THE BUSINESS

News to the Max: Warner Bros. Discovery is "planning to add live programming from CNN to the Max streaming service later this year," Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Gerry Smith reported Wednesday. The tentative plan to add live CNN programming to Max, which I confirmed, is still very fluid. As Shaw and Smith noted, "putting news on Max in the US could be complicated" given existing contracts with cable and satellite carriers. But one workaround could be to broadcast CNN International. Or, CNN could create separate live content for Max, as it did for CNN+. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment. Read Shaw and Smith's story here.

Nixed at NatGeo: Is might be time to place National Geographic on the endangered magazines list. "The iconic yellow framed magazine that has chronicled the natural world for more than 100 years, laid off its last remaining staff writers this week," CNN's Liam Reilly reported Wednesday. Reilly noted that "it was unclear how many staffers were cut during the latest round of layoffs at the magazine, but the move comes as parent company Walt Disney Co. has slashed thousands of staffers across its divisions this year." A NatGeo spokesperson said it will continue to publish issues. "Staffing changes will not change our ability to do this work, but rather give us more flexibility to tell different stories and meet our audiences where they are across our many platforms," the spokesperson said. "Any insinuation that the recent changes will negatively impact the magazine, or the quality of our storytelling, is simply incorrect." Reilly has more here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

"Several large news and magazine publishers are discussing the formation of a new coalition to address the impact of artificial intelligence on the industry," Alexandra Bruell reports. (WSJ)
The Committee to Protect Journalists will on Thursday recognize four journalists with its 2023 International Press Freedom Awards. "Attacks on the press are rising, yet journalists continue to step up and report on the vital issues that empower us all," said CPJ chief Jodie Ginsberg. You can stream the awards at 10am ET here.
On the topic of anti-media sentiment: OPEC has prohibited journalists from Reuters, Bloomberg, and the WSJ from attending its oil conference. (Bloomberg)
MSNBC is on a booking streak: On Wednesday, the network hosted Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen is scheduled to appear later in the night; and President Joe Biden will appear for a live one-on-one interview with Nicolle Wallace on Thursday. (MSNBC PR)
Congratulations to Dana Bash who on Wednesday celebrated 30 years at CNN. (Instagram)
Thomson Reuters announced it will purchase digital content asset management company Imagen to help expand its business. (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the wire service's main competitor, the Associated Press, debuted a sleek new website, an undertaking it implemented to attract more advertising. (AdWeek)
The NYT will shut down printing plants in Los Angeles and Buffalo this year and move operations for both locations to Las Vegas and Canton, Ohio, respectively — and shift its print deadline three hours earlier to 5:00 p.m., Erik Wemple reports. (Twitter)
USA Today brought back its list of best-selling books on Wednesday after placing the list on hiatus in December. (AP)
Joe Pompeo reports on how Substack is facing "fresh competition in the newsletter wars." (Vanity Fair)

MEDIA MOVES

Vox Media announced it hired Paige Blankenbuehler as climate editor, Sarah Schweppe as deputy style and standards editor, and Paige Vickers as art director. (Vox Media)
Netflix tapped Wade Davis as head of inclusion; Vernā Myers, the first person to have held the role, will step down after five years. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Jaap Arriens/Sipa USA

Big, Bad Breitbart: The right-wing website Breitbart is facing criticism — from its own readers. On Wednesday, Breitbart editor Matt Boyle published a stunning story that exposed a pro-Ron DeSantis online influencer's series of anti-Semitic messages from years ago. The comments Boyle revealed were unquestionably reprehensible. But Breitbart's readers were not entirely happy with the reporting, blasting the outlet in the comments section. Readers dubbed the story a "hit piece" and even went as far as to characterize Breitbart as the "Thought Crime Police." Mediaite's Phillip Nieto has more here.

Town Hall of Shame: NewsNation on Wednesday night hosted a town hall event with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. where moderator Elizabeth Vargas repeatedly failed to hold the conspiratorial and notorious anti-vaccine candidate accountable in a real way. Kennedy, predictably, used the television platform to spread his usual nonsense on vaccines, prescription drugs, and 5G, among other things. But his unhinged views were met with only minimal pushback from Vargas, who allowed herself on more than one occasion to be steamrolled by Kennedy as he peddled dangerous misinformation to the network's audience. Kennedy did get some tough questions from the audience. But, in totality, the event was a good example of how not to cover Kennedy's long shot bid for the presidency.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Charlotte Klein writes about how the press is still struggling to cover Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s candidacy. (Vanity Fair)
Speaking of which: CNN was sharply criticized on Wednesday over a Jeanne Moos piece on RFK Jr. that glorified the conspiratorial and anti-vaccine candidate for his physique. (Mediaite)
Greg Gutfeld got The NYT profile treatment, with Matt Flegenheimer and Jeremy Peters writing that he has "installed his brand of insult conservatism as the institutional voice for the next generation of Fox News viewer." (NYT)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Alvin Chan/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

TikTok Sets Up Shop: TikTok "is planning to launch an online retail store in the U.S. version of the app as soon as next month, putting the company in direct competition with e-commerce platforms like Amazon," Semafor's Louise Matsakis reported Wednesday. The store, Matsakis reported, will handle logistics and customer service and feature items manufactured in China that range from "kitchen gadgets to toys." But catching up with Amazon won't be easy. As Matsakis pointed out, "To scale its retail shop into a multi-billion dollar business, TikTok will need to invest heavily in warehousing and supply chain management, areas that competitors like Amazon have already mastered." Read more from Matsakis here.

TOO MANY TABS

ChatGPT parent OpenAI has been hit with a class action lawsuit over allegations it misused user data. (CNN)
The Reddit blackout has sent user engagement plummeting, Jagmeet Singh reports. (TechCrunch)
Google has distanced itself from a drag show it sponsored, Jennifer Elias reports. (CNBC)
Mark Zuckerberg racked up a bill of $2.3 million on private jet travel last year. (Fortune)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/odd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images

Madonna's Scary Moment: The Queen of Pop had a scary moment over the weekend. Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, said Wednesday that the singer "developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several day stay in the ICU." Oseary added that "Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected." A source added to CNN that Madonna is out of the ICU now and recovering at home. Regardless, the health scare is impacting Madonna's "Celebration" world tour, which had been scheduled to start next month. Part of it will now be delayed. CNN's Dan Heching has more here.

OFF STAGE

Warner Bros Discovery cemented its new plan for Turner Classic Movies. It has Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson working with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group execs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. (Deadline)
Tom Cruise continued to champion the cinema, urging moviegoers to make a double feature of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," which are both slated to hit theaters in July. (Vulture)
Lily-Rose Depp defended HBO's "The Idol," saying it's meant to be provocative and that she "was never interested in making something puritanical." (Vogue Australia)
Kevin Spacey's U.K. trial over allegations of sexual assault got underway in London on Wednesday. (NYT)
Netflix's "Warrior Nun" is back from the dead and will return for a third season after being canceled in December. (The Wrap)
"Black, White & Blue" marks Tyler Perry's first film project with Amazon Studios. (THR)
The fourth season of FX's "Breeders" will be its last. (THR)
The second trailer for Netflix's "Bird Box Barcelona," starring Sandra Bullock, has arrived. (YouTube)
The teaser trailer for Peacock's three-part docuseries "Orlando Bloom: To The Edge" dropped. (YouTube)
Max released the trailer for its Steven Soderbergh-directed thriller drama "Full Circle." (YouTube)

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 on July 10.