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Thursday, June 22, 2023

Former President Barack Obama and James Cameron talk about the Titanic submersible, Meta announces it will block news in Canada, Vice Media says it will be acquired by its creditors, Fox News makes edits to wire stories about transgender care, Jake Tapper calls out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., TikTok gets a new public face, and Tom Cruise looks to make "Mission: Impossible" history at the box office. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Protecting the Press

CNN Photo Illustration/Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Journalists could soon enjoy greater protections under federal law.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen united this week to reintroduce the Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act, or as it is more commonly known, the PRESS Act.

The legislation, which passed the House last year but did not get a vote in the Senate, would safeguard journalists in two important ways. First, it would prevent the government from compelling reporters from being forced to disclose their sources. Second, it would ensure that important data held by a third party, such as a phone or internet company, cannot be seized without notice and providing the ability to challenge the move in court.

"The PRESS Act is the strongest federal shield bill for journalists we've ever seen," Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement. "Its definition of journalist is broad, its exceptions are narrow and targeted, and it restricts subpoenas directed not only to journalists but to their phone and email providers."

The PRESS Act enjoys broad support in the journalism community, with strong endorsements from a number of trade organizations that represent most major news organizations, including the News/Media Alliance, Radio Television Digital News Association, and National Association of Broadcasters. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union have also backed the legislation.

The move to tighten protections for journalists comes after the Department of Justice, under disgraced former President Donald Trump, secretly seized records from reporters at news organizations, including CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

In the aftermath of the revelations of the secret seizures, Attorney General Merrick Garland adopted formal regulations prohibiting such actions, leaving a carveout for only very exceptional circumstances. But those rules, adopted by the DOJ, could be reversed under another administration. The PRESS Act would solve for that by enshrining protections into federal law.

"In a world where information is power, the role of reporters as truth-seekers and watchdogs cannot be understated," Republican Sen. Mike Lee, one of the lawmakers who reintroduced the bill, said in a statement. "Recent events, however, have cast a chilling shadow over their pursuits. Law-enforcement agencies have resorted to clandestine tactics, subpoenaing emails and phone records in an effort to unmask confidential sources."

"Not only is this legislation imperative to shield journalists from unnecessary government surveillance, but it is also necessary to protect the public's right to access information, hold their elected officials accountable, and actively participate in representative government," Lee added. "We must seize this opportunity and ensure that the Fourth Estate remains an indomitable force in its quest for truth."

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, another one of the lawmakers who helped reintroduce the bill, noted that "unnecessary surveillance of journalists makes it harder to bring waste, fraud and abuse to light, by scaring off sources and reporters who are essential to a well-functioning democracy."

"Spying on reporters to learn the identity of their sources," Wyden added, "is a finger in the eye of the First Amendment."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Darren Bull/CNN

Obama Opines: In an interview about the state of democracy airing Thursday night on CNN, former President Barack Obama spoke to Christiane Amanpour about a wide range of issues — including the Titanic submersible that captured the attention of the world. Obama said that he understood the reason for the interest and "24-hour coverage" but noted that other tragedies do not get similar levels of attention.

"At the same time, right here, in Athens, just off the coast of Greece, we had 700 people that — 700 migrants who were apparently being smuggled into here, and we've made news, but it's not dominating in the same way," Obama said, referencing a tragic instance in which hundreds of migrants drowned when their boat sunk. "And in some ways, it's indicative of the degree to which people's life chances have grown so disparate. It's very hard to sustain a democracy when you have such massive concentrations of wealth."

THE SIDEBAR

NewsNation defended itself after it was criticized for airing a countdown clock until the Titan sub ran out of air: "The oxygen levels on the Titan submersible have always been an essential and important part of this story. Multiple media outlets have published or aired stories tracking the remaining oxygen on the Titan as the search continued." (NY Post)
A documentary on the submersible from Channel 5 in the U.K. that aired Thursday has drawn mixed reactions from viewers, with some saying it was being broadcast "too soon." (Independent)
Stephen Rodrick: "Missing Titanic sub coverage has been exploitive, but did it need to be?" (Variety)
"The exploitative coverage of the death and terror unfolding in real time has only been compounded by the public's reaction on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram," Jessica Gelt wrote. (LAT)
James Cameron weighed in during ABC News' special coverage: "I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result." (ABC News)
Cameron later told Anderson Cooper that he contacted sources in the deep submergence community when he heard about the missing vessel and concluded Monday that it had imploded. (CNN)
"CBS Sunday Morning" correspondent David Pogue, who reported on the Titan sub a year ago in a now-viral piece, reflected to Jake Tapper on his experience with the vessel: "Imagine a tubular minivan." (Twitter)

Canceling News in Canada: Canadians soon might not be able to get their news on Facebook or Instagram. Parent company Meta said Thursday that "news availability will be ended" on its platforms after the country's parliament approved the Online News Act, legislation that will require Big Tech giants to pay news publishers. It's not clear when the changes will take effect. Meta made a similar move when Australia passed a similar law in 2021, but that situation was ultimately resolved. CBC's Jessica Mundie has more here.

► Not just Meta: Google has called the legislation "unworkable" and said it is "doing everything we can to avoid an outcome that no one wants." That said, the Silicon Valley titan has said, "So far, none of our concerns have been addressed."

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press/AP

Vice's Value: Vice Media, the once-high flying digital media company valued at billions of dollars, is set to be acquired out of bankruptcy by three investment companies, including Fortress Investment Group, for $350 million. The acquisition of the one-time media powerhouse by its three creditors is set to take place after Vice said it received no other satisfactory bids as it explored a sale. A judge will need to sign off on the deal and a hearing is scheduled for Friday. Here's my full story.

🔎 Zooming in: Vice co-chief executives Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala wrote staffers in a memo: "Under new ownership we look forward to a new chapter in VMG's history, with a renewed focus and commitment to creating world-class content for our audiences and partners."

IN THE INDUSTRY

Evan Gershkovich loses his appeal in Russia against a pre-trial detention on spying charges, which he and The WSJ vehemently deny. (CNN)
Senior White House officials said President Biden would discuss press freedom with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in private meetings, but would not commit to intervening in the case of jailed Defense News contributor Vivek Raghuvanshi. (Defense News)
The NYT and Taylor Lorenz have failed to get a lawsuit tossed out from a former TikTok agent who sued over a 2020 story. (NY Post)
Lester Holt talks to Brian Stelter about what he has learned in his career and life: "You can't hammer people for half an hour with nothing but dark, difficult stories. You have to find a balance." (Esquire)
MSNBC boss Rashida Jones says that the progressive cable news network aims to "meet people where they are" in terms of platforms where content is consumed. (Variety)
Des Moines TV station KCCI chief meteorologist Chris Gloninger quits after receiving death threats over climate crisis coverage. (DM Register)
Bloomberg laid off about 10 journalists, Lucia Moses reports. (Insider)
Warner Bros. Discovery "fears for its future" in Poland, where it operates a news network, Max Goldbart reports. (Deadline)
Speaking of WBD: Jem Aswad reports via sources that the company is "negotiating to sell around half of the storied Warner studio's film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million." (Variety)
Peacock inked an ad deal with Match Group — which owns Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, and other dating platforms — and will offer three-months of free streaming to dating app users. (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

The Motion Picture Association named Hunter Paletsas its new CFO. (THR)
After 50 years, Bloomberg senior editor Paula Dwyer announced her retirement. (Talking Biz News)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Foxifying the News: It appears that Fox News may be violating usage agreements it has with the Associated Press and Reuters. The progressive watchdog Media Matters found a number of instances in which the right-wing outlet has altered stories from the wire services to replace terms related to transgender care. Fox News switched "the phrase 'gender-affirming care' with the terms 'sex change' or 'sex reassignment' — phrases that the AP, trans journalists, and LGBTQ rights advocates deem outdated — and frequently removing or replacing references to 'care' or 'medical care,'" Mia Gingerich reported Thursday. The edits have even gone as far as to include modifying a quote from a public official. Fox News spokespeople did not provide a comment Thursday about the matter. Read Gingerich's full report here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

"The two leading GOP presidential contenders had very different interview experiences with Fox News in the past week — each an illustration of the influence that even a damaged Fox has over the Republican nominating process," David Bauder reports. (AP)
Tapper's takedown: Jake Tapper writes that conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "told a wild and false story" about him from 2005: "The truth about it is instructive because of how untethered he is to facts." (CNN)
ProPublica Editor-In-Chief Stephen Engelberg questions The WSJ after the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet allowed Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to author a prebuttal in its opinion pages: "We're curious to know whether The Journal fact-checked the essay before publication. We strongly reject the headline's assertion that 'ProPublica Misleads Its Readers,' which the piece declared without anyone having read the article and without asking for our comment." (Mediaite)
The WSJ editorial board, meanwhile, doubled down on its actions and attacked ProPublica for supposedly "slanted" reporting. (POLITICO)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Tom Brenner/Reuters

TikTok's New Team: The public face of TikTok in the U.S., chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas, is departing the company after spending years attempting to navigate the company through stormy waters. The news was broken via a memo sent to staff from chief executive Shou Zi Chew, who said Pappas will "refocus" on "entrepreneurial passions," but continue to consult for the social media app. As part of the Thursday announcement, TikTok said that Adam Pressler, a former WarnerMedia executive, will become head of operations. And, notably, TikTok said Zenia Mucha, a former Disney executive and Bob Iger lieutenant, will be appointed chief brand and communications officer. CNN's Brian Fung has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Reddit moderators continued to rebel against their platform by marking their pages NSFW, or not safe for work. (TechCrunch)
Microsoft began proceedings before a federal judge, arguing why the company ought to be allowed to purchase Activision Blizzard for $75 billion as the FTC attempts to block the deal via a lawsuit. (WSJ)
Discord chief Jason Citron called child abuse issues "horrifying" after an investigation by NBC News reporter Ben Goggin revealed predators were lurking on the platform. (NBC News)
Twitter's new chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, stepped in to mend a rift between the social media company and Google after it neglected to pay its bills. Twitter is now covering its tab. (WSJ)
Twitter has been ordered to explain to Australian authorities what it's doing to actively curb online hate in light of the significant climb in "toxicity and hate" during Elon Musk's tenure as boss. (WaPo)
Three years after Facebook announced it would lean on A.I. to help sift through reports that flag violative content, the Meta-owned company is still unable to review all problematic posts, Ina Fried reports. (Axios)
A Stanford study indicated that available A.I. platforms are do not comply with the E.U.'s Artificial Intelligence Act. (Axios)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Paramount

Tom Cruise's Target: Mission, possible? Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One" is eying an opening weekend in the $90 million range for its first five days at the box office — which would represent a record for the hit franchise. Cruise, one of the final remaining action stars with the ability to draw large audiences into the theater, will heavily promote the film ahead of its July 12 opening. Earlier this week, Cruise appeared at the movie's world premiere in Rome and vowed to do everything he can to help cinemas, which have been struggling in recent years with the increasing popularity of streaming services and the habit changes prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

OFF STAGE

Representatives from the Directors Guild of America contacted by Variety were "overwhelmingly voting yes" on their new contract, Gene Madders reports. (Variety)
It's over: Kesha and Dr. Luke have ended their long-running, bitter legal battle with an out-of-court settlement. (Billboard)
Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the hit TV series "Yellowstone," said in an interview with THR that he was "disappointed" by Kevin Costner's choice to leave the show ahead of its conclusion. (LAT)
Paul Simon sold a "substantial stake" of his music catalog to BMG, including royalty income from Simon & Garfunkel content. (Variety)
Sarah Snook, known for playing Siobhan 'Shiv' Roy on "Succession," will portray all 26 roles in a two-hour stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" slated to open in January 2024 on London's Theatre Royal Haymarket for 12 weeks. (Deadline)
A24 dropped its first teaser trailer for Sofia Coppola's upcoming film about Priscilla Presley, titled "Priscilla." (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 next week.