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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Follow us on Threads! Then, scroll down for the latest on SAG-AFTRA's negotiations with the major Hollywood studios, what Tucker Carlson told me when I pressed him on his softball interview with Andrew Tate, when Adam Mosseri says users should expect updates to Threads, and how Christopher Nolan says the Trinity bomb scene was filmed for "Oppenheimer." But first, the A1.

THE A1

BBC Digs In Its Backyard

CNN Photo Illustration/Stefan Rousseau/PA Images/Getty Images

The BBC is ensnared in scandal — and its reporters are not shying away from covering it.

On Tuesday, the British news organization broke news that a second young person had come forward to accuse one of its anchors — who still remains unnamed — of inappropriate behavior. The BBC reported that the person, whom the outlet described as in their 20s, was threatened by the host on an online dating app.

The news came amid explosive allegations that the same BBC anchor paid a young person starting at age 17 for explicit photos. In a twist, a lawyer for that young person on Monday denied the BBC host had done any wrongdoing and described the allegations as "rubbish."

The scandal has unquestionably created a difficult atmosphere at the iconic British broadcaster, entangling it in a major controversy that is distracting from the important journalism the outlet regularly produces.

But it has also put on display the BBC's commitment to holding itself to the same standards it holds others organizations. Its reporters have aggressively covered the unfolding story and the institution has spotlighted it, even sending out push alerts on the developments.

In fact, in its efforts to be as transparent as possible, the BBC has even gone as far as to openly explain to readers how it goes about reporting on itself.

"With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organization the news service reports on," it said in a note appended to stories on the matter. "And like with any other organization, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC press office for official statements."

The note continues, "Occasionally BBC journalists approach senior managers for unplanned interviews - known as 'doorsteps' in the news business. They sometimes also get offered interviews with management ... And when this happens, they know they will be scrutinized within and outside the BBC over how well they hold their boss to account."

The unbridled transparency from the BBC's journalists comes in stark contrast to other outlets that have recently been tasked with covering their own organization's struggles, including Fox News, which all but muzzled its own media reporter from covering the historic Dominion Voting Systems defamation case.

But as polls show the public questioning its trust in the traditional news media and outlets come under relentless attacks from bad faith actors and political figures, news outlets not only have a duty to report the truth — wherever it may lead — but to be unflinching in their commitment to transparency.

THE SIDEBAR

"People are incredibly sad": Jake Kanter offers a behind the scenes look at the BBC as it remains embroiled in scandal. (Deadline)
Some broadcasters, including Piers Morgan and Jeremy Vine, are calling on the unnamed BBC anchor to name themselves. (Independent)
Jim Waterson reports that The Sun is privately "distancing itself" from a key allegation made in its original story about the allegations against the BBC anchor. (Guardian)
"If the BBC presenter story teaches us anything, it should be the pitfalls of rushing to judgment," writes Jane Martinson. (Guardian)
The BBC said police asked the outlet to "pause" its probe into the BBC presenter as law enforcement looks into the matter. (THR)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA/AP

A Second Strike?: Hollywood is — once again — holding its breath. The major studios are facing the possibility of another strike, this one from SAG-AFTRA members, if a deal is not hammered out before Wednesday night, when the extended contract expires. The scenario would mark the first time both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have been on strike at the same time in 63 years and effectively bring Hollywood to an absolute standstill, with studios unable to make progress on script production or filming without writers and actors. The stalemate has now prompted negotiators to bring in a mediator to resolve the deadlock. We'll see what happens in the next 24 hours. The L.A. Times' Anousha Sakoui has more.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Jae C. Hong/AP

An Uncovered Vice: Vice Media paid some of its executives hefty compensation packages as the company went bankrupt, Motherboard reporter Joseph Cox reported, citing court records he pulled. "It's worse than I thought," Cox commented. According to the filing Cox posted, senior executives were making packages between $700-900K a year. The disclosure of their pay led the WGA to release a statement, expressing fury: "We've now learned that on the same day that Union members were laid off, Vice's management shamelessly rewarded themselves with nearly a million dollars in bonus pay. We are outraged." The Wrap's Natalie Korach has more here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

The Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, more commonly known as the "billionaires summer camp," commenced on Tuesday, with A.I. and streaming among the top topics. (Bloomberg)
Programming note: Bob Iger will speak with CNBC's David Faber from Sun Valley on Thursday, during the 8am hour of "Squawk Box." (CNBC)
Disney "is exploring strategic options for its Star India business, including a joint venture or a sale, a sign of strain at one of the premier properties it acquired from Fox," Jessica Toonkel, Joe Flint, and Lauren Thomas report. (WSJ)
The nonprofit National Trust for Local News "will buy 22 papers in Maine, including The Portland Press Herald and The Sun Journal of Lewiston," Katie Robertson reports. (NYT)
Morning Brew is ending its personal finance newsletter, Money Scoop, which boasted 350,000 unique subscribers, The NYT's Benjamin Mullin reported. The decision will affect three employees. (Twitter)
HuffPost announced it's launching "Indigenous Voices," a new vertical that will feature stories of Indigenous peoples. (Business Wire)
Jake Tapper wrote about why he decided to set his latest novel, "All the Demons Are Here," in the 1970s, even though he was initially "reluctant" to do so. (CNN)
Tapper also spoke to Colby Hall about the media factor in his book: "1977 was also the Summer of Sam. So it was also a huge opportunity for tabloid journalism to rise in this country. And I read a lot about Rupert Murdoch, who obviously is not just a huge figure today, but was rising back then in 1977, and tried to understand his philosophy of news media." (Mediaite)

MEDIA MOVES

The WaPo announced Alex MacCallum as chief revenue officer (WaPo)
The WaPo hired Vineet Khosla as chief technology officer. (WaPo)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/zz/GOTPAP/STAR MAX/IPx/AP

Tucker and Tate: Twitter vlogger Tucker Carlson is standing by his decision to lie about the charges that fellow right-wing extremist vlogger Andrew Tate faces in Romania. During the latest episode of his show Tuesday, Carlson interviewed Tate at length (the episode is 2.5 hours!), allowing the misogynistic online personality to brazenly mislead his audience about the crimes he is accused of. At one point during the chat, Carlson went as far as to declare that Tate was "not accused of a sex crime" and "not actually accused of rape." But that's simply not true. Tate has been indicted on human trafficking and rape charges by authorities in Romania.

When I pointed this out to Carlson via text on Tuesday evening, the former Fox News host asked me if I had seen the charges and knew who Tate was accused of raping. I told him that I had seen the press release announcing the charges, to which Carlson claimed I had "zero facts" and added, "A Romanian press release is enough for you. That's journalism?" (It's worth noting here that Carlson has made wild assertions based on far flimsier material.)

I asked Carlson whether he seriously believed it was journalistically wise to ignore what authorities are publicly saying, to which Carlson answered, "If you think a government press release is all you need for a story, you ought to be in another business." I told Carlson I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but that it was strange he did not push back against Tate. Why not note what the authorities have publicly said? Carlson replied, "I don't take anyone's word for anything. But accusing someone of a sex crime without naming the supposed victim is libel and it's also immoral. But you don't care because you dislike his politics. You are not a journalist. You're a liar."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Tucker Carlson will on Friday host "The Family Leadership Summit," a Blaze Media presidential forum in Iowa where he'll speak with five candidates, though Donald Trump won't be one. (The Wrap)
Rupert Murdoch has been privately "voicing his doubts and frustrations" about Ron DeSantis' campaign, Diana Falzone, Asawin Suebsaeng, and Adam Rawnsley report. (Rolling Stone)
"If RFK Jr. is a conspiracy theorist, why does he get so much press?" asks Joan Vennochi. (Boston Globe)
Mike Lindell has begun to auction "surplus equipment" after the company's annual sales dropped following several retailers' decision to sever ties with the company over its executive's false election claims, Briana Bierschbach and Brooks Johnson report. (Star Tribune)
Chris Cuomo will interview Geraldo Rivera on his NewsNation show Thursday for his first sit-down since exiting Fox News amid a feud with Greg Gutfeld. (The Hill)
Correction: The previous edition of this newsletter incorrectly stated the date in which Maria Bartiromo's interview with Donald Trump will air. It will air this Sunday.

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Threading the Needle: The 105-million strong Threads community will see some much-desired updates soon, perhaps as early as this week. Adam Mosseri, the Meta executive overseeing the fledgling social platform, said Tuesday that while the team has been "entirely focused on keeping the lights on and fixing bugs," it is "starting to prioritize the obvious missing features, like a following feed, an edit button, and post search." Mosseri said the Threads team is "pumped to start shipping improvements this week."

► Axios' Sara Fischer also reported that Threads will soon introduce branded content tools for marketers.

► What free speech? Over on Twitter, Elon Musk is censoring users in search who post Threads URLs.

TOO MANY TABS

Meta "has made cuts to its teams that tackle disinformation and coordinated troll and harassment campaigns on its platforms," Donie O'Sullivan reports. (CNN)
Microsoft saw a significant win after a San Francisco federal judge denied the FTC's motion for a preliminary injunction that sought to block the company's purchase of Activision Blizzard — though the tech giant isn't completely out of the woods yet. (CNN)
Microsoft also announced it will cut additional jobs, just months after it axed 10,000 positions in its last round of layoffs. (NBC News)
Discord is adding parental oversight options, including allowing parents to see who their kids are befriending, the number of users they've called, and the different communities they've joined. (WSJ)
Google has ditched plans for an A.I.-powered chatbot app for Gen Z users that featured a cartoon-like character, Jennifer Elias reports. (CNBC)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Laurent Vu/Sipa/AP

Nolan Talks 'Oppenheimer': With only weeks until the much-anticipated "Oppenheimer" hits theaters, director Christopher Nolan is starting the press tour. Nolan spoke to The LAT's Kenneth Turan about the making of the film, which he described as less biography and more "thriller." Nolan dished on shooting the scene where an atomic bomb goes off. He said he couldn't shoot it at the site where the actual first test took place, even though parts of the movie were filmed at historic locations, though it was shot nearby. "I've done big explosions before — they are always slightly unnerving, and I knew the Trinity explosion would be so much the extreme of that, the tension for the actors would increase unimaginably," Nolan said. "It was thrilling, enervating, an unfathomable sequence." Read more in Turan's full story.

OFF STAGE

Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Uzi Vert dethroned Morgan Wallen on Billboard's top single and album categories, respectively, with Rodrigo's "Vampire" knocking out Wallen's "Last Night" and Lil Uzi Vert's "Pink Tape" ousting Wallen's "One Thing at a Time." (NYT)
Sales for tickets to Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour in France were halted by Ticketmaster after a glitch caused by overwhelming demand. (NYT)
Britney Spears' memoir, "The Woman in Me," will hit bookshelves on Oct. 24. (Vulture)
The first trailer for Paul King's "Wonka," which tells the origin story of Roald Dahl's iconic chocolatier and his ascent in the world of sweets, has dropped. (YouTube)
Disney+ released the trailer for its upcoming Star Wars series, "Ahsoka." (YouTube)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is looking into 10 filmmaking contributions ahead of its upcoming SciTech Awards. (THR)

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.