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Thursday, September 21, 2023

Hollywood chiefs and striking writers make more progress, but exit "marathon session" of talks without a deal. Right-wing media whips up anti-immigrant fears, YouTube goes all in on A.I., Russell Brand faces another accusation, and projections indicate Taylor Swift's concert movie will be a smash hit at the box office. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The End of Rupert's Reign

CNN Photo Illustration/Mike Blake/Reuters

Rupert Murdoch's reign over the insidious right-wing media kingdom he forged into existence over a decades-long career spanning the world is finally coming to a close.

The 92-year-old right-wing media mogul, who announced Thursday that he will step down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corporation, will leave behind a monstrous legacy, a stain that cannot be erased and will far outlive the time he spent on the throne of his global media empire.

Through a hazardous cocktail of mis- and disinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright propaganda, Murdoch profited off of fear and division with little apparent regard for warping the public discourse, disfiguring American politics, and imperiling Western democracy.

With his rise to kingmaker in Republican politics and an unflinching eye for infusing news and hyperbole once only found on talk radio, Murdoch tapped into the fears and fantasies of his hungry audience, many of whom were eager to hear their own thoughts fed back to them and now remain detached from reality.

Left in his wake is a deeply polarized society squabbling over culture wars and plagued with mistrust and dysfunction, pulled further to the right by his mouthpieces that have used their platforms to twist and manipulate the truth, leaving the public and its political leaders with a lost sense of trust.

In his letter to staffers announcing his exit Thursday, Murdoch attempted to portray himself as a gladiator who fought "the battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought." Sounding like one of the Fox News pundits on his payroll, Murdoch bashed the "elites" who he portrayed as having "open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class."

"Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth," Murdoch wrote, without any sense of irony.

Murdoch, himself a billionaire many times over who has spent his life rubbing shoulders with society's most elite members, must have known that deep down in his bones he was offering up a fitting description of himself — a man whose companies printed money through the peddling of outrageous narratives aimed at satisfying the thirst of his tragically duped audience.

Murdoch, who personally took great precaution during the pandemic and was later one of the world's first recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine, stood by silently as he handsomely paid his roster of right-wing commentators who promoted lies about the virus and sewed conspiracy theories about the life-saving jabs. The cost of those lies, which was paid in the form of actual human lives who turned to the outlet they entrusted with their own health decisions, might never be fully known, but it was unquestionably too high.

The cost, however, of the election lies that Murdoch's Fox News spread to protect Donald Trump is more easily measurable, courtesy of the mammoth defamation lawsuits brought by voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. Murdoch, who behind the scenes rejected the unhinged rhetoric that was broadcast on his air, paid Dominion a historic $787.5 million to settle and avert a jury trial earlier this year. Fox News still faces the even greater $2.7 billion lawsuit.

The question coursing through media circles in the wake of Murdoch's stunning announcement is: Why now? Why did he decide that Thursday, September 21, 2023, would be the day to announce he would be stepping down and vacating the throne? Murdoch is a strategic thinker and ruthless businessman, who would have given the timing of his exit immense thought.

Is the announcement an indication that Murdoch is attempting to further cement his son, Lachlan, as his successor? Does he believe that naming Lachlan as chairman of both of his companies before his death, whenever that might be, will make it more difficult for his other children to overthrow him upon his passing? Perhaps, Murdoch believes that if he seats Lachlan on the throne and places the crown atop his head, it will eliminate — or at least shrink — the power vacuum that his death is surely to spawn.

Or perhaps there is something else at play. Murdoch said in his note that he is in "robust health." But he is 92, after all, and has slowed down in recent years.

The other question is: How will this transition impact the organization of Murdoch's companies? Murdoch stressed that Lachlan shares his ideological worldview. But the executive ranks of Fox and News Corporations are comprised of Murdoch's own lifelong, loyal lieutenants. Will Lachlan make some changes? Will he empower a new generation?

And the biggest question of all: Does Murdoch have some additional surprises left up his sleeve? Are there more shoes to drop? We will see.

EXIT STAGE RIGHT

Brian Stelter: "Rupert Murdoch famously insisted that he would never retire. ... So today's announcement ... is the closest step toward retirement that he will likely ever take." (The Atlantic)
Jim Rutenberg: "The announcement was nonetheless potentially epochal, signaling at least the formal end to an active career during which Mr. Murdoch built the most important and politically influential media empire on the planet." (NYT)
Jake Tapper at The Texas Tribune Festival: "I'm surprised [by the retirement] because there are still so many lies left to tell. So many people left to confuse. ... Rupert Murdoch ... he is somebody who figured out a long time ago that you can make a lot of money from the fact that news consumer behavior can be driven by fear and rage."
On CNN, Abby Phillip noted that "truth has become optional" in U.S. society, thanks in part to Murdoch. She then played a series of clips showing how exactly he contributed to the poor state of public discourse. (X)
James Poniewozik: "Murdoch's empire used passion and grievance as fuel and turned it into money and power." (NYT)
Sara Ellison: "Murdoch's blending of news and entertainment reshaped the norms of an entire industry. His willingness to use his outlets to advance his political and business interests — most notably with Fox News — made him a figure of admiration and fear, his counsel sought by politicians and business leaders." (WaPo)
Joe Flint and Amos Sharma: "Murdoch is one of a handful of media barons, along with the likes of John Malone, Ted Turner, and Sumner Redstone, who shaped the modern era of media." (WSJ)
Emily Bell: "Say what you like about Rupert Murdoch… he was a strong force for the wholesale denigration of journalistic standards and a key player in weakening western democracy." (X)
Jeff Jarvis: "I wish I could celebrate news of the departure of the single most malign influence in English-speaking democracy, Rupert Murdoch, but I fear Fox will only be worse under son Lachlan & that this is a means to solidify his power before Dad's death." (X)
Margaret Sullivan: "Murdoch's reign at Fox News is over. But the damage he did may last forever." (Guardian)
Paul Farhi: "Rupert Murdoch is many things, but among them is that he's the greatest dealmaker/entrepreneur in the media and entertainment business. Single-handedly built a global empire (TV stations, TV networks, film, newspapers) from his father's Australian newspapers." (X)
Justin Peters: "Murdoch built his empire largely by seeking out unfulfilled market segments and offering the public unfiltered alternatives to mainstream cultural stuffiness." (Slate)
Sara Fischer: Murdoch "built his fortune through a series of pragmatic and ruthless maneuvers that earned him a reputation as one of the most successful dealmakers in the media industry." (Axios)
Tom Gara: "My best Murdoch story: I was at a conference where a reporter from one of his papers met him for the first time. He's passing him in a hallway, says 'Hello Mr Murdoch, my name's XYZ and I work for you.' Murdoch ignores the handshake, keeps walking and says 'everyone works for me.'" (X)
Matt Gertz: "The 92-year-old seems to have engineered a scenario in which he gets to read his obituaries before he dies." (MSNBC)
Kara Swisher: "Prediction: It will be a short reign of the crown prince — after the old man goes, the other siblings will have the con and it will all be sold off (Elon? Right leaning PE firm or media org?)." (X)
Jack Shafer: "Perhaps Murdoch thinks he has enough time left to help Lachlan convince James, Elizabeth and Prudence that the eldest son has dad's chops and vision and should be allowed to pilot the craft." (POLITICO)
George Conway: "A lot's going to depend on the details of Rupert Murdoch's estate plan. But I'm going to out on a bit of a limb here: If his kids can't run this company, it's going to get sold or broken up. And if that happens, it's going to be the most politically consequential M&A deal in history." (X)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Writing a Hollywood Ending: After a ten-hour "marathon session" of negotiations that waded late into the evening, the striking writers and four big studio chiefs — Bob Iger, David Zaslav, Ted Sarandos, and Donna Langley — concluded talks Thursday without a deal. I'm told that more progress was made, but a deal to put the paralyzing work stoppage to an end was simply not hammered out. It's unclear (at least, at the time I am sending this newsletter), when discussions will resume. Time is paramount as there is not much left if the winter-half of the television season is to be salvaged.

HOLLYWOOD HELL

"The point is not to have a resolution as much as to make sure that we have made a deal that protects us … writers in the minimum basic agreement," Jason Bateman said Thursday. (AP)
Ronda Kaysen reported on how writers and actors are struggling to just pay their rent amid the strikes. (NYT)
Lisa Richwine reports on how Hollywood workers have resorted "to flea markets and bake sales" to make ends meet. (Reuters)
The big names in Hollywood continue to offer help: Seth MacFarlane gave $5 million to the Entertainment Community Fund, which seeks to support professionals during the dual strikes. (THR)

THE INDUSTRY

THE FOURTH ESTATE

MSNBC celebrated 15 years of the "Rachel Maddow Show," with a party at Pebble Bar in Manhattan. In attendance: Cesar Conde, Rashida Jones, Joy Reid, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jen Psaki, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, Ayman Mohyeldin, Rebecca Kutler, Isaac Davy-Aaronson, and more. (AdWeek)
The NYT is rolling out enhanced reporter bios "as generative AI begins to creep into the media landscape," Charlotte Klein reports. (Vanity Fair)
CPB is providing $2.25 million to bolster seven public media newsrooms and NPR with statehouse reporting across the country. (Current)
Lucy Morgan, the Tampa Bay Times' longtime Tallahassee bureau chief who investigated corruption and won a Pulitzer, dies at 82. (T.B. Times)

MEDIA MOVES

CNN announced Manu Raju will officially take over as anchor of "Inside Politics Sunday" during Sunday's program. (AdWeek)
CBS News tapped Terri Stewart as senior vice president of domestic newsgathering; Kate Zuckerman as vice president of affiliate relations and special events programming; and Beth Boyle as national and planning editor. (AdWeek)
The Intercept added Adam Gunther and Michael Mann to its board of directors. (Intercept)
Paramount Pictures tapped Brooke Robertson to run global communications. (Deadline)
Christopher Beha resigns as editor of Harper's Magazine; Christopher Carroll is appointed editor. (X)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Fox and Fear: Led by Fox News, the right-wing media machine is using the increase in migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border to whip up anti-immigrant sentiment and bash President Joe Biden. To be clear, the crossings are worthy of news coverage (CNN has coverage here).

But there is a way to cover the humanitarian crisis in a humane way — and that is sadly not reflected in so much of the programming you see on Fox News and elsewhere. Instead, Fox News viewers are being inundated with on-screen banners aimed at inciting fear, such as: "GET READY FOR ANOTHER SURGE OF ILLEGALS." Rather than explaining the various factors that have led to the increase in crossings, Fox News is blaming the issue solely on Biden and portraying him as an "open borders" president. "BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS," is a graphic that regularly is shown on screen to open up segments on the matter.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

🔌 Don't miss my officemate Donie O'Sullivan's special "Waiting for JFK: Report from the Fringe" that will air Sunday at 8pm on CNN, about the followers of a conspiracy theory with ties to QAnon that posits JFK is still alive. Watch the promo here.
Project Veritas "is continuing to operate, but due to various events and circumstances we are making changes in the operations of our organization including laying off additional employees," Project Veritas boss Hannah Giles told Aimee Picchi. (CBS News)
Jack Wheatley chronicles how right-wing media has moved "the goal posts on their Ray Epps conspiracy theories." (MMFA)
Health experts are warning about anti-vaccine misinfo saturating the public discourse: "I can't believe we're talking polio in 2023." (POLITICO)
Charlie Kirk was heckled by a crowd of protesters during a visit at Northern Arizona University, with one person yelling, "F—k you, fascist." (Mediaite)

BRAND BOXED IN

A new woman has come forward saying actor turned right-wing contrarian hero Russell Brand exposed himself to her and then joked about it on his then-BBC radio show. (BBC)
The BBC said it is investigating the claim. (Guardian)
Right-wing video platform Rumble rejected a call from British MPs to demonetize Brand's channel. (Guardian)
Rumble called the request "disturbing." (Forbes)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

YouTube's Machine Mentality: Get ready to see more content created, at least partially, by the machines. YouTube announced Thursday at its annual "Made on YouTube" event that it will roll out several A.I. powered editing tools for creators. One of the features is called Dream Screen, allowing users to harness the technology to create backgrounds for videos. "YouTube is going all in on A.I.," summed up The Verge's Mia Sato. More from Sato.

TOO MANY TABS

Snap says it has five million users enrolled in its subscription service, which represents half of its "medium-term goal." (Bloomberg)
A family is suing Google over a car crash that killed a father after he followed a Maps route that allegedly led him to a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior. Google said it has "the deepest sympathies" for the family and is "reviewing this lawsuit." (CNN)
Two former TikTok employees who are Black accused the company of retaliating against them after they filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination at work. TikTok said it has a record "championing diversity and inclusion." (WaPo)
John Thune is working with Amy Klobuchar on a bill that would mandate tech companies to analyze the effects their A.I. platforms might have and certify the safety of their products. (POLITICO)
Meanwhile, gridlock at the UNGA made it clear that global guardrails for A.I. will likely be a tall order, Ryan Heath points out. (Axios)
Elon Musk said no monkeys died during animal trials for his Neuralink implants, for which he's currently seeking human subjects. But Dhruv Mehrotra and Dell Cameron have the story of how the primates met their grisly ends. (WIRED)
Threads boss Adam Mosseri said the platform is rolling out a way to more easily switch between multiple profiles. (Threads)
Linda Yaccarino deleted a video she posted on X touting upcoming features that also included posts dunking on Musk. (Gizmodo)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Hector Vivas/TAS23/Getty Images

Are You Ready For It?: She's played out to sold out crowds across the country, and now she is ready to do the same in movie theaters. Taylor Swift's concert movie "The Eras Tour" is set to deliver the domestic box office an infusion of much-needed revenue, with the National Research Group projecting it will open to $75 million, THR's Pamela McClintock reported Thursday. Per McClintock, "Many believe the movie will approach or cross $100 million in its launch — one source even suggests $125 million — and note that tracking an offering like this is difficult since concert films aren't the norm." We'll see. My bet is that the record-breaking Swift is set to stun analysts with a massive weekend when she debuts in theaters October 13. Read McClintock's full story here.

OFF STAGE

Lizzo was slapped with a new lawsuit from Asha Daniels, a fashion designer, who alleged the musician fostered a "racially charged and illegal work environment" in New York. (The Wrap)
Ed Townsend, an heir of Marvin Gaye's cowriter on the seminal track "Let's Get It On," announced he's given up on his bid to overturn a May ruling that found that Ed Sheeran did not steal from the song in writing "Thinking Out Loud." (The Wrap)
Sophie Turner hit Joe Jonas with a lawsuit demanding that he return their two children to England. A rep for Jonas said the singer wanted Turner to "reconsider her harsh legal position." (NBC News)
Angus Cloud's cause of death was revealed to be an overdose caused by a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and benzodiazepine. (LAT)
The trailer for "All of Us Strangers," starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, has dropped. (YouTube)
The CW is adding a new 10-episode unscripted true crime series, titled "Crime Nation." (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. You can follow us on Instagram and Threads. We will see you back in your inbox next week.