Received this email from a friend? Subscribe here.

Monday, October 16, 2023

Reuters calls for Israel to investigate killing of its videographer, CNN launches two new shows, Fox's top lawyer blasts the Dominion judge, Jim Jordan gets some help from Sean Hannity, LinkedIn conducts more layoffs, Taylor Swift smashes the opening weekend record for a concert film, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Peacock Shows Its Feathers

CNN Photo Illustration/Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

NBC News is uniting with a pair of strange bedfellows for the third Republican Party primary debate.

The Republican National Committee on Monday formally announced that it will partner with the Peacock network to host the Miami face-off, along with the Salem Radio Network and Rumble, two right-wing media companies that have a history peddling and profiting off extremist rhetoric.

It's no surprise that the GOP, which veered sharply to the right during Donald Trump's presidency, would select Salem and Rumble as partners. But it is striking that NBC News would agree to link arms with such organizations.

Before Trump upended America's politics, Salem was a run-of-the-mill conservative media organization. It used to be most well known for owning conservative publications such as RedState and syndicating "The Hugh Hewitt Show." CNN even partnered with the company for four GOP debates in 2016.

But, like so many facets of the GOP, the company has legitimized radical voices in recent years. In 2023, it is defined by a stable of MAGA Media personalities, such as Charlie Kirk, Dinesh D'Souza, Sebastian Gorka, and Jenna Ellis — right-wing figures who have espoused incendiary views, pushed dangerous conspiracy theories, and told outright lies about the 2020 election.

In recent months, Kirk has, for instance, called for President Joe Biden, whom he declared a "tyrant," to actually be "put in prison and/or given the death penalty for crimes against Americas." And as recently as last week he baselessly suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had allowed Hamas terrorists to attack the Jewish state and murder innocent Israelis in a bid to solidify his power.

That is merely a taste of the radical rhetoric that is being mainstreamed to the American public by Salem, which distributes its programming to more than 2,000 radio stations across the country. It would be impossible to print an exhaustive list of the insidious comments that Salem's hosts have peddled to their audiences in recent years. The rhetoric goes well beyond espousing traditional conservative viewpoints and sails into far-flung, dark and stormy seas, once a place that few ever ventured.

Rumble is no better.

The video-sharing website has become home to the far-right, offering unsavory figures who have been banned from mainstream platforms such as YouTube a space to continue poisoning the public information well. And, not only has the company allowed some of the most menacing forces in politics to maintain sizable platforms, but it has also allowed them to earn treasure in doing so.

Andrew Tate, the far-right misogynistic alpha male influencer charged with human trafficking and rape in Romania, has privately boasted that he has a $9 million deal with Rumble, as we reported earlier this year. And Rumble has even allowed the Holocaust denier and openly racist Nick Fuentes the ability to profit off of his neo-Nazi rhetoric.

When I asked NBC News on Monday if the network was actually comfortable collaborating on the third GOP debate with Salem and Rumble, given each company's history, a spokesperson declined comment. But a person familiar with the matter told me that Kirk will not be on stage, and that Hewitt is likely to be the co-moderator alongside NBC News anchors.

Regardless, the matter shines a spotlight on the difficulty news organizations are facing as they attempt to work with the GOP to host primary debates this cycle. Most conservative media outlets are not what they were pre-2016. Just like the Republican Party, they have been remade in Trump's image, embracing conspiratorial thinking and bathing in rhetoric often detached from reality.

News organizations will need to grapple with this uncomfortable reality as they navigate the 2024 waters. Do they really want to associate themselves with and — as a result — help legitimize companies that are in the business of mainlining extremism to the American public? Is doing so really worth hosting a debate which the party frontrunner will likely refuse to participate in?

NBC News has made its decision. Now it's up to other news organizations to do so as well.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Reuters

Investigation for Issam: Reuters' top editor reiterated the outlet's calls for an official investigation after its video journalist, Issam Abdallah, was killed Friday in southern Lebanon and other journalists were injured by a shell fired from Israel. "I am reiterating my call to the Israeli authorities who have said they are investigating to conduct a swift, thorough and transparent probe into what happened," Reuters Editor-In-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a video posted online Monday. "By transparent, I mean an investigation with clear evidence and explanation." Galloni urged that "all parties in this conflict" work to "ensure the safety of journalists reporting in the region." CNN's Liam Reilly has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: At least 15 journalists have now been killed covering the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is tracking press deaths related to the unfolding conflict. That's a staggering number — and only likely to get worse with a looming ground invasion of densely-populated Gaza.

ISRAEL AT WAR

"It's becoming impossible to report from Gaza," Laura Wagner writes. (WaPo)
"No safe area": CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman detailed his family's frantic trip to get outside Gaza City. (CNN)
While the conflict is still heating up, Lester Holt was the only remaining network evening anchor still broadcasting from the region on Monday.
"The BBC has taken six reporters in the Middle East off air and launched an investigation into posts on social media that seemed to support activities of Hamas against Israel," Daniel Thomas, Jim Pickard, and Heba Saleh report. (FT)
An Associated Press reporter has also been "taken off reporting duties" while the outlet looks into past social media posts. (WaEx)
Ivor Shapiro dives into the debate between using the term "terrorist" versus "militant." (The Convo)
Diana Falzone speaks with Israeli reporter Liron Shamam about covering the terror attacks: "I will never be the same person again." (Mediaite)
Hamas' following has surged on Telegram since launching its attack on Israel, Donie O'Sullivan and Brian Fung report. (CNN)
TikTok is ramping up its efforts to counter misinfo about the war. (CNN)
"Researchers sifting through social media content about the Israel-Hamas conflict say it's getting harder to verify information and track the spread of misleading material," Sara Ruberg reports. (NBC News)
Max Tani reports that, behind the scenes, some reporters for The WSJ raised objections to the newspaper's dubious story on Iran. (Semafor)
Right-wing media outlets are peddling xenophobic discourse focusing on Muslim lawmakers. (MMFA)
Journalist Rula Jebreal spoke with Jake Tapper about the very real dangers of anti-Muslim rhetoric. (CNN)

THE INDUSTRY

THE FOURTH ESTATE

CNN on Monday officially launched "CNN NewsNight with Abby Philip" and "Laura Coates Live." (TV Newser)
Phillips and Coates spoke to Greg Braxton about their new shows. Braxton noted that CNN "is aggressively moving to regain its footing and put its missteps in the rearview mirror, propelled by a revamped prime-time lineup that will spotlight two of the network's most seasoned journalists." (LAT)
The NYT filed a motion to increase the transparency in the Google antitrust trial, Nilay Patel reports. (The Verge)
Spend some time with this piece from Danny Funt, focused on how "digital media" is going "back to the basics." (CJR)
"The Grift, the Prince, and the Twist": Air Mail has a "shocking" story that "turned both the writer's life, and that of her editor, upside down." (Air Mail)

IN THE MARKET

Netflix is "expected to set the stage for price increases when it reports earnings on Wednesday," Samrhitha A reports. (Reuters)
Kim Masters writes about "why Ari Emanuel can't help himself." (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

CNN promoted Paula Reid to chief legal affairs correspondent; the network hired Camila DeChalus as a White House reporter. (CNN/CNN)
The LAT announced that it tapped Christi Carras as a reporter covering the business of entertainment. (LAT)
The NYT hired Chris Johnston as a senior writer for The Athletic; hired Bora Erden as an editor; named Claire Gordon as supervising editor of "The Ezra Klein Show;" and promoted Mike Wilson to deputy editor of The Great Read. (NYT/NYT/NYT/NYT)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

The Help of Hannity: It helps to have friends in powerful places. And if you're a Republican running for House Speaker, it really helps to have that friend be Sean Hannity at Fox News. Over the past several days, Hannity has effectively been whipping votes for Jim Jordan. On Sunday, Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke revealed that Hannity's show has been reaching out to skeptical Republicans to push for Jordan in the private ballot. "If true," an email to their offices said, "Hannity would like to know why during a war breaking out between Israel and Hamas, with the ware in Ukraine, with he wide open borders, with a budget that's unfinished, why would Rep [redacted] be against Rep Jim Jordan for Speaker?" On Monday, Hannity defended his show's staff sending questions to House members, suggesting it was "investigative reporting." But he did concede his "patience is running thin."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Fox Corporation's top lawyer, Viet Dinh, lashed out at the judge in the Dominion Voting Systems case, saying that his "illogical" rulings undermined the "fairness and integrity" of the legal system, Marshall Cohen reports. (CNN)
An alarming story from Brandy Zadrozny: The Epoch Times, which rose to prominence by peddling conspiracy theories, is now one of the pre-eminent conservative news organizations. In fact, it is actually the country's fourth-largest newspaper by subscribers. (NBC News)
Right-wing media outlet The Daily Wire is putting out its own version of "Snow White" — starring conservative media personality Brett Cooper— to combat what it claims is a "wokeness" plaguing Hollywood. (THR)
Mark Andreessen wrote a "techno-optimist manifesto" in which he described "trust and safety" teams as "the enemy." (Fortune)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Layoffs at LinkedIn: It was a bloody Monday at LinkedIn. The professional networking platform cut 668 jobs from its workforce as part of a larger restructuring pivoting it toward A.I. "Talent changes are a difficult, but necessary and regular part of managing our business," the Microsoft-owned company said. The deep cuts come after LinkedIn already slashed 716 jobs earlier this year, back in May. CNN's Ramishah Maruf has details here.

TOO MANY TABS

Australia fined Elon Musk's X $385,000 for not discussing how it addressed child abuse content. (AP)
TikTok is fighting back after being hit by the E.U. with a $363 million data privacy fine. (Bloomberg)
Twitch is launching a stories function for streamers. (TechCrunch)
Content moderators for Facebook operating out of Kenya accused the Meta-owned company of not negotiating sincerely. (AP)
Facebook's Jane Austen chat bot has already been plagued by spam, Victor Tangermann and Jon Christian report. (Futurism)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Images

Best Believe She's Bejeweled: Add another record to her list. Taylor Swift over the weekend set a new benchmark for the highest grossing concert film opening, selling $96 million in tickets across the U.S. The "Eras Tour" movie also sold an additional $32 million in tickets at the international box office. While the movie did not ultimately cross far loftier predictions, it is without question a major success and has injected some much needed business into the movie theater business. CNN's Danielle Wiener-Bronner has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: "Swift is so much more famous than any other musician right now," Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw wrote. "She is the Beatles in 1965. Michael Jackson after Thriller. Anything she touches is news. She's so famous even the NFL is seeking her help. Beyoncé is a massive, massive star — and her movie will gross a fraction of what Swift delivers."

OFF STAGE

Suzanne Somers' longtime husband spoke to Chloe Melas about her final days: "We were in bed together and her breathing was erratic, and I had been talking to her for hours. There was no response except when I kissed her, she responded, and then around 5 o'clock in the morning, she was gone." (NBC News)
Roy Wood Jr. told Sherri Shepherd the possibility of his hosting "The Daily Show" could "still happen." (Daily Beast)
The Prince Charles Cinema withdrew as host of the premiere of "Control," Kevin Spacey's first film since his sex assault trial. (Variety)
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" went remote after its titular host tested positive for Covid-19. (Deadline)
Drake has tied Michael Jackson as the male solo musician with the most No. 1 songs in Billboard Hot 100 history. (Pitchfork)
National Geographic OK'ed a docu-series titled "Top Gun: The Next Generation" that will showcase the Navy's program. (The Wrap)

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 tomorrow.