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Monday, October 30, 2023

Follow us on LinkedIn! Al Jazeera criticizes the IDF for warning its correspondent to evacuate a dangerous area, WGA East calls for publishers to work with journalists on A.I. guardrails, Joe Biden signs A.I. executive order, the company once known as Twitter is now worth less than half of what Elon Musk paid for it a year ago, Google boss Sundar Pichai testifies in landmark case, media companies pay tribute to Matthew Perry, NFL fans zing YouTubeTV for "Sunday Ticket" problems, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Tinseltown Nears Truce

CNN Photo Illustration/Chris Pizzello/AP

It appears the actors' strike is approaching its final scene.

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents more than 150,000 Hollywood actors, and the AMPTP, the trade group that represents the major studios, have made significant progress during negotiating sessions in recent days, arriving at tentative understandings on key components of a potential deal, I'm told by people familiar with the matter.

That progress has led to hopes that a deal could be reached as early as this week or next week, the people said. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, told Variety on Monday from the picket lines, "There has been progress, and that's the source of my continued cautious optimism."

Of course, in high-stakes labor disputes anything is possible. A deal isn't a deal until the ink is dry on the page. And we have already seen frustrations flare during these particular negotiations, resulting in talks being temporarily halted earlier this month.

The people I spoke to on Monday also cautioned that there are still contentious matters that remain unresolved. One of those issues, artificial intelligence, proved to be a sticking point that needed to be deftly untangled in negotiations between the writers and studios. Ultimately, erecting guardrails around the emerging technology that the actors decried as an "existential threat" to their livelihoods has been one of the final items on the agenda during negotiations.

There does, however, appear to be some momentum toward a deal, which could help the two parties solve for such issues. Like with the writers' strike, the four big studio chiefs — Disney's Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav, Netflix's Ted Sarandos, and NBCU's Donna Langley — have been directly involved in negotiations.

SAG-AFTRA told its members early Monday that over the weekend it had "discussed all open proposals," including A.I., with the studios. The union added that both parties would work independently on Monday before resuming talks together at the Sherman Oaks negotiating table.

But, if the sun continues to shine and the wind pushes the sails in the right direction, a deal could soon be reached, marking the end of a hellish period in Hollywood. Production has been frozen in Tinseltown since earlier this year, pushing back film and television schedules while wreaking absolute havoc on the economy, with billions of dollars in estimated economic damage stemming from the historic strikes.

A deal can't come soon enough for both sides. The studios need to imminently resume production if there is any hope that the winter half of the television season can be salvaged. And thousands of actors are in increasingly dire need of a paycheck. If production is not resumed soon, those shortened television seasons will be scrapped, meaning sets will remain empty until next year, regardless of whether a deal is reached in November or December. That would mean actors, crews, and much of the Hollywood industry would have to endure the holiday season out of work.

"I definitely feel that pressure — it's why I feel such a sense of urgency to get things done," Crabtree-Ireland told Variety. "That's why we worked all weekend long, and we're not taking any time off from trying to push this process forward."

HOLLYWOOD HELL

"Last week, studio executives made it known — in conversations with filmmakers, agents, reporters and actors themselves — that a deal must be done (or nearly so) by the end of this week, or else sets were likely to remain dark for another two months," Brooks Barnes reported. (NYT)
The "Hunger Games" prequel scored a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, allowing it to film during the strike. (Deadline)
Megan Fox mocked the Halloween costume strike guidelines by posing as a "Kill Bill" character and tagging SAG-AFTRA on Instagram. (LAT)
Lisa Ann Walter slammed Fox for breaking the supposed rules. (NY Post)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty Images

Alerting Al Jazeera: Al Jazeera Gaza Strip correspondent Youmna ElSayed said Monday that her household received a phone call from a private number with a person purporting to be a member of the Israel Defense Forces. "We are telling you to evacuate south, because in the coming hours it is going to be very dangerous in the area where you are," the person on the other end of the line said, according ElSayed, who recounted the phone call while on-air. As ElSayed reported via phone, explosions could be heard in the background, with the Al Jazeera correspondent saying her building "is literally shaking" with plumes of black smoke visible from her location. Al Jazeera later condemned the IDF's apparent warning, portraying the call alerting their correspondent of future possible strikes in the area as a "vile threat." A spokesperson for the IDF did not respond when I asked about Al Jazeera's interpretation of the call.

ISRAEL AT WAR

The death toll among journalists keeps swelling. The Committee to Protect Journalists said that as of Monday, 31 journalists have died since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. (CPJ)
A Reporters Without Borders investigation culminated in the release of a video reconstruction that shows the fatal bombing raid that killed Issam Abdallah, a Reuters reporter, and injured several others. (RSF)
Reporters in Gaza have been relying on satellite connections to send out dispatches, after a communications blackout hit the area, Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath reported. (Axios)
A group of French journalists is asking for Israel and Egypt to allow international correspondents into Gaza. (Deadline)
Rolling Stone said the Israel government has denied its journalist, Jesse Rosenfeld, a press credential, following critical coverage: "Rolling Stone is not a news organization and we are not dealing with this gentleman [Rosenfeld], thank you." (Rolling Stone)
Kaitlan Collins, one of the U.S. journalists invited recently to see horrific video of the Hamas terror attack against Israel, wrote about why Israel is screening the footage to journalists. (CNN)
The Associated Press faced backlash after calling an anti-Semitic mob storming a Russian airport a "protest." Dana Bash noted, "This is not a protest. This is an antisemitic hunt for Jews." (Mediaite)
President Joe Biden speaking with Wall Street executives at the White House last week spoke ill of The NYT's coverage of the fatal shelling that destroyed a Gaza hospital on October 17, Max Tani and Liz Hoffman reported. (Semafor)

THE INDUSTRY

THE FOURTH ESTATE

More than 1,000 Writers Guild of America East members have called on digital media companies to "work collaboratively" with journalists to establish A.I. guardrails, including engaging in "immediate, good faith negotiations on A.I. outside of scheduled contract bargaining." (THR)
Members of the New York Times Tech Guild walked out Monday afternoon in protest of the company's return-to-office policies. (Axios)
CNN marked its final show produced from the CNN Center in Atlanta on Friday, airing a segment from the network's very first broadcast 43 years ago. (Mediaite)
"Everyone from Rupert Murdoch to Mathias Döpfner to Lord Rothermere is eyeing the historic broadsheet": Who will purchase The Telegraph? Joe Pompeo looks at the "murderers row' of media barons" who might acquire the historic paper. (Vanity Fair)

IN THE MARKET

Omnicom said it will by Flywheel Digital, owner of the Cannes Lions advertising festival, for $835 million. (WSJ)

MEDIA MOVES

NBC News hired Christine Romans as senior business correspondent. (TheWrap)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images

Keeping an Eye on A.I.: President Joe Biden on Monday activated federal powers aimed at implementing oversight over A.I., marking the most significant action his White House has taken to address the rapidly advancing technology that has raised existential questions for industries and humanity at large. The move will mean the government will be better able to keep an eye on the evolution of A.I., forcing companies to share safety test results with officials and notify the feds if models pose national security risks. "One thing is clear, to realize the promise of AI and avoid the risk, we need to govern this technology. There's no way around it in my view. It must be governed," Biden said. CNN's Arlette Saenz and Kevin Liptak have more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Yikes! After paying $44 billion for Twitter, Elon Musk now estimates the deformed company is only worth $19 billion, Alex Heath reports, citing internal documents as employees were awarded equity. (The Verge)
This comes as Fidelity decreased the value of X by 65%. (Axios)
Steven Lee Myers, Stuart A. Thompson, and Tiffany Hsu chronicled the ups and downs that have marked Twitter's transition into X. (NYT)
As Twitter/X continues to collapse, Threads is only getting better. Adam Mosseri said the company is "working on" an API for the social platform, meaning developers could create a ThreadDeck-like app. (Threads)
"My concern is that it'll mean a lot more publisher content and not much more creator content, but it still seems like something we need to get done," Mosseri added, prompting another wave of backlash from publishers. "Seems odd to tilt the playing field to amateur and away from professional content," Semafor's Ben Smith replied. (Threads)
Google boss Sundar Pichai took the stand Monday and testified in the historic antitrust case in Washington, D.C. (CNN)
Meta will stop showing ads to teens in Europe on Monday as the company seeks to comply with new E.U. rules. The company will also temporarily stop showing ads to all users as it begins rolling out several subscription levels for its social media platforms. (WSJ)
Apple hosted its Halloween-themed "scary fast" event Monday at 8pm ET. Alex Cranz writes that a "big prime-time Apple event feels like the natural next step for the company." (The Verge)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Soros Subpoena Squashed: Bad news for Fox News. "A New York judge on Monday shut down an attempt by Fox News to search for links between George Soros, the Jewish billionaire and frequent target of far-right conspiracy theories, and Smartmatic, a voting technology company at the center of false election claims during the 2020 election," CNN's Liam Reilly reported. "Manhattan Supreme Court Judge David B. Cohen rejected Fox Corp. and Fox News' attempts to subpoena George Soros, his son Alex Soros, and their philanthropic organization Open Society Foundation for documents related to the election defamation case." Reilly has more here.

► A Fox News spokesperson attempted to portray the hearing as a victory, telling Reilly, "We are pleased that counsel for Soros and Smartmatic conceded during the hearing today that there are connections between Smartmatic and Soros, as confirmed by documents from Smartmatic and the public record." Smartmatic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

"As the right wing keeps pushing disinformation, journalists keep fact-checking. They dissect quotes. They consult experts. They cite statistics. But it's not enough," Mark Jacob argues. "We need fact-crusading, not just fact-checking. Yes, fact-crusading." (Stop the Presses)
The right-wing hard-liners are already coming for new House Speaker Mike Johnson. Charlie Kirk hit Johnson for paving a way for another continuing resolution to fund the government: "I told you guys he was going to let you down, and he is letting you down." (MMFA)
Elon Musk once again lashed out at the term "cis," claiming it is a "heterosexual slur" and "shame on anyone who uses it." (Jalopnik)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Paying Tribute to Perry: Hollywood is continuing to pay tribute to actor Matthew Perry, who died suddenly and tragically at the age of 54 on Saturday. Max honored the late "Friends" star by inserting an in memoriam card that appears before each episode of the show. "In memory of Matthew Perry 1969-2023," it says. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon will produce a special, titled "Matthew Perry: Thanks For Being a Friend," that will air Sunday at 10pm ET. And TBS said it will honor Perry with a weeklong "Best of Chandler" marathon starting November 1.

► The entire "Friends" cast is also paying tribute: "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew," Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc said in a statement to People. "We were more than just cast mates. We are a family."

► Meanwhile, the precise cause of Perry's death remains unclear and will require additional investigative steps.

OFF STAGE

Fans fumed at YouTube TV on Sunday as the platform struggled with its first "Sunday Ticket" issues. (NBC Sports)
Robert De Niro and his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson will both appear in court over dueling claims on Monday. (THR)
Universal Pictures' cinematic adaptation of the video game "Five Nights at Freddy's" pulled in $130.6 million worldwide during opening weekend despite dismal reviews. (AP)
Sesame Street is being "reimagined" and getting a creative overhaul for season 56, Alex Weprin reports. (THR)
Disney's "Daredevil" is also getting a new creative team. (THR)
New releases from Blink-182 and the Rolling Stones have successfully brought rock back to Billboard's Top 10, Ben Sisario writes. (NYT)

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. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.