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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

What a busy media news day! We have highlights from the news-making DealBook Summit, details on Jezebel's resurrection, a look at how some outlets are covering Henry Kissinger's death, info on Google's deal to pay Canadian publishers, why Donald Trump Jr. is assailing Fox News, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Elon Xplosion

CNN Photo Illustration/Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Elon Musk can see the writing on the wall for X.

"What this advertising boycott is going to do, it's going to kill the company," Musk candidly told Andrew Ross Sorkin, during a lengthy interview Wednesday at the DealBook Summit in New York.

But, despite the terminal prognosis, Musk declined to take any responsibility for the platform's fate. Yes, he — finally — apologized for his "foolish" post earlier this month endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory. But he said that, at the end of the day, he will blame the advertisers should his embattled social media company fail. And fail, it may, if you listen to Musk.

"The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company," Musk told Sorkin, refusing to acknowledge the reality that the world's leading companies have fled his platform because he has personally made it absolutely untenable to be associated with it.

Since purchasing the company formerly known as Twitter, Musk has made a number of decisions that have elevated extremists and led to a surge in hate speech, misinformation, and conspiracy theories on the platform. Compounding the problem, Musk has regularly contributed to the repugnant rhetoric. He's promoted deranged right-wing conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, frequently smeared the press, launched appalling assaults on the Anti-Defamation League and George Soros, and most recently backed an antisemitic post from a user trying to prove Adolf Hitler was correct.

And on Wednesday night, without a care in the world, Musk made it exceedingly difficult for the very advertisers X so desperately needs to return to the platform. Instead of turning on the charm and trying to woo them back, Musk did the opposite. He delivered a profanity-laced message to the companies that have pulled marketing from the website in recent days.

"Go f*ck yourself," Musk said. "Go f*ck yourself."

"Is that clear?" Musk then rhetorically asked. "I hope it is."

"That's how I feel," Musk said at the conclusion of his rant. "Don't advertise."

It was quite the message for the X owner to deliver to the world as his company bleeds millions in advertising revenue. One can only imagine what was going through the head of Linda Yaccarino, who has been trying to assure advertisers that the company is one they can safely market their products with. If Yaccarino was close to luring any of the major advertisers back, Musk just torpedoed those prospects.

Asked whether the billionaire would personally bankroll the social media platform should it need financial assistance amid the crippling advertising boycott, Musk signaled that he would let it go bankrupt. And while the company failing might naturally sound like a depressing thought, perhaps it's a good thing.

Musk killed Twitter long ago. It no longer exists. What currently sits in its place, X, is a deformed, warped version of the social media company that so much of the public turned to for information. Like a zombie, X occupies the same body of Twitter, but its soul has long departed.

Instead of letting this zombie aimlessly walk about, spreading its disease to infect others, accelerating its death is arguably in the best interest of society. Maybe, just maybe, Musk is doing the world a favor by quickening its demise.

X MARKS THE HATE

Kara Swisher's take: "Someone definitely f***ed themselves." (Threads)
David French: "The problem isn't with 'woke' corporations. It's with Elon's sewer. No serious person thinks it's a problem that, say, Disney doesn't advertise on Gab. Yet Twitter is becoming more like Gab every day." (Threads)
"This is a version of a freedom of speech debate," Brian Stelter argued. "Advertisers have a choice about where they spend money and where they don't spend money." (Threads)
"Elon Musk remains an amazing Director of User Acquisition for Threads," joked Keith Edwards. (Threads)
"Twitter is worth more to Elon Musk dead than alive," Alex Kirshner argues, adding, "Maybe he can't help himself. Or maybe he's endorsing anti-semitic smears and cursing out advertisers for a reason." (Slate)
"Linda Yaccarino's Very Unmerry X Mess": Don't miss this deep dive from Kim Masters. (THR)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A Day at DealBook: It wasn't just Elon Musk who sat for an illuminating discussion at the DealBook Summit. Andrew Ross Sorkin hosted a number of other key industry leaders and lawmakers, including David Zaslav, Bob Iger, and Kamala Harris. Given the volume of topics addressed, we thought the most effective way to distill the information would be in bullet point format.

►Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav spoke about the "generational disruption" upending the entire business. "It's a very scary time to be running a company," Zaslav said frankly. "But it's also a very exciting time because everything is possible."

► Zaslav said his team decided they needed to have "courage" to dramatically reshape the company post-merger. Zaslav said cutting costs, including shelving projects like "Batgirl," was "difficult" and "painful" but had to be done.

► Zaslav said the worst day he's had as the WBD boss was "the first day that we laid off a huge number of people."

►Zaslav spoke highly of his ex-CNN chief Chris Licht, who was in the audience at the conference. Zaslav described Licht as a "good friend" who had "a lot of great days" mixed in with the "tough days."

► Zaslav floated working with the "very talented" Licht again at WBD: "Chris is going to have a lot of great chapters and hopefully some of those with us at Warner Brothers."

► Sorkin asked Zaslav about his "fractured" relationship with former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, whom he was one close with. "I wouldn't say it is fractured," Zaslav said, adding that "you have to put friendships aside" when running a business.

► Zaslav said he fought to end the Hollywood strikes. "I think the idea of going on strike was bad for all of us. My focus was we need to settle this strike," he said, describing the standoff as really "hurting people."

► Zaslav said he wants to reach a new deal with the NBA, but "it has to make economic sense." He discussed WBD's ownership of its content rights, except sports, which he described as paying rent subject to rate hikes.

► Zaslav praised his new CNN chief Mark Thompson as an "exceptional leader. "He's on the nine o'clock call. He's in the control room. And he's won the hearts and minds of the team," Zaslav said.

► Sorkin raised comments John Malone made in 2021 about a desire to see a change in CNN's tone, asking Zaslav whether he is happy with the network now. Zaslav said he had to decide between CNN being what he called an "advocacy network" or "journalistic" organization. "For CNN, the choice was, this should be the greatest — it is the greatest journalistic organization in the world." Zaslav added, "CNN is back."

► Disney chief executive Bob Iger said he had been "disappointed" watching his successor Bob Chapek "during the transition period ... and while I was out."

► Iger said the current succession process is "robust right now" and that he is "definitely" going to step down in two years.

► Iger addressed his now infamous remarks about Disney's linear assets perhaps not being "core" to the company, saying he wanted to see if he would "get a reaction from the investment community."

► Iger said the linear channels are "not for sale." But then added, "Like all of our assets, we constantly are evaluating: What is their value to the company today? What could the value be tomorrow? Is it a growth business?"

► Iger said that the volume of incredible content available via streaming has created a box office environment where "the bar is now raised in terms of quality" people will leave their homes to see.

► Iger said it was a "definite mistake" to increase Marvel output to feed the Disney+ streaming beast. "Quality needs attention to deliver quality. It's not — it doesn't happen by accident," Iger said. "And quantity, in our case, diluted quality — and Marvel has suffered greatly from that."

► Iger said that "streaming is perfect for sports" and that he believes Disney is in a "very unique position" with ESPN to create a strong platform.

► Iger declined to talk much about Nelson Peltz, saying it was "not a headline" he wanted "to create right now." Iger said the board "has an obligation to listen to investors" and that he is "not going to get distracted by any of that."

► Asked about criticism Disney has faced from some conservatives about the company being "too woke," Iger said that "creators lost sight of what their" top objective needs to be when telling stories. "When I came back, what I've really tried to do is to return to our roots — which is, remember, we have to entertain first. It's not about messages," Iger said.

► Iger confirmed Disney pulled ads from X because "we just felt that the association with that position and Elon Musk and X was not necessarily a positive one for us."

► Vice President Kamala Harris blatantly dodged questions about Musk, flatly telling Sorkin she had "nothing to say" about his antisemitic endorsement. "At all?" a puzzled Sorkin asked. Harris replied, "I don't know him."

►Harris also sidestepped questions on TikTok, telling Sorkin she is "not commenting" on the app.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Brook Joyner/CNN

Resurrecting Jezebel: Jezebel is coming back. After being shuttered earlier this year by G/O Media, the punchy feminist blog will be resurrected after the publication was sold to Paste Magazine. "We are honored to bring Jezebel back to life and excited to welcome the site into the Paste Magazine family," Paste Editor-In-Chief Josh Jackson said. Jackson declined to disclose the terms of the sale, but told us that Paste acquired the site in an all-cash purchase in an "incredibly fast deal" finalized on Tuesday. Ex-Jezebel staffers were being contacted to discuss a return to the site, which is expected to resume publishing "very soon." Jon Passantino and I have more here.

THE FOURTH ESTATE

"I would resign if Abu Dhabi interfered," Jeff Zucker said about concerns of foreign involvement regarding RedBird IMI's attempted acquisition of The Telegraph. (The Telegraph)
Dylan Byers reports on Zucker's recent trip to London: "During his trip to London, meeting with Telegraph leadership and holding court at a back table in the Collins Room, Zucker was attempting to assuage those concerns ahead of what promises to be a tumultuous 48-hour period that may well decide the fate of The Telegraph and The Spectator." (Puck)
"Not only would the Zucker deal potentially kill the auction—no default, ergo no need for a remedy for a default — but it might also allow RedBird IMI to get the assets more cheaply than if they were bid up in a formal process," William Cohen writes. (Puck)
BBC's "Newsnight" is being cut back as part of the broadcaster's savings plan — meaning the show will lose its dedicated reporters, be shortened by 10 minutes, and lose its investigative films. (BBC)
NewsNation inked a deal with SiriusXM to broadcast "The Hill" on its P.O.T.U.S channel beginning in December. (The Hill)
Leighton Rowell Lima spoke to Jennifer Johnson, who oversees CNN's Impact Your World: "As a journalist, I want to make a difference and give our viewers some rays of hope amid the heavy news that takes a toll on us mentally." (Inside CNN)

IN THE MARKET

Amid activist pressure, Disney added two new board members, James Gorman and Jeremy Darroch. Or as Brooks Barnes put it, the Magic Kingdom "reinforced its board." (NYT)
Guy Fieri inked a $100-million, multi-year deal with the Food Network. (Variety)
CJ Yu, Amazon Studios' head of unscripted development, has parted ways with the company. (TheWrap)

MEDIA MOVES

ABC News hired Jeannie Kedas as a senior vice president of publicity and communications. (Deadline)
Lionsgate promoted Kate Nexon to president of domestic television and digital distribution. (TheWrap)
CBS Media Ventures hired Stacy Rader as the head of its first-run development and brand extensions. (Deadline)
The Institute for Nonprofit News announced Karen Rundlet as chief executive. (INN)
The 74 named Steve Snyder its chief executive. (The 74)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/HuffPost

Covering Kissinger: The death of Henry Kissinger led to mourning from some — and celebration from others, including in the news community where a debate over how to cover his legacy will certainly take place in the hours and days ahead. Rolling Stone, most notably, on Wednesday night headlined its story: "Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved By America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies." The story, by Spencer Ackerman, had a "Good Riddance" tag appended to it. Over at the progressive HuffPost, the banner headline dubbed Kissinger "THE BELTWAY BUTCHER." While traditional news organizations typically paint a rosy view of deceased figures in obituaries, focusing on their accomplishments, Kissinger's polarizing political life provided plenty of opportunity for outlets to portray him anywhere from a Nobel Prize-winning hero to supervillain.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Donald Trump Jr. assailed Fox News during an interview with Eric Bolling: "They gave Ron DeSantis the perpetual lap dance for two years, they realize he is not the guy, so now they're going to Nikki Haley." (Mediaite)
Ahead of the Gavin Newsom-Ron DeSantis debate, Sean Hannity told Greg Bluestein he hopes to explore one key question: "Why do these two powerhouse governors have such a deep political divide?" (AJC)
Fox Nation boss Jason Klarman spoke to Mike Nelson: "We're giving people what they want. We brought 'Cops' back, we like the cops." (Streamable)
A taste of the extremism on right-wing talk radio from Blaze TV host Todd Erzen, who claimed, "The Democrats are running on jabbing you with poison, trans-ing your kids, and kill the Jews." (MMFA)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/IB Photography/Alamy Stock Photo

Paying the Publishers: Google will pay Canadian publishers to keep news on its platform. The tech titan said Wednesday that it will pay approximately $73.5 million a year into a fund that will be distributed to news organizations, backing down from a threat to scrub news from its platform over pending legislation that requires Big Tech companies to pay publishers for their content. The decision by Google stands in stark contrast to that of Meta, which has decided to rid its platform of news due to the legislation. CNN's Brian Fung has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Tech CEOs will head to Congress again: Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel, and Jason Citron will testify on Jan. 31 before the U.S. Senate on online child sexual exploitation. (Reuters)
Sen. Marco Rubio said that TikTok should be demonetized "unless [China is] going to transfer the algorithm to the U.S." (CNBC)
Reddit has updated its logo amid IPO whispers. (TechCrunch)
The state of Michigan will join an effort at the state level that aims to regulate political ads generated by A.I. pending federal legislation. (AP)
Amazon unveiled its Titan Image Generator. (TechCrunch)
Substack is rolling out new tools as the company looks to take on YouTube. (WaPo)
Some GPT chatbots are leaking data, Matt Burgess reports. (WIRED)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images

Taylor at the Top: No real surprise here. After commanding the attention of the world all throughout 2023, the data is in to crown Taylor Swift as the music queen of the year. The pop icon topped both Spotify and Apple Music's 2023 lists as the most streamed artist of the year. That said, Swift didn't have the most streamed song in the U.S., according to Spotify. Those honors went to Morgan Wallen, whose album dominated the charts earlier this year. Wallen's "Last night" was the most-streamed song on Spotify. Axios' Analis Bailey has more here.

OFF STAGE

Spotify's Wrapped 2023 is here and boasts some new features, including a "sound town" that's based on your music taste. (The Verge)
Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish will head to "SNL" as musical guests. (Pitchfork)
Jonathan Majors was in court on Wednesday for the jury selection process that's part of his New York assault trial. (AP)
NASCAR is speeding its way into streaming, inking deals for its Cup Series with four media companies, including Amazon Prime. (THR)
The third installment of James Cameron's "Avatar" franchise is in a "very hectic two years of post-production right now," the director said at a press conference. (Variety)
Get ready for a reality show based on "Sex and the City." (Variety)
Production has resumed on season two of Netflix's "The Sandman," and the graphic novel's creator, Neil Gaiman, is teasing the "good things coming." (TheWrap)
MGM+ renewed the "Godfather of Harlem" for a fourth season. (THR)
The cast of Noah Hawley's "Alien" series has been finalized. (Variety)
RIP: Frances Sternhagen — known as much for her stage appearances in "Driving Miss Daisy" and "On Golden Pond" as her silver screen appearances in "Cheers" and "Sex and the City" — died at 93. (CNN)

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.