Received this email from a friend? Subscribe here.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

David Ellison reportedly makes an offer for Shari Redstone's media empire, Peacock drives record sign-ups with its exclusive NFL playoff game, Smartmatic deals a legal blow to Fox Corporation, Silicon Valley soars to new heights on Wall Street, Netflix scraps an already-filmed Halle Berry sci-fi film, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Stewart's Comedic Superpower

CNN Photo Illustration/Brad Barket/Getty Images

Jon Stewart is returning to his old home at "The Daily Show" — but the neighborhood in which the comedic house resides has dramatically changed since he last signed off from host chair.

Stewart, who hosted the iconic program for 16 years, decamped Comedy Central in 2015 — just as Donald Trump ascended to power and as the seams of American politics tore apart. While there is never a shortage of material pouring out of Washington for comedians to use as punchlines, Stewart returns to the cable lineup in an environment battered by an ill-tempered information monsoon.

Misinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright lies saturate the 2024 public discourse in a way that stands in stark contrast to the pre-Trump era in which Stewart previously operated. Trump and his stable of MAGA political allies have at their disposal a powerful media machine that pumps propaganda into the national conversation and sends it viral on a daily basis.

Back when Stewart helmed "The Daily Show," he was needling much more establishment figures, such as conservative news personality Bill O'Reilly or Republican President George W. Bush. When he returns to Comedy Central after the Super Bowl next month to begin hosting the network's signature show each Monday, Stewart will be confronted with a new, far more insidious breed of media and political figures, such as the radicalized Tucker Carlson and the twice-impeached, four time-indicted, election-denying, insurrection-inciting Trump.

That means that not only is Stewart going to have plenty of fodder to work with, but his voice may very well be more important than ever.

While the cable platform he once helmed, and its massive audience reach, is a mere shadow of its former glory, the show still carries significant weight. That is perhaps evidenced by the fact that when Stewart launched an Apple TV+ show — "The Problem with Jon Stewart" — in 2021, it failed to gain a foothold in the public consciousness and establish the cultural cachet he enjoyed from his more accessible cable perch.

Stewart's talent has always been using humor to disarm dishonest politicians and expose the absurdities of their arguments in a highly entertaining way. He is uniquely talented at drawing on his sharp comedic wit to cut through the political noise and separate fact from fiction for audiences. And during the 2024 election year, that work will be vital.

Stewart also reenters the scene at a time when traditional newsrooms are being pummeled by layoffs and contracting at an alarming pace. The number of journalists and media figures holding the morally bankrupt accountable has slimmed considerably — a service much of the country is thirsting for.

Meanwhile, the mechanisms in which media are distributed have also undergone a revolution. Far fewer people are reading ever-shrinking newspapers and watching the decaying linear television lineups. Instead, they're being algorithmically-fed information that conforms to their existing viewpoints, regardless if such viewpoints are consistent with the facts.

Stewart has the potential to break through these digital barriers. His stinging political monologues appeal not only to D.C. politicos, but to mass audiences. It's without a doubt that in the months ahead, social media feeds will be rife with clips of his tongue-in-cheek, truth-based narration of the circus that is American politics.

Of course, Stewart's comedy returns in a far more challenging environment with a smaller direct audience on cable. He will have an impact, unquestionably, but also won't single handedly keep the dark forces at bay.

But at this particular moment in American society, when antidemocratic forces are actively poisoning the public information well in their bids to seize power, not only does the reality-dwelling public hunger for spine-possessing, clear-eyed soldiers like Stewart, it arguably demands it.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

The Push for Paramount: Talks between David Ellison's Skydance Media to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which owns a controlling stake in Paramount Global, are growing more serious. Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Christopher Palmeri reported Wednesday evening that Ellison has made a preliminary offer to purchase the holding company and that the two sides have started sharing financial information. CNBC's Alex Sherman followed that report up, adding that a deal would be "contingent on merging Skydance with Paramount, and the likely structure for a merger would be a complete take private of the larger media company." Of course, nothing is set in stone, and the existence of an offer doesn't translate into a deal. But it does indicate that the general exploratory talks have advanced. We'll see.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Kara Durrette/Getty Images

Peacock's Hail Mary Payoff: The NFL — with the help of Taylor Swift — just can't stop setting records for media companies. The digital analytics firm Antenna said Wednesday that NBCU's move to pay $100 million to exclusively air the AFC Wild Card game between the Dolphins and Chiefs led to record sign-ups on the platform. Per Antenna, in the three days leading up to the January 13 face-off, Peacock amassed 2.8 million sign-ups, or "the single biggest subscriber acquisition moment ever measured" by the firm. CNN's Liam Reilly has more here.

IN THE MARKET

Netflix, Alex Cranz argues, is "turning into cable TV." Cranz reasons, "It's got 'Suits,' it's got old movies, it's got WWE — what more does Netflix need to be a perfectly fine cable channel?" (The Verge)
Don't miss Claire Atkinson's piece about "the new hell of being PR chief" at a major media company: "In a world of superstar (and to others, supervillain) eight-figure-a-year CEOs, where quarterly earnings reports are the new tentpole events, it is no longer just the 'product' on the line, but the person. And never has an industry's top echelon — under heavy fire from media all day — been under more scrutiny." (Ankler)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

"A tale of two city papers": Dylan Byers reports on "the agony and anxiety bubbling around the L.A. Times, and the cautious optimism brimming from Will Lewis's post-layoffs Washington Post." (Puck)
Sarah Jones writes about how the recent spate of layoffs prove "billionaires are journalism's false saviors." (Intelligencer)
The LAT featured letters to the editor on Wednesday from readers asking what can be done to rescue journalism. (LAT)
Angela Fu and Tom Jones underscored how Tuesday was a "bleak day for the media industry." (Poynter)
After The LAT layoffs, California lawmakers are renewing a legislative push that would make Big Tech companies pay news publishers for their content, Sophia Bollag reports. (SF Chronicle)
G/O Media has hung a "for sale" sign on its properties, Mark Stenberg reports. (Adweek)
Alex Weprin reports on how CNN "stunned the sports world" with an "unbylined NBA scoop about Doc Rivers." CNN declined to say why it published the report, which others confirmed, without a byline. (THR)
Staff at the Texas Tribune are unionizing months after the publication's first-ever layoffs. (Poynter)
Reach — which publishes the Mirror, Express, and Star tabloids — warned that the "inconvenient truth" is that its print titles could start losing money in five years. (Guardian)
The City of Portland is suing Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Monica Samayoa as it looks to block a public records request. (Oregon Live)
The Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association urged a federal appeals court to support news publishers' recording and live-streaming of court hearings. (SPJ)

MEDIA MOVES

Bloomberg named Brad Stone editor of Businessweek. (NYT)
NPR named Katherine Maher, the former Wikimedia Foundation chief, to lead the network, and named Robin Hilton the new host of "All Songs Considered." (NPR/NPR)
CNBC tapped Christina Passariello as San Francisco bureau chief. (TBN)
Fortune hired Diane Brady as executive director of Fortune Live Media and editorial director of Fortune CEO Initiative. (Bloomberg)
NewsNation brought on Caitlyn Becker as a national correspondent. (AdWeek)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Danny Moloshok/Reuters

Smartmatic's Success: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch were dealt another legal defeat in court on Wednesday. A New York judge ruled that Smartmatic's monster defamation lawsuit against Fox Corporation can proceed, rejecting the company's request that it be excluded from litigation related to Fox News' airing of 2020 election lies. Smartmatic "sufficiently alleged in their amended complaint that (Fox) Corp. employees played an affirmative role in the publication of the defamation at issue," Judge David Cohen wrote in his opinion. Read Marshall Cohen's full story.

► Fox, of course, has said it is proud of its election coverage and Lachlan has repeatedly stood by it, vowing to fight Smartmatic's lawsuit. The company has argued in a counterclaim that Smartmatic's lawsuit exaggerates the damages it suffered as a result of Fox's coverage and Cohen rejected the voting tech company's request to toss that complaint out. A Fox spokesperson said, "We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025. As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic's damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

The New Hampshire GOP primary numbers are in. In prime time, CNN averaged 994,000 total viewers with 246,000 in the demo. MSNBC averaged 1.8 million total viewers with 237,000 in the demo. Over on Fox News, the channel averaged 3.3 million viewers with 453,000 in the demo. (Deadline)
Both CNN and MSNBC aired part of Trump's victory speech — and, of course, both networks fact-checked it right after. (Daily Beast)
This is where I point out that it is particularly notable that MSNBC took part of Trump's speech, given how Rachel Maddow usually explains to viewers during the progressive news channel's coverage that it is dangerous to air Trump's lies to the masses.
First in Reliable | Liz Cheney sat down with the "Pod Save America" team on Wednesday for a discussion set to drop Friday, I'm told. It's the third time the conservative politician has waded into platforms with a liberal bent since the launch of her book warning about Trump.
So much for being a loyal propagandist! Donald Trump raged at "RINO" Kayleigh McEnany, his former secretary turned Fox News host, blasting her for having the audacity to offer him campaign advice on the right-wing channel: "Save your advice for Nikki!" (Daily Beast)
The party of Trump — Part I: Jeanine Pirro declared that "the Republican Party is now the Donald Trump party." She's not wrong! (MMFA)
The party of Trump — Part II: Laura Ingraham said all future candidates who want to succeed in the GOP must "celebrate" Trump and say he "did a fantastic job as president." Also probably not wrong! (MMFA)
"Can we talk about the movie I'm promoting?" Bobby Lee had to plead with Joe Rogan to stop ranting about Covid-19 lockdowns, "censorship," and "totalitarian s**t" during a recent appearance. (Mediaite)
88% of top news publishers are blocking A.I. bots from cannibalizing their content; but, in an interesting twist, top right-wing outlets appear to be embracing them, Kate Knibbs reports. (WIRED)
A fascinating story from David Gilbert: "Inside an election denial Facebook group on primary day." (WIRED)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Carlos Barria/Reuters

Silicon Valley Soars: Tech titans, riding ever so high on the A.I. hype, had plenty of reason to celebrate on Wednesday. Mark Zuckerberg's Meta passed $1 trillion in value. Microsoft briefly passed an astonishing $3 trillion in value. And, over at Google, the company for a moment passed its all-time stock high. It's worth pointing out that all three of these companies have shed thousands from their workforces over the last year, so it is not as if the high market caps reflect the sentiment of some of the rank-and-file who work in Silicon Valley. Instead, it's a sign of how abuzz Wall Street is for the A.I. revolution, which will inevitably lead to even deeper cuts.

TOO MANY TABS

On the horizon? There is a bipartisan push from senators urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to create an independent agency able to regulate tech companies. (The Hill)
"There's no such thing as an A.I. system without values — and that means this newest technology platform must navigate partisan rifts, culture-war chasms and international tensions," Ina Fried writes. (Axios)
✂️ Cuts, cuts, cuts: eBay is axing 9% of its workforce, or some 1,000 employees. (CNN)
"Brands are downplaying X and focusing on TikTok" as they prep for the Super Bowl, Garett Sloane and Gillian Follett report. (AdAge)
As YouTube tries to become TikTok, TikTok is trying to become YouTube. Aisha Malik reports the short-form video platform is now testing 30-minute uploads. (TechCrunch)
Lemon8, TikTok's sister app, grew downloads by 160% during 2023's second half. (Business Insider)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Halting Halle: In what is becoming something of a trend, Netflix has chosen not to release an already shot science fiction film starring Halle Berry, TheWrap's Kristen Lopez reported Wednesday. Lopez reported via sources that the "decision was not taken lightly" inside and that there is "still support for those who worked on the film." But, per Lopez's sources, the lengthy post-production process was the reason Netflix ultimately chose not to move forward. Nevertheless, the move recalls when Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the already-finished "Batgirl" — a decision that did not sit well with a bulk of the entertainment industry. Read Lopez's full story here.

OFF STAGE

Get ready to see "Sex and the City" on Netflix. Warner Bros. Discovery is licensing the valuable franchise to the super-streamer, John Koblin reports, part of its strategy to generate extra cash. (NYT)
Claire Fu, Brooks Barnes, and Daisuke Wakabayashi break down why China's appetite for Hollywood films has waned. (NYT)
On the heels of its Oscars nominations, Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" will return to theaters this weekend. (TheWrap)
Robert Downey Jr. jokingly described working on "Oppenheimer" as a "wonderfully rude awakening" after years of Marvel films. (TheWrap)
The New York Philharmonic announced it will play excerpts from the score of "Maestro" on Feb. 14 and that Bradley Cooper will participate in a conversation afterward. (AP)
Billy Joel will perform at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. (Variety)
Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans will star in Focus Features' dark comedy, "Honey Don't!" (THR)
Steven Soderbergh's thriller "Presence" was sold to Neon. (Deadline)

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.