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Tuesday, January 09, 2024

It's been raining media stories all day! Don Lemon joins forces with Elon Musk, Kevin Merida abruptly exits The LAT, Bill Ackman continues his campaign against Business Insider, the BBC issues an apology, Fox News airs more MAGA propaganda, Twitch reportedly preps for major layoffs, Meta announces it will restrict teen accounts, Warner Bros. Discovery partners with Tom Cruise, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Magic Kingdom's Mess

CNN Photo Illustration/Getty Images

Where is Bob Iger and Jimmy Pitaro?

The Disney and ESPN chiefs have both been conspicuously silent as sports shock jock Pat McAfee very publicly uses their air to host a weekly conspiracy program with injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers — an off-the-rails affair that recently tarred and feathered Jimmy Kimmel within the Magic Kingdom's own walls.

Neither Iger nor Pitaro said a word Tuesday as Rodgers made his way back to ESPN's air, using his regular appearance on the Disney-owned channel to go on an extended — and, at times, fact-free — rant on a range of topics unrelated to sports. Rodgers, who McAfee handsomely pays to appear on the show once a week, spread medical misinformation, he assailed the media, and even went as far as to rail against an ESPN executive in front of hundreds of thousands of live viewers.

The only thing Rodgers couldn't muster up the courage to do? Publicly apologize to Kimmel — a trait he currently shares with Iger and Pitaro, both of whom have not said a word as their late-night star has seen his reputation repeatedly called into question and sullied on ESPN.

Instead, Rodgers further sought to maim the ABC comedian, skewering him in a bizarre rant for standing with the medical community and the likes of Dr. Anthony Fauci during the pandemic by recommending people get vaccinated and take basic precautions to avoid spreading the virus.

Beyond the issue of his ceaseless attacks on Kimmel, it is astonishing that Disney continues to permit Rodgers to spread vaccine misinformation and smear widely respected public health authorities like Fauci on the company's massive platforms. That puts Disney, a reputable brand that aims to be as inoffensive as possible, in the company of Fox News, the only other major television broadcaster that comes to mind that allows for the irresponsible and unchecked airing of such anti-intellectual drivel.

To be fair, Disney and ESPN are dealing with a complex problem. It's not easy to rein in big personalities — especially when neither McAfee nor Rodgers are ESPN employees. ESPN licenses McAfee's show (the company doesn't produce it) and Rodgers has no direct business relationship with the sports channel.

But it's a bed that Iger and Pitaro made when they willfully entered into a business relationship with McAfee and inked an eye-popping agreement (reportedly worth $85 million) to expand it last year. McAfee is McAfee. He has not changed. And neither Iger nor Pitaro should be surprised with the mess they are now being forced to clean up.

The complexities of the problem also do not preclude Disney from taking some form of public action. The hands of Iger and Pitaro are not entirely tied. The Disney boss and ESPN chief might be behaving as if they are paralyzed, but there are unquestionably levers that they can pull to make it clear that the rhetoric being beamed by the "worldwide leader in sports" to the masses is unacceptable. After all, it is their air.

Pulling those levers and/or taking a public stand for basic decency would certainly take a few ounces of courage. It would require backbone. And it would likely fracture business relationships that Disney would prefer to maintain. But standing still has, thus far, proved to be an ineffective strategy in containing the mess. And, given McAfee and Rodgers' propensity for controversy, the issues underpinning this particular episode will likely continue to be a recurring problem. While the current uproar might soon quiet down, Kimmel has forced a magnifying glass over the show, which will remain.

Iger and Pitaro have a mountain of decidedly larger problems that they must contend with, including bringing ESPN into the streaming future. They have probably hoped that this will resolve on its own. But, like a gnawing headache, it's not going away.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Don's X-Rated Deal: Don Lemon is getting in business with Elon Musk, the unhinged billionaire who has embraced a long list of conspiracy theories and single-handedly decimated what was once one of the world's most indispensable communications platforms. The former CNN anchor announced the formation of his own media company and revealed that its first project will be producing "The Don Lemon Show," which he said will be made available across the internet, but "first on X." Bizarrely, while most of the world's leading brands have ceased doing business with X, choosing to suspend advertising on the troubled platform, Lemon is opting in, along with Tulsi Gabbard and Jim Rome. In his announcement, Lemon described X as the "biggest space for free speech in the world." But that isn't true. While Musk claims to be a free speech absolutist, and much of the press lets him get away with the ridiculous assertion, the evidence simply points the other direction. Musk has repeatedly taken steps to curtail the free speech of his critics and has even, at times, temporarily suspended journalists from his platform. In fact, as Lemon heaped praise on X Tuesday, a fresh round of journalists saw their accounts inexplicably suspended — an action Musk, facing questions, later reversed and claimed to a right-wing influencer was just the result of "sweeps for spam/scam accounts." Uh huh.

🔎 Zooming in: So what's going on here? For Lemon, I'd surmise that Musk is offering a not-insignificant bag of money to lure him to the beleaguered platform. But, more importantly, for Musk, the erratic X owner will love nothing more than to be able to point to Lemon's show when accused of platforming bigots and misinformers — especially in conversations with potential advertisers that he and his team might be trying to lure back. "We've got Don Lemon! X is a place for all sides!" You can already see the argument being made, despite it holding little water. Lemon's point of view is not equatable to those who spew hate speech and peddle dangerous conspiracy theories, but it's surely how X will frame it, just as how Fox News invokes Bret Baier's name when selling the right-wing channel's toxic brand to advertisers. And you can already see the talking points taking shape in public view. Extremist Tucker Carlson lauded Lemon, congratulating the host that he repeatedly mocked and whipped up mobs of fanatics to harass during his time at Fox News, for joining X. "It's a whole new world," Carlson wrote on X. "Welcome." Lemon then replied, "Thanks Tucker." And X executive Linda Yaccarino responded to both of them, "This is X!"

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

The Sunset in LA: In a sudden move that few probably saw coming, Kevin Merida announced Tuesday that he will be stepping down from his post Friday as executive editor of the Los Angeles Times — a move that has renewed questions about the future of the west's largest newsroom. Merida gave no specific reason for calling it quits, only saying the decision was the product of talks between him and the newspaper's billionaire owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. "Today, with a heavy heart, I announce that I am leaving The Times," Merida told staffers in an emailed note. "I made the decision, in consultation with Patrick, after considerable soul-searching about my career at this stage and how best to be of value to the profession I love." For his part, Soon-Shiong said that "given the persistent challenges" facing the outlet, it is "imperative" that the company "work together to build a sustainable business that allows for growth and innovation." Soon-Shiong also reiterated his commitment to The LAT, insisting it has "not wavered."

🔎 Zooming in: While Soon-Shiong's commitment to his newspaper may not have wavered, evidently his belief that Merida was best positioned to lead it did. Merida has unquestionably had the unenviable task of trying to breathe new life into a storied newspaper during a turbulent time in media when established institutions are struggling. At the same time, under his leadership, The LAT still foundered as it tried to find its footing and establish an identity. The NYT's Ben Mullin reported that Merida "has been at odds with members of the Soon-Shiong family on a variety of matters, including editorial decisions." Mullin added that the Soon-Shiong family "clashed" with Merida over his decision to restrict journalists who signed a letter condemning Israel's actions in Gaza from being able to report on the conflict. To compound the editorial problems, as The LAT's own Meg James reported, the paper has not performed well from a business standpoint, having "fallen well short of its digital subscriber goals" and needing "a revenue boost to sustain the operation."

THE FOURTH ESTATE

Spokespeople for Axel Springer and Business Insider told me they had no updates on their "review" into stories alleging plagiarism by Neri Oxman, the former MIT professor who is Bill Ackman's wife.
Ackman turned up the heat on Axel and BI on Tuesday, alleging in a new post that he "personally disputed the facts" of the financial news-focused outlet's reporting, though he didn't get into specifics. (Forbes)
"The review and frustrations inside BI are a test for Axel Springer, owner of such German titles as Bild and Die Welt, as it raises its profile in the U.S.," Alexandra Bruell noted. (WSJ)
A disturbing sight: A group of armed men broke onto the set of Ecuador's public TV channel TC Television, which continued to broadcast live as they threatened staff at gunpoint. (CNN)
The BBC apologized for reporting an unverified Hamas claim that Israeli military members carried out summary executions in Gaza: "We had not made sufficient effort to seek corroborating evidence to justify reporting the Hamas claim," the network said in a statement to Jake Kanter. (Deadline)
A dispute over the lack of ethnic diversity among the ranks of the U.K. Channel 4's board has erupted after the company appointed four new directors, all of whom are white. (The Guardian)
CNBC will start selling paid courses to diversify revenue, network boss KC Sullivan told Sara Fischer. (Axios)
Page Six is expanding beyond the print product, launching its own video studio and hiring media personality Astra to anchor, Etan Vlessing reported. (THR)
The Daily Mail expanded its YouTube presence with a new talk show that features Andrew Pierce and Sarah Vine. (Press Gazette)

IN THE MARKET

"The strikes that shut down Hollywood studios for most of last year didn't recalibrate the entertainment industry. They exposed its biggest vulnerability: The business is broken," Lucas Shaw wrote. (Bloomberg)
Fox Corporation launched a new blockchain platform, Verify, that aims to assist media publishers in monitoring how their content is being used across the web. (Axios)
IMAX netted a whopping $1.06 billion at the global box office in 2023, coming oh so close to 2019's record $1.1 billion. (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

USA Today named Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy as a White House correspondent.
The Forward hired Susan Greene to report from Israel for the next six months. (Forward)
Reuters named Andrew Gray its European affairs editor and announced Daina Beth Solomon will move to Chile to cover Latin America mining. (TBN/TBN)
The WaPo hired Jonathan Fischer as an arts and entertainment editor. (TheWrap)
The NYT hired Asmaa Elkeurti as a graphics/multimedia editor. (NYT)
Ella Irwin, X's former head of trust, joined Stability AI. (NBC News)
Disney hired Jon Wax as executive vice president for international original TV. (THR)
SoundCloud named Tom Sansone chief financial officer and chief operating officer. (Variety)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Susan Walsh/AP

The Tame Fox: We'll keep this short, since it's neither new or surprising — but nevertheless is worth pointing out and putting on the record. While reputable news organizations spent much of Tuesday covering the hearing focused on Donald Trump's presidential immunity claims, Fox News chose to take a different path. The right-wing channel, which served as Trump's chief propaganda organ during his scandal-ridden administration, initially opted not to take the audio from the hearing live, standing in contrast to CNN and MSNBC. But, most egregious, was how the network handled the news during its highly watched evening programming. "THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN A POLITICAL PROSECUTION," an on-screen banner blared during Laura Ingraham's show. The implication is, of course, false. But it offers a good peek into how information is being presented to millions of Americans.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

On CNN, Kaitlan Collins cut into Trump's post-court press conference to offer "a few fact checks and reality statements." (Mediaite)
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder apologized for having not been more transparent about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's hospitalization, which was due to the cabinet official being treated for prostate cancer: "I should have tried to learn more ... I want to offer my apologies and my pledge to learn from this experience." (Yahoo!)
In a piece very much worth your time, Donie O'Sullivan spoke to a January 6 insurrection participant just before she reports to serve her years-long prison sentence. (CNN)
Jake Tapper told Caleb Ecarma that he "reject[s] the premise" a debate without frontrunner Donald Trump serves no point. (Vanity Fair)
Bret Baier was asked why Fox News would air a town hall with Trump during the CNN GOP debate: "It was the Trump campaign's demand. They would only do it if it was at that time; we offered a number of different times. That was their stipulation." (Deseret)
Speaking of town halls, Fox News' event with Ron DeSantis was disrupted by protesters on Tuesday night. "No oil money," they chanted. (Mediaite)
Three years after being ousted from Fox Business, the conspiracy consumed Lou Dobbs debuted his new show on an obscure website run by election denier and My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell. (Forbes)
Far-right social media network Gab is putting out "uncensored" A.I. chatbots — and one is even named after Adolf Hitler, Tim Dickinson reports. (Rolling Stone)
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh dismissed data showing that 2023 was the hottest year on record, calling it "superstition" and saying scientists and the media pull such numbers "out of their asses." (MMFA)
Ray Epps, the man conspiracy theorists falsely claim led an FBI plot to orchestrate the insurrection and who is suing Fox News, was sentenced to a year of probation for joining a mob during the Capitol attack. (CNN)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Twitch in Turmoil: Amazon's live-streaming video platform Twitch "is poised to cut 35% of its staff, or about 500 workers," Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio reported Tuesday, citing sources. D'Anastasio reported that the cuts could be announced as soon as Wednesday, writing that the workforce reduction comes "amid concerns over losses at Twitch and after several top executives left the company in the span of a few months." It also comes shortly after the departure of several senior executives, including the chief product officer, chief content officer, and chief revenue officer. Per D'Anastasio, a Twitch spokesperson declined to comment on the planned layoffs. Read D'Anastasio's full story here.

TOO MANY TABS

Meta announced it will by default restrict what content teenagers can see on Instagram and Facebook, preventing them from viewing harmful material. (CNN)
The E.U. said it's considering a review of Microsoft's investment in OpenAI. (WSJ)
ByteDance said its in talks with multiple potential buyers to sell its gaming assets. (Reuters)
Elon Musk's X, which struggles to keep basic features working, said it will launch peer-to-peer payments in 2024. (CNBC)
Carrie Stimmel, who headed agency partnerships for X, left the company, telling friends Musk's antisemitic endorsement at the end of 2023 upset her, Claire Atkinson reports. (Media Mix)
Google argued in court that it shouldn't have to pay a company $1.67 billion for allegedly infringing on an A.I.-related patent. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images

Catching Cruise: It seems that David Zaslav made Tom Cruise an offer he couldn't refuse. Warner Bros. Discovery announced Tuesday that it had partnered with Cruise to work on developing new movie projects. As THR's Pamela McClintock noted, "Luring Cruise into the fold is a coup for Zaslav ... considering he's one of the last movie stars who carries clout around the world. And it's especially a coup since he's otherwise remained a free agent who hasn't had a formal deal with Paramount, home of his two biggest franchises, 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Top Gun,' since 2006." It goes without saying that Cruise will, of course, still work with other studios, given he's in the middle of shooting the next 'Mission' film and will be starring in a space flick for NBCU. But now Cruise will also be producing movies for WBD, something he has not done in a decade since "Edge of Tomorrow." CNN's Alli Rosenbloom has more here.

OFF STAGE

Over 260 actors and industry figures — including Julianna Marguiles, David Schwimmer, and Debra Messing — signed an open letter demanding that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences add Jews to its inclusion standards. (TheWrap)
Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who was charged with organizing the murder of Tupac Shakur, was granted $750,000 bail and house arrest. (AP)
A coroner determined that Shuhada' Sadaqat, or Sinéad O'Connor, died at age 56 of natural causes. (NYT)
Netflix dropped its official trailer for the highly anticipated "3 Body Problem" series based on the best-selling science fiction book. (YouTube)
A "Star Wars" movie dubbed "The Mandalorian & Grogu" directed by Jon Favreau has been green-lit at Lucasfilm. (THR)
HBO's "The Last of Us" cast Kaitlyn Dever. (TheWrap)
Tina Fey will star in Netflix's "The Four Seasons." (THR)
Jay-Z and D'Angelo will put out a new track on Friday. (Pitchfork)

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.