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Wednesday, March 06, 2024

MSNBC shifts approach on taking Donald Trump live, outlets fail to use plain language to describe extremist Mark Robinson, Epic Games blasts Apple, Elon Musk suggests X might hide the like/repost count on posts, a jury finds "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Outfoxing Murdoch

CNN Photo Illustration/Getty Images

Donald Trump just defeated Rupert Murdoch (again).

With Nikki Haley exiting the presidential race, the twice-impeached, four-time indicted, insurrection-inciting former president has vanquished the field of Republican Party challengers to secure unbridled control over the GOP.

That's an outcome that Murdoch, the billionaire media mogul and one-time Republican kingmaker who controls Fox News, had hoped to avoid. Murdoch has privately leveled harsh criticism against Trump. And after the 2020 election, he even wrote in an email to a Fox News executive, disclosed during litigation with Dominion Voting Systems, "We want to make Trump a non person."

While Fox News never completely turned on Trump and blasted the election-denying president with its full might, the network did without question give him the cold shoulder as it flirted with other candidates in the Republican field over the last few years, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Fox News eagerly propped up DeSantis post-2020, all while effectively blacklisting Trump for a time. Murdoch's tabloid The New York Post even once declared DeSantis "DeFUTURE." That was no accident.

Trump himself understood that Murdoch has not wanted him to serve as the Republican nominee. Over the past few years, he has repeatedly raged at the media mogul on his Truth Social platform, blasting him for perceived slights and for having worked to elevate DeSantis.

Some of this criticism has been unfair, as we've noted, given Fox News' general refusal to throw actual elbows at Trump and still echo much of his dishonest rhetoric, repeatedly shielding him as he was hit with 91 criminal counts and civil fraud judgments worth hundreds of millions of dollars after exiting office. But Trump was not wrong in his assessment that Murdoch's network certainly would have preferred to have had another candidate at the helm of the Republican Party.

Now that Trump has secured command over the GOP, it is déjà vu for Murdoch. Eight years after Trump beat Fox News into submission during the 2016 race (remember when the network sparred openly with him over his trashing of then-anchor Megyn Kelly, among other things?), he has done the same again. That means that as the presumptive GOP nominee, Trump will once again have Fox News at his full disposal, able to wield the network like he did during his time in the White House as an effective political weapon, which he will harness in the weeks and months ahead against President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.

Of course, the writing has been on the wall for Murdoch for some time now. And that has been reflected gradually in Fox News' coverage. In recent months, the network has returned to its old ways, handing over its massive platform to Trump and allowing him to spread mis-and-disinformation. The reversal has even led Fox anchors to attack other outlets for having the courage to hold the wall against Trump's lies and fact check his claims.

With his victory in the primaries official, Trump has not only secured control over the GOP, but regained command of his most powerful propaganda organ. Fox News — which will never support a Democratic candidate for president — is left with no real choice but to prop him up. Murdoch and his network executives know that if they were to dare not fall in line, Trump could batter the right-wing channel and encourage his legion of fans to switch over to Newsmax, as was the case in the immediate wake of the 2020 election.

Put more simply: Trump has checkmated Murdoch, clearing one more hurdle standing in his way on the path to the White House.

THE INFOWARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Chuck Burton/AP

The Robinson Reality: Who is Mark Robinson? He's an Adolf Hitler-quoting, Islamophobic, homophobic, election-denying conspiracy theorist who just secured the Republican Party's nomination for governor in North Carolina. In other words, he's an extremist. That should not be hard for news outlets to say. But strangely, prominent news organizations seem to have a difficult time using such plain language to describe him. Instead, some outlets are describing him as "controversial" or a "political firebrand," a far weaker — and insufficient — description.

The NYT, The WSJ, and CNN all did so in digital stories over the last 24 hours. While CNN and The WSJ at least included context in its reporting about Robinson's extremist rhetoric, The NYT initially failed to do so Wednesday in a story with the single purpose of answering "Who Is Mark Robinson?" Only after The NYT was criticized for the glaring omission did it add context at the very bottom of its article mentioning his history of repugnant comments. That led me to ask a spokesperson for The NYT why it would bury that crucial information at the bottom of its story. I didn't hear back, but the story was later updated to mention his history of reprehensible commentary closer to the top.

🔎 Zooming in: While it might be uncomfortable for some journalists to refer to a candidate for governor as an extremist, it is the reality. Readers, who don't have the time to spend their days going down online rabbit holes, rely on news organizations to be clear-eyed and tell them who these candidates are. It's the literal purpose of publishing "who is " stories, not simply to reap SEO traffic! Most news outlets have no problem calling figures like Alex Jones an extremist. So why shy away from the label when it comes to others?

► Since we are noting the outlets that got it wrong, we should also give kudos to those that nailed the headline. The Guardian, in particular, did a nice job with this headline: "Hitler-quoting candidate wins North Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

What's going on at MSNBC? The progressive network, which once proudly boasted that it does not air Donald Trump live, carried the disgraced former president's lie-filled Super Tuesday victory speech. The decision to air his remarks, which Rachel Maddow immediately said after was "irresponsible," is part of a trend from the network, which has started broadcasting Trump's speeches again in real-time. (Daily Beast)
👀 Donald Trump met on Sunday in Palm Beach with Elon Musk as he looks "to find additional major donors to shore up his finances," Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Ryan Mac reported. After the story, Musk wrote on X he will not be "donating money to either candidate for US President." (NYT)
Brandon Gill — the former banker who established the DC Enquirer, a right-wing website promoting the debunked conspiracy film "2000 Mules" — won the GOP nomination for a House seat in Texas. (WIRED)
When the BBC's Emily Maitlis asked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene "why so many people that support Donald Trump love conspiracy theories, including yourself," the lawmaker accused Maitlis herself of being a conspiracy theorist. When Maitlis asked Greene about Jewish space lasers, Greene asked Maitlis, "why don't you f**k off?" (Daily Beast)

THE INDUSTRY

THE FOURTH ESTATE

"Tensions at The New York Times over an investigative report on Hamas' use of sexual violence in the October 7th attacks have erupted into the open over the past week with fresh conflict surfacing nearly every day," David Folkenflik reports, adding that he had spoken to several former veterans of the paper who were "taken aback" by the fact management had launched a leak investigation related to how The Intercept gained internal information about the matter. (NPR)
Over 100 members of U.K. parliament are calling on the government to block the sale of The Telegraph to Jeff Zucker's RedBird IMI over concerns about its UAE funding. Addressing such concerns, Zucker has said that the outlet will maintain its editorial independence. (Independent)
Mediaite said it is launching a video-centric podcast hosted by Editor-In-Chief Aidan McLaughlin that will debut from a new in-house studio Thursday. (Mediaite)
CNBC said it is expanding its "Make It" brand, adding a weekly TV series and online classes to increase its presence in the world of personal finance, Alex Weprin reports. (THR)
"Why is your news site going out of business?" Josh Marshall shared how much Talking Points Memo seen programatic advertising revenue decline over the years, writing, "As I think is pretty clear, if this is your business, you're dead. You don't have a business." (TPM)

IN THE MARKET

Paramount chief financial officer Naveen Chopra said at MSTMT that the company is "getting the most we possibly can out of every single dollar that we invest in content." (THR)
Comcast chief financial officer Jason Armstrong said the company sees "a lot of value in having sports and entertainment in one portfolio." (THR)
Alex Weprin takes a look at Bob Iger's "next big battle," writing that "the company's annual meeting April 3 will prove pivotal as the CEO and his activist opponents maneuver for shareholder votes." (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

Sony Pictures named Ravi Ahuja its president and chief operating officer. (THR)
Bloomberg News hired Ted Mann as a reporter. (TBN)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Epic Fight With Apple: The fight between Apple and Epic Games continued on Wednesday to escalate. In a blistering statement, Epic Games said Apple rejected its E.U. developer account, adding that it believes the Silicon Valley titan "is retaliating against Epic for speaking out against Apple's unfair and illegal practices." The two companies have for years been duking it out against each other over Apple's 30% fee for in-app purchases. Epic previously sued Apple over the matter, a case it largely lost. An Apple spokesperson on Wednesday alluded to that, saying, "Epic's egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate 'any or all of Epic Games' wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games' control at any time and at Apple's sole discretion.′ In light of Epic's past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right." CNBC's Kim Leswing has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Another problem for Elon Musk: A judge ruled that a copyright lawsuit brought by several music labels can move forward. (The Verge)
Meanwhile, Musk said X is considering no longer displaying how many reposts a post receives. (Reuters)
OpenAI published a post detailing the company's relationship with Musk that included several internal emails between the right-wing, conspiracy-minded media mogul and its executives. (Business Insider)
OpenAI also said Musk tried to merge it with Tesla. (NYT)
Meta asked a Delaware judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by shareholders that accuses the company of failing to protect users from human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. (AP)
Attorneys general from 41 states sent an open letter to top brass at Meta saying they're seeing more complaints Facebook and Instagram accounts are being stolen. (WIRED)
Meta said it will end its authorized sales partner program by July, opting for a model in which advertisers directly work with it. (WSJ)
Reddit is working to bolster its ad sales team as the platform's IPO approaches, Krystal Scanlon reports. (Digiday)
"For the longest time, Apple has traded on the belief that, at any given moment, it has something extraordinary locked away in a secret lab, something it is perfecting with the help of its legendary design team," Dave Lee writes. "This perception is rapidly waning." (Bloomberg)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Luis Sánchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican/Pool/AP

Gun Armorer Found Guilty: A jury quickly rendered a verdict on Wednesday in the trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the "Rust" armorer who faced involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. After only a few hours of deliberation, the jury found Gutierrez Reed guilty of manslaughter, while acquitting her of evidence tampering. The manslaughter charge carries up to 18 months in prison. Gutierrez Reed had denied responsibility and her lawyers have alleged Alec Baldwin was ultimately responsible for the tragedy. CNN's Cheri Mossburg, Christina Maxouris, and Josh Campbell have more.

OFF STAGE

Tatiana Siegel looks at the large volume of cash Apple has spent on recent projects and asks, "Was spending $700 million on 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' 'Napoleon' and 'Argylle' worth it?" (Variety)
A24's upcoming "Civil War" film, which comes during the heated election year, has sparked debate among those who worry conflict may be on the horizon, James Hibberd reports. (THR)
Bill Carter argues that the Oscars belong to Late Night. (Late Nighter)
Chris Willman sat down with John Williams, who, with 54 Oscar nominations, is the most-nominated living person in history. (Variety)
The criminal case involving lyrics for the Eagles' "Hotel California" was dismissed. (Rolling Stone)
The premiere of "Shōgun" drew nine million global views across Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ in the show's first six days of streaming. (The Wrap)
Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal will head to Broadway to star in Shakespeare's "Othello." (THR)
Netflix ordered two more seasons of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," which will conclude with season three. (THR)
CBS green-lit another "Big Bang Theory" spinoff that will follow Georgie and Mandy from "Young Sheldon." (Deadline)
Speaking of which: Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik will return to CBS for the series finale of "Young Sheldon," reprising the roles they played for "The Big Bang Theory." (The Wrap)
Fieri Cinematic Universe: Food Network ordered a new series, titled "Best Bite in Town," that will be executive produced by the King of Flavortown himself and presented by Noah Cappe. (The Wrap)
ABC ordered a pilot for a new series that will star Tim Allen. (The Wrap)
Amazon renewed "Upload" for a fourth and final season. (THR)
Apple TV released the official trailer for "STEVE! (martin)," a two-part documentary that chronicles the comedian's rise to stardom. (YouTube)

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.

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