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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

The Atlantic and Vox Media ink deals with OpenAI, Nelson Peltz sells his Disney stake, The WSJ reports Elon Musk and Donald Trump have become phone friends, federal investigators prepare to bring Sean "Diddy" Combs accusers before grand jury, FX Networks drops the season three trailer for "The Bear," and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Verdict Is In

CNN Photo Illustration/Fox News

The jury might still be deliberating, but Donald Trump's media allies have already delivered a verdict to their audiences.

Throughout the duration of the Manhattan hush-money trial, Fox News and the rest of MAGA Media have set the stage to absolve Trump in the historic case. Day after day, week after week, popular personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Steve Bannon have lampooned the judicial system, portraying Trump as an innocent victim of political persecution.

Inside this alternate media universe, the actual facts of the case never penetrate the bubble that shields its audiences from detrimental developments for Trump. Instead, alternate dishonest storylines are disseminated as the gospel truth.

Not only is Trump entirely innocent of any and all wrongdoing in the MAGA Media world, but President Joe Biden is guilty of nefariously weaponizing government to wage "lawfare" on his political opponent. Audiences are told that Biden cannot win a fair fight with Trump, so he has resorted to illegal "election interference" by rigging the judicial system against Trump.

It goes without saying that these narratives are built on foundations of lies and innuendo that do not hold water. Biden does not control the judicial system. The hush-money case is taking place in New York state court with charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney. And it isn't Trump's left-wing enemies who have been making headlines testifying against the GOP candidate in the case, it's his former allies, such as one-time fixer Michael Cohen and former National Enquirer boss David Pecker.

Nevertheless, millions consuming right-wing media have been fed these deceptive storylines, impacting how voters perceive current events and, more importantly, cast their ballots. In the Republican Party, voters absorb their information from outlets like Fox News, which has dishonestly run defense for Trump over the course of the trial.

"WHERE'S THE CRIME?" demanded a banner on Ingraham's prime time show Wednesday along with a graphic showing images of Biden, Judge Juan Merchan, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg "THE REAL FRAUDS."

In the following hour, Jesse Watters accused Merchan in an on-screen graphic of "LEADING THE JURY" and intimated how "very fishy" it was that a "stop Trump" judge was selected to preside over the case.

The progressive Media Matters said in a study published this week that Fox News has leveled at least 200 attacks on Merchan alone since the trial commenced — a staggering number that does not include the attacks on others associated with the case. And the study only accounted for Fox News, not the host of other entities that make up the right-wing media universe.

It can be tempting to ignore the torrent of attacks Trump's media allies are launching in their unrelenting efforts to undermine the case. But those forces are shaping how a large swath of the country understands the high-stakes and unprecedented trial taking place in lower Manhattan. And they're a reminder that if Trump were to return to power, he has a powerful propaganda apparatus at his disposal that will do everything in its power to sanitize his actions — whatever they may be.

THE TRUMP TRIAL

CNN Photo Illustration/Drudge Report

The Drudge Report's banner headline: "TRUMP JUDGMENT LOOMS."
CNN and Fox News again on Wednesday carried Donald Trump's campaign-style remarks live outside the courtroom in which he leveled dishonest attacks against the "fascists" and "thugs" who supposedly make up the Biden administration and are "destroying" the country." CNN aired a fact check afterward. MSNBC very briefly took Trump live, but immediately cut in as it became clear Trump was going to abuse the airwaves to lie.
Later in the afternoon, Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo wrote on X, "The President just spoke to approx 1,000 mostly black voters in Philly about the massive stakes in this election. [MSNBC, CNN] & others did not show it."
A fun read: POLITICO's team detailed how they "learned how to navigate an unprecedented obstacle course" covering the trial: "We've had to maneuver through Secret Service agents policing the courthouse; dictatorial rules against coffee in the courtroom; and hallways filled with warnings about asbestos." (POLITICO)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Media and the Machines: News organizations keep getting into bed with OpenAI. Despite the company's worrisome record with creatives and fear the products it is building could cause severe harm to the news industry, leading to its ultimate demise, news organizations are running to the bank to cash checks to license their content to the behemoth. On Wednesday, Vox Media and The Atlantic said they had signed such agreements, becoming the latest news organizations to join forces with Sam Altman-led company. The deals will give OpenAI access to the outlets' deep archives, which it will use to further train its A.I., including ChatGPT, as it continues to build what it surely hopes will be a Google killer. Meanwhile, the outlets will get access to OpenAI's tech and, presumably, a nice chunk of change. Bloomberg's Jackie Davalos has more here.

A DEAL WITH THE BOTS

The top story on The Atlantic's website Wednesday evening was Damon Beres' scathing assessment of the pact, headlined, "A Devil's Bargain With OpenAI." (The Atlantic)
The Verge Editor-In-Chief Nilay Patel: "I don't have a lot to say about this -- our newsroom is independent of the company's business dealings as it's always been. We'll figure out some disclosure language and do a disclosure when it's appropriate, we are pretty good at those ;)." (Threads)
David Lee re-surfaced his smart piece from last week in which he wrote that these deals "should be thought of as settlements." (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, others re-upped a blistering piece The Atlantic published from Jessica Lessin just — *checks notes* — five days ago. Lessin wrote, "The publishers willing to roll over this way aren't just failing to defend their own intellectual property — they are also trading their own hard-earned credibility for a little cash from the companies that are simultaneously undervaluing them and building products quite clearly intended to replace them." (The Atlantic)
"Litigate or license?": Natalie Korach and Sharon Knolle report on how media companies "are choosing sides, with some trying to protect their content in court while others make deals." (The Wrap)
Peter Csathy wrote that Scarlett Johansson has "hit the panic button" on OpenAI/Big Tech and that it is time for major media companies "to follow her lead." (The Wrap)

THE INDUSTRY

THE BIZ

Nelson Peltz has "sold his entire stake in Disney," Sara Salinas and Scott Wapner reported. (CNBC)
Sony is in talks to purchase Queen's catalog for a staggering $1 billion, Giles Turner, Dinesh Nair, and Lucas Shaw reported. (Bloomberg)
Strike at the iHeartPodcast Network? It could happen as contract talks drag on more than two years after staff unionized. (Deadline)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

📚 The book race: Bill Maher debuted at No. 1 on The NYT's nonfiction bestseller list; George Stephanopoulos dropped to No. 4 in his second week; and Whoopi Goldberg dropped to No. 10 in her third week. (NYT)
A new Reuters Institute study found that roughly 24% of the public is using A.I. to acquire general information while only 5% across the six nations use generative A.I. to get their news. (Reuters)
The Associated Press released the 57th edition of its Stylebook, which includes a new chapter on criminal justice. (AP)
Heh? Fashion media brand Elle is apparently opening up branded residences in Miami. (Robb Report)
The BBC will review how "different groups and communities" are represented across its content. (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Amy Homma its museum chief, named Matt Severson executive vice president for Academy collection preservation, promoted Jennifer Davidson to chief marketing and communications officer, and promoted Jenny Galante to chief revenue officer. (THR)
The NYT hired Thomas Gibbons-Neff as a reporter. (NYT)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Getty Images

Dialing Up Donald: It is spring and a bromance is blossoming! Elon Musk and Donald Trump have developed "a friendly rapport and talk on the phone several times a month," The WSJ's Emily Glazer, Robbie Whelan, Alex Leary, Cara Lombardo, and Dana Mattioli reported Wednesday. According to the team of five reporters, the disgraced former president has discussed "ways to give Musk formal input and influence over policies related to border security and the economy." Additionally, The WSJ reported that billionaire Nelson Peltz and Musk have told Trump "of an influence campaign in elite circles that is already under way, in which Musk and his political allies host gatherings of powerful business leaders across the country to try to convince them not to support President Biden's re-election campaign." Read the full story here.

🔎 Zooming in: While Musk has said he will not donate to Trump, he has used his influential perch as X boss to not only bash Biden, but also make the influential platform more MAGA friendly. Musk has removed guardrails on the platform, welcomed back previously banned right-wing extremists, and allowed dishonest personalities to purchase a blue check that gives them the cloak of legitimacy and greater reach, among other things. In sum, the moves have helped transform the platform once known as Twitter into an online fever swamp saturated with mis- and disinformation that favors Trump.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign filed a complaint with the FEC alleging CNN "colluded" with the Biden and Trump campaigns to exclude him from the June 27 debate. A CNN spokesperson said, in part, "RFK, Jr. does not currently meet our polling criteria, which, like the other objective criteria, were set before issuing invitations to the debate." (CNN)
Jerry Seinfeld told Bari Weiss that he misses "dominant masculinity," saying he gets the "toxic thing," but that he likes "a real man." (Variety)
Clay Travis launched an ugly attack on "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin, claiming that if she "wasn't pretty and a minority she would have no media career whatsoever." (MMFA)
"All Eyes on Rafah" imagery is coursing through social media, with one image being shared at least 38 million times, Ali Watkins reported. (NYT)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Helen of OpenAI: Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, who helped briefly oust Sam Altman from the company, is breaking her silence. Speaking on "The TED AI Show," Toner said Altman "made it really difficult for the board" and accused the OpenAI boss of "withholding information," "misrepresenting things that were happening at the company," and "outright lying to the board." Toner said, "Sam could always come up with some kind of innocuous-sounding explanation of why it wasn't a big deal, or misinterpreted, or whatever. But the end effect was that after years of this kind of thing, all four of us who fired him came to the conclusion that we just couldn't believe things that Sam was telling us." CNBC's Hayden Field has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Kara Swisher will host a four-part live interview series on A.I. at John Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, with OpenAI's Mira Murati figuring as the series' inaugural guest on June 10. (Vox Media)
Drew Harwell detailed the "extraordinary deal" TikTok offered the U.S. government in 2022, including giving the feds "a kill switch that would shut the app down in the United States if they felt it remained a threat." (WaPo)
Mike Isaac reported on "how A.I. made Mark Zuckerberg popular again in Silicon Valley." (NYT)
Meanwhile, Megan Morrone argued that with his embracement of the "move fast and break things" strategy, Sam Altman is "starting to look a lot like" Zuckerberg. (Axios)
Meta said in its quarterly report that it removed influence campaigns from China, Israel, Iran, Russia, and other countries. (Bloomberg)
Google axed a third of its legal investigations team, Jules Roscoe reported. (404 Media)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Diddy's Troubles Deepen: Disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing even more problems. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister and Josh Campbell reported Wednesday that federal investigators are preparing to bring his accusers before a federal grand jury. The move signals that the Justice Department "is moving toward potentially seeking an indictment of Combs," Wagmeister and Campbell reported. One source told the duo that investigators are taking their time compiling their case against Combs to ensure an indictment is "bulletproof." Read the full story here.

OFF STAGE

Harvey Weinstein could face another indictment in New York, where prosecutors indicated additional women may come forward with allegations against the disgraced filmmaker. (THR)
End of the road for "Mad Max"? Pamela McClintock and Aaron Couch report that the poor box office performance for "Furiosa" has put the brakes on George Miller's next entry into the franchise. (THR)
Cruel Summer: Several homeless people in Edinburgh have been sent out of the U.K. city to free up accommodation for tourists ahead of Taylor Swift's concert in the Scots capital. (BBC)
Nicki Minaj announced the second leg of her North American "Pink Friday 2 World Tour." (Variety)
Are you ready for season three of "The Bear"? FX Networks has dropped the trailer. (YouTube)
"Unscripted shows, which historically have been cheaper to make and faster to produce, are feeling the same fiscal pinch as their scripted counterparts as media companies right-size their slates and spending," Katie Kilkenny and Lesley Goldberg report. (THR)
"Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause is joining the cast of Amazon Freevee's "Neighbours" reboot where she'll portray a successful businesswoman. (Variety)
Prime Video ordered a "Young Sherlock" series, with Guy Ritchie to direct. (Deadline)
Kerry Washington and Glenn Close will star alongside Daniel Craig in Netflix's upcoming "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery." (Deadline/THR)
Sony Pictures dropped the trailer for "WOLFS," the Apple Original Films comedy reuniting George Clooney and Brad Pitt. (YouTube)
Disney released the teaser trailer for "Moana 2." (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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