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Thursday, June 06, 2024

Apologies for the late send! It has been a night brimming with news. In this edition: Alex Jones agrees to liquidate his assets, Adam Silver apologizes to Turner Sports staff, Oregon Public Broadcasting taps CNN executive Rachel Smolkin as its next CEO, Steve Bannon is ordered to report to prison, The Hill fires one of its hosts, the feds move to launch A.I.-related antitrust probes, Pat Sajak readies for his final spin, critics rave about "House of the Dragon" season two, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Going Postal

CNN Photo Illustration/Carlotta Cardana/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Will Lewis is quickly losing the confidence of his newsroom.

The chief executive and publisher of The Washington Post, who took the helm of the venerable newspaper in January — and was initially welcomed by staffers with cautious optimism — has over the course of the last several days alienated his troops and raised larger questions about his fitness to run one of the nation's most prestigious news organizations.

At The Post, according to more than half-dozen staffers I spoke with Thursday, morale has fallen off a cliff since Lewis abruptly ousted Executive Editor Sally Buzbee on Sunday. "It's as bad as I've ever seen it, truly," one staffer confided in me Thursday, noting that The Post has hit "rough patches" before, but that the stormy atmosphere hanging over the Washington outlet is unprecedented.

Lewis' uncouth dispatching of Buzbee poisoned much of the goodwill he had earned with his employees over the preceding six months. Indeed, the day after he announced Buzbee's exit, staffers pressed him in a town hall about the circumstances that led to her departure. While staffers I've spoken with have praised Matt Murray, the former top editor at The Wall Street Journal who will lead the newsroom through the election, they have raised serious concerns about the appointment of Fleet Street veteran Robert Winnett, who will take the reins after the conclusion of the presidential contest.

But Lewis and his team of spokespeople (he has a personal representative, in addition to those who handle public relations on behalf of the outlet), would have likely been able to contain the mess, if it were to have remained isolated. Unfortunately for Lewis, it did not. Buzbee's ouster led to the revelation that weeks beforehand Lewis had pressured her to refrain from publishing a story about his alleged involvement in the U.K. phone hacking scandal. At the time of the scandal, which engulfed Rupert Murdoch's media empire and was revived by a new Prince Harry lawsuit, Lewis was a senior executive at News Corporation, a position that has left an indelible stain on his resume.

Lewis has denied wrongdoing in the hacking scandal. Regardless, the coverup often can often be worse than the crime. And so, when The New York Times first reported the news about the pressure Lewis had applied to Buzbee, which I've since confirmed, all Hell broke loose inside The Post.

The story sparked a wave of fear that was only exasperated by a followup story published by veteran NPR media reporter David Folkenlik, who disclosed Thursday that Lewis "repeatedly — and heatedly — offered to give" him an "exclusive interview about The Post's future," so long as he dropped a story about the phone hacking allegations. Folkenflik said a spokesperson for Lewis confirmed to him "that an explicit offer was on the table: drop the story, get the interview." Folkenflik, of course, did not drop the story. Lewis' first interview ultimately went to Puck's Dylan Byers. (Byers told me Thursday night that no restrictions were placed around the interview and he would "have never agreed to anything like that.")

Suffice to say, the behavior demonstrated by Lewis up until that point was alarming and raised serious questions about his judgment. As one veteran media executive told me Thursday, playing off The Post's "democracy dies in darkness" tagline, "Democracy dies in pressuring editors to drop stories about publishers." One doesn't need to go to Columbia Journalism School to know that the head of a newsroom should not be trying to intimidate journalists from publishing unflattering stories about themselves. It is obviously inappropriate!

Which is why one might have thought that Lewis, who surely must sense the trust of his staffers quickly slipping away, would have offered a mea culpa of sorts on Thursday night. Apologize, vow to do better, etcetera. ChatGPT could have written the note for him! But instead, bizarrely, Lewis has chosen to go a very different route.

In astonishing comments sent to The Post's Sarah Ellison and Elahe Izadi, Lewis went nuclear on Folkenflik. Lewis referred to the NPR media reporter, widely considered to be one of the best in the industry, as "an activist, not a journalist." Lewis added, "I had an off the record conversation with him before I joined you at The Post and some six months later he has dusted it down, and made up some excuse to make a story of a non-story." Additionally, Ellison and Izadi reported that Lewis had "expressed his disapproval with The Post's recent reporting on his leadership change." When asked later to identify inaccuracies, Lewis replied, "Forgive me, there has been a lot written by various people. You may well have captured this accurately."

Folkenflik responded to Lewis' below-the-belt insult Thursday night. In a statement, Folkenflik said that while Lewis may call him an activist, his own newsroom has found his reporting "on this to be newsworthy."

"As he stated, we had an agreement to have an off the record conversation about the subject I was reporting on late last year," Folkenflik told me. "That agreement did not cover his efforts to induce me to kill my story. What was off the record was our discussion of his alleged role in covering up the hacking scandal."

Folkenflik added that Lewis "did not deny making the offers" to him.

How Lewis cleans up this mammoth of a mess that he has created for himself remains to be seen. Can he do it? One wonders what Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Post, who must be growing quite tired of constantly seeing his newspaper ensnared in controversy, thinks of the situation. Inside the newsroom, though, the sentiment is plain as day.

"He's really losing the newsroom on a large scale," a staffer said, sizing up the state of affairs. "People don't trust him, don't believe he has the same values and ethics as our journalists, and there are major concerns of how far he would go to censor or shut down coverage."

PROBLEMS AT THE POST

Will Lewis and management at The WaPo will soon get a strong sense of how staffers feel. I'm told that — coincidentally — an employee survey went out this week asking employees for "real-time feedback." One can only imagine what those responses look like.
Margaret Sullivan to me: "News organizations need to be able to report on themselves fairly and honestly and without pulling their punches. And that's the mentality behinf the phrase without fear or favor. And certainly trying to cut a deal to kill a negative story fits into that code of ethics and integrity."
Bill Grueskin: "I'm more struck by the utter futility of the offer. Folkenflik has been assiduously covering News Corp and the Murdochs for years; why would Lewis think he could be bought off? Additionally, why would Lewis think that squelching the news in one outlet — in this case, NPR — make a significant difference? The allegations, as depicted in Folkenflik's story, came from Prince Harry and Hugh Grant! In court filings! Even if Lewis had kept it off NPR, this would be surfaced elsewhere."
Dan Froomkin: Lewis "must go." (Press Watchers)
Coming soon: Patty Stonesifer, the former interim boss at The WaPo, will throw a party int he coming weeks for Sally Buzbee, Sara Fischer reported. (Axios)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Jones to Lose Infowars: Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Thursday moved to liquidate his personal assets, agreeing to demands from the families of Sandy Hook victims whom he owes more than $1.5 billion in damages over his lies about the 2012 school massacre. The seismic move paves the way for a future in which Jones no longer owns Infowars, the influential conspiracy empire he founded in the late 1990s. Over the years, Jones has not only used the media company to poison the public discourse with vile lies and conspiracy theories, but also to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars.

Prior to Thursday, Jones had resisted converting his personal bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation. But facing mounting legal pressure, he reversed course and caved to the demands of the Sandy Hook families, who have still not seen a penny from him. The legal maneuver ultimately "means [Jones'] ownership in Free Speech Systems is going to get sold," Avi Moshenberg, an attorney who represents some of the Sandy Hook families, told me on Thursday night, referencing the parent company of Infowars. Here's my full story.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Silver's Media Playbook: NBA commissioner Adam Silver is acknowledging it's been a difficult month for the hundreds of staffers working on TNT's "Inside the NBA" show. On Thursday night, Silver spoke to reporters at his annual pre-NBA Finals press conference, fielding several questions about the league's looming media rights deals, which he described as "incredibly complex." But as the deals near the finish line and reports say that the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network could see its broadcast rights swiped away by NBC and Amazon, the beloved show's staff has grown restless. In recent weeks, host Charles Barkley has publicly blasted WBD executives over the prospect, saying the situation "sucks, plain and simple."

On Thursday night, Silver took a moment to speak directly to the TNT staff. "That show in particular is special," he told reporters. "I apologize that this has been a prolonged process, because I know they're committed to their jobs. I know people who work in this industry. It's a large part of their identity and their family's identity, and no one likes this uncertainty. I think it's on the league office to bring these negotiations to a head and conclude them as quickly as we can." Asked if WBD has the ability to match an offer by a streamer like Amazon, Silver declined to answer, calling it "a complex legal issue." Front Office Sports' Eric Fisher has more here .

MOUNTAIN OF DECISIONS

Shari Redstone is still keeping us waiting!
Shares in Paramount Global closed down slightly as uncertainty about the potential deal with David Ellison's Skydance remains.
"I really, really do believe that we are very well positioned to meet the moment," CBS boss George Cheeks, who presented the Office of the CEO's plan for the company with Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy earlier this week, told Cynthia Littleton on Thursday. (Variety)
Meanwhile, Josef Adalian writes that regardless of what happens with a sale, "It's the end of Paramount+ as we've known it." (Vulture)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

Oregon Public Broadcasting named Rachel Smolkin, CNN's senior vice president of global digital news, its next president and chief executive. Smolkin, who joined CNN in 2014, will stay at the network through June. "I am honored to lead OPB in its next chapter serving Oregon and the Pacific Northwest," Smolkin said. (CNN)
"A top news union's organizing costs and some of its leaders' outspoken left-leaning criticism of journalism are drawing a backlash from some unionized journalists at The New York Times, Reuters, and other newsrooms," Maxwell Tani reported. (Semafor)
The once-popular outlet BNN Breaking committed several A.I.-related errors, Kashmir Hill and Tiffany Hsu reported. (NYT)
SiriusXM will start broadcasting "Mediaite's Press Club," the weekly show hosted by Aidan McLaughlin, on Saturdays. The first episode lands June 8 with an interview with George Stephanopoulos. (Variety)

MEDIA MOVES

The WaPo hired Tom Simonite as an editor. (WaPo)
NPR hired Maria Aspan as a correspondent. (TBN)
The BBC named Georgina Hayes senior journalist and producer. (TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Bannon Behind Bars: One of Donald Trump's most aggressive and influential media allies will mostly sit the 2024 election out. A judge on Thursday ordered Steve Bannon to report to prison to serve his four-month contempt of Congress sentence. The "War Room" host will need to surrender to prison by July 1, setting up a scenario in which he will be released just days before ballots are cast in the high-stakes presidential contest. Bannon told reporters outside federal court that "there's nothing that can shut me up and nothing that will shut me up." It's unclear what will happen to Bannon's influential show when he does report to prison, and he did not respond to my text asking. But it's likely that his sidekicks will fill in the void in his absence.

🔎 Zooming In: In right-wing media, the judge ordering Bannon to report to prison was portrayed as the Biden justice system and so-called "deep-state" waging "lawfare" against Trump and his allies. "They're coming after everybody," right-wing extremist Charlie Kirk declared on his show. Never mind the crimes Trump and his allies have been convicted of! Indeed, the supposed "law and order" party now characterizes enforcing the law as unjust (unless your name is Hunter Biden!).

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Donald Trump was back on Sean Hannity's Fox News program Thursday night. Writing about his Wednesday appearance, Philip Bump observed that even the MAGA propagandist "can't get Trump to back away from wanting revenge." (WaPo)
Trump's hush-money trial showed "the feedback loop between MAGA Media and VP hopefuls," John Kneefel wrote. (MMFA)
The Hill "fired video show cohost Briahna Joy Gray following a controversial interview she conducted with the sister of an Israeli woman abducted by Hamas in which Gray rolled her eyes at a closing comment from her interview subject," Mike Roe reported. (The Wrap)
It turns out that exiling prolific spreaders of misinformation from social platforms can improve the public discourse! Who could have guessed? Will Oremus has the details on a new study out this week. (WaPo)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Microsoft/OpenAI/Nvidia/Getty Images

A Critical Eye on A.I.: The feds are turning a critical eye toward dominant A.I. companies. Regulators have struck a deal to launch probes into Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia, The NYT's David McCabe reported Thursday evening, noting it is "the strongest sign of how regulatory scrutiny into the powerful technology has escalated." Per McCabe, The DOJ will take the lead probing Nvidia, while the FTC will look at OpenAI and Microsoft. "The agreement signals intensifying scrutiny by the Justice Department and the FTC. into A.I.," McCabe wrote. Read the full story here.

TOO MANY TABS

Sam Altman is getting the Businessweek feature treatment, with Ellen Huet writing that he was "bending the world to his will long before OpenAI." (Bloomberg)
Coincidence? Will Knight reported on how OpenAI offered "a peek inside the guts of ChatGPT" via a research paper released days after former employees sounded the alarm about the company's technology. (WIRED)
A group representing tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Meta will launch a campaign titled "Generate and Create" that offers a legal defense for using copyrighted content to train A.I. systems. (THR)
Meta will allow businesses to use A.I. chatbots on WhatsApp. (WSJ)
While nearly every social media app has moved to imitate TikTok, the short form platform is taking a page out of Mark Zuckerberg's playbook and copying Snapchat, testing introducing a streaks feature. (TechCrunch)
Billionaire Frank McCourt spoke to Emily Wilkins about his hope to buy TikTok: "Our bet is they're going to sell." (CNBC)
Facebook fan pages — including those for Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and others — have been inundated with animal abuse and pornographic content, as well as scams, Jason Koebler reported. (404 Media)
YouTube updated its policy to be stricter around gun videos. (NBC News)
How high will it go? Reddit shares jumped nearly 6% on Thursday, after having jumped 10% the day before. The stock closed Thursday at $63.46.
Speaking of stocks, GameStop shares jumped 47% amid "Roaring Kitty" Reddit mania. The stock has risen 105% this week, closing at $46.55.

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Ricky Middlesworth/ABC/Getty Images

Sajak's Final Spin: It's the end of an era! Pat Sajak on Friday will spin the wheel a final time, ending his 8,000+ episode run as host of "Wheel of Fortune." Ahead of the final episode, Vanna White recorded a goodbye message to her longtime co-host. Getting visibly emotional, White said, "I can't believe that tomorrow is our last show together. I don't know how to put into words what these past 41 years have meant to me, but I'm gonna try." White added, "As this chapter of our lives is coming to an end, I know you'll still be close by. You're like a brother to me." While Sajak will exit as host, being replaced by none other than Ryan Seacrest, he will remain as a consultant on the show for at least another year. NPR's Eric Deggans has more on Sajak's legacy here.

OFF STAGE

🐉 The critics are pleased! With early reviews in, the second season of "House of the Dragon" is boasting a sterling 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. (RT)
Suzanne Collins is working on a new "Hunger Games" novel, titled "Sunrise on the Reaping," slated for release in 2025, which has already been picked up by Lionsgate and will head to theaters Nov. 2026. (AP)
Paramount's "A Quiet Place: Day One" is eyeing a $40-million-plus opening at the box office. (Deadline)
No deal: IATSE and the AMPTP extended talks for the union's labor contracts after negotiations stalled without a deal. (Deadline)
The family of slain "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins filed a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin, accusing the actor of playing "Russian Roulette with a loaded gun." (The Wrap)
Francis Ford Coppola rambled his way through a question about his "chaotic" on-set behavior while filming "Megalopolis," saying: "I'm not touchy-feely. I'm too shy." (NYT)
Netflix's May 5 "Roast of Tom Brady" nabbed the top spot on Nielsen's most-streamed programs. (The Wrap)
Jennifer Lopez' Netflix sci-fi film "Atlas" has pulled in almost 60 million views across the globe, allowing the movie to hold on to the No. 1 on the streamer's top 10 film chart for a second consecutive week. (Deadline)
The woman who identified herself as Martha from Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" hit the streamer with a $170 million lawsuit. (Deadline)
John Mulaney hasn't ruled out another talk show. (IndieWire)
A Dolly Parton musical will head to Broadway. (NYT)
Peacock announced that "Kung Fu Panda 4" will hit the streamer on June 21. (Variety)

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 next week.

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