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Thursday, June 13, 2024

Good afternoon! We are in your inbox with an early edition as I head to the U.K. to catch one of Taylor Swift's Liverpool stops this weekend!

In this edition: Russia sets "sham trial" for Evan Gershkovich, Glenn Beck shows his true colors, Sara Sidner returns to CNN's air, Bloomberg details Apple's deal with OpenAI, HBO renews "House of the Dragon" for a third season, reviews for "Inside Out 2" tick up on Rotten Tomatoes, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Losing the Infowars

CNN Photo Illustration/Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

Alex Jones' conspiracy empire is on the brink.

The fate of the right-wing extremist's Infowars outlet could be decided on Friday as a Texas bankruptcy court hears a high-stakes motion filed by the families of the Sandy Hook victims over whether to liquidate the company.

The families, who have yet to see a penny of the approximately $1.5 billion in judgments they are owed, have argued to the court that there is "no prospect" the company can produce a proper reorganization plan under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After years of waiting, they have asked the court to liquidate Jones' Free Speech Systems, the parent of Infowars.

If the judge rules in favor of Sandy Hook families, Infowars would be shuttered. In such a scenario, a court-appointed trustee would be tasked with securing the assets and then selling off Jones' media empire, including the website, studio space, and broadcasting equipment.

"Infowars would no longer exist," Christopher Mattei, an attorney who represents some of the Sandy Hook families, explained this week to my colleague, Hadas Gold.

The process could play out quickly, denying Jones the megaphone he has used for decades to spread dangerous and hateful conspiracy theories. Since founding Infowars in the late 1990s, Jones has poisoned the public discourse with toxic commentary, most notably pushing the lie that the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, shooting was a so-called "false flag" operation staged by the government and that the grieving family members of 20 child victims were "actors." Jones, who hawks high-priced dietary supplements to his audience, has used the lies to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars.

While juries in Texas and Connecticut punished Jones, awarding the Sandy Hook families hundreds of millions of dollars, the radical host has been able to continue operating his conspiracy empire after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Jones, who also filed for personal bankruptcy protection, moved to liquidate his personal assets last week, meaning that even if the judge does not order such a move for his company, it will ultimately mean he no longer owns Infowars in the future.

While it's possible that the liquidation of Jones' company, if ordered by the court on Friday, could lead to its ultimate demise, a court-appointed trustee could opt to sell the company to a potential buyer. Perhaps a fellow conspiracy theorist, such as Tucker Carlson, who is trying to gain traction with his own media startup, would be interested in purchasing the assets. But the attorneys representing Sandy Hook families expect that the most likely scenario is Jones' Infowars empire will be sold off, piece by piece, with the proceeds going to their clients.

The outlet's potential demise is the latest instance in which the legal system is holding right-wing media outlets accountable for their lies. Companies operated by dishonest conspiracy profiteers rarely — if ever — admit to wrongdoing unless they are either threatened by or face legal action, leaving the courts the only real avenue for victims of lies to correct the public record.

In the last year, Fox News paid a historic $787.5 million settlement to voting technology company Dominion Voting Systems. The Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy protection. One America News settled a case with voting technology company Smartmatic. Salem Media Group apologized for and stop distributing an election denialist documentary from Dinesh D'Souza. And several cases are still pending in the legal system.

While the wheels of the legal system turn slowly, they have been proven to be effective in helping victims recoup some of the damages for the lies. Of course, no monetary award can ever heal the wounds inflicted by the reprehensible lies Jones told about Sandy Hook, dishonoring the children massacred that day and tormenting their families for years. But the liquidation of Jones' assets will represent some progress.

"If the judge ordered Alex Jones' business to be liquidated... that will be a moment the families can take some pride in," Mattei said. "Their objective has long been to protect their families and other families from the type of harm that Alex Jones inflicted on them for years."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The Betrayal of Beck: It appears we have triggered Glenn Beck! The right-wing talk-show host raged on his radio program Thursday about the nerve we had to call out Ticketmaster for linking arms with Tucker Carlson, the right-wing extremist who is going on tour across the country with folks like Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Apparently, pointing out how unethical it is for the ticket-selling giant to profit off their hateful rhetoric is a step too far for Glenn! Beck — who once condemned Trumpism in grand terms, but has since reversed course and bent the knee — claimed that it was I who has changed. Beck mentioned that I once worked for him, saying, "I don't know what happened to Oliver, but he has gone very, very dark and is a danger to our democracy." For several minutes, he continued ranting away, calling me a "jackass," among other things.

The popular radio host, who used to send me messages praising my work back when he was critical of Trump, has since betrayed his own words. During the 2016 campaign, Beck not only warned Trump "could be one of the most dangerous presidents to ever come into the Oval Office," but he expressed regret for his past behavior and urged civility, asking people to act with honor. "I know I wouldn't believe me if I heard myself apologizing, so I'm telling you now: Don't take my word for it. Watch my actions," Beck told Ana Marie Cox in a Q&A for The NYT. Well, we've watched Beck's actions and they fall far short of his words.

Not only has Beck expressed support for Trump — making excuses for the convicted GOP candidate and relentlessly smearing his opponent Joe Biden — but he has embraced the most radical elements of the GOP. Just this week, Beck invited Jones onto his program, sanitizing the vile means in which the Infowars host tormented the families of Sandy Hook victims and claiming it was Jones who was actually the victim of unjust rulings. It's hard to believe that Beck really believes the junk he is peddling to his audience, given how clear-eyed he appeared about Trumpism in 2016. But he knows that the center of gravity in the Republican Party has shifted toward figures like Trump and Jones. And instead of standing up for what he knows is right and decent, he has followed the money and caved.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Elon Musk's lawsuit against Media Matters will head to trial in April 2025, a judge ruled. (CNN)
Right-wing media's attacks on democracy are taking hold: Donie O'Sullivan spoke to a number of MAGA supporters who argued to him that democracy is overrated. (CNN)
"D.C. crime news trackers aim to inform," Chris Stein reports, "but are they being used for a right-wing agenda?" (Guardian)

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

Russia's 'Sham Trial': Evan Gershkovich got more bad news on Thursday. The WSJ reporter who has been wrongfully imprisoned by Russia for more than a year, will stand trial for supposedly committing acts of espionage, the Vladimir Putin-controlled state said Thursday. The formal charges, for which the Russians have not presented a shred of real evidence to support, come as the U.S. demands the release of the 32-year-old reporter. In a scathing statement, The WSJ publisher Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker asked President Joe Biden to "redouble efforts to get Evan released" and blasted the charges. "Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. Russia's latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous," they said. "Evan has spent 441 days wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for simply doing his job. Evan is a journalist. The Russian regime's smearing of Evan is repugnant, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime. Evan's case is an assault on free press." The WSJ's Ann Simmons has more.

THE FOURTH ESTATE

Welcome back, Sara! CNN's Sara Sidner returned to the network after her double mastectomy. On her first day back, she spoke with oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Comen about the cancer risks women face. (CNN)
How bad is the coming Google A.I. apocalypse for publishers? A Press Gazette study found A.I.-generated summaries "were returned for nearly a quarter of news-related search queries in mid-May" (Press Gazette)
Yahoo News debuted a fresh A.I.-powered news app. (WIRED)
Switching gears: Margaret Sullivan appeals to Jeff Bezos to "save" The WaPo "from his own mistake." One suggestion she has for the billionaire: "Reinstate the role of independent ombudsman." (Guardian)
RIP: Christophe Deloire, the Reporters Without Borders leader who defended journalists across the world, died at 53 from brain cancer. (NYT)

ATOP THE MOUNTAIN

Jessica Toonkel delivers a behind-the-scenes look at "the chaotic unraveling of the Paramount-Skydance merger." (WSJ)
"Giving the Office of the CEO runway for its strategy would presumably give [Shari Redstone] time to weigh her options and offer clarity on the regulatory situation in the U.S. following November's presidential election," Lucas Manfredi writes. (The Wrap)
🤔 David Lidsky makes the case for the federal government "to bail out Paramount," writing that other industries, such as banks and auto, "got help in a crisis." His question: "Why can't legacy studios also be too big to fail?" (The Ankler)

TINSELTOWN TALK

"The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wednesday enacted changes to its exhibit about the Jewish founders of Hollywood," Adam Chitwood and Sharon Waxman reported. The move followed backlash the Academy faced from Jewish industry figures. (The Wrap)
🎙️ Jon Stewart joined Matt Belloni on his pod to discuss his split with Apple at length. (Puck)
Peace in Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees gave approval for a $17 billion Walt Disney World expansion plan. (AP)
Disney unveiled new shoppable advertisements. (AdWeek)
NBCU added new advertising features for live events. (TV News Check)

IN THE ARENA

With the Celtics leading the Mavericks 3-0 in the NBA Finals, Friday's game could mean the end of series. Which is to say, the league must be readying its announcement about its new broadcast partners. Stay tuned!
"Big East men's and women's college basketball is on the verge of adding new television partners as NBC Sports and TNT Sports are expected to join Fox Sports in presenting games beginning in the 2025-26 season," Andrew Marchand reports. (The Athletic)
Fox Sports nabbed the rights to IndyCar starting in 2025, after 16 seasons at NBC Sports. (AP)
John Malone's Liberty Global, meanwhile, announced it will buy Warner Bros. Discovery's stake in Formula E. (THR)

MEDIA MOVES

Semafor named John Burgess Everett its first ever congressional bureau chief.
The WaPo added Sarah Blaskey to its investigations team. (WaPo)
Bloomberg News hired Chien Mi Wong as an editor. (TBN)
The NYT hired Qasim Nauman as an assistant editor. (NYT)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Inside Apple's OpenAI Pact: How much is Apple paying OpenAI to infuse its iPhones and other hardware with ChatGPT? It turns out, nothing. That's according to Bloomberg's Apple whisperer, Mark Gurman. According to Gurman, Apple "believes pushing OpenAI's brand and technology to hundreds of millions of its devices is of equal or greater value than monetary payments." In other words, OpenAI agreed to the deal to expose its product to millions of consumers, offering a rare opening to associate its controversy-plagued brand with Apple's pristine image. Read Gurman's full story here.

TOO MANY TABS

Google's search chief, Liz Reid, addressed problems with A.I. Overview during a meeting with employees, Jennifer Elias reports. Reid said "it is important" that the company not "hold back features just because there might be occasional problems." (CNBC)
Yahoo is also implementing more A.I. into its features, preparing to launch bot-generated summaries on its homepage. (TechCrunch)
LinkedIn unveiled new A.I.-powered tools — so after you lose your job to the robots 🤖, they'll now help you try to find a new one! (TechCrunch)
A Linda Yaccarino-led all-hands meeting at X did not go over so well, Kylie Robison reports, with people inside the Elon Musk-owned company telling her that they were left with "few answers." (The Verge)
TikTok is working to tighten its hold on musicians, rolling out a new video series spotlighting various artists. (The Verge)
Japan passed a law forcing Apple and Google to open up their platforms to third-party app stores. (The Verge)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/HBO

HBO Breathes More Fire: The Warner Bros. Discovery board has agreed to pay for more dragons! Max announced Thursday that it has renewed HBO's "House of the Dragon" for a third season. The news comes ahead of the season two premiere for the "Game of Thrones" prequel series. "We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart," HBO EVP Francesca Orsa said. "We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three." The Wrap's Loree Seitz has details.

OFF STAGE

The Rotten Tomatoes score for "Inside Out 2" is ticking up. The family film now boasts a 91% critics score on the review site. (RT)
Marvel is in need of a new director for "Blade." (THR)
Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson are in talks for Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming Netflix film. (Deadline)
Hunter Schafer will star in Amazon's "Blade Runner 2099." (THR)
Grace Van Patten will portray Amanda Knox in Hulu's limited drama series, "Tell Me Lies." (Deadline)
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney want the docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham" to keep going "as long as we possibly can." (The Wrap)
Apple TV+ dropped the official trailer for "The Instigators," starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. (YouTube)
Peacock released the official trailer for "Those About to Die," starring Anthony Hopkins. (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 next week.

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