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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Paramount Global's triumvirate of leaders try to quell company anxiety, ProPublica fires back after Justice Samuel Alito is caught on tape blasting the outlet, the news industry remembers Howard Fineman, Sony Pictures acquires Alamo Drafthouse, Apple shares continue to soar, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. makes cuts in the land Down Under, The WSJ explores Elon Musk's "boundary-blurring relationships with women" at SpaceX, critics bless "Inside Out 2" with stellar reviews, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

A Toxic Ticket

CNN Photo Illustration/Ivan Apfel/Getty Images

Ticketmaster is linking arms with right-wing extremists, boosting their ability to reach mainstream audiences and profiting off their dangerous and hateful rhetoric ahead of the November election.

The ticketing sales giant is the distributor of the forthcoming live speaking tour from Tucker Carlson, who announced plans this week to criss-cross the country with a 15-city arena tour, inviting fellow conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene to join him along the way.

On the Ticketmaster website, Carlson is referred to as "the leading voice in American politics" and "an alternative to corporate media dedicated to telling the truth about the things that matter — clearly and without fear." While it is hard to imagine that Ticketmaster conjured this glowing description of Carlson itself, it is remarkable the company would approve it and promote it on its site.

That is because there is not a morsel of truth to how Ticketmaster is presenting Carlson to its customers. Carlson, a former mainstream conservative who over the course of Donald Trump's presidency traveled to the fringes of American politics, has for years promoted dangerous disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories. Carlson lied about the Covid-19 vaccines, discouraging his fans from receiving the life-saving shots. He sowed doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, suggesting that it was rigged by sinister forces against Trump. And he reprehensibly peddled the false notion that the January 6 insurrection was a so-called "false flag" operation staged by the "deep state."

In addition to those corrosive lies, Carlson has been one of the top promoters of the Great Replacement Theory, the idea favored by White supremacists that falsely accuses the Democratic Party and wealthy Jewish figures, such as George Soros, of importing third-world migrants into the U.S. to shift the country's demographics to win elections. For his repugnant promotion of such lies, The New York Times noted that while Carlson was at Fox News, he "constructed what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news."

Ultimately, Carlson grew to be too much of a problem even for Fox News, and the Rupert Murdoch-controlled right-wing channel dispensed of him last year. Evidently, Fox News has higher standards for whom they will do business with than Ticketmaster, a remarkably low bar for the events giant to trip over.

Asked for comment this week, representatives for the Live Nation subsidiary chose not to respond. In fairness to the company's public relations division, it is difficult to see how they can defend such conduct. How can any decent person not only participate in enabling Carlson's poisoning of the public discourse, but also justify profiting off of his hateful rhetoric in the process?

We also posed questions to the venues hosting Carlson, which include the Honda Center, T-Mobile Center, Delta Center, Dickies Arena, Intrust Bank Arena, and others. Spokespeople representing each respective venue did not provide a comment.

These are uneasy questions that major businesses will be confronted with in the years ahead as the Republican Party veers further and further toward the fringe. Far-right and conspiratorial figures like Jones, the founder of Infowars who openly fantasized this week about executing Dr. Anthony Fauci and other Trump critics, were once banished to the shadows of the conservative movement, mocked by people like Carlson. Now, Carlson and others openly celebrate Jones, fully aligning themselves to assail the nation's institutions.

Companies with basic ethics should, of course, reject doing business with dishonest figures who profit by dumping toxic waste into the country's information environment. But doing so puts them at risk of being targeted by those very same people who, like Trump, have tremendous sway over the vast majority of Republicans and a lightning rod for painful boycotts.

But, while the politics of 2024 makes for a thorny business environment for companies to navigate, from an ethics perspective, the questions that lie before them come with clear and obvious answers. Those uncomfortable decisions risk catapulting them squarely into the center of the information wars, where grifters like Carlson thrive.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/BauerGriffin/MediaPunch/IPX/AP

Shari's Hangover Mountain: After a chaotic roller coaster ride over the last 24 hours, Paramount Global's Office of the CEO — made up of Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy, and George Cheeks — tried to quell some of the anxiety coursing through the company. In an email to staffers, the triumvirate said the board will "remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders" while they execute on their own plan, which calls for reducing costs by $500 million and exploring a potential joint venture in streaming. "As we advance each of these initiatives, we will continue to prioritize investment in our world class franchises, films, series and sports, which are the core of our business," the trio wrote, adding that they will hold their town hall later this month, on June 25. Variety's Todd Spangler has more here.

MOUNTAIN OF DECISIONS

Don't miss William D. Cohan's autopsy on the dead Paramount Global deal: "I can safely say I've never seen anything quite like the way this deal was prosecuted, and that comes after nearly 20 years as an M&A banker .... This process was too public—to the media's delight, mine included—and that's not the way to get deals done." (Puck)
No surprise: The Street has already started debating "what's next for Paramount," Georg Szalai notes. (THR)
"The unorthodox nature of the CEO office ... has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed," Lillian Rizzo and Alex Sherman report. (CNBC)
Shares in Paramount Global closed up nearly 1% on Wednesday, after the stock had cratered the day before on news the Skydance deal was dead.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News/AP

Remembering Fineman: The world of journalism grieved the loss of an industry giant on Wednesday. Howard Fineman, the legendary political correspondent who covered presidents for decades, died of pancreatic cancer, his wife, Amy Nathan, announced on X. "I am heartbroken to share my brilliant and extraordinary husband passed away late last night surrounded by those he loved most, his family," Nathan wrote. "He valiantly battled pancreatic cancer for 2 years. He couldn't have been adored more. The world was a better place because he lived in it and wrote about it." Tributes poured in from across the industry, with HuffPost, where Fineman once served as global editor, hoisting a banner on its homepage that read, "THE NEWSMAN."

► The NYT obit, by Clay Risen: "He was part of what might be called the post-post-Watergate generation of journalists. No longer directly fired by the scrappy, crusading spirit of the young Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Mr. Fineman and his cohort brought a polished professionalism to their task matched with a dogged ambition that fit the Ronald Reagan era in Washington."

THE FOURTH ESTATE

CNN boss Mark Thompson and lieutenant Alex MacCallum will soon unveil their much-anticipated digital plans to the newsroom, Dylan Byers reports. Byers added that he is "certain" there will be "more cuts coming at CNN." A CNN spokesperson told him the company is "undergoing a transformation" and that "hundreds of people are involved" in the process, but that "no final decisions have been made." (Puck)
WaPo boss Will Lewis is considering a Local+ plan for readers willing to pay for premium local content that includes newsletters, Cuneyt Dil reports. (Axios D.C.)
Would this be an example of such content? Mimi Montgomery reports Lewis has purchased a $7 million Georgetown home. Congratulations on the six-bed, seven-bath pad, Sir! (Axios D.C.)
The NYT Union "is urging management to reconsider cutting 9 of the 16 positions from its art-production department," Natalie Korach reports, adding the union has expressed "concerns over what the union says amounts to an A.I.-based replacement." (The Wrap)
FTC chief Lina Khan to Elahe Izadi about news publishers striking agreements with OpenAI: "Market participants are free to be entering into these types of agreements. I think we always wanna make sure that those agreements are not being entered into under, a sense of duress." (WaPo)
Trouble in Rupert Murdoch's kingdom Down Under: News Corporation Australia will cut 80 staffers in sales, though the editorial team remains untouched for the time being. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Publishers across the world are seeing their Facebook posts labeled as spam and taken down, Charlotte Tobitt reports. (Press Gazette)
Mark Coddington and Seth Lewis break down how YouTube's algorithm steers users from news and toward entertainment. (NiemanLab)
📚 The NYT Nonfiction Bestseller race: Garrett Graff's "When the Sea Came Alive" debuted at No. 5; Bill Maher's "What This Comedian Said Will Shock You" dipped to No. 4 in its third week on the list; and George Stephanopoulos' "The Situation Room" landed at No. 11 in its fourth week.
Speaking of books: Don Lemon wrote a memoir, "I Once Was Lost: My Search for God in America," due out on Sept. 10. (Hachette)

TINSELTOWN TALK

Sony Pictures acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the renowned dine-in movie theater chain, which will now be managed under the company's newly created Sony Pictures Experiences division. (LAT)
🌭 Netflix will live stream a Labor Day hot dog eating contest with rival champions Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. (CNN)

MEDIA MOVES

UTA named Bob Roback chief operating officer. (Deadline)
The NYT named Amber Williams senior editor. (NYT)
Bloomberg Law hired Diana Dombrowski as a reporter. (TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images

Alito's ProPublica Attack: Samuel Alito is not a fan of ProPublica. The conservative Supreme Court justice blasted the non-profit newsroom in yet another secret recording made public this week. Asked by an activist disguised as a supporter why the media supposedly attacks the high court, Alito responded, "They don't like our decisions." Alito added that there "are groups that are very well-funded by ideological groups that have spearheaded these attacks." When asked to identify the groups, Alito didn't hesitate. "ProPublica," he said. "ProPublica gets a lot of money, and they have spent a fortune investigating Clarence Thomas, for example. You know, everything he's ever done in his entire life." Alito then complained that ProPublica has "done some of that" to him too. "They look for any little thing they can find, and they try to make something out of it," the justice said. Rolling Stone's Adam Rawnsley and Tim Dickinson have more here.

► ProPublica's response: "ProPublica exposes abuses of power no matter which party is in charge and our newsroom operates with fierce independence. No donors are made aware of stories before they are published, nor do they have a say as to which stories reporters pursue. More than 55,000 donors of every stripe actively fund our investigative, nonpartisan journalism."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

MAGA's "shocking new lie about Hunter Biden's verdict is deeply revealing," Greg Sargent wrote. (New Republic)
"The Daily Show" put together a montage of clips highlighting the dishonesty in how Fox News hosts responded to Hunter's guilty verdict vs Donald Trump's. (Mediaite)
Charlie Kirk and his Turning Point organization have become "dominant forces in the Republican Party and MAGA movement," Mike Hixenbaugh and Allan Smith reported. (NBC News)
"Are we getting a little too numb to this kind of rhetoric?": Jim Acosta has a strong point! Why isn't Trump fundraising off a literal "guillotine" email treated by the press as a bigger deal? (Mediaite)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Nic Coury/AFP/Getty Images

Appetite for Apple: Investors are continuing to show strong enthusiasm for Apple's foray into A.I. The company's shares closed up nearly 3% Wednesday, after having already risen 7% the day before. In fact, at one point during the trading day, the Tim Cook-led tech behemoth surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable company in the world, boasting a market capital of $3.3 trillion. Why the excitement for Apple's stock? The thought is that Apple's decision to limit Apple Intelligence to new phones will "kick off an iPhone super cycle," as Evercore declared. CNBC's Rohan Goswami has more.

TOO MANY TABS

The story that has Silicon Valley buzzing: "Elon Musk's boundary-blurring relationships with women at SpaceX," by Joe Palazzolo and Khadeeja Safdar. (WSJ)
David Ellison may be in the dumps after Skydance's Paramount Global deal fell through but his father, Larry Ellison, is doing just fine after Oracle shares increased over 10% on Wednesday following Q4 earnings and news about deals with OpenAI and Google. (CNBC)
Meta is "looking to whittle down its hundreds of vice presidents," Kali Hays and Callum Burroughs report. (Business Insider)
Did TikTok hurt Instagram or YouTube more? Adam Mosseri — perhaps not surprisingly — argues the Google-owned video platform took more of the brunt from the ByteDance-owned app. (Business Insider)
YouTube is allowing creators to test different thumbnails. (TechCrunch)
Nine groups called on the Department of Justice to investigate YouTube's "living room dominance." (Reuters)
"Is Google gaslighting the internet?" Kyle Chayka asks, adding the recently leaked documents "provide a glimpse into the inner workings of Google Search—and contradict the company's public claims." (New Yorker)
"The attention devoted to TikTok as a powerful force in US politics — for better or for worse — does not seem to match up with the experience of most TikTok users," Brian Fung writes. (CNN)
Instagram is experimenting with inserting advertisements in users' stories. (404 Media)
It's official: X has hidden likes. (Slate)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Pixar

'Inside Out' Set to Ignite: It is looking more and more like Disney's Pixar could have a big — and much-needed — hit on its hands. The review embargo for "Inside Out 2" lifted Wednesday, and with 85 critics offering their take so far, the PG-rated family film is boasting a solid 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. In other words, the word of mouth should be strong. In fact, over at Box Office Theory, analyst Shawn Robbins has upped his opening weekend forecast, projecting the film will likely top $100 million. "Late tracking trends have accelerated this week and now point to potential for a nine-figure opening at the box office," Robbins wrote. More from Robbins here.

OFF STAGE

The reviews are out for the penultimate season of "The Boys," with the Amazon series sporting an 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes. (RT)
"Why does Hollywood care about box office opening weekends?" asks Rebecca Rubin. (Variety)
Winston Cho wonders whether Netflix's ongoing legal battles will deter the streamer from finding inspiration from headlines. (THR)
Ariana Grande said "the environment needs to be made safer" for child actors, responding to allegations made by Nickelodeon actors. (CNN)
Speaking of Grande: Bruce Haring chronicles her "on-again, off-again relationship with Scooter Braun," given it has been reignited. (Deadline)
Seth Meyers' "Late Night" show will part ways with its house band, 8G Band over budgetary issues. (Vulture)
Eboni Booth is working on the pilot for "Ten Thousand Ships," the previously scrapped "Game of Thrones" spinoff. (Deadline)
The live-action "Moana" has cast Catherine Laga'aia, who will star in the Disney movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. (The Wrap)
"Morning Show" showrunner Charlotte Stoudt teased season four of the AppleTV+ show: "We reenter the world mid-chaos." (THR)
Zack Snyder's animated series "Twilight of the Gods" will head to Netflix in September. (The Verge)

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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