| | | | | Exec summary: Penske Media is buying a major stake in Rolling Stone... The NYT is bringing back Glenn Thrush... NFL Media's top news exec is resigning... But let's start with something different... | | NiemanLab is out with is annual "Predictions for Journalism 2018" series, full of inspiration, hopes, and wishful thinking for the year ahead. I wasn't feeling confident enough to submit a prediction this year. But I highly recommend perusing this list. Here are a few of the contributions that stood out to me:
-- Jennifer Brandel and Mónica Guzmán imagine organizing editorial meetings "around this all-important question: 'What can we help the public understand or do today?' We won't start with our ideas -- we'll start with the information gaps the public demonstrates they have, and focus our efforts squarely on filling those gaps..."
-- Raju Narisetti's contribution is a must-read... It's about how to improve media reporting about high-flying startups...
-- Mitra Kalita: "We need to do news better." Check out her "arc of a news story..."
-- Aron Pilhofer writes: "Leaving the business of news to the business side is a luxury newsrooms can't afford much longer..."
-- Optimism from Steve Grove: "If this was the year in which it felt like the world was reeling from the challenges posed by the misinformation ecosystem, then 2018 will be the year it feels like we're making progress..."
❗ Dive into the predictions here ❗ | | | Wednesday: The best day of Trump's presidency? You could certainly make the case. He fulfilled a major campaign promise (although the actual tax reform bill signing will come later). "It was absolutely, unequivocally, a banner day for the president," John Berman said on "AC360." David Gergen told him "it is the most positive moment that President Trump has had since his inauguration..." | | --> But but but... Chuck Todd on "MTP Daily:" "The Republican party's brand has been crumbling under President Trump, but he just scored his first major legislative victory. The big question: Do the president's accomplishments in 2017 bail Republicans out in 2018? Or does Trump's brand and that set of accomplishments actually do him in?"
--> Chris Cillizza ranked all 11 "over-the-top speeches" from the pep rally... | | That's what the W.H. called it... There's still no official word on whether Trump will celebrate by holding an end-of-the-year press conference on Thursday... It's not currently on the public schedule...
🔌: Bill Carter and I will be talking about this on CNN's "New Day" in the 6am hour on Thursday... | | AT&T, Comcast, other firms announce bonuses | | Staffers at MSNBC and other NBCUniversal networks will be receiving $1,000 bonuses from Comcast "based on the passage of tax reform and the FCC's action on broadband," Comcast said Wednesday evening.
The announcement came a couple of hours after AT&T said it would give $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 employees. Trump triumphantly shared the AT&T news at Wednesday's nationally televised celebration of the bill. Here are the other companies that made pledges... | | The bonus plan may represent "an olive branch to the Trump admin following the DOJ's lawsuit last month to block AT&T's $85 billion takeover of CNN owner Time Warner," CNNMoney's Matt Egan wrote.
But CNBC's David Faber tweeted: "AT&T PR vigorously disputes any assertion that today's employee bonus is in any way related to DOJ case, saying it's about sharing 'real tax savings with employees.' Regardless, the perceived politicization of anti-trust process has many thinking otherwise..." | | Penske buys major stake in Rolling Stone | | Jann Wenner is selling a big stake in Rolling Stone magazine to Penske Media, but staying on board as editorial director.
Here's the deal: Penske calls it a "strategic investment" in Wenner Media, the publishing company that owns 51% of Rolling Stone. The other 49% is owned by a start-up called BandLab Technologies. Penske's $$$ values Wenner Media at "slightly more than $100 million," a source told me. Wenner and his son Gus are still shareholders. Gus will stay on as president and COO of Wenner Media. Read my full story here...
-- More: "While Penske owns some consumer-facing properties, like Robb Report and BGR, this is by far the best-known title he will have owned," Peter Kafka writes. "Penske's main task will be helping Rolling Stone create a business on the internet..." | | Joe Hagan, who just published his Jann biography, "Sticky Fingers," said that at first glance, the deal "seems pretty ideal" for the Wenners "because what they needed was cash."
"I'm very curious to know what Penske gets for his money," Hagan told me by phone. "If he doesn't have control of the editorial, what is he going to control?" Hagan also asked me a question that doubled as a challenge for the new investors: "How much do you think the brand Rolling Stone resonates with anyone under 30 years old?"
--> Hagan has more to say on his Twitter feed... | | -- Check out CNN Opinion's "Free Press: What's At Stake" series. Here are all 26 essays... (CNN)
-- Jeremy Barr tweeted: Fox News "says that Kevin Jackson's comments yesterday on 'Outnumbered,' when he seemingly suggested a possible FBI assassination attempt on Trump, have been 'addressed' with him..." (Twitter)
-- "Chartbeat has released its third annual ranking of the 100 best read digital articles of the year among its clients as measured by total engaged time. The winner by a wide margin was Alex Tizon's Atlantic cover story on the life of a family servant who was, in fact, a slave..." (Poynter) | | Charles Osgood retiring from radio | | Broadcasting legend Charles Osgood's announcement on the radio Wednesday afternoon, per his colleague Tom Kaminski: "Although I was very much looking forward to continuing to see you on the radio, unfortunately my health and doctors will now not allow it. So I will retire from 'The Osgood File' and radio at the end of the year."
Osgood has been hosting "The Osgood File" since 1967. He recently renewed his contract, but health issues have interfered. "Best wishes to a giant who's been an inspiration to generations of storytellers," WCBS anchor Alex Silverman tweeted... | | Darcy interviews Breitbart's EIC | | Oliver Darcy emails: Breitbart was all in for Roy Moore in the lead up to the Alabama special election, but following the judge's loss, its top editor is now blasting him. Breitbart EIC Alex Marlow told me in an interview published Wednesday that Moore was a "weak candidate" who "ran a terrible campaign." Marlow, whose website hyped polls showing Moore lead his Democratic challenger, went as far as to say he "wasn't actually as shocked as people would think" about the upset in deep red Alabama, adding, "It made a lot of sense to me."
Marlow, however, defended Breitbart's coverage of the race as "very brave" and "very bold." He told me that he believes "in hindsight a lot of people are going to give us credit" for Breitbart's coverage. And he revealed something else: Marlow said part of Breitbart's decision to defend Moore stemmed from the fact that Marlow believed the media was trying to use the sexual harassment allegations to set a bar "that President Trump cannot match..." | | Fox News readying a $$ streaming service for super-fans | | "Rupert Murdoch Isn't Done Fighting Yet" is the title of Steven Perlberg's new piece about Murdoch's motivations for selling most of his Fox empire to Disney. He suggests that potential competition from Sinclair is on Murdoch's mind.
>> Perlberg reports: "According to a person familiar with the matter, Fox News is readying a new streaming service that will cost a monthly fee and feature exclusive content from personalities like conservative pundit Tomi Lahren. The service is being imagined for Fox's most passionate fans -- and it will house content that is not available on broadcast..." | | -- Sinclair's pro-Trump pundit Boris Epshteyn says he is launching a morning newsletter called "Breakfast with Boris..."
-- "The author of the online sensation 'Cat Person' has a seven-figure book deal," the AP reports. "Kristen Roupenian's debut story collection 'You Know You Want This' is scheduled for the spring of 2019." The two-book deal also includes a novel...
-- DVR alert: Our CNN documentary "Late Night in the Age of Trump" will air Thursday at 9pm ET... | | | The final "Reliable Sources" podcast of 2017... It's a special year-ender, taped in Studio 72, with all of CNN's media and entertainment reporters who are based in NYC -- Oliver Darcy, Chloe Melas, Tom Kludt, and Frank Pallotta... It'll be up tomorrow... | | | The NYT's investigation of Glenn Thrush is over. "We found that Glenn has behaved in ways that we do not condone," Dean Baquet said in a statement. "While we believe that Glenn has acted offensively, we have decided that he does not deserve to be fired." Thrush's suspension will end in late January... He'll be moved off the White House beat, to a new assignment TBA...and will receive training designed to "improve his workplace conduct." Here's Frank Pallotta's full story... | | >> Laura McGann, who wrote the original story about Thrush's behavior, tweeted: "What do we do when accusations are bad, or even terrible, but fall below the bar set by the worst or the worst? Glenn Thrush is an early test..."
>> Joe Pompeo tweeted: "There's been chatter the editors might try moving Glenn to Metro. Doesn't seem implausible?" | | | Thrush was "working on a book about Mr. Trump with Maggie Haberman, another White House reporter for The Times," NYT's Sydney Ember notes. "Last month, Random House said in a statement that it was looking 'closely and seriously' at the matter." Now the publisher says it is "planning to move forward with the book, but it will not be with Glenn Thrush attached..." | | NFL Media's top news exec resigns | | Deadspin broke the news on Wednesday: "David Eaton, the vice president and executive editor for NFL Media, has resigned his position."
Why? There were "complaints about a hostile work environment for female employees -- and a history of sexually explicit conversations on Twitter," the AP reports... | | Two more accusers join defamation lawsuit against Bill O'Reilly | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Two women who previously settled sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly joined a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the former Fox News host of defamation. The women, Rebecca Gomez Diamond and Andrea Mackris, two former Fox News employees, are asking for damages related to emotional and reputational harm, among other things. "They are tired of being smeared with lies by a bully who thinks that his victims are afraid to answer them," Nancy Erika Smith, one of the attorneys representing the women, said in a statement... | | | New from NYMag: "What does it take to speak out about sexual assault and harassment? On December 12, eight women met in New York for a conversation, led by Rose McGowan, about the challenges of coming forward..." Here's the video... | | | For the record, part three | | | -- This is a great Melena Ryzik feature about "frustrated actress" turned "determined mogul" Elizabeth Banks... (NYT)
-- ICYMI: Catt Sadler has left E! amid a pay dispute... Here's my story... (CNN)
-- "ESPN and NBCUniversal have extended their media-rights deals with the NFL to include live-streaming games on mobile devices -- deals that come after Verizon struck a new digital pact with the league relinquishing its status as the exclusive mobile home for NFL games in the U.S..." (Variety) | | Erik Wemple tweeted: "Gotta say: This is an inspired list by Mediaite, placing 'Fox And Friends' crew as #1 most influential in news. Preferred program of the White House!"
Here's the full "75 Most Influential in News Media 2017" list...
Spotted at Mediaite's Thursday night shindig: Dan Abrams, Jeff Zucker, Megyn Kelly, Bill Hemmer, James Goldston, Jessica Tarlov, Harris Faulkner, Eric Bolling, Ari Melber, Colby Hall, Justin Baragona, Michael Calderone, Oliver Darcy, Rachel Stockman, many more... | | Lowry reviews "The Greatest Showman" and "Downsizing" | | | Brian Lowry emails: The deluge of holiday movies began Wednesday with "The Greatest Showman" — a family-friendly musical about the life of P.T. Barnum, starring Hugh Jackman — and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which I previously reviewed and (to my surprise) enjoyed quite a lot, along with a lot of other critics. They'll be followed by a mix of broad aspiring crowd-pleasers ("Pitch Perfect 3," "Father Figures") and awards bait: "Downsizing" (which falls short of its intriguing premise), "The Post" and "Hostiles" on Friday; and "Phantom Thread," "All the Money in the World," and "Molly's Game" on Christmas Day... | | How's "Last Jedi" faring in toy stores? | | More from Lowry: This is an interesting THR piece on how toy sales related to "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" appear to be lagging behind "The Force Awakens."
"Interesting," in this case, because it highlights how these movies serve multiple masters, and sending product flying off the shelves -- by, say, dropping in plush-toy-friendly characters like the Porgs -- isn't automatically productive.
To be fair, part of any decline is probably due to saturation, and pent-up demand for "Force Awakens," which was the first "Star Wars" movie in a decade. It's worth noting, too, that the prequel "Rogue One" -- which the fans generally liked a lot -- was dark enough to blunt its merchandising appeal, as evidenced anecdotally by the various items stacked on clearance tables in the Disney stores... | | Sandra interviews Aaron Sorkin | | | Sandra Gonzalez writes: Aaron Sorkin has told stories about presidents, dedicated news people and some of modern history's greatest technology innovators. Molly Bloom, an Olympic-hopeful turned high-stakes poker maven, is none of those. But she is person with "a romantic and idealistic sense of integrity and character," and in that, Sorkin saw the opportunity to bring to the big screen "a unique movie heroine that we hadn't seen before." "It was an irresistible story to me and I badly wanted to write it," Sorkin says. Read the full story here... | | | One more from Lowry: "Get Out" has been chosen to receive the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America, presented to honor a film that "illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues..." | | | For the record, part four | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- In the almost worst kept secret department, Khloé Kardashian has confirmed her pregnancy after months of speculation...
-- There's also other breaking baby news: Eva Longoria is expecting her first baby as well...
-- "The Voice" crowned another winner... Here's the info... Oh, and now Blake Shelton can add another accolade to being "sexiest man alive..."
-- "Pitch Perfect 3" is out Friday. There are at least 15 other sequels coming soon to a theater near you... Here's the list... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I appreciate every message. The feedback helps us craft the next day's newsletter! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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