| | | | | Exec summary: The shutdown is over... But the difficult days "might just be beginning..." There's new turmoil at the NYDN... Alex Jones is working on a book proposal... And Oscar noms are on Tuesday morning... | | "Murdoch-Zuckerberg War Escalates" | | That's the Zero Hedge headline on today's news. In response to Facebook's latest moves, which are expected to minimize posts from news outlets and other publishers, Rupert Murdoch is challenging the company: "If Facebook wants to recognize 'trusted' publishers, then it should pay those publishers a carriage fee similar to the model adopted by cable companies. The publishers are obviously enhancing the value and integrity of Facebook through their news and content but are not being adequately rewarded for those services. Carriage payments would have a minor impact on Facebook's profits but a major impact on the prospects for publishers and journalists."
The savvy response is to shrug off Murdoch's idea as wishful thinking. But let's talk about it for a minute... Is there a $$$ model that might work for both sides? | | Rupert says FB should pay up | | | Rupert, still recovering from a painful back injury, loves these battles. Hadas Gold's story notes that Murdoch "has long expressed frustration with how companies like Facebook and Google use news content." (He was ahead of the curve in some respects!) Now he's going further... Calling out the two companies for popularizing "scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable..." | | -- Lucas Shaw tweeted: "Leave it to Rupert to take advantage of Facebook's apparent weakness/existential crisis to get paid..."
-- Mashable's Jason Abbruzzese wrote: "Facebook isn't paying publishers because it doesn't have to..."
-- AdAge's Garett Sloane reported: "Like Murdoch, many publishers are at the tipping point, ready to move on from Facebook in favor of rivals like Twitter and Apple -- if they can..."
-- Related: Elizabeth Dwoskin's new story for the WashPost: "Inside Facebook's year of reckoning..." | | Rupert's challenge came a few hours after Facebook released another one of its "Hard Questions" blog posts. The topic: How social media platforms could undermine democracy.
"I wish I could guarantee that the positives are destined to outweigh the negatives, but I can't," Samidh Chakrabarti, Facebook's product manager for civic engagement, wrote...
--> The Verge's headline: "Facebook admits what we all know: that social media can be bad for democracy..." | | Netflix's "beautiful" earnings | | That's what the company called its Q4 earnings: "Beautiful."
CNN Tech's Seth Fiegerman emails: Netflix notched another blowout quarter, setting a record for new subscribers. More than 8 million. It's yet another bit of evidence that Netflix's strategy of investing heavily in original content and international expansion is paying off. But there is reason for concern. The list of companies Netflix includes in its "Competition" section is getting LONG: Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Disney/Fox. Netflix says the market "can support many successful services..."
--> WSJ's "Heard on the Street" headline: "Netflix Says Catch Me if You Can" | | An "unexpected" $39 million charge | | | More from Seth's story: "Netflix has lost tens of millions of dollars because of Kevin Spacey." Yes, that "unexpected" $39 million charge for content that "we've decided not to move forward with" was related to Spacey... A source told him "the charge is entirely from costs associated with ending 'House of Cards' and opting not to proceed with the release of 'Gore,' both of which starred Spacey..." | | | --> BuzzFeed's Kate Aurthur tweeted: "If that isn't a literal incentive not to do business with alleged abusers, I don't know what is..." | | Netflix trying out 15-minute-long standup specials | | "In a move that could have major ramifications for the art and business of stand-up, Netflix announced Monday that it will start releasing 15-minute-long comedy specials," the NYT's Jason Zinoman writes.
He says the streamer is "experimenting with a new micro form:" "As Netflix has become the most powerful platform in stand-up, this news raises the question of whether the 15-minute set could become a new industry standard in an age of shrinking attention spans. It's already common for club sets to run around 15 minutes..." | | Frank Pallotta emails: Ted Sarandos says the critically panned and reportedly pricey Will Smith fantasy film "Bright" was one of the company's "most-watched pieces of original content, meaning TV show or film, that we've ever had." Okay, congrats! But what is a view in the world of Netflix? The whole movie? Halfway? Five seconds? Netflix has never really said, so the company flaunting viewership data as "best ever" is kinda like when I say I'd be the best boyfriend ever. Maybe that's true, but wouldn't you feel better getting more context and hearing from some outside sources?
Editor's note: I'd be happy to play matchmaker for Frank. He has a point here! | | | Netflix "expects to burn through an astounding $3 billion to $4 billion this year," Martin Peers writes in The Information's latest email. "That's partly because last year's cash burn came in slightly lower than expected, at only (!) $2 billion... The top question for Netflix is whether it can ensure its controlled cash burn doesn't turn into a devastating forest fire..." | | Brian Lowry emails: Tuesday will be an early morning in Hollywood, with the crack-of-dawn announcement of the Oscar nominations. The SAG and Producers Guild awards, however, didn't do a whole lot to clarify a wide-open race. The question is whether that's more attributable to an abundance of good movies, or the lack of a truly great one.
Check out Lowry's curtain-raiser here... | | Where to find our coverage | | | The announcements are set to begin at 8:22am ET... CNN's entertainment team will have full coverage here... | | | Megan Thomas emails: Via this AP story, The Academy and its accounting firm PwC have revealed a six-part plan to prevent another Oscar-envelope mixup. (It involves multiple rehearsals and no social media...) | | -- Jamie and I had a phenomenal time at the NFC Championship game on Sunday night... She's still chanting E-A-G-L-E-S around the house... Here are some of her pics from the game!
-- "Sunday brought the biggest TV audiences since the 2017 Super Bowl -- with the AFC and NFC Championship games driving massive numbers to CBS and Fox, respectively..." (THR)
-- Have some questions for A.G. Sulzberger? I bet you do. He answered some selected Q's from readers in this new NYT Q&A... (NYT)
-- Don't miss: the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer... | | The government shutdown lasted 69 hours | | It's over now. Will it happen again soon?
"Republicans say, frankly, the Democrats blinked. And it's not just Republicans saying that," Jake Tapper said on "The Lead." "Many in the progressive wing of the party are accusing Democrats of caving." Tapper said "we are by no means over difficult days in Congress. In fact, those days might just be beginning..."
--> The banner on "AC360:" "Shutdown ending; Congress punts and sets up same showdown in 17 days." | | | Another scoop from NPR's David Folkenflik: A top editor at the New York Daily News, Robert Moore, "has been accused of sexual harassment and is now under investigation by the paper's parent company after inquiries by NPR." Tronc "would not say whether he remains on the job or has been suspended or placed on leave." But Jim Kirk is now running the newsroom... Read more... | | Alex Jones and 'The Game' author Neil Strauss are partnering on book | | Alex Jones and Neil Strauss are working on a book. Oliver Darcy obtained the proposal that's been sent to major publishers. Working title: "The Secret History of the Modern World & the War for the Future."
Darcy writes: "The proposal was sent to publishers by Marc Gerald of United Talent Agency who represents Strauss... It's not clear whether any publishers will actually want to acquire the book..."
The proposal embraces Jones' unhinged, conspiratorial brand: "There is a war for your mind. A war to make you docile. A war to make you a sheep." Read the rest of Darcy's story here... | | -- Goodbye, Canada's Viceland: Roger and Vice have terminated their joint venture... (CBC)
-- Marie Claire nabbed an interview with Trump's White House photographer Shealah Craighead... (Marie Claire)
-- Hulu's live cable-like offering "has about 450,000 paying subscribers," CNBC's Alex Sherman reports. And "YouTube TV has just more than 300,000..." (CNBC)
-- ER doctor/TV writer Zachary Lutsky is "under review" in light of "past sexual harassment allegations..." He denies the claims... (Deadline) | | TVNewser's Chris Ariens reports: "John Coleman, who was Good Morning America's first weather forecaster, was a co-founder of The Weather Channel, and spent more than 60 years forecasting at local stations across the country, has died." He was 83.
--> I interviewed Coleman about his climate change denialism in 2014. The interview recently went viral again. Here's the interview... | | "Imus in the Morning" ending in March | | Tom's story about the tabloid wars | | | Via the NY Daily News: "The decades-old radio show hosted by Don Imus will air its final episode on March 29, Imus announced during Monday's broadcast. Imus' contract was slated to end in December, but the syndicator of his show, Cumulus Media, filed for bankruptcy last year and decided to move on from Imus sooner rather than pay him millions of dollars to finish out the year, the veteran host explained..." | | | Tom Kludt emails: In Touch Weekly's interview with Stormy Daniels opened a new front in the gossip wars surrounding President Trump. For this story, I spoke to Stu Zakim, a former executive at National Enquirer parent company American Media. The Enquirer, of course, has been in Trump's pocket, so it'll surprise no one that the tabloid has seemingly ignored the Daniels matter. But as Zakim told me, don't be surprised if she's the subject of a negative story in those pages in the coming days... | | | For the record, part three | | | -- A big moment for Fox News: The network opened a "new centralized newsroom" on Monday morning... (TVNewser)
-- ABC Signature Studios "is in early development" for a series based on "The Mighty Ducks." It doesn't have a network home yet... (THR)
-- I think you'll enjoy Peter Kafka's chat with Hearst Magazines boss David Carey... (Recode podcast transcript) | | Megyn Kelly calls out "Hanoi Jane" | | Chloe Melas emails: Megyn Kelly went after Jane Fonda hard Monday morning. Kelly took issue with a recent interview Fonda did with Variety at Sundance over the weekend. (Fonda criticized Kelly for calling out her plastic surgery during an interview on Kelly's show last September... But said she'd go back on her show if she "learns her stuff.")
Kelly made her feelings known in a televised message to Fonda. An excerpt: "The moral indignation is a little much. She put her plastic surgery out there. She said she wanted to discuss the plight of older women in America. And honestly she has no business lecturing anyone on what qualifies as offensive." From there, Kelly brought up Fonda's 1972 visit to North Vietnam... Read more... | | | Brian Lowry emails: Kelly seems to have forgotten where she works. While the flash of fire brought to mind the Kelly that viewers got to know on Fox News, the "Today" show is a very different animal, and Kelly's challenge booking stars for her morning chat show won't be helped with PR folk by blasting someone who appeared on her show. Simply put, it looks like another sign that Kelly might simply be miscast in her current role... | | Golden Globes telecast is on the market | | | Megan Thomas emails: Variety's Cynthia Littleton had this scoop earlier in the day… NBC's agreement with Dick Clark Productions and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association to air the Golden Globes has expired. The parties are set discuss a new contract, but DCP sounds interested in hearing from other "interested parties..." | | | Chloe Melas emails: It's not just about the best in film and television this awards season -- it's also about the best of the worst. The Razzie nominations are here and "Transformers" leads the way with 9 noms. As always, the "winners" will be announced one day before the Oscars... | | Lowry reviews two new series | | | Brian Lowry emails: A split decision on two new limited series from the Time Warner family, both premiering tonight: "The Alienist," an ultra-grim adaptation of Caleb Carr's novel, which TNT has acknowledged as its most expensive ever (and promoted heavily during the SAG Awards); and "Mosaic," a more appealing mystery from HBO and director Steven Soderbergh, with the gimmick of an interactive app to go with it... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Two male stars under fire, two different approaches: Aziz Ansari skipped the SAG Awards, while James Franco attended. Neither actor won...
-- Meantime, "This Is Us" star Sterling K. Brown keeps making history with these award show wins...
-- My favorite story of the day is about how Twitter rose to the occasion over a half-baked typo at the SAG Awards: Dame Judi Dench was listed on a graphic as being nominated for her "roll" instead of "role." She ended up not being the toast of the town for her rye performance, but social media baked up all types of hilarity behind it... | | "It's a game show more than a reality show." | | Megan Thomas emails: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kareem Abdul Jabar's take for THR on this season of "The Bachelor" being out of step with the #MeToo movement.
He writes: "It's a game show more than a reality show. Dozens of women compete for the attention of one man, which is to real romance what being trapped in a crowded elevator for two days using an empty Starbucks cup as the only toilet is to an elegant cocktail party. It's crock-pot romance, with the women constantly stewing on high heat. That's what makes it so addictively entertaining. However, with today's heightened awareness through the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, the entertainment media has a clear responsibility not to perpetuate stereotypes or behavior that negatively influences how we see people and therefore how we treat them. The higher the ratings, the greater the responsibility." | | Trump and the media, one year in | | Shorter attention spans... | | | POTUS has changed the news media by making "everyone's attention spans shorter," Olivia Nuzzi said. And has the media "changed" him at all? "If anything," Nuzzi said, "we have just made him even Trumpier than he was on day one of his presidency." Watch the discussion with Nuzzi and Douglas Brinkley here... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I love the feedback, corrections, suggestions, and tips. Thank you! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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