Exec summary: Here's the latest on Trump v. Pelosi... Sinclair's balancing act... layoffs at BuzzFeed and Verizon... changes at Hulu... and much more...
"Never tweet."
Sometimes the insanity on Twitter makes my brain hurt. Sometimes the hatred makes my heart ache. But I almost never think about leaving. Until now.
Farhad Manjoo published an NYT column on Wednesday titled "Never Tweet." He said "it's time we journalists all considered disengaging from the daily rhythms of Twitter, the world's most damaging social network. You don't have to quit totally — that's impossible in today's news business. Instead, post less, lurk more."
A longtime tech exec sent the link to me and said Manjoo is right. "You guys are the lifeblood of Twitter right now," they said. "A huge part of Twitter's current value is journalists creating content for the site."
I've known this person for years. They don't have an axe to grind against Twitter, they just want journalists to think critically about what Twitter does to news coverage and the civic conversation. I asked: Do you think we should go on a Twitter strike? Maybe, they said -- or at least take a hard look at the value exchange that's going on.
I used to think the transparency of Twitter helped improve trust in media. I think that's true around the edges. But I'm leaning toward the Silicon Valley exec's view that the incessant tweeting undermines trust. "You guys are down in the mud with the bots and the bad faith actors," the tech exec said.
That's definitely true. The more time someone spends on Twitter, the more likely their view of the world is distorted by all the shouting. And the more likely they start shouting too. Being on Twitter contributes to a sense that the thing being shouted about is hugely important and being discussed by THE WHOLE WORLD when in fact it's being discussed solely by people who are Extremely Online. The Covington Catholic controversy is just the most recent example.
I'm not saying everyone should delete their accounts. I'm definitely not saying newsroom bosses should stop reporters from tweeting. I love Twitter and I know that both my personal and professional lives have benefited from it. (I met my wife on Twitter!) But the site has changed. It is now, as Manjoo said, "the epicenter of a nonstop information war, an almost comically undermanaged gladiatorial arena where activists and disinformation artists and politicians and marketers gather to target and influence the wider media world." This is a big problem. It requires a big change.
>> BTW: Rob McLean, who edited this letter, read this item and replied: "FWIW, I deleted my Twitter account last fall. I couldn't take it anymore!"
>> Brand new CNN.com story: "A mysterious Twitter account stoked the DC protest controversy, but who was behind it?"
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
Three previews of Thursday's news:
-- Vanity Fair is launching the 25th annual Vanity Fair Hollywood issue on Thursday morning...
-- And GQ is dropping a big new Jason Zengerle profile of Bernie Sanders... Zengerle had months' worth of access... It'll be online here after 5 a.m. ET on Thursday...
-- Here's the first look at this week's cover of TIME, a special report titled "Beyond Walls: Why the Forces of Global Migration Can't be Stopped." There will be two covers on newsstands, featuring Albertina Contreras, 27, and her daughter Yaquelin, 11, "who fled their home in Cubulco, Guatemala, and were separated at the U.S. border in May 2018 for nearly six weeks..." | |
The contraction
Each of these cases has unique characteristics, but the overall sad story is the same: Changes in advertising and consumer behavior are causing a reckoning in both old and new media. Digital business models are an absolute struggle.
BuzzFeed cutting 15%
BuzzFeed has suffered several rounds of layoffs in the past couple of years, but this time is much more severe. About 220 people, 15% of the company, will be leaving in the coming days. BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti confirmed the sharp cut on Wednesday evening after reporters from other news outlets began inquiring. The layoffs, he said, are part of a broader effort to "put us on a firm foundation and allow us to invest and grow sustainably for years to come." He said the "restructuring" will reduce costs and "improve our operating model so we can thrive and control our own destiny, without ever needing to raise funding again. These changes will allow us to be the clear winner in the market as the economics of digital media continue to improve." Here's the full story I wrote with Oliver Darcy...
Verizon Media cutting 7%
The group previously known as Oath is cutting "roughly 800 employees," or 7%, this week, as Verizon continues to move away from content and toward 5G tech. It is not known "which media brands will be hit hardest," CNN's Seth Fiegerman wrote, but the portfolio includes Yahoo, AOL and The Huffington Post.
New layoffs at Gannett's papers
Layoffs also hit numerous newspapers owned by Gannett on Wednesday. The company's spokeswoman has not responded to my requests for info. But Poynter's Tom Jones is keeping track of the cuts here. He has counted impacts at six papers so far.
This tweet from Jaci Smith, who worked at the News Journal Media Group in Delaware, stood out: "25 years in the industry and it's over after a 10-minute chat in a sterile conference room. My heart aches for journalism and all my fellow #gannett colleagues who were laid off today." She added the hashtag "Journalism matters."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Sounds like Sean Hannity signed a new contract a while back: He has previously said his Fox deal was up in 2020, but in this interview with Variety's Brian Steinberg he said "his current agreement with Fox runs through December 2021..." (Variety)
-- Tamron Hall is at the NATPE conference this week, talking up her forthcoming daytime talk show... (B&C and Variety)
-- Shane Goldmacher with the scoop: Bill Clinton "is writing a new book about his post-presidential life." Bob Barnett "negotiated the agreement with Knopf Doubleday..." (NYT)
-- "Is the media coverage of the Mueller investigation a problem?" This 538 chat is a worthwhile read. Meghan Ashford-Grooms said what I keep thinking: "I just feel bad for readers trying to figure out what is going on..." (538)
Condé is going full paywall | | Jeffrey Trachtenberg's Wednesday morning scoop: Condé Nast will put "all its titles behind paywalls by the end of the year." This means Vogue, GQ, Bon Appétit, Glamour, etc will be joining WIRED, VF and The New Yorker. His WSJ story about the move is behind a paywall too... Look, I just think these publishers need to focus like a laser beam on making it super simple to pay...
Hulu drops basic plan price, hikes Live TV
Jill Disis reports: "Hulu has dropped the price of its cheapest package by $2 — just a week after competitor Netflix raised prices for its services. Hulu's basic plan, which includes ads, will cost $6 per month starting February 26." The clear strategy here: To keep its US subscriber growth going at a faster clip than Netflix's as Disney prepares to take majority control of the service...
--> Big picture: Hulu ended the year with 25 million subscribers, far behind Netflix's 55 million in the US...
--> More from Disis: Hulu is also raising the price "of its Live TV plan to $45 per month, a $5 increase..."
Sinclair's shot at balance
Joe Flint with the scoop: Progressive activist Ameshia Cross will host a "new daily commentary segment" on Sinclair stations starting next month, countering Boris Epshteyn's Trump cheerleading...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Tom Jones tweeted: "No matter how you feel about the subject, excellent work by 'Today' and Savannah Guthrie for the controversial interview with the Catholic school student from Kentucky." Here's his full column... (Poynter)
-- Happy birthday to Norah O'Donnell, who's the subject of a new spread in People magazine... (People)
-- Congrats to Lauren Roseman: The "SNL" PR chief has been promoted to VP of NBC Entertainment Publicity... (Variety)
-- Jordan Valinsky flagged this story about a "Brexit boost:" BBC Parliament, the British C-SPAN, outrated MTV in the UK last week... (Guardian)
-- "Megan Ellison's Annapurna has promoted Sue Naegle to chief content officer..." (THR)
Sundance day one!
If you're in Park City right now, I'm envious. The Sundance Film Festival begins Thursday "with more than 100 world premiere features selected out of a record-breaking 14,259 submissions from 152 countries."
Variety's Ramin Setoodeh is expecting "political moments" but so many huge $$ deals... Read on...
Dreamers expect ICE at Sundance | | Katie Pellico emails: Some Dreamers planning to attend the Sundance premiere of the film in which they're featured, "The Infiltrators," tell THR that they "welcome any retaliation" at the festival on Friday, "taunting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents to meet them there." Others are avoiding the premiere altogether "out of fear of deportation." Mohammad Abdollahi, an undocumented immigrant from Iran, says, "If I were to get detained by immigration, I would rather be a phone call away from a large community of people than to be in the shadows and have no one to support me."
From Kennedy to Bush
You heard it here first: Prolific biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, who has "The Kennedy Heirs" coming out in June, has a deal for his next subject. It is "The Bush Dynasty." St. Martin's Press, which has acquired the rights, says Taraborrelli began his work on the book "before the recent passing of George H.W. Bush..."
| | Cliff Sims' book says Kellyanne Conway is a leaker...
...And he says he witnessed it first-hand. VF just published a new excerpt from Sims' book "Team of Vipers," which comes out next Tuesday... Sims is incredibly critical of Conway, and goes into detail about how Conway texted with reporters and "recounted private conversations she'd had with the president..." Here's the excerpt...
...And the book says Trump is an anonymous source
This has been widely suspected and speculated about. Sims is saying it on the record: On at least one occasion, President Trump talked with a "prominent White House reporter," shared some info, and "the reporter hung up without a hot scoop from 'a source close to the president.'"
I've been a part of more than one debate about this type of sourcing in the past. Is it ethical to describe a source as "a person close to" that source? Many journalists believe it is deceptive…
Pelosi postpones Trump's show
I think Nancy Pelosi knows how to speak Trump's language. Picture her as the TV exec, and Trump as the star. Technically she's not "cancelling" his State of the Union speech, but she is postponing it -- depriving him of airtime.
He might hold some other event next Tuesday night... I'm assuming he will... But on Wednesday night he tweeted that it will not be a SOTU. "I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over," he wrote...
Will more speeches help Trump?
Here's the thing about holding an alternative event next Tuesday: His previous speeches about the border and the shutdown have not swayed public opinion in his favor. If anything, they've hurt his cause. "The turmoil in Washington" is dragging Trump's approval rating "to its lowest level in more than a year," The AP reported Wednesday. This new AP-NORC poll showed only 34% of Americans approving of Trump's job performance, down from 42% a month ago. Will more speeches help his #'s?
Cooper is right:
Anderson Cooper on Wednesday's "AC360:" "If you want to know about the state of the union, the president of the United States is not the one to ask. These people are." Cooper tossed to sound from several federal workers who are struggling to make ends meet due to the shutdown. "THAT'S the state of the union tonight," he said...
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FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Katie Pellico emails: Larceny charges against Chris Hansen have been dropped. Hansen allegedly bounced checks for $13,000-worth of merchandise. The former "To Catch a Predator" host has reportedly paid back the Connecticut store... (TMZ)
-- Facebook needs a "new tool for reporting scam ads backed by a dedicated team to handle complaints," as a condition of a lawsuit settlement that arguably resulted from a lack of such oversight... (Verge)
-- Within a week of Sony Music's decision to drop R. Kelly, Spotify is making it easier to "mute" artists with a "Don't play this artist" option... (THR)
-- Daniella Emanuel flagged this: The first episode of a six-part podcast about Theranos, hosted by ABC's Rebecca Jarvis, was released on Wednesday. A companion documentary on the subject is slated for "Nightline..." (TechCrunch)
-- An act of kindness across the media divide: Rachel Maddow's show team sent pizza to the law enforcement officials who helped rescue Bret Baier and his family after their car accident in Montana... (The Hill)
Gawker relaunch off to a rough start
Oliver Darcy emails: New Gawker hasn't even launched yet and it is already embroiled in controversy. On Wednesday, Maya Kosoff and Anna Breslaw -- the outlet's only announced staff writers -- announced that they had parted ways with the site over concerns with editorial director Carson Griffith. Last week, when new Gawker's first hires were announced, Splinter resurfaced a number of troublesome tweets from Griffith's past. Separately, Kosoff and Breslaw flagged inappropriate actions and comments Griffith had made to employees, according to a story by The Daily Beast's Max Tani.
In a joint statement, Kosoff and Breslaw said, "We're disappointed it ended this way, but we can't continue to work under someone who is antithetical to our sensibility and journalistic ethics, or for an employer [CEO Bryan Goldberg] who refuses to listen to the women who work for him when it's inconvenient." A Gawker spokesperson said the company takes "all claims seriously" and "will continue to review," though Kosoff and Breslaw told The Beast that HR told them before quitting that Griffith would remain in her role...
What's worse than "hot takes?"
Brian Lowry emails: Frank Bruni wrote a really astute column about the "hot take" culture, and the dangers that it presents, in the context of the Covington teens and the incident at the Lincoln Memorial. The problems in adhering to his perfectly reasonable suggestions are that he underplays the financial pressures to respond to what's trending -- both online and on TV -- and the fact that resisting the impulse to weigh in immediately on issues doesn't mean that such reactions are going to go away. In most cases, editors and bookers will simply move on to other, perhaps less scrupulous voices to fill the void...
| | FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Katie Pellico:
-- "Erik Prince, the former Navy SEAL who founded the private military contractor Blackwater, is getting the biopic treatment..." (THR)
-- The first trailer for Blue Fox Entertainment's "Saint Judy" dropped Wednesday, showing the story of LA-based immigration attorney Judy Wood... (Deadline)
-- Kate Winslet is returning to TV (and HBO) for the first time since 2011 to star in a "dark and moody" limited series, "Mare of Easttown..." (Vulture)
-- Daniel Fienberg looks at "why so many television co-stars are competing against each other" this awards season... (THR)
| | Bryan Singer responds to new sexual abuse allegations
This story about new allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Bryan Singer is in the March issue of The Atlantic. It was published on the web Wednesday morning, and it is a must-read.
"We spent 12 months investigating various lawsuits and allegations against Singer," Alex French and Maximillian Potter wrote in the piece. "In total, we spoke with more than 50 sources, including four men who have never before told their stories to reporters."
The two reporters first wrote a version of the story for Esquire, but it was not published there. ("We do not know why," they said Wednesday.) So they brought it to Jeffrey Goldberg's shop.
Singer responded to the story by attacking the reporters and the publication. As for an actual statement of defense, he said: "Again, I am forced to reiterate that this story rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of individuals willing to lie for money or attention. And it is no surprise that, with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' being an award-winning hit, this homophobic smear piece has been conveniently timed to take advantage of its success."
Singer's next project
From Sandra Gonzalez and Chloe Melas' story for CNN.com: "Singer is next set to direct an adaptation of the 'Red Sonja' comic book for Millennium Films, a company that has recently contended with its own controversy. Millennium Films and their CEO Avi Lerner were the subject of a sexual harassment suit in May 2017. (Lerner denied the claims.) And last year, actor Terry Crews also accused Lerner of encouraging him to drop a sexual assault suit against a Hollywood executive he said groped him. Millennium Films and Lerner have not responded to CNN's request for information on the sexual harassment suit's status, comment regarding Crews's claim, or an update on Singer's employment status in light of the latest allegations."
"Live Nation production chief put on leave amid verbal abuse claims"
Megan Thomas emails: This investigation by Variety is an indication of where the #MeToo movement may be moving next in Hollywood. Bullying is widely tolerated in the industry, but maybe that's starting to change. (The story also reads like a West Coast version of "Devil Wears Prada...")
| | Will "The Conners" be coming back?
Brian Lowry emails: "The Conners" aired its season finale on Tuesday night, having plugged the gap that "Roseanne" would have left in ABC's schedule. There's no official word yet regarding a second season, but TV Line has reported that conversations are underway...
Looking ahead to Sunday's SAG Awards...
Katie Pellico emails: The Screen Actors Guild revealed round one of its presenters for Sunday's ceremony, including big names like Lady Gaga and Rami Malek, two weeks after the union had "accused the Academy... of intimidation in trying to limit actors from presenting on awards shows other than the Oscars." Dave McNary has details here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- Chloe Melas emails: On Wednesday Alec Baldwin plead guilty to harassment over an incident involving a parking spot last year. Now he has to complete one day of anger management...
-- Lisa Respers France emails: Fans are thrilled about James Gandolfini's son being cast to play young Tony Soprano...
-- One more from Lisa: Taraji P. Henson has clarified her R. Kelly stance after backlash over a post that seemed to support the singer...
| | That's a wrap. Send me your feedback anytime! It always makes the letter better. See you tomorrow...
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