EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there! This is Oliver Darcy, in for Brian Stelter. Scroll down for info on the letter Facebook employees wrote to Mark Zuckerberg, the group of ex-Fox News employees demanding to be released from NDAs, what Katie Hill is saying about right-wing media, what the NRA now says about NRATV, and NY Mag's deep-dive into Condé. But first...
Dawn of the streaming wars
Months of buzzy press releases, attentive planning, and careful preparation have led us to this moment: the dawn of the Streaming Wars. Battle lines have been drawn, companies are in position, and this week marks the beginning of a new era as Netflix gets some new (and fierce) competition.
Monday was all about Disney+, with the company using its corporate synergy to promote the streaming service. Tuesday is all about HBO Max as AT&T holds a presentation in California for investors. And Friday all eyes will be on Apple when the technology giant launches Apple TV+...
"We're creating something really powerful together"
| | Brian Stelter emails: AT&T is about to show the world what HBO Max will be. The company is holding a much-anticipated presentation for key investors on the famed Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank on Tuesday... The iconic Warner Bros. water tower has already been rechristened with an HBO Max logo for the occasion...
"This is a big deal," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told me in an interview from the studio lot, where he released third quarter earnings on Monday. He views Tuesday's event as a culmination of more of a year's worth of WarnerMedia restructuring and rethinking.
"You're going to see the result of something that a lot of people said couldn't be done when we did the Time Warner deal, and that is, breaking down the three silos within Time Warner," he said, crediting John Stankey and the exec team.
By "bringing these three companies together" (Turner, HBO and Warner Bros) "we're creating something really really powerful together that could not have been done otherwise," Stephenson said. "The idea that you can stand up a product, HBO Max, that requires in-depth integration of HBO, Warner Bros and Turner, not to mention Otter Media, which is a big part of this as well -- man, a lot of people said it couldn't be done. This is exciting."
The company's stated goal is to sign up 50 million subscribers by 2025, five years into the service's launch. We'll find out the plan Tuesday at 3pm PT...
CNN has five projects in the works
CNN has a total of five projects in the works for HBO Max... three are CNN Films and two are CNN Original Series... One of the films will be a documentary focused on Anthony Bourdain. The documentary will be directed and produced by Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville.
Meanwhile... The not-so-good reviews are in for Apple's offerings
Apple TV+'s first four shows received reviews on Monday. Variety has a good breakdown here... The flagship series, "The Morning Show," did not fare well in the reviews, with critics largely disappointed in the offering from the star-studded cast... In fact, none of the shows did terribly well with critics. Summarizing things, Engadget noted, "Early AppleTV+ reviews show a lineup lacking hits." Here's a breakdown...
>> Daniel Fienberg reviewed "See" for THR: "Apple TV+'s new Jason Momoa drama about a world without sight has interesting elements, but not enough depth or vision..."
>> Caroline Framke reviewed "Dickinson" for Variety: "Given the show's scattered narrative and stylistic approach to Emily's life and work, its biggest strength by a long shot is its star" Hailee Steinfeld...
>> Steve Greene reviewed "For All Mankind" for IndieWire. His bottom line: "Presented with boundless possibilities, this reimagining of a neverending Space Race makes the least interesting storytelling choices at so many crucial points..."
Lowry's review of "The Morning Show"
Brian Lowry emails: "The Morning Show" comes armed with considerable star power and an inordinately timely theme, but this behind-the-scenes look at a fictional network morning program, starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, proves disappointing based on the early episodes.
It's worth noting, too, that there's a fair amount of schadenfreude in the negative reviews, with those toiling for traditional networks appearing to draw some satisfaction in seeing Apple TV+ get its nose bloodied a bit, despite (or really, because of) the ample cash that it's throwing at the venture. Read Lowry's full review...
Spotted at the premiere
"New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota emails: Apple TV+ took over Lincoln Center for "The Morning Show" premiere Monday night. Among the morning TV hosts staying up late to attend: Gayle King, Anthony Mason, Tony Dokoupil, Robin Meade, Christine Romans, Poppy Harlow, Kate Bolduan, George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer, Amy Robach, Ginger Zee, Pat Kiernan, and Jamie Stelter, better half to Brian Stelter, the show's consulting producer.
AM TV legends like Diane Sawyer and Joan Lunden were also in attendance, along with Don Lemon, Gretchen Carlson, Emmy Rossum, Naomi Watts, Ashley Graham, Arianna Huffington, Bianna Golodryga, Laura Brown, Harry Connick Jr., and more. Apple CEO Tim Cook said this is his first premiere ever. I got to talk with Jennifer Aniston beforehand, who told me she couldn't wait to hear what I thought of the show. So here's my answer — intense. Very close to home for a lot of people in the audience...
"The Mandalorian" gets ready for its debut
Brian Lowry emails: Disney+ is getting ready for its Nov. 12 debut, but announced that "The Mandalorian" — the first live-action "Star Wars" series — won't be made available in advance to critics "in order to give audiences the opportunity to enjoy the show to the fullest and allow them to discover any surprises and plot twists."
But that ignores that critics screen things without spoiling them — including "Star Wars" movies — all the time. Disney did offer a 27-minute preview of the show as part of a junket tilted toward fanboy sites, which not surprisingly drooled over it.
>> NYT's James Poniewozik tweeted: "The biggest 'surprise' entertainment companies always want to preserve for the audience with a move like this is 'whether or not the show is any good....'"
Don't forget about Netflix
Frank Pallotta emails: As streaming newcomers like HBO Max and Apple TV+ get the spotlight this week, it's important to remember which service they're all chasing: Netflix. Sure, November will be huge for Apple and Disney.
But November will also be big for Netflix. "The Crown," one of its most acclaimed shows, is back on November 17 and on November 27, Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" debuts.
>> Frank's bottom line: HBO Max, Apple and Disney+ may be getting all the attention now, but Netflix is still king with nearly 160 million subscribers...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
--Expect this to command attention Tuesday: "A White House national security official plans to tell House impeachment investigators he heard Trump "appeal to Ukraine's president to investigate one of his leading political rivals, a request the aide considered so damaging to American interests that he reported it to a superior...." (NYT)
-- Mark your calendars for Thursday: The House is set to vote to formalize the procedures of the impeachment inquiry... (CNN)
-- Also coming in the next few days? "Trump said on Monday he may declassify and release part of the video taken on Saturday of the raid. The video is believed to include aerial footage and possibly footage from cameras mounted on the soldiers who stormed Baghdadi's compound..." (Reuters)
-- Meanwhile, out west... The Getty Fire continues to burn and cause mayhem... ABC News correspondent Kayna Whitworth described the scene as she was forced her to evacuate: "I've covered a lot of fires, but to see the Super Scooper fly right over your house while you're trying to load your kids up in the car to evacuate is really scary..." (ABC News)
The truce
Monday's news of a truce between AT&T and Elliott Management — avoiding a protracted fight with one of the world's most successful activist shareholders — sent AT&T's stock to a 52-week high. The plan, as described by Elliott Management, includes "significantly enhanced operational efficiency with meaningful margin expansion," a "full review of the portfolio," and "no more major acquisitions." Stephenson heralded the resolution and said "it was largely our plan" already. Here's the full story by David Goldman and Brian Stelter...
Stephenson's future
"Stephenson's commitment to stay through 2020 is a shift from a previous plan," the NYT's Edmund Lee wrote. "He had considered stepping down next year, but his willingness to remain longer would delay any potential elevation for Mr. Stankey. The soonest he could succeed Mr. Stephenson would be 2021. In the interview, Mr. Stephenson emphasized that the board has not set his retirement date. 'One thing the board said is I need to see this plan through,' he said. Whether he stays beyond that 'involves many factors,' he added..."
Ex-Fox employees demand release from NDAs
| | On Friday, NBCUniversal announced that it would release "any former NBC News employee who believes they cannot disclose their experience with sexual harassment" from their non-disclosure agreement. Now, at least six former Fox News employees are demanding the Murdoch-controlled network do the same, according to a story by one of the women, Diana Falzone, in Vanity Fair.
The group of former Fox employees includes Gretchen Carlson who said all the women "forced to sign NDAs should be released from them immediately, giving them back the voices they deserve." Carlson added, "Because of our NDAs, we can never say what is factually correct or incorrect about what happened to us at Fox." Others former Fox employees included in the group are Julie Roginsky and Tamara Holder.
No comment from Fox
So what does Fox have to say about the request from the women to be released from their NDAs? I checked in with spokespeople for both Fox News and Fox Corporation. It appears they are staying silent as I didn't hear back....
Man runs for governor so he can run false Facebook ads
Donie O'Sullivan emails: Facebook says if you're a politician or political candidate you can run false ads on its platform. So... a guy in California registered Monday to run for governor of the state so he can run false ads on Facebook. He says he's doing it to draw attention to Facebook's policy which he opposes. He told me, "The genesis of this campaign is social media regulation and to ensure there is not an exemption in fact-checking specifically for politicians like Donald Trump who like to lie online."
Employees write letter to Zuckerberg
More than 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter to Mark Zuckerberg protesting the company's decision to allow politicians to lie in advertisements on the platform without impunity, NYT's Mike Isaac reported Monday. The letter, which was also aimed at Zuckerberg's top lieutenants, stated, "We strongly object to this policy as it stands."
The letter said the policy "doesn't protect voices, but instead allows politicians to weaponize our platform by targeting people who believe that content posted by political figures is trustworthy." As Isaac noted, "While the number of signatures on the letter was a fraction of Facebook's 35,000-plus work force, it was one sign of the resistance that the company is now facing internally over how it treats political ads."
Will any of this matter?
Donie O'Sullivan emails: It's rare we see internal Facebook comms leak out to the public. Will all of this — the staff letter to Zuckerberg reported today, criticisms from Biden and Warren, and the latest stunt by the guy running for governor in California — make Facebook reconsider the policy?
Maybe, but think of the alternative: If they fact check political ads they might find themselves stopping ads from the Trump campaign and put up with cries of anti conservative bias? We know Zuckerberg has been courting conservatives recently — maybe Facebook is happy to put up with the finger wagging from the left rather than annoying the administration.
>> 🔌 Donie will be on "New Day" around 6:40am to talk about all of this...
IN RELATED NEWS....
The Daily Wire's shadow Facebook empire
The Daily Wire, a conservative news organization headed by Ben Shapiro, is operating a network of 14 large Facebook pages to disseminate its content, according to a report by Popular Information, a newsletter written by the progressive writer Judd Legum. For those who don't know, content from The Daily Wire is huge on Facebook. The engagement rates for the site's social posts outpace some major news organizations. Which is to say, you might not read The Daily Wire, and it might not get as much coverage as a right-wing website like Breitbart, but it has influence.
So if the site is skirting Facebook's rules, it's of note. And it could be. Legum wrote that the shadow network The Daily Wire is operating "violates Facebook's rules" against "inauthentic coordinate behavior" which prohibit "the use of Facebook or Instagram assets... to mislead people or Facebook… about the identity, purpose, or origin of the entity that they represent."
"That is exactly what The Daily Wire is doing with these Facebook pages," Legum wrote. "'The Angry Patriot' Facebook page, for example, says it is run by 'a frustrated American tired of the establishment taking away our rights and treating American Citizens like third class citizens.' In reality, it is centrally run as part of a network that exists to promote content from The Daily Wire."
>> NYT's Kevin Roose agreed: "Using centrally controlled, misleadingly labeled feeder pages to drive traffic to a single domain is a pretty clear-cut violation of FB's rules on coordinated inauthentic behavior. Wonder what happened here!"
Daily Wire responds
In an email to me, Daily Wire co-founder and COO Jeremy Boreing said, "My only comment is Daily Wire works hard to comply with platform rules. When a platform alerts us to an infraction, we address it. When a platform does something we oppose, we report on it. When a platform does something we support, like defend fundamental freedoms, we report on that as well."
>> Worth mentioning: Shapiro recently attended a dinner hosted by Mark Zuckerberg, according to Politico...
What Facebook is saying
Spokespeople for Facebook ignored my requests for comment on Monday. But, according to Legum, "Facebook acknowledged these pages are engaging in deceptive behavior but will continue to allow them to operate." Legum added that Facebook told him next month it will implement "stronger tools to help people better understand who is behind Pages like these on Facebook."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Emails obtained by Ryan Mac and Jason Leopold revealed that Google execs "misled their own employees last week when they said a former top Department of Homeland security official who had recently joined the company was 'not involved in the family separation policy...'" (BuzzFeed News)
-- In memo to staff, G/O Media tells Deadspin employees the "sole focus" of the website will be sports. "Deadspin will write only about sports and that which is relevant to sports in some way," the memo said... (Daily Beast)
-- Joe Pompeo reports that The Recount, the news organization from John Heilemann and John Battelle, is "coming out of beta mode this week with eight seed investors kicking in nearly $10 million between them..." (Vanity Fair)
-- Erick Erickson announced he's canceling The Resurgent Gathering, saying, "It'll do my stress levels good and not risk me having to compromise either the conference or my conscience." Erickson said, "Our intellectual thought and the conservative movement has gotten shallow..." (Twitter)
Katie Hill assails right-wing media
In a resignation video posted online Monday, Rep. Katie Hill denounced the "right wing media," saying it was guilty of "enabling and perpetuating my husband's abuse and providing him a platform." Hill released a statement on Sunday announcing her resignation after conceding she had an "inappropriate" relationship with a campaign staffer.
Hill called the role of right-wing media "disgusting and unforgivable." She vowed to hold people "accountable" and said she will "fight to ensure no one else has to live through what I just experienced."
RedState reporter who wrote initial story promotes Republicans to win seat
The allegations of impropriety were raised in a story earlier this month published by RedState, the conservative website owned by Salem Media Group. The author of the story, Jennifer Van Laar, published a nude photograph of the congresswoman as part of her post.
Politico's Michael Calderone published a story Monday about Van Laar, pointing out that she was already "urging support for Republican candidates to win the seat." Calderone noted, "Van Laar's shift from reporting on Hill, and publishing what some have deemed 'revenge porn,' to promoting Republicans for Hill's old job is a blurring of roles that would be unacceptable in mainstream newsrooms."
>> Another great point by Calderone: "Hill's swift political downfall highlights the way in which allegations and images that might not meet the bar for publication in traditional newsrooms, the one-time media gatekeepers, can find a wide audience online and spark a scandal covered by mainstream reporters..."
NRA says NRA TV was at times 'racist'
The National Rifle Association believes its former television product, NRATV, was at times "distasteful and racist." That's according to a recent amended complaint the organization filed in its ongoing -- and very messy -- dispute with Ackerman McQueen, the company the NRA had hired to operate the channel.
The NRA even went as far as to say that when NRATV was shut down earlier this year "no one missed it." It backed up that claim by saying, "Not a single sponsor or viewer even called." Ackerman McQueen responded in a statement to The Daily Beast. The ad firm accused the NRA of "false claims," while also assailing NRA chief Wayne LaPierre.
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Jeffrey Toobin on Monday blasted AG Bill Barr's probe into beginnings of Russia investigation: "This is part of the fevered Fox News, Breitbart, Gateway Pundit world of ideas about how things started, which have no connection to reality..." (Mediaite)
-- Eric Bolling announced he's joined JanOne as chairman and president in USA Today column: "I lost my son to opioids. Help me fight this epidemic...." (USA Today)
-- Pete Buttigieg will kick off another open-press bus tour on Saturday as he travels in northern Iowa...
-- Matt Gaetz freaked out over a critical tweet from Andy Lassner, attacking the "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" EP ... (Mediaite)
-- Joe Ferullo's latest column is about the "lexicon of the new political corruption..." (The Hill)
NY Mag's deep-dive into Condé
Kerry Flynn emails: New York magazine published a long read on Monday detailing the state of Condé Nast. There are so many good anecdotes in the story, by Reeves Wiedeman -- a personal favorite involves Old Town Road.
It's worth a full read to learn how the magazine empire is faring in the digital age and under the new leadership of former Pandora chief Roger Lynch. The piece had me wondering more about the state of Glamour and Allure, given all of the attention paid to Vogue. And I agree with BuzzFeed EIC Ben Smith that there's more to be written about the international business.
Ivanka Trump sat down with editors for 2017 meeting
One of the nuggets from the story: Ivanka Trump met with the top editors at Condé in 2017. According to New York mag, the editors were invited to meet an undisclosed guest, and were "taken aback" when Ivanka Trump entered the room. Anna Wintour, who regularly held such off-the-record meetings with notable guests, told the room Ivanka Trump was "brave" for doing the chat, and introduced her around the room, the article said.
British political journalism faces a reckoning
Hadas Gold emails: I often find parallels between the United Kingdom and the United States especially in these fraught political eras. One debate that's blown up in the last few weeks here is whether political journalists are becoming a cog in a Boris Johnson's spin machine by quoting briefings from sources often only cited as a "senior government source."
Critics say these briefings are often misleading – like saying the government won't do something it ends up doing – and that reporters should stop using them. Reporters are getting attacked on Twitter if they dare cite a "government source" and some big names in British Journalism, like Sky News' Adam Bolton, have written columns urging reporters to stop the practice.
But many reporters say it's important to convey what the people in the room with the Prime Minister are saying and thinking – though some concede that warring factions within Number 10 Downing Street can confuse things (sound familiar?!). Plus, as Brexit morphs into an election campaign here some of what the government sources are saying is "more slogans than policy," one reporter told me. The problem, they say, is when some convey the information without a filter. Read my full story here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By Kerry Flynn:
-- A long-read by on Pattern, a company dedicated to finding solutions for burnout such as cooking products that come with cooking advice via text message. It's written by Anne Helen Peterson, who wrote a fantastic essay on millennial burnout earlier this year... (BuzzFeed News)
-- Nylon, now under Bustle Digital Group, had two new employees start today: Lauren McCarthy, formerly digital features director at W Magazine, is executive editor and Maria Bobila, formerly senior editor at Fashionista, is fashion editor... (Twitter / Twitter)
FIRST LOOK:
Cynthia Erivo on cover of Variety
| | The cover of Variety's next issue out Tuesday features Cynthia Erivo discussing her highly anticipated Harriet Tubman biopic... The cover story is by Kate Aurthur... Erivo said that playing the role took its toll, and that after she was done, she had a "proper breakdown." Asked about the Oscar buzz regarding the role, Erivo said, "I'm really glad to be even mentioned in the same sentence as the word 'O.' Freaks me out to say it!" More coming Tuesday...
And here's Tuesday's New York Post cover...
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How to catch up on Sunday's "Reliable"
Watch the video clips on CNN.com... Catch the full episode via CNNgo or VOD... Or listen to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app...
| | 'Superman & Lois' TV series in development | | Brian Lowry emails: The CW Network continues to draw upon the DC universe, with the latest potential addition involving Superman himself: "Superman and Lois" will focus on the Man of Steel and Lois Lane.
The character was last regularly featured on TV in the series "Smallville," and Warner Bros. has been notably reluctant to leverage him to heavily, lest it distract from the studio's feature plans. Current CW-DC shows include "Batwoman," "Supergirl," "The Flash" and "Arrow," which is in its final season.
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Robert Evans, famed "Chinatown" and "Godfather" producer, died over the weekend. The man who was as charismatic as some of the stars in his now iconic films was 89...
-- Lady Gaga and Ashanti singing together in Vegas is the duet we didn't know we needed...
-- Kanye West held his first Sunday Service since his "Jesus Is King" album release...
| | Thanks for reading! Brian will be back in the chair on Tuesday. I'll see you later this week. Until then, send me an email or connect with me on Twitter!
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