Tuesday, November 29, 2022

🇺🇸 Go Team USA! Fox News is largely ignoring a key story, former Twitter exec Yoel Roth is speaking out about Elon Musk, newsrooms are cashing in on holiday retail deals, the Academy has announced a notable change to the 2023 Oscars, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have reached a divorce settlement, and so much more. But first.

THE A1

Cable's Walking Dead

CNN Photo Illustration/AMC Networks

"The mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray."

That's what AMC Networks Chair James Dolan told his employees on Tuesday when he delivered the grim news that a "large-scale layoff," in addition to "significant" operating cuts, will soon take place at the company. The cuts, first reported by The WSJ, will amount to 20% of its U.S. workforce, which is roughly 1,700 employees, AMC said.

In his memo to employees, Dolan said it is a "confusing and uncertain time in our industry." He blamed the grave situation at the network – which was once home to television's hottest shows, such as "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," and "The Walking Dead" — squarely on cord-cutting.

"At the same time we have seen the rise of direct to consumer streaming apps including our own AMC+. It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming," Dolan wrote. "This has not been the case."

The dire state of affairs at the company, which also announced the departure of its chief executive who served in the position for less than three months, largely reflects the extraordinary challenges facing the entire industry as linear television rapidly declines and companies scramble — or perhaps, struggle — to build lifeboats to streaming.

And the havoc being wreaked upon AMC Networks could foreshadow what is yet to come for others.

"We've already seen layoffs and restructuring for a handful of companies," Insider Intelligence principal analyst Paul Verna told me on Tuesday. "Any of the [companies] that have not yet announced layoffs probably will."

"It's the whole ecosystem," Verna added.

Major players such as Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN's parent), Disney, and Paramount all appear to be eying cost cutting measures and restructuring their businesses to focus more on profits and less on exorbitant spending to chase subscribers.

Verna said he does not find it "unreasonable to expect" that companies such as NBC Universal, Apple, and Amazon will also announce cuts to their media business in the near future. Though he didn't entirely agree with Dolan's assertion that the "mechanisms for monetization of content are in disarray," he blamed lower profitability from streaming, an overcrowded market, and the brutal economic headwinds battering an array of industries.

"They've bumped up against the reality that it's a tough business and there really isn't room for everybody in it," Verna said. "It's just saturated. And a lot of it does get back to the economy."

"And, as a result, more dominoes are going to fall."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/HuffPost

Historic Headlines: The top story across nearly every major news organization on Tuesday night is about Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes being found guilty of seditious conspiracy. As The NYT noted, seditious conspiracy "is the most serious charge brought so far in any of the 900 criminal cases stemming from" the probe into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The NYT also noted that it's been decades since a successful prosecution of such a charge, with the last instance occurring in 1995. CNN is tracking live updates here.

► Another related headline driving the news cycle: "South Carolina Supreme Court orders Mark Meadows to testify in Georgia 2020 election meddling investigation."

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Getty Images

Fox's Failure: Looking for coverage of former President Donald Trump's dinner with Kanye West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes? Good luck finding it on Fox News. The right-wing cable channel has barely covered the controversy — which has been treated by news organizations as a top story — over the last few days. In fact, according to the progressive watchdog Media Matters, Fox News only covered the story in five segments this past weekend. And even when Fox News has devoted time to the matter, the segments have been less than full throated. Take Tuesday's segment on "Special Report" for example. Fill in host Trace Gallagher only referred to Fuentes as an "accused white nationalist," despite Fuentes' long history of making plainly racist remarks and pushing an extremist ideology.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Philip Bump has more data showing Fox News has worked to sweep the story under the rug. (WaPo)
Reporters pressed Kevin McCarthy over his false claims Donald Trump denounced white supremacist Nick Fuentes after dining with him. (NYT)
Afterward: "Fox News hosts Harris Faulkner and Jason Chaffetz were outraged on Tuesday after reporters dared ask" McCarthy about the matter, Justin Baragona reports: "This is why America hates the national media!" (Daily Beast)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Patrick Farrell for Knight Foundation

Roth Reams Musk: Former Twitter Trust & Safety head Yoel Roth spoke at a Florida conference Tuesday afternoon with Kara Swisher, taking questions for the first time since he resigned his position weeks ago. Roth said he no longer feels Twitter is safer under new owner Elon Musk and said that a "f--k it" attitude toward moderation won't work "if you are operating what you want to be a commercially viable consumer service." Roth also added that his team warned Musk about the various dangers of rapidly implementing the Twitter Blue verification feature, but that their messages fell on deaf ears. Aaron Rupar has a good thread with video of highlights here.

Twitter Blue Delayed (Again): At this point, I have officially lost track of how many times Musk's Twitter Blue paid verification plan has been delayed. But Platformer's Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer report Tuesday night that it is delayed once more. Per the duo, who have absolutely dominated this story, Musk has postponed the launch as he attempts to get around Apple's 30% App Store fee (good luck to him). Newton and Schiffer also reported that Twitter's ad revenue is down nearly 50% week over week in key markets. Here's their full report.

TOO MANY TABS

Twitter is no longer enforcing its Covid misinformation policy, per a rare formal update from the company. (CNN)
The Intercept reports "prominent antifascist organizers and journalists" have been suspended from Twitter in recent days. (Intercept)
Twitter versus Apple could soon heat up, as the social media company plans to launch Blue Verified on Friday — but only on iOS, which would require Apple's approval, Erin Woo reports. (The Info)
iPhone maker Foxconn is offering big bonuses to entice angry workers to return to its main China factory as Apple faces a supply crunch. (CNBC)
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has banned state employees from using TikTok on government devices. (CNN)
Snap is demanding that its employees work in the office 80% of the time, starting in 2023. (CNN)
An activist group has created a deepfake of Mark Zuckerberg mocking Congress for failing to regulate Big Tech. (Bloomberg)

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Cyber Salesmen: Bombarded with articles from media organizations over the last few days about the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? Around this time of the year, it seems some news organizations effectively morph into online retailers, sending their large audiences to Amazon and other e-commerce destinations to purchase holiday gifts. And it's for good reason. The vast majority of the newsrooms that publish such articles quietly profit off of the referral fees, a business that has quickly become a key revenue generator for media outlets.

Yes, most news sites (including CNN Underscored) do disclose in small font and in special sections that they may earn a commission from the sales. And yes, they do stress that their editorial choices are not influenced by such sales. But nevertheless, it does raise ethical questions, given the blurring of lines between editorial content and what are effectively giant cash cows. For example, on some news homepages and on social media over the last few days, articles hawking products on sale have received prominent positioning, taking the space typically occupied by news articles.

🔎 Zooming in: Given this year's online sales from Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping shattered records, with billions of dollars spent, it's likely millions of dollars in referral sales were directed to newsrooms across the country in a boon to their bottom line.

IN THE INDUSTRY

CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency news website that first exposed financial issues in Sam Bankman-Fried's financial empire, is now attracting takeover interest. (Semafor)
Bankman-Fried says he donated millions to Republicans in dark money, but didn't publicize it because reporters would "freak." (Fortune)
Speaking of SBF: The disgraced crypto king will be interviewed at 4:55 ET by Andrew Ross Sorkin at The NYT's DealBook Summit. Other notable interviews will include Mark Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Reed Hastings, and Mike Pence. (DealBook)
Forbes announced its annual 30 Under 30 list, which of course includes a special section on rising stars in media. (Forbes)
The LAPD has served search warrants in its investigation into the leaked conversation that led to the Los Angeles City Hall racism scandal. (LAT)
Disney has purchased MLB's stake in BAMTech for $900 million. (THR)
Grid CEO and founder Mark Bauman "has stepped down amid confusion at the company over its business," Sara Fischer reports. (Axios)

MEDIA MOVES

Katie Wadington is joining The Hill from USA Today as deputy managing editor. (Playbook)
Lauren Weber is joining WaPo's health and science team to focus on disinformation. (WaPo)
Cameron Curtis is named Warner Bros. EVP of digital marketing. (Deadline)
Amazon restructures MGM TV's scripted operations: Lindsay Sloane becomes head of MGM scripted TV; Rola Bauer expands duties as head of pan-English scripted SVOD TV, development and series. (Deadline)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Kristian Dowling/Getty Images

The Academy's Action: The Oscars are reversing course. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences boss Bill Kramer told Variety's Jazz Tangcay Tuesday that the 2023 Oscars will include live presentations for all 23 categories. The move comes after outrage from the last show, which saw eight various different technical categories cut from the live telecast. "We are committed to having a show that celebrates the artisans, the arts and sciences and the collaborative nature of moviemaking," Kramer said. More from Tangcay here.

OFF STAGE

This just in: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have reached a divorce agreement, in which Kardashian will receive $200,000 per month in child support and the pair will share joint custody of their four children. (CNN)
"Top Gun: Maverick" is flying back to theaters for two weeks in December. (Movie Web)
Thanksgiving weekend resulted in big numbers for sports viewership. (Axios)
"The Masked Singer" semifinals drew 8.7 million viewers, the highest Fox ratings for a Thursday original in more than six years. (Deadline)
Whoa! "Wednesday" has dethroned "Stranger Things" for the Netflix record of most hours viewed during a single week. (Variety)
Ed Helms is joining Jennifer Garner in a Netflix comedy called "Family Leave." (THR)
Hulu has renewed "Tell Me Lies" for a second season. (Deadline)
A sexual assault lawsuit against former "SNL" star Horatio Sanz has been dropped. (CNN)
Apple Music has revealed the top songs of 2022. (Variety)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will be back in your inbox this time tomorrow.