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Thursday, September 28, 2023

The weekend is in sight! Neil Cavuto rips the impeachment hearing, Medium blocks the ChatGPT bot, The WSJ marks six months of Evan Gershkovich detained in Russia, John King speaks out about his MS diagnosis, Lizzo fights the lawsuit from her former dancers, and more. Plus, behind the scenes at Code Conference, where Yoel Roth's addition as a speaker generated backstage drama. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Maligning the Moderator

CNN Photo Illustration/Etienne Laurent/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Republicans are enraged that their safe space was punctured at the second GOP debate by a Univision anchor.

Ilia Calderón, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who co-anchors the evening news at the Spanish language network, triggered outrage on the right by asking the candidates sharp questions on a range of important topics on Wednesday evening. After welcoming viewers in Spanish (the debate was simulcast on Univision), Calderón queried the Republicans through the night on weighty issues related to immigration, hate crimes, health care, and more.

But unlike what is typical on Fox News, Calderón declined to frame her questions in a manner favorable for the Republican candidates. Instead of setting them up with softball-style prompts to tee off, Calderón pressed the would-be presidents for substantive answers on an array of important subjects. The candidates struggled to respond directly, and in some cases tried to duck the questions entirely.

Ahead of the debate, which ultimately averaged 9.5 million viewers, Calderón told the Los Angeles Times she viewed her co-moderator role as a "big responsibility to represent all of our community" and was "preparing real and respectful questions."

Those real questions — which were also framed to dispel narratives crafted around the issues in right-wing media — were on display Wednesday night.

"Florida's new black history curriculum says, 'Slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,'" she said to Gov. Ron DeSantis. "You have said slaves developed skills in spite of slavery, not because of it. But many are still hurt. For the descendants of slaves, this is personal. What is your message to them?"

She later asked former vice president Mike Pence: "The Department of Homeland Security warns that violence against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise and intensifying. According to a recent study, members of that community are nine times more likely to be victims of violent hate crimes. As president, how would you protect this community from violent attacks and discrimination?"

But the unsparing and frank manner in which she engaged with the Republican field prompted a wave of ferocious backlash from right-wing media figures watching back at home and one of Fox News' own prime time hosts.

"Fox joining Univision, perhaps, was the worst partnership I've ever seen since Bud Light hired Dylan Mulvaney," Greg Gutfeld commented on Thursday, blasting Calderón for a supposed "litany of clichés" that "was like a deliberate list prepared by DNC to tweak the candidates, to tweak the audience."

Gutfeld wasn't alone in his outrage.

"The Univision anchor's questions seem to come from the comments section of Salon and Vox," talk radio host Buck Sexton said.

"I think the Univision lady thinks she's at a Democratic Debate," Fox News commenter Tomi Lahren added.

"Why did the RNC who is supposed to stand for our values allow Univision BS leftist questions?" CPAC boss Matt Schlapp asked. "This is outrageous. Stop it."

The outrage incited by the journalist's questions spoke to a larger, worrisome trend that has taken root in the Republican Party in recent years, particularly under the thumb of Donald Trump, where right-wing figures often flock to friendly outlets to air their claims unchallenged.

It put on display how insulated the Republican Party has become as it operates almost exclusively in right-wing media, with candidates agreeing to regular appearances on Fox News and talk radio, but declining to participate in interviews with what they deem to be the hostile "liberal media."

In the right-wing media ecosystem, Republican candidates are coddled and rarely subject to hard-hitting questions. Interviews are often chats between commentators who share the candidates' political viewpoints.

That feedback loop, which Calderón declined to be a part of, is unquestionably beneficial for companies like Fox News. But it doesn't bode well for the country writ large.

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Fox News

Cavuto's Candid Criticism: It's been a rough 24 hours for the Fox News audience. After being rocked by Calderón's questions, viewers of the right-wing channel on Thursday had to watch two of the network's stars pour cold water on the House GOP's impeachment inquiry. Contributor Jonathan Turley testified at the first hearing that the "current evidence" does not "support articles of impeachment" against the president. And host Neil Cavuto blasted the entire spectacle, telling his audience that he does not know "what was achieved" during the hearing. "The way this was built up — where there's smoke there would be fire…but where there's smoke today, we got more smoke," Cavuto said, noting "the promise of explosive testimony and proof ... did not materialize." Yikes.

🔎 Zooming in: It is worth pointing out that while Turley and Cavuto were critical of the evidence against Biden, they are far outnumbered by others on Fox News, who have hyped the inquiry. "NEW EVIDENCE EXPOSES BIDEN FAMILY BUSINESS," blared one chyron, for instance, in prime time.

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Chaos at Code: The addition of former Twitter executive Yoel Roth to the Code Conference lineup prompted drama at the annual tech confab. Kara Swisher, the longtime former host of Code, asked Roth to sit down for the interview earlier this week, after other speakers fell through. Roth agreed on Monday evening and was added to the schedule by Wednesday morning. I'm told that the addition, however, angered CNBC's Julia Boorstin, who was one of the three co-hosts this year. Boorstin, people familiar with the matter said, felt that Swisher had tried to upstage her big interview with X chief executive Linda Yaccarino, also planned for Wednesday. Emotions flew high backstage ahead of the interview, the people added. Yaccarino, also upset by Roth's addition, considered backing out of the onstage interview, the people said. Ultimately, the agonizing interview (in which Yaccarino was unable to answer basic questions) took place. Strangely, CNBC did not air clips of the exclusive sit-down, despite it generating significant discussion.

► Statement from CNBC: "Boorstin conducted a thorough and wide-ranging interview ... as planned and promoted."

► Statement from Vox Media: "Schedules at conferences are fluid, and Julia is a true professional. When she learned of the scheduling changes and watched the conversation with Yoel, she adjusted her questions accordingly and conducted a remarkable interview."

► Statement from Swisher: "After others I asked could not make Code, I asked Yoel to come to do a follow-up interview to our one in 2022 early Monday morning and he did not confirm it to me until that evening. I told the Code team immediately via text since I was on a plane to LA and then made sure everyone involved knew on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, I sent a 7:22 am PT group text to everyone, including to the cell Linda had given me previously, explaining that Yoel would be there and by 9:23 am PT, Yoel and I were told via text that the the interview was changed per a X team request to put some space between them, which we agreed to immediately. It was also my understanding that Linda was offered the opportunity to go first. All this aside, Yoel was extraordinarily respectful to Linda, who should have been able to answer basic questions about X put to her fairly and also respectfully by Julia."

TOO MANY TABS

Nitish Pahwa dubbed Yaccarino the "chief embarrassment officer of X" after her disastrous interview at Code Conference. (Slate)
Medium became the latest site to block ChatGPT from scraping its content. (The Verge)
Congressional failure to legislate A.I. has forced states to take up the task on their end, as evidenced by the near-200 A.I.-related bills introduced across the country, Ryan Heath reported. (Axios)
The NSA is creating an A.I. security center. (AP)
Microsoft considered sinking several billion dollars in Apple in 2016 to push its Bing search engine as the default on Safari, Leah Nylen and Dina Bass reported. (Bloomberg)
Epic Games, the studio behind the popular Fortnite video game, is axing 16% of its staff, or 870 employees, to cut costs. (Bloomberg)
Jim Ryan, chief executive of Sony's PlayStation division, announced he'll retire next year. (BBC)

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images

Eyes on Evan: Friday brings with it a somber milestone: six months since The WSJ's Evan Gershkovich was imprisoned by Russia. "It seems almost impossible to comprehend," the paper's standards chief, Emma Moody, emailed the newsroom earlier this week. Gershkovich was honored at his alma matter, Bowdoin College, and the WSJ is encouraging people to once again raise awareness on his detention by posting on social media with the #IStandWithEvan hashtag. "Just like the 100-Day marker, we need to be loud and prominent across social media—whether that's X/Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram—to keep Evan's wrongful detainment in front of the widest-possible audience," Moody told staffers at The WSJ.

THE FOURTH ESTATE

The National Labor Relations Board hit Dotdash Meredith with a lawsuit, alleging that the company illegally withheld raises from its union employees. (X)
The BBC announced new social media rules for its flagship anchors. (BBC)
Laura Wagner wrote about More Perfect Union, or the "small pro-labor news site that has the Biden White House's ear." (WaPo)
John King spoke to Andrew Abrahams about his multiple sclerosis diagnosis for a People mag cover story: "I have my challenges," he said, "but if you look at the spectrum of what MS can do — for a lot of people it's incredibly aggressive and horribly cruel — I'm very, very lucky." (People)

HOLLYWOOD HELL

Josef Adalian reports that "it's not just euphoric vibes floating around Hollywood; there's also a sense of disbelief — and even anger — that it took 148 days of collective misery to arrive at an agreement whose specifics were hammered out in less than a week of actual bargaining." (Vulture)
Marc Hogan asks: "Does the Hollywood writers' strike deal hold lessons for A.I. music?" (Pitchfork)

IN THE MARKET

Fox Corporation's television stations division inked a deal with tech firm Waymark to use A.I. in an effort to help small advertisers make the most of their broadcast ads. (Variety)

MEDIA MOVES

Disney said Thomas Schumacher will transition from theatrical president to chief creative officer. (THR)
The NYT named Isabella Kwai as a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the express team in London; named Andrew Das, Jeré Longman, Tariq Panja, Rory Smith, and James Wagner as sports reporters for the international desk; and added Dana Smith, Sarah Collins, and Julia Calderone as a reporter and assistant editors, respectively. (NYT/NYT/NYT)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

Bonkers at the Border: Elon Musk, the erratic billionaire with an unquenchable thirst for attention, is at it again, injecting himself into yet another news cycle. Donning a cowboy hat, Musk on Thursday popped up at the southern border, interviewing a Republican congressman on an X live-stream as he amplified GOP talking points on immigration. That is, until the feed suddenly failed. Musk, who was seemingly interested in playing journalist, said he was at the U.S.-Mexico border to get the "real story" — another jab at news organizations the billionaire loves to bash, but which still send him advertising dollars. Bloomberg's Dana Hull has more here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Will Sommer highlighted a moment in the Bill O'Reilly-Tucker Carlson interview in which the former "O'Reilly Factor" host confronted Carlson for having called him a phony. Carlson, notably, outright lied to O'Reilly about the matter. (X)
"I don't think it was ever healthy that one person should have so much power," Andrew Neil said in an interview with Christiane Amanpour of Rupert Murdoch. (X)
"Many mainstream news organizations are coming up short in their coverage of the looming federal government shutdown," Zachary Pleat argues. (MMFA)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Lizzo Fights Lawsuit: Lizzo wants the lawsuit filed against her last month to be dismissed. The pop phenomenon asked a judge to throw out the suit, filed by her former dancers, that alleges harassment and a hostile workplace. "This is the first step of a legal process in which Lizzo and her team will demonstrate that they have always practiced what they've preached – whether it comes to promoting body positivity, leading a safe and supportive workplace or protecting individuals from any kind of harassment," a spokesperson for Lizzo's legal team said. Variety's Thania Garcia has more here.

OFF STAGE

Rumors that Taylor Swift will attend Sunday's Jets game has sent ticket prices soaring more than 40%. (CNN)
James Gunn confirmed Viola Davis, Xolo Maridueña, and John Cena will remain in their roles in the DC Universe's reboot. (THR)
Disney+ will live-stream the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 2023 induction ceremony. (CNN)
Disney's "The Marvels" will premiere in China on Nov. 10, using the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day/Golden Week celebrations to gain momentum in the country ahead of the movie's release. (Deadline)
Sir Michael Gambon, the actor known for playing Albus Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films, has died at age 82. (BBC)
The Rolling Stones shared a new track in collaboration with Lady Gaga off their upcoming album, "Hackney Diamonds." (Pitchfork)
The trailer for "Argylle," the Matthew Vaughn-directed spy drama with an all-star cast — Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, and Samuel L. Jackson — has dropped (YouTube)
"Saw X" pulled in the best reviews for the franchise, going so far as to earn a "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes. (THR)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. You can follow us on Instagram and Threads. We will see you back in your inbox next week.