Brian Stelter here with the latest on President Trump, Rashida Jones, Marc Lacey, Bob Woodward, KFC, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Christopher Nolan, and more...
The new cable news wars
I have been covering the cable news wars since 2004, and this is the most dramatic period I have witnessed. So much is up in the air right now. Here's why:
-- We're at an inflection point: The end of the Trump years means an end to the biggest story of the 2010s. The beginning of the Biden years may scramble cable news in ways that remain to be seen.
-- Audience patterns are changing: Fox News is facing serious competition from the right for the first time. And CNN is notching win after win in the overall ratings.
-- New leaders are taking charge: MSNBC is about to undergo a transition from Phil Griffin, the channel's president for the past twelve years, to Rashida Jones.
-- Streaming pressures are paramount: Live news is bolstering the cable bundle, but for how much longer? Every TV news operation is under pressure to have a streaming video strategy. The Information wrote last week about WarnerMedia's potential "subscription offering based on content from CNN" that "could launch next year."
Add it all up, and this is an incredibly dynamic time for the industry. This newsletter has a CNN logo at the top, but I'd be writing the exact same thing if I still worked at The New York Times. Here's more:
MSNBC's transition of power
Shortly after President-elect Biden's inauguration in January, Griffin will step aside at MSNBC. Jones will become president of the channel on February 1. She will be the first Black person to run a major cable news network.
The WSJ broke the news on Monday, just before Cesar Conde sent out a memo. He said Jones "has an outstanding track-record and she leads with a laser-like focus and grace under pressure. I know she will be an excellent leader for MSNBC."
Jones has ample experience with daytime, weekend and special events programming. But MSNBC's highest-rated shows are evening talkers like "The Rachel Maddow Show" and "The Beat with Ari Melber." She'll be in charge of keeping those shows humming and trying to spread their ratings mojo to other times of day. It's a big challenge: While November was MSNBC's most-watched month in its 24-year history, owing to the election, the channel still ranked third in cable news behind CNN and Fox News. My impression, as someone who studies the numbers every day, is that MSNBC doesn't benefit as much from breaking news spikes. Audiences are primed to turn on CNN and Fox at those moments, not MSNBC...
The post-election streak
The Fox News winning streak has been snapped. As a series of new promos points out, CNN has been "the most watched cable network" since the day after the election. In the 25-54 demo, CNN has been No. 1 in cable news for 31 straight days.
Partly due to CNN's strengths in news-gathering, something Fox has never been able to match. (Don't take my word for it -- just look up CNN's bureaus across the US and around the world, then compare to Fox's meager structure.) Partly the ratings reset is due to Fox's weakness, especially during the day, when some conservative viewers clearly don't want to watch news. Numerous Fox sources have admitted to me that the daytime ratings drop-offs are a serious concern. Some Trump loyalists, disappointed by the election outcome, have flipped over to Newsmax or One America News; others are probably avoiding the news altogether and watching Hallmark or HGTV instead.
What's more disturbing is the fact that Fox's right-wing rivals are acting like the election isn't over. They're acting like Biden is not president-elect. And this is causing Fox hosts and commentators to disregard their own network's projection, their own reporting, and indulge crazed conspiracy theories.
Question marks
-- Will the current ratings trends hold? Or will Fox's audience "come home," as an exec at the network predicted to me last month?
-- Will CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker stay at WarnerMedia? Brian Steinberg's story for Variety says that "Zucker is not believed to have made a final decision yet about whether to remain at CNN’s helm or to seek a new role."
-- What other changes will Conde make at NBCU? Conde's memo said that Griffin approached him about stepping aside, but the WSJ story also cited a "person familiar with the discussions" who "said Mr. Conde was already looking to make a change at the network."
-- Will the Biden era actually be a ratings "bore," as so many have predicted? When I hear people say that "Trump is good for ratings," my retort is that "news is good for ratings," and Trump generated a metric ton of news and scandal and outrage.
-- Will Newsmax gain any more ground? Greg Kelly and other Newsmax hosts have come off their immediate post-election highs. The channel's ratings are still way ahead of Fox Business, though.
-- Will Trump strike a deal with a right-wing TV channel and change the competitive landscape?
TUESDAY PLANNER
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will hold an event to introduce health care appointees...
Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz's book "Bag Man," expanding on their podcast of the same name, hits bookshelves...
PEN America will stream its virtual gala at 7pm ET, featuring Ron Chernow's extended interview with Barack Obama...
The Cowboys play the Ravens in a 8pm match-up on NFL Network and Fox...
New exec editor at Miami Herald
"Monica R. Richardson, senior managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has been named executive editor of The Miami Herald, McClatchy announced Monday, noting that she will be the first Black top editor in the Herald's 117-year history," Richard Prince reported. His Journal-isms column has details here...
Assistant managing editor for Live at the NYT
NYT national editor Marc Lacey formally joined the newsroom's leadership team on Monday, sparking a new round of speculation about the maneuverings at the top of the paper's masthead.
As an assistant managing editor, Lacey will "lead a new, dedicated team supporting our leap into Live, the engaging and demanding platform for dynamic coverage of the biggest news stories," per Monday's memo. "Live consists of briefings, blogs and chats that were developed by newsroom and product teams led by Steve Duenes." Now Lacey will "recruit a team of editors and reporters who can supplement work that crosses every desk." More to come on that front. A new editor of the national desk was not immediately named...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
By Kerry Flynn:
-- Terri Rupar is joining The 19th* as politics editor. She worked at WaPo for more than 15 years... (Twitter)
-- Sara Jerde is joining Digiday as its new managing editor. She previously worked at Adweek as publishing editor... (Twitter)
-- "Searching for new ways to find candidates, some media companies are hosting virtual career fairs," Angela Fu writes... (Poynter)
-- Tim O'Brien, whose many accolades include contributing to award-winning CNN coverage, died late last month. I spoke with his son-in-law about O'Brien's career and legacy... (CNN)
"Every night..."
It's December 7. Biden's win was projected on November 7. So I really shouldn't be writing about the election any more. But pro-Trump stars are still pretending like the election was tainted, and some are still insisting Trump won, so, here I am. Justin Baragona of The Daily Beast nicely summed up the media dynamic: "Every night," he tweeted, "Kayleigh McEnany comes on Hannity's show to insist that the Trump legal team is making REAL progress in its attempt to steal the election. And every night there are new multiple headlines about judges laughing their cases out of court."
>> Zeynep Tufekci's latest for The Atlantic asserts that "Acting as if Trump is trying to stage a coup is the best way to ensure he won't..."
Two pairings for two more Trump books
Two more book projects about Trump's final days in office were announced on Monday. Politico broke the news that Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, co-authors of "A Very Stable Genius," are writing a sequel of sorts for Penguin. And Axios broke the news that Bob Woodward is partnering with Robert Costa for a look at the "last days" of Trump and the "first phases" of the Biden presidency, for Simon & Schuster...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Monday's most-derided cable news segment was this Lou Dobbs meltdown. He "snapped" at Stephen Miller, said Trump is "fighting all alone," and demanded to know "where the hell are the Republicans?!" (Mediaite)
-- Frank Luntz commented on the segment: "Both of these guys' vocal inflections sound like actors who don't actually believe what they're saying. They stay in character because that's what their audience wants to hear." (Twitter)
-- "Chris Cuomo called out South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson at the top of his Monday night show, claiming the GOP Congressman abruptly bailed out after initially agreeing to appear to talk Covid relief negotiations, when he learned that Cuomo would also ask him the simple question of who won the 2020 election..." (Mediaite)
-- Brian Schwartz's latest: "Trump loyalist Michael Pack plots final purge at federal media agency before Biden takes office..." (CNBC)
More on Biden's media diet
If you liked my lead story about Biden's news habits yesterday, you'll love Daniel Lippman's latest for Politico on "what Joe Biden reads and watches." Lippman has loads of rich detail, including that "Biden is apparently fluent, or at least proficient, in emoji: He has been known to react with a thumbs-up to some links texted to him..."
An earpiece at the Georgia debate? C'mon
Donie O'Sullivan writes: "You might remember that crazy conspiracy theory that falsely claimed Biden was wearing an earpiece during the first prez debate. Well, the same false claims were made about GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler here in Georgia last night. Worth noting: People on both sides can, and do, fall for this stuff and support conspiracy theories if it confirms their biases. But: Unlike the Biden theory, which was pushed by Fox and the Trump campaign itself, influential Democrats did not push these false claims about Loeffler, and thus the nonsense went nowhere near as viral..."
Debate ratings insights
As I noted on Twitter, the Senate debate in Georgia was a big ratings draw for CNN — about 2.3 million people watched on Sunday night, with more than 500,000 in the 25-54 demo. Notably, it did not rate as well for Fox, even though Fox's shows have been heavily focused on the Senate races. And for some reason MSNBC didn't air the debate at all, and scored low ratings at 7pm...
Perdue's silence
CNN's Kyung Lah repeatedly tried to interview Senator David Perdue to no avail, and showed the evidence on "Erin Burnett OutFront" Monday night. "This isn't just CNN," she said, noting that "Atlanta's largest paper says the senator has ducked reporters across Georgia." But Perdue did decide to appear on Newsmax Monday night...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Politico broke the news Monday evening that Biden has selected retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be his secretary of defense. CNN and others quickly matched the news... (Politico)
-- I loved Wilmington before it was cool, so I appreciated this NYT story about Wilmington "having a moment" thanks to Biden... (NYT)
-- Amid chatter that his influence has declined, Matt Drudge touted his website's November traffic, tweeting, "Thanks a billion! Well, almost..." (Twitter)
-- Aaron Rupar wrote: Fox's shows are "not really covering record coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Instead, their coverage focuses on business owners getting mad about public health regulations." This has been true for weeks: They note the records, but focus on the business impacts of "lockdowns..." (Twitter)
-- At Fox News, Tom Lowell has been promoted to executive vice president, overseeing "all daytime news editorial and news resources..." (Deadline)
"U.S. Breaks Record for Most Deaths in a Week"
That's the lead Covid-19 headline on the NYT homepage right now. The story says the US "has recorded its most coronavirus-related deaths over a weeklong period, as a brutal surge gathers speed across the country."
>> One of the top headlines on CNN.com: "US hits record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations"
>> Today's WTF?! story: "Florida police raid home of former state Covid-19 data scientist"
>> Dr. Anthony Fauci "says the full brunt of Thanksgiving on US Covid-19 data isn't here yet..."
"I am begging you, please take this seriously"
Oliver Darcy writes: "MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle said on Monday that she, her husband, and her kids have all tested positive for the coronavirus and are at home quarantining as they recover. Ruhle said she is 'on the mend and broadcasting safely from home,' but implored her viewers to take the virus seriously. 'As a person who is sick and scared, I am begging you, please take this seriously,' she said. 'It is not over.' Ruhle also wrote a column for NBCNews.com about the experience..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- "Substack isn't a new model for journalism — it’s a very old one," Michael J. Socolow writes... (NiemanLab)
-- Giuliana Rancic and Jason Kennedy of E! fame are teaming up on a new online video series, "Own the Spotlight," to share communications tips. It's a virtual course... (E!)
-- "Margot Robbie has signed a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios..." (TheWrap)
Bob Dylan sells his entire catalog of songs to Universal
Jordan Valinsky writes: "Bob Dylan has sold his entire catalog of songs, which encompasses more than 600 songs over 60 years, in a 'landmark agreement' with Universal Music Publishing Group."
"The price was not disclosed, but is estimated at more than $300 million," the NYT's Ben Sisario reported...
A brilliant commercial for KFC
I reckon this ad has already paid for itself, via all the news coverage about it! On Sunday Lifetime will air a holiday mini-movie titled "A Recipe for Seduction," starring Mario Lopez as Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame. It's only 15 minutes long, so it's more like a long ad than a short movie. And as Lisa Respers France wrote here, it comes with a lunchtime special: "KFC and Uber Eats are offering a special promotion in conjunction with the film -- six free extra crispy tenders with a purchase of $20 or more -- that will be available between December 13-19 via the mobile food delivery app." Well played, KFC and Lifetime...
Filmmaker fallout
Here is some advice via Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw: "Every story you read this week will be part of a negotiation where sources try to get more $$ out of Warner Bros."
I don't know if that's literally true, but there are lots of stories about the filmmakers who feel blindsided by WarnerMedia's decision to release all of next year's Warner Bros. films on HBO Max at the same time the films are in theaters. "To many insiders," THR's Kim Masters wrote, it "felt like an insult."
For more, read Brooks Barnes and Nicole Sperling's report for the NYT, headlined "Trading Box Office for Streaming, but Stars Still Want Their Money." This gets to Shaw's point: Lucrative pay packages are a huge part of the arguments...
Who's Godzilla and who's Kong here?
Brian Lowry writes: "One of the Warner-HBO Max aftershocks involves Legendary Entertainment, a partner of Warner Bros. on the upcoming movies 'Dune' and 'Godzilla v. Kong.' Legendary is enraged about the streaming plan, according to Deadline and Variety. Whether this winds up in court, or merely results in some accommodation, remains to be seen. But departing from traditional Hollywood business models invariably triggers concerns and potential complications about who's getting paid, how much and when..."
Nolan speaks out
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who has been in business with Warner for nearly twenty years, told "ET" that his reaction to the streaming decision was "disbelief," especially "the way in which they did" it. He called it "a real bait and switch."
He was even more critical in a statement to THR's Kim Masters later in the day: "Some of our industry's biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service," he said, adding, "they don't even understand what they're losing."
As I acknowledged before, the CNN logo is at the top of this newsletter, but I feel compelled to speak up on behalf of HBO Max: I went from watching "Succession" (with my wife, and yes, we're behind) to "Sesame Street" (with my son) in just a few clicks on Monday and I think that's a really solid value proposition. "The worst streaming service" is a low blow.
That said, "they don't even understand what they're losing" is a fear I hear a lot in my reporting. There are big disconnects between the execs who are conceiving this streaming future and the rank-and-file who love this craft and are dreading what's happening...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- "Today" show style contributor Bobbie Thomas "is opening up about the death of her husband Michael Marion, who died last week at the age of 42," Marianne Garvey reports...
-- Sandra Gonzalez's recap of the new Marie Claire cover story: "Dolly Parton has a very logical reason for always looking 10/10..."
-- Via Lisa Respers France: Meet the new couples of TLC's wildly popular "90 Day Fiancé" series...
-- One more from Lisa: Dionne Warwick teased Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd on Twitter -- and they loved it...
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
Pets of the day!
Priscilla, a very reliable reader of Reliable, writes in to share a photo of Ellie and Oiji. Renee and Alex are the parents:
Thank you for reading! Email me and Oliver your feedback anytime. We'll be back tomorrow...
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