Oliver Darcy here at 11:25pm ET on Tuesday, May 17. Here's the latest on Tucker Carlson, The Nation, Fast Company, Vox, Paramount, YouTube, "Star Wars," and more...
Who wants to own Twitter?
BY BRIAN STELTER:
Elon Musk evidently doesn't. Sure, maybe he is causing chaos to extract a lower price from the Twitter board, but he just as well may walk away altogether and create a Twitter clone. There is a "60%+ chance from our view Musk ultimately walks from the deal and pays the breakup fee," analyst Dan Ives said Tuesday.
But for now the board is trying to hold him to it. On Tuesday morning, hours after Musk tweeted that "this deal cannot move forward" until his purported spam bot concerns are cleared up, the company filed its proxy statement for Musk's takeover and said it wants to close the deal "as promptly as practicable."
The board, in other words, wants to rid itself of Twitter. I obtained a new statement from the board Tuesday night that read, "The Board and Mr. Musk agreed to a transaction at $54.20 per share. We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders. We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement." Key words: "Enforce the merger agreement." Legal action seems likely.
But what if Musk pays to make this deal go away? What will become of the social network the media loves to hate? "Since it seems there's a decent chance Elon pulls out of the Twitter deal, who else would be in line to buy up the pieces (at a much bigger discount)? My white knight guess is Microsoft," Techdirt's Mike Masnick wrote Tuesday. He said "I think that at the end of this process, it will be difficult for Twitter to remain an ongoing concern as its own entity" because "the board clearly has no clue what to do with it..."
On the inside
Twitter employees are feeling every conceivable emotion – exhaustion, defensiveness, protectiveness, and all the rest. Some of it is evident on Twitter. Lara Cohen, Twitter's global head of partners, tweeted about Musk without naming him, saying "The way some media outlets cover him, and do headlines just bc he 'said' something (whether it’s legal or factually accurate or possible or not) is SO trump 2016 coverage it’s painful to watch."
Matt Levine's must-read column
It's titled "Elon Musk Does Not Care About Spam Bots." The Bloomberg Opinion columnist said "it is important to be clear" that Musk "is lying:" Disputes about spam bots "are not why he is backing away from the deal, as you can tell from the fact that the spam bots are why he did the deal."
"Twitter could get all 229 million of its monetizable daily active users in a room and have them say 'hello Elon, we are real,' and that would not convince him, because he does not want to be convinced," Levine wrote. "He wants to pay a lower price..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Musk is "walking, tweeting proof that normal rules don't apply to the ultra-rich if they choose to ignore them," Chris Isidore writes... (CNN)
-- Musk's mother Maye, fresh off her SI swimsuit issue cover, worked the room at The Hollywood Reporter's New York media party on Tuesday night... (Twitter)
-- THR threw the party to celebrate its list of The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media, including our own Brian Stelter, in an item citing the popularity of this newsletter. (How meta!) Here's the entire list... (THR)
Primary night headlines
As I am hitting send on this newsletter, arguably the biggest headline from primary night is that the far-right, Trump-backed Doug Mastriano has prevailed in his race to become the GOP nominee for governor of Pennsylvania. HuffPost framed his win like this on its homepage: "DIRE: JAN. 6 ORGANIZER WINS GOV. NOM IN PA."
Mastriano, of course, barred the media from his final pre-election rally, and blasted the media on Tuesday night. He will be running against Josh Shapiro in the general. "I have no idea what this general election is going to look like," Michael Smerconish said on CNN, live from Philly.
The other big headline of the night: Madison Cawthorn has been defeated in his North Carolina House race. A spokesperson for the one-term congressman said that he had phoned his challenger, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, to concede. Cawthorn is destined for a role in right-wing media, but where?
>> Pennsylvania's GOP Senate primary race is still too close to call, with Dave McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz locked in a close contest. CNN has live updates on all the races here...
>> CNN TV will stay live all night and into the morning. Don Lemon will lead the coverage from 12 to 2am ET...
Grieving in Buffalo
In Buffalo on Tuesday, President Biden blasted those who advance the racist "Great Replacement" theory: "I call on all Americans to reject the lie, and I condemn those who spread the lie for power, political gain and for profit." His visit to the city was the lead story across the network nightly newscasts. Let's be honest though: If history is any guide, little in the way of positive change will come...
>> The WSJ's editorial board condemned the replacement theory in a Tuesday evening article, but focused mostly on skewering Democrats and the media for what it described as a "massacre blame-game..."
>> "While nativist populism has always had a place within the Republican Party, in the Trump era it has become the party’s dominant mode," Slate's Justin Peters wrote. "Rather than resist this transition, most conservative news outlets have given into it..."
>> This LA Times headline asks: "After Buffalo, will social media companies finally ban great replacement theory?" But as the story points out, how would that even work?!
Carlson (again) promotes 'Great Replacement' theory
Tucker Carlson on Tuesday evening feigned ignorance about the theory that he has repeatedly promoted on his show — and then he proceeded to once again promote it. "You've heard a lot about the 'Great Replacement' theory recently. It is everywhere in the last two days and we are still not sure exactly what it is," Carlson said. "Here is what we do know for a fact: There is a strong political component to the Democratic Party's immigration policy." After playing a series of clips that Carlson claimed proved his point (though they really did not), Carlson was even more explicit: "The Democratic Party has decided that rather than convince you, people who are born here, that their policies are helping you and making the country better and stronger, they will change the electorate." So the strategy (every night) is to tell Fox viewers that they are the victims and that the true threat is from "the left..."
'A dangerous level of amplification by your network'
Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch; Suzanne Scott; and Jay Wallace. Schumer implored the Fox execs to stop giving air to the "Great Replacement" theory, arguing that it had been "injected into the mainstream thanks in large part to a dangerous level of amplification by your network and its anchors." Lawrence O'Donnell led his MSNBC show with this story on Tuesday night: "SCHUMER CALLS OUT FOX & RUPERT MURDOCH."
Reps for the Murdochs and Fox execs did not offer a comment in response to Schumer's letter. But it's more than evident that they support Carlson. That's not going to change. Carlson did respond directly to Schumer, blasting the senator on his Tuesday show for "calling for media censorship." Carlson added, "We invited him on the show tonight, as we always do. But because he is a coward, this is the only media appearance probably in history he has turned down..."
Crenshaw: 'Name-calling' is all Carlson is 'capable of'
It's not just liberal politicians who went after Carlson on Tuesday. Some conservatives criticized the Fox host for calling Dan Crenshaw "eyepatch McCain" over the Republican rep's support for Ukraine aide. Speaking to Manu Raju Tuesday evening, Crenshaw reacted to Carlson's attack. "He's very sensitive -- sensitive when you don't have arguments," Crenshaw told Raju. "When you don't have arguments, you resort to petty name-calling, which is all he's really capable of..."
>> Flashback via Mediaite's Kipp Jones: "Carlson whined about Pete Davidson's Dan Crenshaw eyepatch joke years before making one himself..."
WEDNESDAY PLANNER
Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN's parent) holds its upfront event at 10am ET... Paramount Global presents at 4pm...
MoffettNathanson begins its two-day Media & Communications Summit...
FIRST IN RELIABLE
Jeet Heer is leaving Substack for The Nation
On Tuesday the progressive mag and website The Nation is set to announce that Jeet Heer is rejoining the masthead as national-affairs correspondent. He moved over to Substack one year ago, but now he is part of a wave of writers returning to more established publications. His podcast "The Time of Monsters" will now be housed at The Nation; he will file twice weekly dispatches; and he will launch a new email newsletter product for the outfit...
FIRST IN RELIABLE
Fast Company responds to criticism over abortion story
Fast Company on Tuesday responded to criticism over its story about the results of a survey it conduct of nearly 200 companies on their corporate abortion stances. Fox News and others on the right framed the mag's story in nefarious terms. Fox's story, for instance, carried this lede: "A business magazine is pressuring companies to take a 'survey' about their abortion stance and vows to 'disclose' those who do not comply."
The survey had been in the works for months, far before the draft opinion on Roe v. Wade leaked from the Supreme Court. Fast Company editor David Lidsky told me, "The nearly 200 companies that Fast Company sought to survey on their abortion policies had ample opportunity to comment, or to contact our journalists if they wanted more information. Fast Company published the exact questions we sent these major employers, as well a series of articles making the case for abortion access. We stand by the editorial merit of our reporting..."
Latest on Russia and Ukraine
>> This moment has gone viral: A former Russian colonel criticizing the country's invasion of Ukraine on state television. "We are in total geopolitical isolation," he said. "And the whole world is against us — even if we don’t want to admit it..."
>> The Russian minister who oversees digital comms said at a conference that the country will not ban YouTube...
>> Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Cannes Film Festival and declared, "We will win this war..."
>> CNN's Jake Tapper "will conduct the first interview with former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed since his return to America following nearly three years of imprisonment in Russia." It will air Sunday at 8pm ET...
A cautionary tale from the Philippines
BY AN PHUNG:
Sheila Coronel wrote this dispatch from the newsroom of Rappler, the online news site founded by Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa. It paints a picture of a losing war against disinformation by well heeled politicians in the Philippines. "Rappler’s reporters saw themselves on the front lines of a global information war, and they felt they were making a dent," Coronel writes. "But all these efforts didn’t seem to make a dent, and the polls consistently showed a clear majority in favor of [Ferdinand] Marcos, Jr., whose formidable money, mythmaking, and political machine the opposition could not match..."
FIRST IN RELIABLE:
Vox heads to Hungary
Vox's flagship daily news podcast, "Today, Explained," is following CPAC to Hungary this week. A spokesperson for the outlet tells me that it will be producing a three-episode special hosted by Noel King on why the American conservative movement is suddenly infatuated with the autocratic country and its leader. The series will begin airing Wednesday afternoon. It will be available here when it does...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Tiffany Hsu writes about how "all those celebrities pushing crypto are not so vocal now..." (NYT)
-- Lydia Moynihan reports that "disgraced hedge fund tycoon Phil Falcone is raising money for a crypto TV network..." (NY Post)
-- WaPo has named Marian Chia-Ming Liu projects editor "focused on new initiatives, which includes Lede Lab, The Post’s storytelling R&D team, and other strategic initiatives..." (WaPo)
-- Len Fogge has been appointed president of marketing at AMC Networks; Miquel Penella has been promoted to oversee AMC Networks International, in addition to streaming... (THR)
Disney’s shock-and-awe upfront
BY BRIAN LOWRY:
If corporate bulk appears to be the watchword at this year’s upfront presentations, Disney delivered what can only be described as a shock-and-awe campaign, so much so that its dizzying array of assets – and the parade of video montages and talent presenting them – became almost numbing, obscuring the sense of a guiding strategy. The two-hour-plus presentation included a concerted push for Disney+, which will be getting an ad-supported tier, including all the movies heading to the streaming service. The Marvel portion of the webcast, meanwhile, was blacked out for security reasons to avoid clips being pirated.
Once the stars of the upfronts, the broadcast networks have receded to supporting roles, as was certainly true here. Then again, ABC didn’t have much news to share, with its announced primetime fall lineup following this year’s play-it-safe approach to scheduling while citing the "unprecedented stability" of adding just three new series, including "Celebrity Jeopardy!" and a spinoff of the police drama "The Rookie."
And yes, Jimmy Kimmel closed the show with his annual series of network putdowns, but this time via Zoom because he said he has tested positive for Covid again. Kimmel was the only person to reference the company’s rift with Florida, but execs did stress Disney’s commitment to inclusion and its diverse programming, with Disney General Entertainment Content chief Peter Rice saying, "We celebrate everyone. And we have a story for everyone." Kimmel did take aim at everyone, including his bosses, but saved some of his sharpest lines for Netflix, calling them "smug bastards" and saying, "Every year I say 'f*** Netflix,’ and this year, it came true."
YouTube's pitch
"At its Brandcast presentation" on Tuesday night, "YouTube positioned itself as a direct competitor to TV," Sam Gutelle wrote for Tubefilter. "In a change from previous years, the annual pitch to advertisers occurred during the TV industry's upfronts season. 'We're so excited to be at the upfronts this year,' YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said during her address. 'We're here because YouTube is the mainstream.'" Read on...
>> "Rather than debut a slate of content like traditional TV broadcasters, YouTube invited several of its creators to speak or perform onstage, including Patrick Starrr, Nija and megastar MrBeast," Adweek's Catherine Perloff wrote...
>> YouTube's big "ad-tech pitch to Madison Avenue was the new ad-frequency capping solution," Variety's Todd Spangler reported...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- At TelevisaUnivision's upfront on Tuesday, Donna Speciale said "our linear business is on fire," while also promoting streaming options... (Deadline)
-- Sofia Vergara will create an animated series for TelevisaUnivision... (Variety)
-- Ryan Seacrest and the judges of "American Idol" are all set to return for the show's 21st season... (Deadline)
More layoffs at Netflix
Netflix on Tuesday said that it had laid off approximately 150 staffers, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reported. "As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based,” a Netflix spox said. "These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition..."
Brady to partner with the streamer for series of comedy roasts
Fresh off news of his major deal with Fox Sports, Tom Brady on Tuesday announced a partnership with Netflix. The NFL star will executive produce a new Netflix comedy series called "Great Roasts of All Time." And Brady, being the greatest quarterback of all time, will be the first subject of the show, sitting down for a roast in 2023 after his next NFL season. Variety's Joe Otterson has all the details here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- Paramount's stock shot up 15% on Tuesday on the news that Warren Buffett has started investing in the company... (CNBC)
-- Other media stocks also fared well, with Warner Bros. Discovery up 6.7%, Disney up 3.3% and Netflix up 2.2%...
-- "Lionsgate will be the key tenant with naming rights to a major new studio project in Newark, New Jersey, being built being by Robert Halmi and Fehmi Zeko’s Great Point Studios," Jill Goldsmith reports... (Deadline)
Three 'Star Wars' shows within a year
Anthony Breznican's Vanity Fair cover story on "Star Wars" is chalk full of news. For one, Breznican reports that Disney has "upped its demands to three separate 'Star Wars' shows within a year" to keep subscribers happy. The much-anticipated "Obi-Wan Kenobi," of course, debuts on May 27. Then, "Andor" will premiere in the summer. And season three of "The Mandalorian" will either hit the streamer at the end of 2022 or early 2023...
>> Also in the piece: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni discussed how they debated Grogu. "I think people now look back and think it was like a slam dunk, but we were very cautious..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- Attention fellow "Wheel of Fortune" fans: The show is going on an extensive North America live tour, starting in September... (Variety)
-- "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is getting a reboot from Twentieth Century Studios... (THR)
-- Nicholas Sparks will work with Universal Pictures on three new films... (Variety)
-- Pete Davidson and Naomi Scott are set to star in "Wizards!" from writer/director David Michôd... (Deadline)
Chris Rock to host the 2023 Oscars?
Perfect casting, right? ABC Entertainment chief Craig Erwich is open to the idea of Chris Rock returning to host the 2023 Oscars, he told Deadline's Peter White in an interview. Erwich described the 2022 show as "really successful," even though he acknowledged The Slap "overshadowed a lot of the positive things." More here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN
BY LISA RESPERS FRANCE:
-- Jerry Bruckheimer has addressed Johnny Depp's future with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise...
-- Bob Saget's widow celebrated his birthday with memories...
-- Here’s how Kristin Chenoweth is connected to a famous Girl Scout murder case...
-- "Bridgerton" season 3 will focus on Penelope and Colin's love story...
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
Pet of the day
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