USA Today names new editor |
Gannett is naming Caren Bohan the editor-in-chief of USA Today, one of the country's leading news organizations. The promotion will be publicly announced later this morning.
Bohan, who joined USA Today six years ago, was executive editor for politics until July, when she suddenly was appointed interim editor-in-chief as Terence Samuel stepped down after only one year at the helm. The Gannett exec who oversees the publication, Monica Richardson, announced a national search for a new editor, and decided the best person was already at the helm.
Bohan is a 30-year news vet who previously held leadership positions at both Reuters and National Journal. She reports to Richardson, who reports to Gannett Media's chief content officer Kristin Roberts – an all-female leadership team.
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Tara Parker-Pope's big move |
The standout consumer health columnist Tara Parker-Pope, who jumped from the NYT to the Washington Post in 2022 to build a wellness department there, is joining Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global in a newly created role, chief content officer.
"We're thrilled to bring someone with Tara's long record of creating best-in-class health journalism to have an even bigger impact on health outcomes," Huffington told me via email. "Actionable, consumer-grade content will be key to changing healthcare!"
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RFK's reporter relationship |
Reliable Sources alum Oliver Darcy broke a big media story for Status overnight: Robert F. Kennedy and Olivia Nuzzi, one of the country's most acclaimed magazine writers, had a "personal" relationship (Nuzzi's word) that she didn't disclose to editors. Now Nuzzi is on leave from New York magazine and questions are swirling about RFK's personal life.
A source says the relationship was emotional and digital in nature, not physical. Why did this come out now? Because, I'm told, Nuzzi informed editors about the relationship earlier this week. Perhaps someone or something forced her hand. The magazine's statement said it is conducting a "third-party review" of the matter; this suggests the parent company, Vox Media, is involved. I don't know whether the magazine will reinstate her, but I do know she will write her way out of this controversy, someday, somewhere.
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A highly anticipated investigation from CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck – that stirred social media commenters into a frenzy before it even published – sent shockwaves through the political world Thursday. The KFILE duo reported that the GOP nominee for N.C. governor, Mark Robinson, called himself a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery on a porn message board. The story noted that "CNN is reporting only a small portion of Robinson’s comments on the website given their graphic nature."
>> While Robinson repeatedly denied that he made the comments, the reporting prompted calls for him to drop out of the race, including from the Raleigh News & Observer editorial board.
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Let's talk about de-escalation |
You're going to notice me write about this a lot in the coming weeks. This topic is one of the top reasons why I wanted to get back to the daily newsletter. The next few months are going to be traumatic for the United States because the presidential election is being portrayed – by many stakeholders – as a live-or-die test for American democracy. I'm not going to try to convince you that they're wrong. I'm merely going to say that we all have to live together next year no matter what happens.
So what if anything can the media establishment do to help – to deescalate, to lower the temperature, to help folks see each other as neighbors rather than enemies? Is this even the job of the media? I'm going to keep probing these questions because, well, we know that political actors like Donald Trump are going to keep fanning the proverbial flames. What about the rest of us?
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Incentive structures are broken |
NBC's Chuck Todd addressed this exact topic in the aftermath of the Trump golf course arrest last weekend. "Come Jan. 21," Todd wrote, "we all are going to be living in the same country," and "we need leaders who accept that there are major political differences between us and that governing needs to be incremental and not radical. Right now, our political information ecosystem doesn’t reward incrementalism or nuance, instead punishing both and, more to the point, rewarding those who make up the best stories."
Todd continued: "Most Americans have an instinct of de-escalation when things get heated, and yet most elected officials in the modern era are incentivized to behave the opposite way. What concerns me the most is whether most Americans have been so distorted by how information travels through the social media funhouse mirror that we’ve forgotten about how much we all have in common. If we don’t find our way out of this maze of distorted reflections, this will only get worse." Read the rest here.
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Barbara F. Walter, author of "How Civil Wars Start," told me that online radicalization is a key part of rising political violence in the U.S. We "know the factors that put countries at risk of election violence, and the U.S. has all of them," she said on this week's edition of "Inside the Hive" from Vanity Fair. She believes further violence is inevitable, and "the key point is, will we be prepared for it?" Thinking ahead is "much better than keeping our heads in the sand and pretending that everything's fine," she says.
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"GMA" co-anchor Michael Strahan traveled with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to his hometown of Matawan, NJ, for a one-on-one interview on Friday's morning show. In the weeks since his wife became the Democratic nominee, "it's like she is the best, most badass version of the Kamala Harris we know and I love very much," Emhoff said.
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Oprah Winfrey's live-streamed campaign event for Harris, "Unite for America," was slickly produced and technically flawless. Harris fielded questions from Winfrey, voters, and celebs. "The discussions were heavy at times, with members of the audience — in person and at home — in tears," the NYT says. The newsiest moment was when Harris talked about being a gun owner. "If somebody breaks in my house, they’re getting shot," Harris quipped. "I probably should not have said that," she added, laughing, "but my staff will deal with that later." While CNN and MSNBC carried portions of the event live, Fox News skipped it.
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Will state supremes open Murdoch case? |
Hadas Gold reports: "A group of news organizations filed an emergency petition Thursday, asking Nevada's highest court to unseal the ongoing family succession battle playing out in a Reno courtroom that will determine the future of Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire.” Here's the full story. |
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The Benny Report to court |
Marshall Cohen reports: The pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax faces a defamation trial this month, in a case brought by Smartmatic. But there has been a notable flurry of subpoenas in its other 2020 election lawsuit, that one filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion subpoenaed former Newsmax host and right-wing influencer Benny Johnson earlier this week, demanding a deposition, according to court filings. This comes after earlier subpoenas to right-wing figures who have promoted false claims about the 2020 results, including Jenna Ellis and Sebastian Gorka.
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>> Gayle King has renewed her contract with CBS. (NYPost)
>> "Next time cancel me for something I actually said," National Review editor Rich Lowry wrote, defending his claim that he did not use the N-word while on "The Megyn Kelly Show." (National Review)
>> A new FTC report shows major social media and streaming companies present serious privacy risks, with kids and teens most imperiled. (Wash Post)
>> Amazon has produced an A.I.-powered video generator. The catch? It's currently only available for advertisers. (TechCrunch)
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>> Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson explain how major advertisers on YouTube had ads placed in videos propelling racist conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants. (NYT)
>> About those lies... From Ohio, here's a detailed look at how "right-wing social media took false claims about Haitians eating pets" from a local Facebook page to the national debate stage. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
>> Some "former Trump advisers and operatives have quietly helped build a pro-Russian website that frequently spreads debunked conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine, election fraud and vaccines." (The Guardian)
>> 🔌 The inspiration for our section name, MisinfoNation, is Donie O'Sullivan's series for CNN. The latest episode is set to air this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
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The Washington Post named Emily Rauhala its Congress editor... Disney named Jared Bush its chief creative officer for animation studios, replacing Jennifer Lee... Warner Bros. Discovery is adding John Malone's nephew Daniel Sanchez to the board of directors...
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DC and Marvel set to celebrate |
Liam Reilly writes: It's been a busy week for Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Studios and Disney's Marvel Studios, which dropped their much-advertised "The Penguin" and "Agatha All Along" series. Well, the reviews are in, and… it's looking like execs at both studios are likely patting each other on the back, with the DC and Marvel studios pulling in 89% and 79% scores on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
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Lorne Michaels is not retiring |
Lacey Rose sat down with Lorne Michaels, Colin Jost, and Michael Che for this new THR cover story. She says Michaels, the long-time "Saturday Night Live" maestro, has "walked back his retirement" again.
"Every year there are more and more people that I rely on for other things, but, in the end, you really need someone to say, 'This is what we’re doing,'" Michaels told Rose. "I just know that this is kind of what I do and as long as I can keep doing it, I'll keep doing it."
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>> After years of courting Amazon’s Prime Video and MGM Studios, the Motion Picture Alliance has finally convinced the duo to join its ranks, Brooks Barnes reports. (NYT)
>> Jesús Rodríguez and Sabrina Rodriguez write that while Taylor Swift's endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket provided a win for the pair, a Bad Bunny endorsement could spell a major victory for the campaign. (Wash Post)
>> Netflix finally released the full A-list cast of “Black Mirror” season seven. (THR)
>> HBO has renewed "Industry" for a fourth season. I really have to start watching this show! (Deadline)
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