Welcome to Tuesday. Here's the latest on Beyoncé, OpenAI, Matt Gaetz, Jeanine Pirro, TikTok, Matea Gold, 404 Media, Jamie Foxx, and much more... |
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images |
I was shocked the first time I heard it.
James Murdoch, I was told in 2019, thought he might be able to take control of Fox News and steer it away from conspiratorial and polarizing right-wing programming.
It was just an idea back then, a concept of a plan that some of James' associates wanted to float, anonymously, of course, and tentatively, because any takeover could only happen after Fox patriarch Rupert Murdoch's death.
After some further reporting, I wrote about the idea in 2020, and it came as a surprise to many, but not to Rupert. He was already well aware that his youngest son was "scheming" (Rupert’s word, according to an associate) against him.
James' camp would dispute that depiction of events, but in any case, Rupert wanted to forestall any liberalization of the famously conservative Fox News, halting what he suspected to be a power grab of his media empire from taking place after his death.
So, with James expressing revulsion about Fox's divisive right-wing programming, Rupert, now 93, took steps to cement elder son Lachlan Murdoch's leadership and cut James out altogether. Most dramatically, he petitioned the Nevada probate court last year to amend his family trust. In effect, he made a "father knows best" argument – and James, Elisabeth and Prudence were incensed. Evidently, so was the probate commissioner assigned to the case.
Back in September we reported on the secret proceedings taking place in a Reno courtroom. The rest of us can only imagine what it was like while the feuding family members were face-to-face in court for several days. This dispute has truly torn the family of billionaires apart, I'm told.
Over the weekend, there was a resolution of sorts. As the NYT's Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg reported exclusively on Monday, commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. "ruled resoundingly against Rupert Murdoch's attempt to change his family's trust." If you haven't read their story yet, check it out here.
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Two key words: 'Bad faith' |
The 96-page opinion is still sealed, but the NYT obtained a copy and quoted from it extensively. A person with direct knowledge of the ruling told me the key takeaway was Gorman's finding that Rupert, Lachlan and their representatives had operated in "bad faith." This assessment matters because it may be a factor in any eventual appeals – and Rupert's side has already signaled that they'll do so.
Gorman essentially had a front row seat for a real world season of "Succession." According to the NYT, an episode of the HBO series about the death of the fictional family patriarch Logan Roy caused Murdoch's children to hold discussions about how to avoid a TV-drama-worthy outcome within their own family. And the commissioner even cited "Succession" in his opinion. Hadas Gold and I have more here...
>> Of note: Shares of both Fox Corp and News Corp rose after the ruling was reported...
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Big picture: The ruling out of Reno means that Fox’s fate will remain up in the air. Rupert Murdoch's death will almost certainly instigate a battle for control of the family trust and thus Fox News. If it's three-against-one, Lachlan would lose control.
To be clear, there's no evidence of a "fire Lachlan and force Fox to the center" pitch deck on James' desk. Far from it. James has been very careful not to get ahead of himself, knowing he would need the support of both Prudence and Elisabeth to effect any change at the corporate level.
But here's the thing: Rupert's failed attempt to blow up the trust may have been just the thing to bring Prudence, Elisabeth and James together.
So what happens now? Well, nothing. In the short term, the identity of Fox News is more certain than ever: Its power and profits come from a mutually beneficial relationship with the president-elect and his supporters. But in the long term, if the family's power center shifts, then uncertainty reigns. It's a truly strange state of affairs for a TV network that doubles as a lifestyle brand, political machine, and Trump administration staffing firm...
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Pirro snags Penny's first interview |
In a case that came to "exemplify New York City's post-pandemic struggles,"
Daniel Penny was charged in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, and on Monday morning he was acquitted. "Justice was done finally," Fox's Jeanine Pirro commented. Hours later, her network announced that Pirro "will present the first interview" with Penny following the verdict. A preview will air today on "The Five" and the full interview will be released Wednesday on the Fox Nation streaming service...
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"Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is expected to announce he is joining One America News Network as an anchor," CNN's Kristen Holmes scooped last night, citing a source. OANN lacks distribution and big-name hosts, so Gaetz will be a big gain, although he may feel like he's shouting into the void, given the channel's small audience.
>> When I called OANN president Charles Herring last night, he declined to comment on Gaetz's hiring, but a quick search of the channel's website showed a "coming soon" page for "The Matt Gaetz Show..."
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TikTok hopes for a freeze |
"TikTok asked a federal court on Monday to temporarily freeze a law that requires its Chinese parent company to sell the app or face a ban in the United States, as it looked to the Supreme Court and the incoming Trump administration to rescue it," the NYT's Sapna Maheshwari writes...
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>> Republican senators are "keeping the door open for Pete Hegseth." The longtime Fox host was back on the network last night, chatting with Sean Hannity, as he continued to fight for his Pentagon nomination.. (CNN)
>> "The coming days could be key to locating Austin Tice, an American who disappeared in Syria 12 years ago, say U.S. officials and his family." (WSJ)
>> Jason Rezaian's latest: "Spare no effort to bring Austin Tice home." (Post)
>> 404 Media's reporting "on an internal Google privacy violation database has been subpoenaed" by Texas attorney general
Ken Paxton. The subpoena demands "confidential information about our reporting and an anonymous source," and the publication is fighting it. (404 Media)
>> "Boston Globe Media is laying off 11 employees at STAT News, the health and medicine publication it launched in 2015." The cuts total about 11% of the staff, Aidan Ryan reports. (Boston Globe)
>> Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali will become the anchor of MSNBC's 5 a.m. program "Way Too Early" in January, Brian Steinberg writes. (Variety)
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Reality check about 'post-election blahs' |
Yes, the post-election "drop in viewership at MSNBC is very real," THR's Rick Porter writes in a piece referring to the "blahs." But "lost among the headlines and hand-wringing in media circles" is the fact "that — to some extent, at least — craters like this pop up after every presidential election." If past patterns hold, he writes, "MSNBC and CNN will likely begin recovering some of their audiences in December and pick up again once the new administration takes office..."
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Infowars hearing continues today |
Hadas Gold writes: The hearing into whether The Onion should have won the auction to buy Alex Jones' Infowars continues today in a Texas bankruptcy courtroom. Jones and his allies have sued to stop the sale, claiming The Onion's bid is not the best bid, which includes a credit from some of the Sandy Hook families who are owed more than a $1 billion from Jones. Witnesses will continue to be called before Judge Chris Lopez, who may rule today whether the sale can move forward.
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"After the departure of Sebastian Gorka" for a job in the Trump White House, Salem Radio Network is retooling its lineup, Barrett Media reports. "The Hugh Hewitt Show" will "shift from morning drive to afternoon drive" to replace Gorka's 3 to 6 p.m. ET show, and Philly host Chris Stigall will move into Hewitt's 6 to 9 a.m. ET window nationally...
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Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images |
Monday's confirmation that Washington Post managing editor Matea Gold is leaving for The New York Times, where she'll be Washington editor, was dispiriting news for Post reporters and editors. In fact, that might be an understatement, judging from the posts praising Gold on social media. Tyler Pager said "Matea is the best — an incalculable loss." Philip Rucker called her a "gifted leader, rigorous journalist and trusted friend." It's "hard to overstate the hole Matea will leave," Rachel Van Dongen wrote. I'm highlighting these reactions to make the point that the Post's talent problem just got worse – and the Post knows it.
>> And then came this headline from NPR's David Folkenflik last night: "Top 'Washington Post' editor kills article on deputy's departure." Oliver Darcy has details over at Status...
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WBD, Comcast, and the 'collaboration era' |
A "wide-ranging agreement," indeed: Yesterday, CNN's parent Warner Bros Discovery "signed a multi-year deal" with Comcast that "lays the groundwork for the European launch of the Max streaming service, and resolves a dispute over a coming 'Harry Potter' TV series," Dawn Chmielewski and Paul Sandle report for Reuters.
Puck's John Ourand says "it was a significant achievement for David Zaslav, who was able to essentially reconstitute the deal he struck with Charter three months ago." Ourand observes that "the walled-garden era has now given way to the collaboration era — one in which the largest [media companies] appear to be turning to one another as they defend their businesses from the streamers..."
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About yesterday's big ad deal |
Yesterday's "blockbuster tie-up" between Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group reflects "the growing value of data and digitally oriented agencies;" the opportunity presented by new tech like GenAI; and "the increasingly important role private equity could play in dealmaking in the space," AdWeek's Mark Stenberg writes.
>> Yes, but... "By the standards of the true global ad giants," Google and Meta, "even this combined business is small," The Information's Martin Peers notes...
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The UBS Global Media and Communications Conference continues today in NYC. Here are a few of Monday's takeaways:
>> Comcast's Dave Watson said "we could be looking at a broadband subscriber loss in Q4 of just over 100,000," which would exceed Wall Street estimates. The company's stock closed down almost 10%.
>> Disney CFO Hugh Johnson called Disney+ the company's "most strategic asset" and said the password-sharing crackdown "is working out well for us in terms of subscriber growth."
>> Asked about deregulation, Nexstar boss Perry Sook decried FCC rules "confining us to 39% of the U.S. when Big Tech can reach 100% of the screens in the country without any content restrictions or fairness requirements" and said incoming FCC chair Brendan Carr "sees it" and "gets it."
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>> This might be the biggest news story from the past 24 hours, for reasons that are hard, or even impossible, to appreciate right now: "Google says it has cracked a quantum computing challenge with new chip." (Reuters)
>> OpenAI has released Sora, "its buzzy AI video-generation tool," as a standalone product. (CNBC)
>> "Two families have sued artificial intelligence chatbot company Character.AI, accusing it of providing sexual content to their children and encouraging self-harm and violence," Clare Duffy reports. (CNN)
>> A new mockup teases Bluesky's paid subscription plans. (TechCrunch)
>> Issie Lapowsky's latest: "How WhatsApp ate the world." (Rest of World)
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$2,077,618,725 in tickets! |
"Through its 149th and final show" on Sunday night, Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" sold "a total of $2,077,618,725 in tickets," the NYT's Ben Sisario scooped on Monday. That's "double the gross ticket sales of any other concert tour in history and an extraordinary new benchmark for a white-hot international concert business."
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Jay-Z and Beyoncé unite on red carpet |
Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images |
"Jay-Z and Beyoncé made a rare red carpet appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Mufasa: The Lion King' on Monday night alongside their daughter Blue Ivy Carter, a day after the rapper denied allegations he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old in 2000 with Sean 'Diddy' Combs," CNN's Issy Ronald reports. Blue Ivy voices Kiara in the movie.
>> THR's Chris Gardner underscored just how rare this red carpet appearance was. Beyoncé, he wrote on X, "avoids event photographers and releases her own images on Instagram. (She didn't even pose for red carpet pics at her Renaissance premiere.) Seeing her out tonight feels like a big statement of support" for her husband and family...
>> Yesterday Jay-Z's attorneys asked a judge to require the anonymous accuser to reveal her identity or dismiss the lawsuit...
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Foxx shares 'what had happened' |
In a Netflix special that comes out today, Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx opens up "about the medical emergency he faced last year, revealing that he had a brain bleed that led to a stroke," CNN's Jack Guy, Sandra Gonzalez and Lisa Respers France report. Here's the full story. The special is titled "Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was" and is streaming now...
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>> "Emilia Pérez" led the Golden Globes with a record 10 nominations, "making the Netflix film the most nominated musical or comedy film in the award ceremony's history." (Rolling Stone)
>> But some of the year's biggest films, including "Dune: Part Two," "Wicked" and “Gladiator II," were overlooked, Kate Aurthur and Adam Vary write. (Variety)
>> "Zachary Levi laughed off Bill Maher's suggestion that he'd been 'canceled' for publicly backing" Trump, "noting that none of his projects have been 'compromised' by his political leanings,” Sean Burch reports. (TheWrap)
>> "There's only one more episode of 'Yellowstone' as we know it remaining." So what's going on with the show? Especially that Taylor Sheridan-centric episode? Jackie Strause talked with exec producer Christina Voros about that... (THR)
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