Happy Friday! Here's the latest on Joe Rogan, Nexstar, "Wheel of Fortune," Rachel Maddow, John Malone, Meta, "The Pitt," and more... |
'Good information hygiene' |
How in the world are people supposed to decide what to do with their money in this chaotic political and financial moment?
Some of it comes down to "good information hygiene," as Barry Ritholz writes in his new book "How NOT To Invest." The founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the host of Bloomberg's "Masters in Business" podcast tells readers to tune out "emotionally distracting" media and learn how to "use the news" instead. I asked him to elaborate, given that everyone could benefit from this advice right now.
"I want content from people who have stood the test of time, have an intelligent approach, and have maintained their sense of perspective about the world," Ritholz said. "The people who are calm under fire? That's who you follow into battle." He mentioned names like Jim Bianco, Michael Lewis, Ben Carlson, Derek Thompson, Morgan Housel, Sam Ro, and Kyla Scanlon.
Conversely, "algorithmic social media is perhaps the worst sort of financial content – it's filled with people trying to capture your attention via manufactured outrage, to say nothing of the endless grifters we see," Ritholz warned. The mute and block buttons exist for a reason, he said: "Use them." |
Separating signal from noise |
I asked Ritholz how he would rate the media's coverage of the current Trump-induced uncertainty. He said "the phrase that comes to mind is a 'failure of imagination.' Despite all that the President has said in his lifetime, it is as if no one really imagined that someone would roll the dice with the global economy."
"There are lots of brilliant journalists doing great, informative work," Ritholz added. "But you have dig to find them among the noise and emotional clickbait. As an investor, separating news from noise is a surprisingly big part of my job." For more from Ritholz, check out his recent chat with Scott Galloway here...
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Trump has "crossed a new line" by ordering the Justice Department to investigate specific critics of his, the NYT's Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Michael S. Schmidt write in this new story. Their headline: "Trump Escalates Use of Official Power to Intimidate and Punish His Perceived Foes."
>> On MSNBC last night, Rachel Maddow said this is "one of the red lines we have been expecting him to cross, and here it is." Trump's pursuit of his proverbial enemies list is inextricably linked to the media; for example, one of this week's targets, Miles Taylor, is an author...
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Campus reporters feel chilling effects |
Some student journalists are "retracting their names from published articles amid intensifying repression by the Trump administration targeting students perceived to be associated with the pro-Palestinian movement," The Guardian's Anvee Bhutani reports. Some writers are asking for past articles to be deleted from the web altogether, due to fears of "legal repercussions, online harassment and professional consequences."
A collection of national student media groups sent out guidance to papers about the unsettling matter last week. "I have been working at the Student Press Law Center for more than three decades, and I am now warning student journalists about things I have never had to tell them before," SPLC senior legal counsel Mike Hiestand said. "Student speech that is, or should be, fully protected by the law is now being weaponized by the U.S. government and student media must adapt to continue to fully report on their communities." Inside Higher Ed has more here...
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📣 Joe Rogan called out on his own show |
This doesn't happen very often: On the newest episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," author Douglas Murray challenged Rogan "over the types of guests he's featured on the podcast," specifically "Rogan's tendency to platform figures who 'just ask questions,'" Men's Journal reports.
At some point that asking-questions shtick "is not a valid thing," Murray argued, criticizing guests "who have appointed themselves experts who are not experts." The Daily Wire also wrote about the exchange here...
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Great weekend reads, part one |
>> Didi Tang illustrates the human impacts of the order to terminate Radio Free Asia: "Foreign journalists at US-backed media fear being sent to repressive homelands after Trump's cuts." (AP)
>> Natalie Korach profiles "joyful warrior" Kaitlan Collins. (VF)
>> Last weekend's "Hands Off" protests received more front page coverage in Europe than in the U.S. Sacha Biazzo explains why. (CJR)
>> Anna Merlan reports that "AI slop farms are churning out fake heartwarming videos about Trump figures." (Mother Jones)
>> "The New York Times publisher's worries about Trump came true:" Peter Kafka followed up with A.G. Sulzberger for this week's episode of "Channels." (Business Insider)
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Local stations lobbying the FCC – even on air |
Local TV station owners like Nexstar and E.W. Scripps are urging the FCC "to lift ownership caps that currently limit them to owning two TV outlets in a single market," Stephen Battaglio reports for the L.A. Times. The caps were "last revised upward in the pre-streaming era of 2004."
He notes that Nexstar "is having its TV stations run news stories that are aimed at rallying support for changing ownership rules" – and is even giving viewers some "prewritten social media posts" with calls to action. The Desk publisher Matthew Keys detailed that unusual effort here...
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Sony wins round in Jeopardy! battle |
CBS is going to keep fighting. But for the time being "Sony will take over distribution of syndicated game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune from CBS, a court has ruled." THR's Winston Cho explains it all here.
>> And who's the lawyer who argued Sony's case? Susman Godfrey partner Davida Brook, "who represents Dominion in all its defamation battles," Puck's Eriq Gardner noted. "Notably, today's hearing came less than 24 hours after the Trump E.O. targeting her firm. She’s a rock star. Totally unflappable."
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>> "Turkish police detained two prominent opposition journalists in early morning raids on Thursday." (Reuters)
>> Averting a trial that was slated to begin later this month, "NBC News has settled a $30 million defamation case with Dr. Mahendra Amin." The settlement terms are not known. (TVNewser)
>> Coming up: A retrial in Sarah Palin's nearly eight-year-old lawsuit against the NYT "is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manhattan federal court." (Reuters)
>> How can legacy magazines remodel themselves in a scrolling, swiping age? Here's one way: People magazine has "launched its first standalone app" with a "TikTok-style interface." (Adweek)
>> New this morning: "John Malone is exiting his seat on Warner Bros. Discovery's board of directors and will become chair emeritus." He says "I look forward to remaining actively involved." (Deadline)
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Apologies and legal talks |
Back on April 1 we featured The Athletic's story about sports media stars amplifying a false rumor about college freshman Mary Kate Cornett. Earlier this week Pat McAfee addressed the story (and Cornett's potential lawsuits), saying "we will try to figure that out and make some sort of silver lining in a very terrible situation; so you can have that promise from me." And Dave Portnoy (who also acknowledged the legal talks) apologized to Cornett in an interview with NBC's Tom Llamas yesterday...
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Counting down to Meta's trial |
"Meta will face off against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in an antitrust trial that will kick off" Monday, AdWeek's Kendra Barnett wrote in this curtain-raiser. The case "centers on allegations that the tech titan illegally stamped out competition through past acquisitions of early-stage startups including Instagram and WhatsApp."
In a new statement last night, Meta said the FTC suit "defies reality," adding, "regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI." Does that sound like an appeal to Trump to you?
In light of Mark Zuckerberg's obvious attempts to gain favor with the president, DC antitrust world is "buzzing about the fate of the case," Politico's Brendan Bordelon wrote earlier this week. The question: "Could the company get a reprieve from its new ally in the White House?"
>> Casey Newton's latest column: "From Meta to Nvidia, tech CEOs are paying the president to get the outcomes they want — and it's working."
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>> Meta is "concerned with Llama 4 having a left-leaning political bias" and is taking steps to address it. (404 Media)
>> Synthesia, a British startup that harnesses AI to create avatars, has "struck a licensing deal with the stock footage firm Shutterstock to help develop its technology." (The Guardian)
>> YouTube "is launching a new feature that will allow creators to use AI technology to generate custom instrumental backing music" for videos. (TechCrunch)
>> "BeReal is rolling out advertising in the US." (TechCrunch)
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Great weekend reads, part two |
>> I love this piece about student journalists making national news local: "From Arkansas rice farms to campus Title IX policy, college reporters are connecting federal decisions to their communities" (The Nutgraf, a weekly newsletter about student journalism)
>> Katherine Reynolds Lewis shares some advice about "coping with media layoffs." (Nieman Lab)
>> In this adaptation from his new book "What Is Journalism For?" Jon Allsop says journalists "improve the world around them simply by performing their core roles consistently and well." (CJR)
>> The Facebook group Cops and Writers helps crime writers get details right, Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg reports. (WSJ)
>> Open Questions columnist Joshua Rothman thinks "AI could improve the news—if it doesn't destroy it in the process." (New Yorker)
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Weekend box office preview |
The well-reviewed Rami Malek thriller "The Amateur," the biblical animated movie "The King of Kings," and A24's "Warfare," and Blumhouse's "Drop" all open in theaters this weekend. But "A Minecraft Movie" will remain the clear leader, with the film expected to make $65 million plus in its second weekend, Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro reports.
>> "Minecraft" is "making kids and teenagers go absolutely feral at the cinema," Issy van der Velde writes for Rolling Stone. Read "How 'The Minecraft Movie' became 'Rocky Horror' for TikTok kids..."
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The season one finale of "The Pitt" is streaming on Max now. (I'm watching ASAP later today.) CNN's Sandra Gonzalez spoke with real-world ER doctors about the show's authenticity for this piece. She also interviewed the producers about the gripping finale and their plans for season two.
>> Why has the drama resonated so widely? NYT TV critic James Poniewozik calls it a "TV throwback with an of-the-moment message about systems pushed to the breaking point."
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Entertainment odds and ends |
>> "Movies directed by Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and Ari Aster are among 19 films that will compete for the Palme d’Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival," the NYT's Alex Marshall reports. More here...
>> Slate PR is no more: The "Hollywood power publicists" are dissolving the firm after 15 years together. (THR)
>> Guy Ritchie's "MobLand" is showing some serious ratings growth. (TheWrap)
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