Here's the latest on Elon Musk, Patrick Soon-Shiong, Ted Turner, John Krasinski, Olivia Nuzzi, Omeed Malik, Gary Lineker, Casey Bloys, Disney, Spotify, and more... |
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Fox News host Pete Hegseth is well-liked inside the network – but president-elect Donald Trump picking him as Defense Secretary came as an absolute shock last night. As one of his fellow Fox hosts said to me, in a flabbergasted tone, "You're telling me Pete is going to oversee two million employees?"
The Department of Defense has closer to three million employees, which only serves to underscore the point. Hegseth is a decorated Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But nothing in his bio suggests experience leading large organizations. Then again, Hegseth has something else that Trump values: television star-power. "Trump also thinks he has the look," a source told CNN.
Hegseth may face some opposition in the coming weeks, as his selection caught senators and other officials off guard. Overnight, I wrote about how Hegseth's Fox platform positioned him for this promotion. Check out the story here...
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The New York Post's Anna Young says Hegseth's recent book "slamming the military's embrace of “woke” ideologies helped secure his nomination for secretary of defense." More to the point, the book – titled "The War on Warriors" – was published by Fox News Books and promoted dozens of times on Fox shows, which means it was in front of Trump repeatedly.
During his book tour, Hegseth railed against the Pentagon's adoption of "social justice" messages and argued that "woke" policies have hurt military recruitment. When Trump said in a Fox interview that "you can't have 'woke' military," Hegseth said "he's exactly right."
>> I reported back in 2020 that Hegseth has a long history of catering to his viewer-in-chief. During Trump's first term, Hegseth would sometimes peek at his phone during "Fox & Friends Weekend" commercial breaks, looking to see if Trump had picked up on something he'd said on air. His co-hosts felt like he was putting on a show specifically for Trump. Here's my full story...
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Trump is in Washington today – and so is "his new super buddy" Elon Musk.
Musk is expected to join Trump "at the House GOP conference meeting this morning," CNN's Kate Sullivan reports. Then Trump is heading to the White House for a meeting with President Biden – their "first extended face-to-face since the fumbling debate performance that drove Biden out of the race," as the Washington Post notes.
>> Last night's announcement about Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy leading a "Department of Government Efficiency" left journalists with more questions than answers. Many of the questions are about potential conflicts of interest...
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Patrick Soon-Shiong speaks |
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images |
Liam Reilly and Hadas Gold interviewed Los Angeles Times publisher Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong yesterday, and for the first time he said that Kamala Harris's support for Israel's war in Gaza played a role in his decision to stop his paper from endorsing her. He also said he plans to "balance" the paper's opinion section with more conservative and centrist voices. Trust "has to be restored," he says. More here...
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Today is Infowars auction day |
This morning, Alex Jones' notorious Infowars media empire will go on the auction block. At least one bid is in the "seven-figure" range, a person familiar with the matter told Hadas Gold. That bid is from an individual described as an "ally" of Jones. Among those on the other end of the spectrum interested in Infowars is none other than the satirical news site The Onion. The court will announce the auction outcome "promptly," but we don't know how long it will take. More here...
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>> "John Malone sees M&A activity in media stepping up in a significant way now that regime change is coming..." (Variety)
>> "Disney is exploring fresh candidates in its search for a successor to Bob Iger, including some from outside its castle walls," Robbie Whelan, Emily Glazer, and Jessica Toonkel report. One of the names is Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson. A search firm "has identified at least two more potential external candidates..." (WSJ)
>> Musk's alliance with Trump "is set to boost X's flagging business, with some marketers poised for a return to the social media platform in order to seek favour with the incoming administration..." (FT)
>> The Guardian announced it would no longer post on X, citing "disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism." (Guardian)
>> Major French news organizations are suing X and "accusing it of running their content without payment..." (AFP)
>> Substack has "quietly raised around $10 million from a broad range of strategic investors, including Omeed Malik and Nate Silver," Sara Fischer reports. (Axios)
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Unpaid bills at Al Jazeera |
Liam Reilly and Hadas Gold report: Gaza-based correspondents for Al Jazeera's English-language broadcast are on strike today, protesting management's failure to pay the bills for the last three months. Correspondent Hani Abuishaiba told colleagues of the problems in an email obtained by CNN. In a statement, Al Jazeera attributed delayed payments to "challenges with fund transfers" amid the war in Gaza, adding that "our team is working diligently to resolve this."
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Katelyn Polantz writes: Olivia Nuzzi is dropping her court complaint against her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, in the latest turn after her emotional dalliance with former political candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Nuzzi and Lizza were heading toward a trial in the coming days that could have been a forum for each side to present evidence against the other. Nuzzi had claimed in court filings that she was worried about her safety and wanted to stop Lizza from circulating negative information about her. Lizza denied all wrongdoing. "Olivia lied to me for almost a year," he said in a statement to CNN. "She lied to her editors. She lied to her readers. She lied to her colleagues. She lied to reporters. And she lied to the judge in this case. I said I would defend myself against her lies vigorously and successfully and I am fully prepared to do so. But for now, I'm pleased this matter is closed."
Lizza remains on leave from his position at Politico, and Nuzzi recently departed New York mag...
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>> Netflix said yesterday that its ad-supported tier "now reaches 70 million users around the globe, compared with the 40 million it revealed in May and the 22 million it cited in January — a growth trajectory that big marketers want to see before they take Netflix's advertising options more seriously," Brian Steinberg wrote. (Variety)
>> Shira Ovide says Friday's much-advertised Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match on Netflix marks "the latest example of streaming adopting the hallmarks of old-fashioned TV." (Wash Post)
>> "Freevee, Amazon’s free ad-supported streaming service, is being shut down," Lesley Goldberg and Rick Porter report, adding that "that Amazon plans to fold the platform into Prime Video, with Freevee executives expected to be integrated into various divisions within the company." (THR)
>> In a concession to regulators, Meta "plans to give European users of Instagram and Facebook the option of receiving what it says are 'less personalized ads,'" Sam Schechner and Kim Mackrael scooped yesterday. (WSJ)
>> A group of former Twitter engineers are coming out with an "AI newsreader" called Particle. (TechCrunch)
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Spotify shares keep spiking |
Shares of Spotify have quintupled over the past two years, "blowing away anyone else in media or streaming and even some of the hottest AI names," the WSJ's Dan Gallagher wrote. Tuesday's quarterly earnings report sent the stock up another 8%. "Spotify is about to be a $100 billion company for the first time," Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw noted.
>> CEO Daniel Ek said Spotify is on track for its first full year of profitability...
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Major change to 'Match of the Day' |
An end-of-an-era moment at the BBC: Gary Lineker is leaving the soccer highlights show "Match of the Day" after this Premier League season, the NYT's Ali Watkins reports. He will still host podcasts and cover upcoming tournaments for the BBC. "Future plans for Match of the Day will be announced in due course," the BBC said...
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>> Vanity Fair's 31st annual Hollywood Issue came out this morning... (VF)
>> He's come a long way from Dunder Mifflin: "John Krasinski Is PEOPLE's 2024 Sexiest Man Alive..." (PEOPLE)
>> "All hope is not lost for a Game of Thrones spinoff about Jon Snow. HBO chief Casey Bloys confirmed Tuesday Kit Harington's revelation earlier this year that the sequel series is no longer in development, at least for now, but that doesn't mean the network won’t circle back to the idea at a later date..." (Deadline)
>> Bloys also said, of "The White Lotus," if Mike White "wants to do a fourth season, HBO will do a fourth season..." (Deadline)
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SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST... |
New docuseries about CNN founder |
Trust me: You're going to want to stream "Call Me Ted." It's a new six-episode docuseries on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service Max about media mogul Ted Turner's incredible life and legacy.
WBD CEO David Zaslav and CNN CEO Mark Thompson were in Atlanta last night for a special screening of the project. Lisa Respers France reports that Zaslav "led those in attendance in a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Turner," who turns 86 next week, and who joined the event virtually along with members of his family.
In his remarks, Zaslav hailed Turner as "someone that many of us, almost every one of us in this business, owe our careers to." Check out the series here...
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