Top News:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
CNN's next manager and its owner need to be realistic about what the company can do and stop pretending a political pivot will fix structural cable news issues — Ever after its CEO's firing, CNN remains stuck in no man's land. — Technically, the news is that CNN CEO Chris Licht was pushed out this morning.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, @karlbode, @jeffjarvis, @michaeldweiss, @lpolgreen, @yair_rosenberg, @bhumikatharoor, @goldietaylor, @jayrosen_nyu, @jadubin5, @stevesi, The Daily Beast, Sydney Morning Herald, The Wrap, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Insider and Rolling Stone
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Brian Stelter / Washington Post:
CNN insiders wonder what David Zaslav wants the network to be, when cable news viewers no longer agree on basic facts and extremist attitudes shape politics — Brian Stelter, a former media reporter for CNN and the New York Times, is the author of three books, including the forthcoming …
Loree Seitz / The Wrap:
Analysis: advertisers spent $313M on CNN from January to April 2023, down from $513M a year prior, while the number of advertisers fell from 2,700 to 2,100 — The number of advertisers on the network also dropped 23% from the first four months of 2022 — CNN's ad revenue fell nearly 40% year …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, MediaPost, Forbes and The Messenger
Sara Fischer / Axios:
CNN CEO Chris Licht confirms he plans to step down after 13 months, following a damning Atlantic profile last week and the Donald Trump town hall in May 2023 — Chris Licht, the embattled CEO of CNN, plans to step down, he confirmed to Axios on Wednesday. Licht has been on the job for 13 months.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers, New York Times, New York Times, CNN, New York Post, CNBC, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @claireatki, @dylanbyers, @markharrisnyc, @grynbaum, @maxwelltani, NPR, @semaforben, @semafor, @sarafischer, Washington Post, @bristei, Adweek, @dylanbyers, @sarafischer, Los Angeles Times, @lauralesliewral, @dougjones, @philipterzian, @brianstelter, @mariashriver, @molllllusk, Vanity Fair, @brianstelter, @jamiestelter, @benmullin, @richsignorelli, @oliverdarcy, @wesleylowery, @brianstelter, @redsteeze, @ditzkoff, The Wrap, @bencjacobs, @benjysarlin, @eugene_scott, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @nprinskeep, @mattdpearce, @dylanbyers, @heerjeet, @ahmedbaba_, @sherman4949, @brianstelter, @cherijacobus, @mattbelloni, @dylanbyers, @modestproposal1, @sarafischer, @richlightshed, @jeffjarvis, @scottnover, @mattzeitlin, @mrjamesob, @richardpbacon, @erichaywood, @esaagar, @andrewfeinberg, @dylanbyers, @karaswisher, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @jayrosen_nyu, @karaswisher, @sarthakgh, @atrupar, @benmullin, @great_katzby, @juddlegum, @eugene_scott, @karlbode, @brianstelter, @jeremymbarr, @brianstelter, @aexm, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @josheidelson, @dylanbyers, @brianstelter, @sarafischer, @ndrew_lawrence, @repdougcollins, @great_katzby, @sarafischer, @scottnover, @scottnover, @brianstelter, @maxwelltani, @ahmedbaba_, @markjacob16, @taylorpopielarz, @joeconchatv, @loudmouthjulia, @sherman4949, @oneunderscore__, @sherman4949, @sulliview, @alex, @dorianlynskey, @qjurecic, @sherman4949, @djrothkopf, @tanzinavega, @emptywheel, @jamesrbuk, @ivanthek, @brianstelter, Bloomberg, Page Six, Deadline, The Week, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Agence France-Presse, New Republic, The Hollywood Reporter, The Desk, The Wrap, Variety, Insider and Puck
Alex Griffing / Mediaite:
CNN has also let go of Chris Licht's top executives, including comms chief Kris Coratti, head of strategic comms Matt Dornic, and chief of staff Devan Cayea
CNN has also let go of Chris Licht's top executives, including comms chief Kris Coratti, head of strategic comms Matt Dornic, and chief of staff Devan Cayea
Discussion:
Adweek, Insider, New York Post, The Atlantic, RADAR, @sarafischer, PRWeek, The Wrap and Slate
Semafor:
Chris Licht managed CNN anchors poorly and his push to the political center failed, but the fundamental issue is that cable news is in a broad, secular decline
Chris Licht managed CNN anchors poorly and his push to the political center failed, but the fundamental issue is that cable news is in a broad, secular decline
Discussion:
The Hill, @pkafka, Politico, Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times, @benjysarlin, @benjysarlin, Talking Points Memo, @lucysonit, @buddaprotocol, @madge1428, @oneunderscore__, @katie_robertson, @amlwhere, @susanbordson, @pkafka, @moorehn, @bryancurtis, The Wrap, @jbillinson, @azi, @evanhandler, RADAR, Axios, @richburroughs.dev, @mollyknight.bsky.social, @darthbluesky.bsky.social and HuffPost
Ben Finley / Associated Press:
Pat Robertson, the religious broadcaster, host of The 700 Club, and founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, dies at 93 — Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped …
Discussion:
CBN, New York Times, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Desk, Radio & Television …, Variety, Axios, New Republic, TMZ.com, @sentedcruz, The Daily Beast, NPR, The Messenger, Deadline, National Review, Politico, USA Today, TVLine, @marklevinshow, @700club, Rolling Stone, Just The News, Boing Boing and New York Daily News
Axios:
Letter: Fox News tells Tucker Carlson's lawyers he “is in breach” of his contract after he launched his Twitter show; Carlson's lawyers cite the First Amendment — Fox News Wednesday notified Tucker Carlson's lawyers that the former prime-time anchor violated his contract …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Guardian, Bloomberg, @karaswisher, Mediaite, El País, @kurtschlichter, @chadwick_moore, @normative, Gizmodo, HuffPost, Just The News, RADAR, UPROXX, Insider, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, The Hill, Observer and Vanity Fair
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Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Tucker Carlson posts the first episode of his new show, Tucker on Twitter; the episode is just over 10 minutes long and appears to be from his rural Maine home
Tucker Carlson posts the first episode of his new show, Tucker on Twitter; the episode is just over 10 minutes long and appears to be from his rural Maine home
Discussion:
@tuckercarlson, @loudmouthjulia, @rudygiuliani, @zaleskiluke, Mediaite, @patel_patriot, The Desk, @kyleworton, Boing Boing, RADAR, Deadline, @loudmouthjulia, New York Times, @elonmusk, Washington Post, @mehdirhasan, Newser, The Guardian, @brianstelter, Variety, @zaleskiluke, @zaleskiluke, @jessicalburbank, @oneunderscore__, @michaeldweiss, @rolandsmartin, @jay_beecher, @diamondandsilk, @bolsonarosp, @amandacarpenter, @a_newsman and @seanmdav
Kayla Cobb / The Wrap:
The CW continues its push into sports as Inside the NFL joins its lineup, starting in the fall; the series previously aired on HBO, Showtime, and Paramount+ — After living on cable for decades, “Inside the NFL” is coming to broadcast thanks to The CW. Starting this fall …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Desk, Barrett Media and Awful Announcing
Casey Newton / Platformer:
How Twitter, YouTube, and Meta gave up on removing lies about the 2020 US presidential elections, after having briefly banded together to do the right thing — For a time, they fought the good fight — but not any more — I. — On tech platforms these days you can get away with just about anything …
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Universal says premium VOD has had a “hugely positive” business impact, generating $1B+ in revenue in less than three years, with almost no drop in ticket sales — The studio let viewers rent or buy movies earlier for a higher price. This made more than $1 billion in less than three years …
Discussion:
@nbcuniversal, @brooksbarnesnyt, @firstshowing and SlashFilm
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
G/O names tech reporter Dan Ackerman as EIC of Gizmodo; Ackerman was mostly recently at CNET — Veteran technology journalist Dan Ackerman has been hired as editor in chief of tech news site Gizmodo. — Ackerman comes to Gizmodo from consumer technology publication CNET …
Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:
Analysis: daily impressions generated by local broadcast news programming exceed those of programs on six leading streaming services by between 8x and 12x — Daily impressions generated by local broadcast news programming exceed those of programs on six leading streaming services by between eight …
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: BuzzFeed is exploring selling Complex Networks, which the outlet acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300M; Complex's revenue has fallen — BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when going public in late 2021 …
Discussion:
@theinformation and The Wrap