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
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
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
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
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