| | | | Rupert Murdoch just warned Megyn Kelly to make up her mind.
He picked up the phone and told the WSJ's Joe Flint that he wants Kelly to stay at Fox... that he's being kept up to date on the contract negotiations "every minute of the day..." that money is not an issue... and that plenty of other people would like her time slot.
Why did Murdoch decide to speak publicly about this? Why give an interview? He rarely gives interviews about anything! Execs usually stay mum during stressful contract talks. And this must be stressful, because it was going well, he wouldn't be calling up Flint.
Different people have different interpretations, but I read the Murdoch interview as a warning -- that the bosses want an answer before Kelly's book comes out on Nov. 15. Here's my write-up... | | | Well, I don't know for sure. And Kelly's side is not commenting. But she has been reluctant to renew so quickly, according to a person who has spoken with her. She is genuinely torn about staying at Fox, a network known for its conservative bent, vs. moving to another network ... | | | Murdoch told Flint: "We have a deep bench of talent, many of whom would give their right arm for her spot." About that, Brian Lowry emails: "Wracking my brain, but I can't think of a whole lot of pinch hitters on this 'deep bench' of which Murdoch speaks..." | | The WSJ headline is "Megyn Kelly Seeks Salary North of $20 Million." Flint says "she is seeking an average annual salary north of $20 million for her next contract—which would put her on par with Fox host Bill O'Reilly."
O'Reilly's deal is due to expire at the end of 2017, and he was quoted in July as saying "I don't want to work this hard much longer." Murdoch says "we're going to want Bill to stay with us..." | | Politico's 2016 Blast said it well: "The 2016 race started with Donald Trump in a feud with Fox News host Megyn Kelly and, it seems it will end with one, too." At his hotel ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, Trump said "congratulations, Newt, on last night. That was an amazing interview." He added: "We don't play games, Newt, right? We don't play games."
Kelly referenced Tuesday night's tense interview with Newt Gingrich on Wednesday's "Kelly File," but only the portion where he cast doubt on polls and electoral college projections. Karl Rove told Kelly that going to the hotel and giving Newt a shout out was "not a good use of the day" by Trump... | | | Kelly on "Live with Kelly" | | | One of Megyn Kelly's first stops on her book tour will be Kelly Ripa's talk show... Kelly will co-host "Live with Kelly" on the morning after election day... | | | Brian Lowry emails: In keeping with the parallel realities theme of the week, I spent about 20 minutes listening to Sean Hannity's radio show on Wednesday. Beyond being exhausting, it was striking how much rallying-the-troops talk there was, as the host ran through various state poll numbers to show Trump's possible path to victory. At the same time, Hannity issued warnings about score-settling come Nov. 9, singling out perceived traitors to the cause, such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Hannity didn't make Trump winning sound easy. But if you derived most of your information from his show — as opposed to reading, say, Nate Silver's 538 — your perspective would be completely different on the state of the race. | | Nate Silver tweeted this about the news coverage saying the presidential race is tightening:
"People are *reaallllly* pushing the 'it's tightening!' narrative and 🍒 cherry-picking 🍒 a lot to do it... I'm also on Team Uncertainty-Is-High-This-Year-And-Dems-Are-Way-Too-Complacent. But evidence for tightening is tenuous... Trump probably *has* rebounded, especially among R's, but Clinton still gaining ground in many polls too..." | | | Alex Koppelman emails: Given the way Trump has retreated into a bubble over the past few months, any journalist who gets an interview with him has an extra responsibility to make it count. You'd think a prominent reporter like Mark Halperin would feel the weight of that. But to call the interview of Trump that he did Wednesday "fluff" would be generous. Among Halperin's questions: "Were you a little under the weather? No, you're feeling good. You're closing strong." and "You were criticized yesterday for not necessarily explaining how healthcare works well enough. Do you want to revise and extend what you said?" Our own Dylan Byers summed up the whole thing pretty well on Twitter: "I mean, if I replaced 'Mark Halperin' with 'Sean Hannity' here, would you question it?" | | | Three Trump interviews... | | | Trump also gave interviews to CNN's Dana Bash and ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday. ABC billed its Q&A as an "exclusive" -- and TVNewser's Mark Joyella thinks that was a stretch. What Stephanopoulos does have that's unique, however, is a family interview... Airing on "GMA" in the morning... | | | CNN tops Fox News in the demo four weeks in a row | | | "CNN is nipping at Fox News's heels," Jim Rutenberg noted in a special middle-of-the-week column about Kelly-Gingrich, "managing to beat it in the news demographic that advertisers care most about — people between the ages of 25 and 54 — over the last four weeks, the first such sustained victory in 15 years." | | Jason Kilar's startup Vessel is no more. "Verizon said Wednesday it is buying the technology behind Vessel, the short-form video firm," Recode's Ina Fried reports. Verizon "plans to shut down the Vessel service." Kilar's co-founder Richard Tom will become "the CTO for Verizon's digital entertainment efforts, including its Go90 mobile video service..."
-- More: In this concise tweet, Fried's colleague Peter Kafka explained what went wrong with Vessel: "They raised a lot" of money "because they wanted to hire big YouTube names. YouTube paid more and kept them..." | | | Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw scoops: "Viacom is close to naming longtime executive Bob Bakish interim CEO as the company explores a possible merger with CBS...The decision to name him isn't final, and someone else could be chosen, they said. Viacom's board is scheduled to meet Monday but could sooner..." | | | Clinton weighs in on the deal | | Hillary Clinton, speaking publicly for the first time about the deal, says she will "closely" follow AT&T-Time Warner's regulatory review. (She seconded what Brian Fallon said on her behalf over weekend.) Answering a reporter's Q on Wednesday afternoon, she said "I think it raises questions and concerns and they should be looked into." Here's my story...
-- Real talk: She's saying what any Democratic presidential nominee would say about a big business deal two weeks before election day...
-- Meantime, Bernie Sanders said in a letter to the DOJ that "this proposed merger is just the latest effort to shrink our media landscape, stifle competition and diversity of content, and provide consumers with less while charging them more..."
-- I wrote about AT&T's POV about the regulatory climate on Monday... | | | "Brian Roberts probably knows how Randall Stephenson feels this week," the FT's Matt Garrahan writes. He portrays Comcast-NBCU as the "prequel" to AT&T-Time Warner. While "there were few obvious synergies," he says, "Comcast has learnt that owning a media company can yield other benefits..." | | -- "The NYT's Michael Luo is heading to The New Yorker. Luo, currently with the Times' metro desk leading a team focused on investigations, will be a senior editor in charge of investigations, leading a stable of writers aimed at upping The New Yorker's game on investigative reporting..." (Politico)
-- Erik Wemple's latest, on the significance of Margaret Carlson assisting a Clinton-connected consulting firm, feels like a page from "This Town..." (WashPost)
-- Smart BuzzFeed story: "Many Trump Supporters Want Trump TV — But Don't Want To Pay For It" (BuzzFeed)
-- MoMA has "acquired the original set of 176 emoji" for its collection... (NYT) | | | Drama on "Star Trek: Discovery?" | | Variety's scoop: "Bryan Fuller is stepping back from the showrunner role of CBS' 'Star Trek: Discovery' as he juggles production responsibilities on two other series, Variety has learned exclusively. The decision was made late last week to hand the day-to-day showrunning reins to 'Star Trek' exec producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts as 'Discovery' gears up for the start of filming next month and a May premiere date. Fuller, who will remain an executive producer, will still be involved in breaking stories, and the show will continue to follow his vision for the universe that this latest "Trek" series will inhabit. Writer-director Akiva Goldsman is also expected to join "Discovery" in a top creative role..."
-- Remember: The show was set to premiere in January, but now it's set for May... | | | It was Hillary Clinton's birthday on Wednesday, and there was cake for the press corps on her plane... | | | Special episode of "The View" on Lifetime on election night | | | Via Lifetime PR: "A live 2 and a half hour primetime edition" of "The View" will air on Lifetime on election night, 9 til 11:30 p.m. ET... Usual set, studio audience, "Hot Topics," and live reports from Times Square... | | | Tucker Doherty writes: "Daylight Saving Time switches on November 6. That's right, this presidential campaign is an hour longer than you thought..." | | | Matt Weiner's next project... | | Sandra Gonzalez emails: Amazon has picked up "Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner's next project after what Deadline says was a "heated" bidding war between SIX different parties. It will be co-financed by The Weinstein Co. and Amazon. It's described as a present-day anthology and is reportedly set in multiple locations across the globe. If it sounds expensive, it's because it's definitely going to be... | | | "Kardashians" production has resumed | | | Chloe Melas writes: Filming on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" has resumed, three weeks after an armed robbery of Kim Kardashian that put the show on hold. Kim was spotted with cameras in tow at Kanye West's LA concert Tuesday night... | | -- Reuters' Lauren Hirsch reports: "Hollywood execs Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan are in advanced talks to acquire Playboy Enterprises..." (Reuters)
-- Sandra Gonzalez emails: Disney is bringing back Muppet Babies (but I'm personally not a fan of the move to CG animation)... (CNN)
-- PBS says "Sherlock" Season 4 will premiere on January 1, 2017...
-- Lisa France emails: Amid Trump's vulgar talk controversy, the dissident female punk rockers Pussy Riot have released "Straight Outta Vagina..." (CNN)
-- More from Lisa: You can relax now you guys. Turns out Justin Timberlake is actually not in trouble for taking that voting selfie! (CNN) | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. We appreciate every email... And we'll be back tomorrow with more... | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
Post a Comment