EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there! This is Oliver Darcy, ready to take you through a big day of media news. Send your feedback -- and tips -- to me via email. I'm also on Twitter, if you'd like to connect there. Now, let's get to the news...
A "new point of origin for our national story"
With race and racism at the center of America's top stories right now, this New York Times project happens to be very well timed. It is called the 1619 Project -- a major initiative about the history of slavery in the United States. Dean Baquet sang its praises and told me to Google it immediately when we spoke on Tuesday.
The NYT Magazine says that its goal with the project is to "deepen understanding of American history (and the American present) by proposing a new point of origin for our national story." That new point of origin is August 1619, when the arrival of the first enslaved Africans "inaugurated a barbaric system of chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years and form the basis for almost every aspect of American life."
"In the days and weeks to come," the magazine says, "we will publish essays demonstrating that nearly everything that has made America exceptional grew out of slavery." This project takes up an entire issue of the magazine, plus an extra special section, this coming weekend... | | The kickoff event
The NYT held an "evening of conversation and performance" to kick off the project on Tuesday. "1619 is as important to America as 1776," staff writer Nikole Hannah-Jones said.
Hannah-Jones pitched this project back in February. She wrote on Twitter that she has been "obsessed with the year 1619 and how the start of slavery in America has shaped everything in our society." And she was able to secure the NYT's backing in a big way. At Tuesday night's event -- joined by Jamelle Bouie, Mary Elliot, Eve Ewing, Tyehimba Jess, Yusef Komunyakaa, Wesley Morris, Jake Silverstein and Linda Villarosa -- Hannah-Jones said "this anniversary is the reason we even exist as a country."
"We cannot change a society if we don't acknowledge how we got here," she said.
And she urged readers to check out the contributors page this weekend: "Trust me, you've never seen anything this black in the New York Times. The # of black writers, black artists, black photographers, black poets..."
THE DAY'S BIG DEAL NEWS...
Shari Redstone's victory
Edmund Lee's lead on the front of the Business Day section in Wednesday's NYT: "Shari Redstone got her wish."
The reunion of CBS and Viacom -- to be known as ViacomCBS -- "is a victory for Ms. Redstone, the leader of a family business that has led the two media giants for two decades," Lee wrote. She had "pushed for a deal for at least three years but faced fierce opposition from CBS's board, including its former chief executive, Leslie Moonves." This time last year Moonves was fighting to save his job amid a sexual misconduct scandal. By September he was out of the picture. Now Redstone will be chair of the combined company.
"My father once said 'content is king,' and never has that been more true than today," Redstone said. Here is Frank Pallotta's full story for CNN Business...
>> Bloomberg's Christopher Palmeri: This deal "cements her status as most powerful woman in U.S. media..."
Will the companies benefit from this combo?
Shares in both CBS and Viacom were up on Tuesday, reflective of a wider rally, after slipping on Monday. But "Wall Street has questions about the combined company's operating structure and next steps," Variety's Brian Steinberg reports. Analysts are "not convinced the current management structure, which puts CBS CEO Joe Ianniello in charge of CBS-branded assets and makes Viacom CEO Bob Bakish the head of the whole company, will allow for maximizing assets. And they want more information on expected results from using the combined company to boost revenue from streaming-video and new kinds of data-and-technology-enabled advertising," he writes...
>> Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar: The exec structure is "likely to create unnecessary day-to-day operating friction as the CBS and Viacom silos and reporting structures are likely to skew incentives towards maintaining status quo..." | | Lowry's take
Brian Lowry writes: The Viacom-CBS split didn't make much sense at the time, coming across as a capricious maneuver by mogul Sumner Redstone, then justified through the argument that it would unlock additional value as two entities, "Via-Slow" (that is, steady old CBS) and "Via-Grow" (cable heavy Viacom). Now daughter Shari has engineered a reunification, but it comes at a very different time in the entertainment industry, one that suggests the newly merged entity is going to need another deal to play with the giants currently engaged in the streaming wars. Read on...
Buy or get bought?
The WSJ's Lillian Rizzo and Joe Flint quote a "former top Viacom executive" saying "they still don't have the scale required to compete with the bigger players."
Option One: "Executives at the companies have contemplated the idea of mergers with cable programmers including Discovery and premium network Starz or its owner, Lions Gate Entertainment, people familiar with the situation say. Sony's movie and TV unit, Hollywood studio MGM and AMC Networks are among other possible targets, industry executives and Wall Street analysts say."
Option Two: "CBS and Viacom also could become a buyout target." Michael Nathanson is quoted: "Amazon is lacking content library, sports-infrastructure capabilities and a consistent pipeline of new shows. To me, it makes sense -- Amazon isn't 'all in' on the video business yet."
Notes and quotes
>> The WSJ and Bloomberg are out with tick-tocks about the dealmaking...
>> Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw noted: "CBS and Viacom have a combined $28B in sales, far more than Netflix ($16B). CBS and Viacom are worth about $30B combined, or 22% of Netflix."
>> Here are Tuesday's internal memos...
>> Viacom CFO Wade Davis will be leaving, per Bakish's memo...
Outstanding Q's
>> ViacomCBS is a mouthful. What will be the go-to abbreviation?
>> ViacomCBS is targeting $500 million in cost savings. Is that really possible? How many jobs will be nixed?
>> Will there be any regulatory hiccups? Meg James notes that "the process that is expected to take several months. The companies said they expect the deal to be complete by year's end.
>> Two of Steinberg's Q's: "If company is going to combine ad sales, who will oversee?" And "who will be point person in talks with cable and satellite" distributors?
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- "GateHouse started making cuts this week at at least four papers," Tom Jones reports... (Poynter)
-- Fantastic story by Tiffany Hsu: "Ads Pitching CBD as a Cure-All Are Everywhere. Oversight Hasn't Kept Up..." (NYT)
-- Philip Bump writes about how Trump's promotion of Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories has entered "gaslighting mode..." (WaPo)
-- Speaking of Trump and conspiracy theories: Stephen Colbert's Tuesday bit: Trump "doesn't spread conspiracy theories, he just retweets conspiracy theories..." (Twitter)
IN OTHER NEWS...
NYT demotes Jonathan Weisman
Jonathan Weisman, who has served as one of NYT's deputy Washington editors, was demoted on Tuesday over a pair of incidents in which he ignited controversy on social media. A spokesperson for the newspaper said that Weisman met with executive editor Dean Baquet on Tuesday and "apologized for his recent serious lapses in judgment."
The NYT spokesperson said, however, that "as a consequence of his actions" Weisman had "been demoted and will no longer be overseeing the team that covers Congress or be active on social media." The spokesperson added, "We don't typically discuss personnel matters but we're doing so in this instance with Jonathan's knowledge." I asked the spokesperson what Weisman's new title will be, but did not hear back...
Inside the newsroom
People I spoke to inside NYT on Tuesday said Weisman's social media behavior had alarmed staffers. "The people in Washington work so hard," one reporter told me. "[Weisman's tweets] just take away from all the hard work people have done."
Baquet also told me during a phone interview that he had decided to host Monday's employee town hall, in part, because of the concerns over Weisman's recent social media behavior. "The Weisman tweet, the collective Weisman, as well as the headline," Baquet said of his reasons for holding the town hall, also referring to the front page headline NYT changed last week after backlash.
"I accept Dean's judgment"
I was unable to connect with Weisman myself on Tuesday, but he did offer a brief comment to NYT reporter Marc Tracy. Weisman said, "I accept Dean's judgment. I think he's right to do what he's doing. I embarrassed the newspaper, and he had to act."
Brian Karem responds to Trump admin: "It's essential that I hold on to my hard pass"
A lawyer for Brian Karem, the Playboy White House correspondent and CNN political analyst, made public on Tuesday evening the statement Karem submitted to the White House responding to its "preliminary decision" to suspend his hard pass. In the letter, posted by attorney Ted Boutrous, who represented CNN when Jim Acosta battled the White House over his credentials, Karem explained his history covering the White House. Karem also detailed the July confrontation he had with Sebastian Gorka in the Rose Garden that preceded him being notified he was having his credentials suspended.
"I understand that Ms. Grisham says she has taken this action against my hard pass because I insulted White House guests and escalated the situation," Karem wrote. "The escalation ran the other direction, as did the insults. The crowd was heckling the journalists, and singled me out because of my parting question to President Trump. Then Gorka singled me out, and interpreted my friendly attempt to defuse the situation as a threat. At no point in time was I ever of the mindset I was going to fight anyone."
Karem wrote that as a journalist it is his "responsibility to ask tough questions." He added, "It's essential that I hold on to my hard pass so that I can continue to carry out my responsibility. After all, that's what the First Amendment is all about."
Silence from White House
Boutrous told me on Tuesday evening that Karem submitted his statement on August 9, but that they had not released it until now. Boutrous said he had not heard back from the White House. I reached out to press secretary Stephanie Grisham, but she declined to comment...
>> Related: Erik Wemple's latest in WaPo is about this. Wemple says it's "crunch time" for the White House...
Cuomo: "I should be better than the guys baiting me"
CNN's Chris Cuomo expressed regret on Tuesday morning for a heated altercation he had with an unidentified person which was captured in video released online Monday night.
"Appreciate all the support but - truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me," Cuomo tweeted. "This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose." On Monday, when the video first surfaced, CNN expressed support for Cuomo, saying in a statement, "Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup."
Did Trump subtweet Hannity?
Cuomo also found support from his Fox rival Sean Hannity, who defended his actions in a Tuesday night segment on his show. It may have been one of the rare instances in which Hannity and Trump expressed different views. While Hannity has defended Cuomo, Trump has (predictably) used the controversy to take multiple jabs at CNN.
In one tweet, Trump may have even subtweeted Hannity, complaining, "When a Conservative does even a fraction of what Chris Cuomo did with his lunatic ranting, raving, & cursing, they get destroyed by the Fake News. But when a Liberal Democrat like Chris Cuomo does it, Republicans immediately come to his defense. We never learn!"
What Trump will see if he tunes into "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday | | If Trump happens to tune into "Fox & Friends" while in Bedminster on Wednesday, he might very well see a message from Julián Castro. The Democratic presidential candidate has purchased several television spots on Fox News in Bedminster for an ad in which he confronts Trump for his inflammatory rhetoric.
"President Trump, you referred to countries as s**tholes," Castro says in the ad, which WaPo reported will air on "Fox & Friends." "You urged American Congresswomen to 'go back' to where they came from. You called immigrants rapists. As we saw in El Paso, Americans were killed because you stoked the fire of racists. Innocent people were shot down because they look different from you. Because they look like me. They look like my family. Words have consequences. Ya basta!"
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Laura Hazard Owen's latest: "New research suggests that most newspaper publishers with successful metered pay model strategies do better with higher 'stop rates,' not letting a reader sample too much before they're asked to pay up..." (NiemanLab)
-- Rolling Stone has signed a new partnership with World Surf League. "Under the partnership, Rolling Stone will devote 'significant editorial backing' to the campaign..." (Licensing.biz)
-- "I'm a journalism student in an era of closing newsrooms, 'fake news.' But I still want in..." (USA Today)
Sanders scales back media attacks
"Bernie Sanders scaled back his criticism of the media on Tuesday, telling CNN he did not believe that Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was dictating the paper's coverage of his campaign," Gregory Krieg, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles reported on Tuesday.
But, Sanders "continued to argue that the structure of the mainstream media leaves candidates like him at a disadvantage," Krieg, Grayer, and Nobles reported. Sanders told CNN that he thinks there is a "framework about how the corporate media focuses on politics," adding, "That is my concern. It's not that Jeff Bezos is on the phone every day; he's not."
Walk back came amid scrutiny
The slight walk back from Sanders came as he faced an onslaught of scrutiny for suggesting -- without any evidence -- that Bezos influences WaPo's coverage. Throughout the day, I saw current and former WaPo staffers express their experiences working at the newspaper.
One of those people was CNN's Brian Fung, who covered technology for WaPo before leaving the newspaper earlier this year. Fung tweeted, "Not once did an editor have my Amazon stories killed, nor edited to reflect more positively (or negatively!) on the company. Pre- and post-Bezos, the work I did was the same." NYT's Cecilia Kang, who covers tech and also formerly worked at the newspaper, echoed Fung. She tweeted, "When I was there, not a crumb of evidence Bezos influenced coverage. All friends there are eager to be fair, tough and hold Amazon to account."
>> Related: Chris Cillizza wrote a piece saying Sanders "should know better than this ridiculous attack..."
Max boot fires back at National Review, says it's a "reflection" of conservative news being "Trumpified"
Max Boot on Tuesday responded to a National Review article attacking him, telling Anderson Cooper the piece was "incredibly shocking and offensive to me." Boot explained that he thinks "sadly" the article is a "reflection of how even mainstream conservative publications are being Trumpified and are going down the same road [of] Fox News."
The backstory: On Tuesday, John Hirschauer published a story in National Review titled, "Max Boot Fans the Flames of Racial Hatred." Hirschauer argued Boot set up a false choice in a recent column between siding with white supremacists or selling one's "political soul to Max Boot" and becoming "one of the self-loathing whites." That's triggered a back and forth between Boot and writers at National Review...
Rich Lowry: Boot's commentary has been "unhinged and dishonest"
I reached out to Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review, on Tuesday night. Lowry told me he has been on vacation, so he's only "followed [the feud] off and on." But Lowry said that he believes Boot's "writing and tweets have been unhinged and dishonest."
>> Of note: Cooper said on Tuesday's segment that they had invited Hirschauer on the program, but he declined...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Jon Allsop wrote about how journalists are struggling to keep doing their jobs amid the crackdown in Kashmir... (CJR)
-- The Atlantic announced on Tuesday it had established senior leadership roles for Ross Andersen, Caitlin Frazier, and Yoni Appelbaum. As part of the news, the publication announced that it will hire three editors for its Ideas section, which Appelbaum will "oversee a dramatic expansion" of... (The Atlantic)
-- Gerry Smith's latest: "An overlooked cost of cord-cutting: paying more for faster internet and running into data caps with added fees. Some cable subscribers are paying $40 to $50 extra to stream as much as they want..." (Bloomberg)
Man sues Don Lemon over alleged assault at bar
A man filed a lawsuit on Sunday against CNN host Don Lemon, alleging that Lemon attacked him at a Sag Harbor bar in July 2018. The lawsuit sought damages for "emotional pain and suffering." Mediaite has the details here...
In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said, "The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts. This claim follows his unsuccessful threats and demands for an exorbitant amount of money from Don Lemon. Don categorically denies these claims and this matter does not merit any further comment at this time."
Barstool Sports founder posts anti-union tweet
David Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, appeared to threaten on Tuesday to fire any employees who attempt to unionize. Commenting on news that The Ringer's staff had moved to unionize, Portnoy resurfaced an anti-union 2015 piece he had written as a "little refresher" about his thoughts "about unions."
Live Science writer Rafi Letzer replied to Portnoy, tweeting, "If you work for Barstool and want to have a private chat about the unionization process, how little power your boss has to stop you, and how you can leverage that power to make your life better: my DMs are open." Portnoy responded by saying that any Barstool Sports employees who messaged Letzer would be fired "on the spot."
AOC responds: "You are likely breaking the law"
It's unclear how serious Portnoy was being. Regardless, his tweet and the subsequent messages he posted on Twitter elicited outrage. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, "If you're a boss tweeting firing threats to employees trying to unionize, you are likely breaking the law & can be sued, in your words, 'on the spot.'"
Indeed, as Variety's Todd Spangler pointed out, "According to the National Labor Relations Board, it is unlawful for employers to discourage (or encourage, for that matter) union activities or sympathies 'by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment.'"
| | "Little Women" debuts a big trailer
Frank Pallotta emails: Greta Gerwig directed one of the best films of the decade with 2017's "Lady Bird," and now returns for the holidays with a retelling of one of the most beloved stories in history, "Little Women." The film, which debuted its first trailer on Tuesday, is stacked with great talent including Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep.
Simran Sethi to return to Disney
Brian Lowry emails: The makeover at ABC continues, with entertainment president Karey Burke tapping a former Freeform colleague, Simran Sethi, to return to Disney, as exec VP overseeing all program development. She was most recently at Netflix.
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By Frank Pallotta and Lisa Respers France:
-- Khalid has announced the El Paso benefit concert details... (CNN)
-- Fox feels the pressure from Disney as film flops mount... (Variety)
-- Why Disney's streaming bundle may be a bad thing… for Disney... (THR)
-- NFL partners with Jay Z's Roc Nation on the league's endeavors in music and entertainment... (ESPN)
-- Liam Hemsworth's wish for Miley Cyrus after their recent split? "Nothing but health and happiness going forward..." (CNN)
Todd and Julie Chrisley indicted on tax evasion charges
"Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley were indicted on Tuesday by a grand jury on tax evasion charges by the Northern District of Georgia," Sandra Gonzalez reports. "The 12-count indictment, obtained by CNN, also alleges the Chrisleys committed bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, among other offenses. The married couple are stars of the USA Network reality series 'Chrisley Knows Best,' which follows their family's over-the-top lifestyle and activities..."
| | Thank you for reading. I always enjoy your feedback, so send me a note via email or find me on Twitter... See you tomorrow!
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