The Battle Over The CNN Story
Issue #128 — The internal workings of CNN have been covered so closely that the people who cover the story have now come into focus.
The Battle Over The CNN Story
Here is an idea for Warner Bros. Discovery executives. Get the folks from the Discovery and TLC portion of the company to do a reality show on all the internal drama engulfing CNN and its senior leadership.
The show could be called CNN Pitmasters and would document what is now becoming an intense battle over who wants to own and run CNN.
Since Jeff Zucker’s sudden exit from the network in 2022 and CNN’s ownership falling under the purview of WBD head David Zaslav, there has been a flood of steady, juicy insider stories dealing with how the news network’s most senior leadership is running it. This reached its apex during Chris Licht’s short stint as head of the network, which ended in early June.
Media beat writers have realized that if a good enough story is written about the creator of the 24-hour news cycle, it will generate a lot of interest leading to clicks and views for their publisher.
The angst at CNN is good for clicks.
On Tuesday, another bombshell piece on CNN and Zaslav, Zucker, and Licht was dropped by Variety. This story, though, mainly focused on Zucker and his quest to reclaim CNN, even going as far as talking to Saudi and Russian investors, allegedly.
An interesting tidbit about this piece was its delicate handling of Licht.
Along the way, the story written by Tatiana Siegel laid out hits against two scribes Tim Alberta of The Atlantic and Dylan Byers of Puck. Alberta wrote the devastating profile of Licht, which sealed his fate as CNN’s boss, while Byers’ In The Room newsletter has provided some of the best recent insider stories on CNN and was heavily critical of Licht’s tenure.
Siegel’s claimed that Alberta included in his story off-the-record remarks shared by Licht and his people, and described Byers as “a former Zucker disciple at CNN who, by his own admission, wrote about Licht incessantly and even took a victory lap after his exit.”
This story’s opportunity to be as devastating on Zucker, Alberta, and Byers was very short-lived as the pushback came almost immediately.
Through his publicist Risa Heller, Zucker said, “There used to be a time when Variety held its content and its reporters to a high standard of truth and facts in journalism, but those days are clearly over.”
She added, “It is stunning to read a piece that is so patently and aggressively false. On numerous occasions, we made it clear to the reporter and her editors that they were planning to publish countless anecdotes and alleged incidents that never happened. They did so anyway. The piece is a total joke.”
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief at The Atlantic, released a statement to CNN’s Reliable Sources, defending Alberta, saying, "The charges leveled by Tatiana Siegel in Variety against The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta are completely false. Siegel was informed by The Atlantic that the charges were completely false, but she nevertheless decided to smear Alberta. Siegel’s report is based on false assumptions and false information, and she provides no evidence to support her claims and characterizations."
He went on to say, “I would note that no one quoted in Alberta’s 15,000-word story, and no one associated with the issues raised in the piece, has asked us to correct any aspect of the article. This is because Alberta’s article is entirely accurate, and the quotations in the article were all collected under clear guidelines.”
As for Puck, editor-in-chief Jon Kelly came to Byer’s side, saying, "Dylan Byers singlehandedly elevated the CNN story into the popular culture through his extraordinary and relentless reporting, which was always fair and unbiased and based, frankly, on virtually innumerable sources. Any assertions to the contrary are absurd.”
He cheekily added, "But this is life. When you're the defenestrator, people try to defenestrate you."
The pushback about the article was intense that it forced a review from and made Variety’s co-editor-in-chiefs, Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, issue a statement, saying, “The story was heavily vetted and deeply sourced. Everyone included in the story was asked to comment and given the chance to respond.”
Offering support for Siegel, the editors said, “We stand by our reporting and our award-winning reporter.”
Rather than take down the story or issue any corrections, Variety instead revised it, adding the statements issued by the various parties involved, and they also included the denial from Alberta, which was posted on social media.
Byers, meanwhile, refuted some of the claims made in the article in his newsletter.
A story about CNN ended up being about all those who covered CNN and the complex relationships that exist between all parties.
Thus we have entered a new phase of reporting on CNN where one also needs to examine who is writing about CNN and what is the link between the two, if any.
(Variety, Associated Press, CNN Reliable Sources, Puck)
RECAP
Lionel Messi’s MLS Debut Scores for AppleTV Plus and Univision
How good is Lionel Messi? He is so good he has boosted viewership numbers for AppleTV Plus’ MLS Season Pass. The streaming service, which is a 10-year partnership between the MLS and Apple, for the week of July 19 - July 26 had “the three most-watched matches ever on MLS Season Pass, with viewers in almost 100 countries and regions around the world,” according to Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr. That week includes Messi’s debut game for Inter Miami, where his two goals helped his team beat Liga MX's Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup. The Messi effect also benefited Univision as his debut gave the broadcaster the largest single-network MLS audience since Freddy Adu’s 2004 debut, averaging a 0.8 rating and 1.75 million viewers. (The Verge, Sports Media Watch)
Peacock Now Has 24 Million Paid Subscribers
Comcast's 2023 second-quarter earnings report contained some good news for its streaming service Peacock. The service added 2 million subscribers during the quarter and had revenue of $820 million, up from 444 million vs. the same period a year ago. However, its EBITDA numbers were not good, as it lost $651 million vs. $467 million from a year ago. Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said he is “optimistic” about what’s coming in the year's second half and is confident about Peacock’s performance. With streaming services now focusing on achieving financial stability over subscriber acquisitions, Peacock is raising prices on its Premium and Premium Plus subscriptions to $5.99 and $11.99 per month, respectively. (Yahoo! Entertainment, The Wrap)
After 24 Years, Christine Romans Departs CNN For NBC News
She’s been a stalwart on-air presence for 24 years, but Christine Roman’s time at CNN has come to an end. The anchor and the network’s chief business correspondent surprised viewers on Friday morning at the end of her morning show, Early Start, when she announced that she was leaving the network. Romans said that she was “ready for a new chapter,” adding she was “full of gratitude for my CNN family “and is “excited for the challenges ahead.” Afterward, Romans was fêted across CNN programming, including CNN This Morning, where her former co-anchor John Berman made an appearance as they sat side by side one last time. It’s been reported that Romans is heading to NBC News in an as-yet-unannounced role. (Early Start/Twitter, Julia Chatterley/Twitter, CNN PR/Twitter, Variety)
QUICK RECAP
BBC News presenter George Alagiah passed away at 67 after a cancer fight. (BBC)
CBS News producer Katie Spikes passes away after a cancer fight. (CBS News)
Awards: ABC News, PBS News among National Press Club Award winners. (TVNewser)
Awards: Here are the news networks that garnered nominations at the 2023 News and Documentary Emmy Awards. (TVNewser)
Kayla Tusche joins CNN from CNBC as a senior White House correspondent. (CNN Pressroom)
Yalda Hakim moves from BBC News to Sky News as its chief presenter. (Sky Group)
Amanda Terkel was named managing editor, digital politics at NBC News. (TVNewser)
Matthew Hilk named head of domestic newsgathering at CNN. (TVNewser)
Bomani Jones’ contract will not be renewed by ESPN. (Front Office Sports)
Dan Patrick signs contract extension that sees him at NBC Sports till 2027. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CNN was tossed out by a judge. (Deadline)
Women’s World Cup: Check out the design of the Fox Sports 2023 FIFA Women’s Cup set. (NewscastStudio)
ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop faints and collapses on live air. (Deadline)
Alex Rodriguez to sign an exclusive deal with Fox Sports. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Netflix is reworking its ad partnership with Microsoft. (The Wall Street Journal)
Women’s World Cup: Over 6 million people watched Thursday’s USA vs. Netherlands game. (Fox Sports PR/Twitter)
AI specialists are being sought after by Netflix, Disney, Comcast, and WBD. (The Hollywood Reporter)
ESPN's potential shift to DTC will not upend linear TV, according to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. (Awful Announcing)
Could there be an AI-generated version of CNN? (The Hollywood Reporter)
Fox News’ new primetime lineup gets a 24% ratings bump. (The Wrap)
CBS Sports announces its 2023 NFL announcers and studio crew. (Paramount Press Express)
ESPN's Scott Van Pelt says he hasn’t been offered the Monday Night Countdown job yet. (Awful Announcing)
BBC News says its Huw Edwards coverage was “proportionate.” (PressGazette)
NewsNation gains brand exposure as a result of its UFO congressional hearing coverage. (TVNewser)
Cheddar News may be sold by Altice USA. (The New York Times)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #128 - 2023