LEAD STORY
Russia Invades Ukraine: The Cost of Covering The War
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches two weeks, certain truths about how the war is being covered are starting to emerge.
It is proving very difficult to cover as Russia does not care about any of the rules regarding the protection of the press in a conflict zone. With Russian weaponry targeting civilian locations in Ukraine, it looks like the press are now even more in danger of being targeted when trying to report what’s happening on the ground.
This danger was evident when the Sky News crew in Kyiv came under fire from Russian troops while they were out in the field. Bullets hit Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his cameraman Richie Mocker as their vehicle took incoming fire.
They luckily didn’t suffer any significant injuries, and their entire crew is now back safely in the UK.
In Russia, things are looking even more grim for journalists as a new law was passed making reporting about the war in a view not favorable to the government viewpoint punishable with jail time. The law, which was signed this past Friday by Putin, seeks to punish those who, according to Russian authorities, report “fake news” about Russia’s operations in Ukraine.
The Russian government has banned the use of the words “war” and “invasion” and has said what they are doing should be described as a “special operation.” Those who do not follow these instructions could be persecuted and face 15-year imprisonment.
This new law spooked media organizations as major news networks like CNN, BBC News, Canada’s CBC News, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, and Bloomberg all ceased broadcasts from Russia out of an abundance of caution and mainly to protect their staff that is based within that country.
The consequences of Russia invading Ukraine are also being felt stateside as employees from the Russian-backed news channel RT America found out last Friday that they would be out of jobs as the network said it would be ceasing its productions immediately.
The network blamed the layoffs on “unforeseen business interruptions events,” when in actuality, what happened was that DirecTV and Roku dropped the channel in protest over the invasion. Those two distributors were RT America’s main avenues to reaching Americans, and without them, they could not properly operate.
With no end in sight, news networks will constantly and closely monitor their war coverage strategies and crew locations, knowing that they could be altered with minimal notice. Ultimately, they want their people on the ground to be safe while doing their jobs.
(iNews, Sky News, Deadline, CNN Business)
RECAP
Bozoma Saint John leaves Netflix
Bozoma Saint John’s stint at Netflix as its chief marketing officer has ended abruptly after nearly two years. No reason was given for her surprise departure. Netflix’s co-CEO said that he loved working with her and that she attracted world-class marketers to the company and encouraged them to be innovative leaders. Her tenure at the streamer had its highs, this year’s star-studded Super Bowl commercial, and its lows, her management style within the marketing department. Before Netflix, Saint John held senior positions at Uber, Apple, and Endeavour. She will be succeeded by Marian Lee, who was the company’s VP of marketing for the U.S./Canada region. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Turner Sports Secures An 8-year, $200 million Broadcast Deal With U.S. Soccer
Turner Sports’ portfolio of live sports programming got some additional muscle with the acquisition of U.S. Soccer in an eight-year, $200 million deal. The WarnerMedia outlet will air the United States Soccer Federation’s men’s and women’s national team games beginning in 2023 on TNT, TBS, and HBO Max. More than 20 games will be broadcast involving the USMNT and USWNT, with TNT and TBS carrying about half of those games and HBO Max streaming all of the games live, a first for the streamer. Turner Sports’ growing portfolio of live sports includes NBA, NHL, MLB, and the NCAA’s March Madness. (Sports Business Journal)
NBCUniversal To Pulls Its Shows From Hulu
When NBCUniversal launched Peacock it was only a matter of time before it pulled its NBC content from Hulu. That time is fast approaching as the media conglomerate announced that Peacock will be the official home of next-day reruns of NBC shows starting in September. This is a big blow for Hulu as it loses a major broadcaster’s shows on its streaming platform. Hulu’s corporate sibling ABC and Fox are the remaining broadcasters. Hulu will still have other NBCU content in its library for a few more years. Peacock has been struggling to generate subscriptions, with its marquee product being the English Premier League, and so this addition of NBC shows and its beefing up its original programming slate should hopefully help turn things around for them. (The Streamable)
QUICK RECAP
Former CNN fashion correspondent Elsa Klensch passes away. (Los Angeles Times)
Stacia Philips Deshisku promoted to executive editor and senior vice president at ABC News. (ABC News Public Relations)
Katy Kay returns to BBC News as U.S. special correspondent. (Axios)
Shomari Stone joins CNBC as a general assignment reporter. (Talking Biz News)
CNBC announces new positions for its on-air and production staff. (TVNewser)
It’s official Chris Licht will be CNN’s next president. (Axios)
Brian Griese is leaving ESPN’s MNF. (Awful Announcing)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin back-checks her colleagues on Ukraine. (Associated Press)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Netflix pauses Russian acquisitions. (Variety)
Russia Invades Ukraine: How the BBC is reporting from Kyiv. (iNews)
Russia Invades Ukraine: TV news networks cut back on paid advertising. (MediaPost)
Russia Invades Ukraine: ABC News’ David Muir broadcasts from the Poland-Ukraine border. (Variety)
Russia Invades Ukraine: CNN’s Anderson Cooper anchors from Ukraine. (Lauren Cone/Twitter)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Q + A audience member kicked out. (The Guardian)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson on giving a voice to the Ukrainians. (Broadcasting+Cable)
Russia Invades Ukraine: CNN pushes back the debut of some of its original series. (Variety)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Netflix pulls out of Russia. (Bloomberg)
Russia Invades Ukraine: Russians flocked to the BBC for news. (Press Gazette/Twitter)
Russia Invades Ukraine: DirectTV cancels distribution RT America. (MediaPost)
Russia Invades Ukraine: CNN’s Clarissa Ward on what it is like to report from Ukraine. (Marie Claire)
Russia Invades Ukraine: How networks are reshuffling their programming. (MediaPost)
Russia Invades Ukraine: How CNN verifies the videos and images it receives. (CNN)
Ratings: NBA viewership is up 20% from last year. (Sports Media Watch)
February Ratings: Fox News is still tops. (TVNewser)
February Ratings: MSNBC beats CNN in primetime. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
February Ratings: CNN rises to the top 10 due to breaking news coverage. (CNN Press Room)
A behind-the-scenes look at how ESPN covered Coach K’s final game. (Sports Video Group)
CNN Plus to launch in late March with an introductory price of $2.99. (CNN Press Room)
Where will Joe Buck be calling NFL games in the fall? (Awful Announcing)
Apple is looking to acquire equity in NFL Media and NFL Sunday Ticket. (Front Office Sports)
Which streaming service has a better ads experience? (The Streamable)
Disney Plus to debut an ad-supported version later this year. (Broadcasting+Cable)
NAHJ says CNN Plus is doing a poor job when it comes to representation. (Los Angeles Times)
ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC to air 25 WNBA games during the 2022 regular season. (ESPN Press Room)
Former Fox News director charged with violating sanctions. (MarketWatch)
Behind-the-scenes action at CNN during the State of the Union. (InStyle)
ESPN receives the Media Excellence Awards’ Humanitarian Award. (ESPN)
Hulu’s ad server is becoming Disney’s main ad server. (DigiDay)
Jimmy Pitaro calls ESPN Plus the “centerpiece” and “jewel” of the company. (Awful Announcing)
CNN races to launch CNN Plus before the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger is complete. (Financial Times)
A look at CNN Chile’s virtual studio. (NewscastStudio)
UK’s ITV to launch a streaming service. (The Guardian)
Netflix productions in Europe get hit with burglaries. (The Hollywood Reporter)
More adult programming moving to Disney Plus, and it adds new parental controls. (MediaPost)
Richard Siklos, a former Netflix, TimeWarner exec, named chief communications officer at UTA. (Variety)
Kevin Costner to produce a Yellowstone docuseries for Fox Nation. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Which streaming service has the highest and lowest ad load? (MediaPost)
NBC Sports is interested in acquiring an MLB package. (Awful Announcing)
Streaming measurement company Antenna raises $10 million. (Axios)
Fox Nation airs new episodes of COPS. (TVNewser)
ESPN is interested in getting Derek Jeter in the broadcast booth. (Front Office Sports)
ESPN rebrands The Undefeated to Andscape. (ESPN Press Room)
CNN Audio expands its podcast programming. (CNN Press Room)
NBC News’ Today unveils a new promo. (NewscastStudio)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #80 - 2022