LEAD STORY
The White House Comes To TV News
Former government officials have always been attractive commodities to news organizations, particularly in TV news. Their experience could help provide insight into what the current administration and their peers could be doing or thinking. If they were popular or controversial, their presence could attract viewers to their network.
MSNBC and CBS News this past week are the latest example of news organizations bringing in government officials to assist with their political coverage.
President Biden’s current press secretary, Jen Psaki, is set to leave her position this spring and head over to MSNBC, where she will host a primetime show on the Peacock streaming service and be a commentator on MSNBC.
Psaki had received interest from CNN, but it looks like she is heading to the network known for its liberal programming. Until her hire is made official, she will no longer make official appearances on any NBCUniversal news networks, nor will she be involved in any discussions regarding NBC News or MSNBC requests to interview White House officials.
She would be the second senior White House official to join MSNBC; earlier this year, Symone Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris’ press secretary, left her position to anchor a weekend show on Peacock.
Meanwhile, CBS News has decided to go the controversial route and hire former President Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, as a contributor. He will contribute political analysis across the network’s broadcasts and platforms.
This hire has brought up numerous red flags within and outside the Tiffany network, as many are questioning why the network will hire someone from the Trump administration who was not truthful and honest when he was the acting chief of staff.
Even late-night comic Stephen Colbert had something to say about Mulvaney’s hire asking why CBS News “would put this craven toady to a tyrant on their payroll?”
Weirdly, CBS News even acknowledged that this hire was indeed controversial as they introduced him as a former OMB Director and not as the former president’s acting chief of staff.
CBS News’ co-president Neeraj Khemlani said that Mulvaney’s hire was so that the network could have access to both sides of the aisle, which he viewed as a priority since he believed that Republicans are set to take over in the forthcoming midterm elections.
The hirings of Psaki and Mulvaney by MSNBC and CBS News show that news organizations are nowhere close to lessening their political addiction. By bringing them on, they hope that their presence will bring eyeballs to their networks because they value their insider information or want to be entertained by their political positions.
Unfortunately, it may be more of the latter than the former.
(Axios, CNN Business, The Guardian, Washington Post, TVNewser, CBS News/Twitter, Los Angeles Times)
RECAP
AppleTV Plus Wins Big At The Oscars
Lost in all of the drama from last month’s Oscars is the fact that a movie from a streaming network won the Best Picture award — a first for any streaming network. CODA, from AppleTV Plus, is a movie about the only hearing member of a deaf family who attempts to help her family's struggling fishing business while pursuing aspirations of being a singer. By being the first streaming network to claim the big prize, AppleTV Plus achieved a feat that its bigger rivals, Netflix and Amazon, have been gunning for in recent years but have come up empty. CODA won three awards that night, including Best Supporting Actor and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). (Axios)
Adam Schefter and Adrian Worjanowski remain with ESPN
Two of ESPN’s influential reporters have decided to remain with the worldwide leader in sports. Adam Schefter, ESPN’s senior NFL reporter, and Adrian Worjanowski, ESPN’s senior NBA reporter, signed new exclusive, multi-year deals that see them staying at the network breaking and reporting on their respective sports. Both of these reporters are known for being the first, most of the time, to break news about a team, player, and/or their respective league. Their massive social media following makes them very influential, which created a market that saw other media properties try to lure them away from ESPN. In addition to their usual reporting and hosting duties, Schefter and Worjanowski will also work on creating content for ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN Plus. (ESPN Press Room)
Fox Sports Is Set To Have A Monster Thanksgiving Weekend
With this year’s soccer World Cup set to take place in the fall instead of its usual summer spot, Fox Sports is set to dominate the broadcast air during that period, and that must make its executives very happy. That feeling should even be more pronounced during the Thanksgiving weekend as they will air three marquee games during that festive period. They get to air the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day, USA will take on England in a World Cup game on Friday, and in college football, Michigan will play Ohio State on Saturday. Fox Sports, which is still dealing with the loss of its main NFL play-by-play team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, should use this opportunity to make sure that they give sporting fans the best of the best when it comes to game day broadcasts — an early Christmas gift they should remember for a very long time. (Michael Mulvihill/Twitter)
QUICK RECAP
What happens when Fox News viewers watch CNN. (Bloomberg)
Kelsey Nicole Nelson joins Bally Sports. (Kelsey Nicole Nelson/Twitter)
MSNBC’s Morning Joe begins its fourth hour this week. (Los Angeles Times)
NABJ schedules a meeting with CNN over a “war room” photo. (NABJ)
The Human Rights Campaign drops Fox News from its top workplaces list due to the network’s coverage of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. (Deadline)
James Goldston, ABC News’ former president, has a new gig with Kapital Entertainment. (TVNewser)
CNN Plus launch: For some, it’s a minus. (Wired)
CNN Plus launch: Is it the next Quibi? (Vulture)
Craig Melvin officially leaves his MSNBC gig. (TVNewser)
ESPN’s Dick Vitale on his cancer battles. (USA Today)
Geoff Bennett takes over PBS News Weekend. (Variety)
Caitlyn Jenner joins Fox News as a contributor. (Deadline)
CNN Plus launches Pop Culture FLASHdocs unit. (Deadline)
CBS Sports’ Greg Gamble on being an announcer. (Sports Illustrated)
Netflix is producing a 2022 Tour de France docuseries. (Front Office Sports/Twitter)
Sinclair is being “cautiously optimistic” about adding MLB teams to its streaming service. (The Streamable)
MLB Network is launching a new daily show. (Front Office Sports)
Laura Logan explains what happened to her at Fox News. (Rolling Stone)
ESPN anchor Kevin Neghandi honored by Special Olympics Connecticut. (ESPN Front Row/Twitter)
Behind-the-scenes USFL special coming to Fox Sports. (Awful Announcing)
HBO Max, when combined with Discovery Plus, could become the second-biggest streaming service. (The Streamable)
Marina Salinas joins ABC News as a contributor. (ABC News Public Relations)
WarnerMedia and Paramount test new ad measurements tools during March Madness. (AdWeek)
Hulu’s deal with Epix ends. (The Streamable)
Jeremy Doig was named Chief Technology Officer at Disney Streaming. (Alex Weprin/Twitter)
MSNBC’s Jonathan Capeheart was named associate editor at the Washington Post. (MSNBC PR/Twitter)
CNN Plus launch: What does the future hold for the service? (Columbia Journalism Review)
What does Bob Chapek’s future at Disney look like? (The Hollywood Reporter)
1Q Ratings: Viewers flock to CNN was Ukraine invasion coverage. (CNN Press Room)
1Q Ratings: Fox News remains at the top despite a busy news cycle. (Forbes)
1Q Ratings: MSNBC still beats CNN in primetime in total viewers. (TVNewser)
Netflix is struggling in India. (Bloomberg)
CNN Plus Launch: The streaming service sells its launch as an NFT. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Russia Invades Ukraine: UK’s Channel 4 gains momentum on social media with its explainers. (Press-Gazette)
CNN Plus Launch: The initial impression. (The Wrap)
Viewers flock to Netflix’s Bridgeton. (Lost Remote)
CNN Plus Launch: Ted Turner was its first subscriber. (MixDex)
NBC News is bringing back its Fleecing of America series. (NewscastStudio)
The Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds opening day game will be exclusive to ESPN. (Awful Announcing)
Fox News’ The Five is even performing better than the network’s prime time shows. (Variety)
CNN Plus Launch: Kasie Hunt is ready for her assignment after recovering from brain surgery. (People)
FuboTV raises its streaming prices. (The Streamable)
CNN Plus Launch: CNN’s $100 million streaming bet. (The Washington Post)
ABC News’ Jon Karl met with Fox News for Fox News Sunday role. (The Daily Beast)
CNN Plus Launch: Who was present at the launch party? (TVNewser)
Kevin Burkhardt to be named Fox Sports’s lead NFL announcer. (Awful Announcer)
CNN Plus Launch: It is not for cord-cutters. (Fast Company)
CNN Plus Launch: Did it join the streaming wars too late? (Deadline)
The NFL is looking to launch an NFL Plus streaming service - QR
Russian Invades Ukraine: CNN helps Fox News employees killed and injured in the attack. - QR
ABC News’ Good Morning America debuts new graphics and revamped second-floor studio. (NewscastStudio)
CBS News teams up with Weather Channel to cover the weather. (Variety)
Steve Raizes was named executive vice president of podcasting and audio at Paramount Global. (ViacomCBS Press Express)
Sam Ponder re-signs with ESPN. (New York Post)
Laura Kussenburg was named permanent presenter at UK’s BBC One. (BBC Media Centre)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #84 - 2022