Welcome to Monday! Here's the latest on James and Kathryn Murdoch, James Gorman, Julie Pace, Arnon Mishkin, John Grisham, Howard Kurtz, Taylor Swift, Devin Nunes and more... |
Pressuring the tech giants |
An umbrella organization of civil rights groups is alerting the public to "digital voting disinformation" and imploring firms like X and Meta to take action. "There is still time for social media companies to step up and do what is right," The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights CEO Maya Wiley said this morning.
"Social media companies should be vigilant," she said, observing that online platforms don't have to be overwhelmingly polluted: "We have the power to and ability to balance free speech rights with verification, links, labeling and ensuring algorithms demote rather than promote dangerous disinformation."
But as you know, most tech giants have taken a relatively laissez-faire approach to viral lies and propaganda in recent years. X owner Elon Musk, for example, has ridiculed people who care about the spread of digital disinfo and asserted that they, not the bad faith actors who lie for profit or political gain, are the real problem. CNN's Brian Fung is out with a detailed new story today about "how Republicans pushed social media companies to stop fighting election misinformation."
So the conference's recommendations I wrote about here – to "address AI-generated and manipulated media," to "limit rampant resharing of voting disinformation," and to amplify authoritative info about the election – will likely fall on deaf ears...
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Last week, as CNN's Marshall Cohen reported, Musk peddled debunked claims about the 2020 election, including false claims about Dominion Voting Systems. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene did the same. Dominion issued fact-checking statements both times, showing that the company is staying vigilant – and laying the groundwork for future defamation lawsuits by creating a paper trail of facts.
>> Related: CNN's Jake Tapper ended Sunday's "SOTU" by highlighting how MAGA misinfo "is now a feature of this movement. He said Trump, Greene and Musk are "among the leaders of the effort to discredit news media and science and medicine and any expertise." Watch the rest here.
>> New from Cohen: "Musk's daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters could be illegal, experts say."
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Disney delays next CEO pick |
Via CNBC's Alex Sherman: Disney "has tapped James Gorman to replace Mark Parker as the company's next chairman, effective in January, as the media giant lays the groundwork to name a successor for CEO Bob Iger in early 2026, the company said Monday." Yes, 2026 – the successor target date is no longer 2025 – "pushing the date back to early 2026 will give the board more time to conduct due diligence on both internal and external candidates," Sherman reports, citing sources.
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New York mag's media power issue |
New York mag's annual power issue, out this morning, is a "tour through the state of journalism" with the help of 57 "of the most powerful people in media." Check out the gossipy quotes and predictions here. (Perhaps ironically, though, this feature is much more pleasant to read in print than on the web.)
>> Among the takeaways: "Everybody Is Jealous of the New York Times." "There’s No Business Like the Scoop Business." "The Bosses Are Feeling Bossy Again." And a question: "Who Will Be the Walter Cronkite of YouTube?"
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Trump continues Fox blitz |
In the final stretch, Trump is appearing on Fox practically every day. Last Friday, he visited "Fox & Friends" and appeared on Tyrus's podcast; on Sunday, he was on "MediaBuzz;" and today he was back on "Fox & Friends" for a pre-taped segment at a barbershop in the Bronx, part of an ongoing series by co-host Lawrence Jones.
>> Sunday's interview was intriguing because Howard Kurtz gently corrected some of Trump's false claims. For instance, Kurtz said Trump's "eating the pets" claim "has been debunked by local officials," and Trump claimed ignorance, asking "what about the geese?" Trump also claimed that "nobody had guns" on January 6, prompting Kurtz to say "there were people with guns." Trump claimed to be surprised, then repeated his lie, showing the limited utility of a Trump sit-down.
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Harris goes to the Peacock |
Over the weekend, Harris taped an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton for MSNBC. On Tuesday, she will sit down with Hallie Jackson for what NBC is billing as an "exclusive one-on-one interview." Jackson will also tag along with Harris during the VP's campaign stops with Liz Cheney today... |
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Monday: Tim Walz appears on "The View" and "The Daily Show."
Tuesday: New books include Alexei Navalny's "Patriot," Bethany Joy Lenz's "Dinner for Vampires," Alex Van Halen's "Brothers," and Jeff VanderMeer's "Absolution."
Wednesday: CNN hosts a town hall with Harris and Pennsylvania voters at 9pm ET.
Thursday: Amazon reports quarterly earnings after the bell.
Friday: Taylor Swift begins a weekend of shows in New Orleans.
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James Murdoch's Dem donations |
Rupert Murdoch's younger son has been a staunch supporter of President Biden. Last month, he endorsed VP Kamala Harris. Now there's this: "New FEC filings" show that James and his wife Kathryn "together gave $1 million to the leading pro-Kamala Harris super PAC, FF PAC, in September," CNN's David Wright reports. Some of that money is flowing back to Fox News. FF PAC "has been buying ads on the network regularly, prompting Trump to publicly call for Fox to stop running negative ads," Semafor's Maxwell Tani notes.
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"60 Minutes" refutes Trump |
For two weeks now, Trump has been bashing "60 Minutes;" threatening TV licenses; alleging the "biggest scandal in broadcast history;" and asserting that "60" should be taken off the air... all because CBS aired two different parts of Harris' answer to a Bill Whitaker question on two different shows. For a long while CBS declined to comment on the dispute, but last night CBS responded to his hot air with a cool-headed statement. The network did not admit to any screwup. Trump will surely keep talking about this on the trail since it plays into they're-all-out-to-get-us narrative...
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Political media notes and quotes |
>> Steve Shepard is out with a fantastic new Q&A with Fox News decision desk boss Arnon Mishkin. He says he feels no pressure to tell the Fox audience what it wants to hear. And he suspects election night will turn into election week again: "The over/under" for a presidential race call "is Saturday." (Politico)
>> Over the weekend: A birthday party for Harris, a McDonald's photo op for Trump, and an awkward Arnold Palmer penis reference. Kasie Hunt and her panel recapped it all this morning. (CNN)
>> "An internal whistleblower complaint at Trump Media calls for CEO Devin Nunes to be fired, alleging he has 'severely' mismanaged the company and opened it to 'substantial risk of legal action' from regulators," Justin Elliott, Robert Faturechi and Alex Mierjeski report. (ProPublica)
>> Trump comms advisors Alex Bruesewitz and Brian Hughes opened up to Shelby Talcott about Trump's "bypassing the Old Guard" media strategy. (Semafor)
>> Harris senior adviser David Plouffe tells John Heilemann about the campaign's recent change in tone: "Raising the stakes is important because we have to raise the risks of a second Trump term." ( |
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