Legacy Media Relaxes — for Now — as CNN/Mark Thompson Solution Begins to Take Shape

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TOP STORY

MARK THOMPSON: IN OR OUT?

The fate of CNN was a central media topic during the months of negotiations between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, and now a vision is becoming clear: David Ellison wants to keep Mark Thompson, the network’s chief executive, in the role for at least another year. The news was first reported Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.

The newly formed Skydance is the belle of today’s stack, and nearly everyone has something to say. From clandestine meetings to big questions to, inevitably, the Bari Weiss of it all, there’s a lot to think about as we head into the weekend:

THREE TAKES

TheWrap, A.J. Katz — Keeping Thompson on board raises a question: what will happen to Bari Weiss? For now, it seems she’ll remain editor-in-chief of CBS News and that’s that, Katz reported. He added Weiss is “not expected to have editorial or operational oversight of CNN when the deal closes.” This is something that could “strengthen Thompson’s hand at CNN and, at least initially, establish a boundary around Weiss’ authority,” but two execs who spoke to TheWrap offered two very different takes. “I wouldn’t read this as Mark winning a contest with Bari, or as a commitment to keep CNN and CBS News operating separately,” said the first. The second offered, “To be effective, Mark would have to have complete editorial authority, and he would have to have the same reporting structure that Bari has at CBS.”

The Poynter Report, Tom Jones — Jones asked another important question today: will Thompson actually stay? As he noted, “Nothing is finalized.” Jones also pointed out, “For some, this news comes as a bit of a surprise. Many assumed that Ellison’s hand-picked editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, would also be put in charge of CNN once the merger closed.” Should he agree, Thompson is very likely to “insist that CNN has editorial independence in order to remain on board,” but it’s not clear what might happen if CBS and CNN merge.

Townhall, Tim Graham — Graham sees this request from Ellison as a little bit of a “ha-ha” moment directed at “ideological enforcer journalists who labor intensely to keep left-wing elitist media outlets as leftist and anti-Trump as possible” and have “been panicking over the Ellisons getting their hands on CNN and turning it into — cue siren noises — another CBS News.” But for the other side — “Those of us who intensely labor to expose left-wing elitist media outlets have pointed out that prolonged exposure to the allegedly ruined ‘MAGA-friendly’ CBS” will find “very little change in the tone and the topics,” he insisted. He added, “It’s surely a smart move to retain Thompson if you’re trying to keep the leftists from running to their safe lockers” and then asked his own question: “Why is CNN performing so badly in the ratings compared to Fox, and even MS NOW?” Ratings are a pretty big Trump topic, so that checks out.

THREE MORE TAKES

Page Six Hollywood, Ian Mohr — Here’s something else to keep an eye on: Peter Rice, former Walt Disney Television chairman, was spotted having a three-hour dinner with Ynon Kreiz, the new co-CEO of Paramount/WBD, last month. A source noted the dinner to Page Six Hollywood at the time, but “didn’t think much of it.” In hindsight, perhaps it meant more. The source said, “They had a three-hour dinner” and described it as “intense” and “not casual.” Page Six Hollywood also reported this week that Rice is “very much considered a replacement for every possible C-suite vacancy resulting from the Paramount-Warners mega-merger that could have a domino effect throughout the town.” Sources tell Mohr that Rice may be moving in as Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy move out.

Status, Oliver Darcy — Thompson may have jumped on a California-bound flight Wednesday to attend the California gubernatorial debate, but “a far more important item was quietly tucked into his agenda: a visit to the Paramount lot,” Darcy wrote today. Status has noted for quite some time Thompson’s been “in the dark about his future at CNN,” and Ellison had “largely” given him the “cold shoulder.” Senior staff at CNN learned this week of “Thompson’s plans for a private rendezvous with Ellison,” he added, just before WSJ published the news. While some may celebrate, Darcy warned that “headlines declaring that Ellison wants Thompson to stay may mask Paramount’s true long-term intentions.”

CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter — As an employee of the network, Stelter is focused on the CNN of it all first. He noted, “This morning Thompson said on CNN’s editorial call that he didn’t want to add to the speculation.” Thompson also said, “I’m very committed to CNN and would like nothing better to lead it into this new chapter in this new company if the circumstances are right.” That doesn’t mean he’s staying, but it certainly doesn’t mean he isn’t.

TAKEAWAY: It’s all a little “May the odds be ever in your favor,” is it not? Should Thompson stay on board at CNN, something that would likely reassure the network’s reporters, journalists, and staff — and, it sounds like, something he wants to do? Will his contract be extended for another year? Will Thompson and Weiss battle it out to see who produces the best ratings and the most compelling work until his time is up? Are they opps, or are they colleagues? There’s a lot to wonder about and question, and no matter where their political and professional loyalties lie, our stack is doing just that.

📰 TOP SCOOPS & ANALYSIS 📰

SCOOP The Washington Sun, Evan McMorris-Santoro, Jasmine Wright, and Manuela Silva — White House officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, told Attorney General Todd Blanche to “keep abortion off the electoral radar,” The Sun reported today. “The White House chief of staff indicated to the attorney general that an aggressive approach on abortion would generate unwanted attention at the moment, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly,” wrote McMorris-Santoro, Wright, and Silva. An official reportedly told Blanche, “No one wants us taking any real action before the midterms.” A White House spokesperson denied the claim, and told The Sun, “These conversations never occurred between White House officials and DOJ officials.”

ANALYSIS Status, Oliver Darcy — The president’s interview with TIME was part of our newsletter yesterday, and Status took a look at what Trump had to say last night. He “steered much of it toward the various grievances he has with the media and how various publications and personalities have been covering one of the lowest points in either term of his presidency” and also “went on a nonsensical rant about how he actually won the 2020 election.” The interview was published just as the White House again removed CNN from the television pool yesterday, and Trump also “didn’t reveal any clues as to why he has targeted the three outlets in particular.”

ANALYSIS The Bulwark’s Morning Shots, Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger — The president is “not all there, upstairs,” Egger wrote today of the TIME interview. “He is so wicked, so deceitful, and has put in motion so many awful plans that it can be easy to forget,” he continued. Trump is also “embarrassing,” Egger insisted. “This gibbering idiot is the guy who twice pantsed the Democrats and brought the global order to its knees?” he continued. “It’d be less humiliating if he were some sort of evil genius.” Notably, Egger also pointed out that Trump seemed surprised to learn U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly had ordered him to allow CNN, MS NOW, and Politico back into the White House. “He actually said to the premises of the White House?” Trump asked during the interview.

ANALYSIS CJR’S Laurels and Darts, S. Mitra Kalita — The media “failed us this week” while reporting on the Cornell fraternity rape lawsuit, Kalita insisted today. Kalita cited reporting from NPR, Reuters, and Town & Country that all used the phrasing “alleged victim” instead of alternatives. Kalita suggested “the woman,” “the accuser,” and “the former student,” as possibilities. “Similarly, the term ‘alleged rape’  implies disbelief in a way that ‘the charge’ or simply ‘the allegation’ wouldn’t,” Kalita added. “Journalists can protect the presumption of innocence without casting immediate doubt on the accuser or undermining her humanity,” she continued. “Both the Centers for Disease Control and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center caution journalists against overreliance on the word ‘allegedly’ as a crutch because it implies doubt.”

 ANALYSIS Punchbowl News AM, Ally Mutnick and Jake Sherman — Republicans may be scaling back campaign efforts in Senate races in North Carolina and Georgia, despite insisting publicly those races “are still highly competitive.” Per AdImpact, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is “running coordinated TV ads with several GOP Senate campaigns in Ohio, Maine, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire” and, notably, is not “running any with Michael Whatley, the GOP’s Senate nominee in North Carolina, or Republican Rep. Mike Collins, the nominee in Georgia.” On top of that, Trump’s “allied super PAC appears to be winding down in both races, too.”

📈BUSINESS OF MEDIA 🎥

Awful Announcing’s The A Block, Drew Lerner — ESPN and the College Football Playoff have a deadline coming up next week. They have until October 9 to extend their exclusive rights window before the postseason package hits the open market. With a 24-team playoff format looming, new rights deals would need to surpass $1.55 billion annually, setting up a potential bidding war among Fox, NBC, CBS, and major streamers. QUOTE  “If ESPN and the CFP don’t reach a deal by next Friday, which the smart money suggests is the likely scenario, the CFP would have until Dec. 1 to finalize another media deal should it want to implement expansion for next season, per Dellenger. That’ll make for an interesting next couple months for a sport that always seems to have an interesting next couple months lined up.”

Barrett Media’s Morning Edition, Garrett Searight — Fox Business Network revealed its post-Maria Bartiromo morning lineup, launching Big Money in the Morning with Dagen McDowell, Brian Brenberg, Taylor Riggs, and Barron’s reporter Josh Schafer to go head-to-head against CNBC’s Squawk Box. QUOTE  “Notably, that’s the same window Bartiromo held before her exit. Continuity matters in morning television, and this move honors it. Frankly, this is the best-case scenario for the network. Fox Business could have chased a splashy outside hire. Instead, it built a roster that viewers already know.”

ADWEEK Daily, Christopher Cicchiello — Brand design agency Red Antler is launching Fat Earth Studios, a 12-person creative unit meant to pair brands with real creators for social content. The big bet here is that audiences and Meta’s ad algorithm prefer human-made user-generated content over generic “AI slop,” but the other strategy is that contracting with creators will actually save money. QUOTE  “Fat Earth chooses the creators, sometimes gives them light direction, and pays to boost the content across social platforms. There’s a practical reason for this: Meta’s ad engine demands high-quality ads, so hiring creators is cheaper than doing traditional shoots. Think of this strategy as using influencers to produce content at a reasonable rate, rather than the usual strategy of trying to glom onto their large follower count.”

Awful Announcing’s The A Block, Drew Lerner — CBS has joined Fox in refusing to enter early rights negotiations with the NFL. Awful Announcing calls this “the final domino of the NFL’s failed quest to negotiate new media rights deals with its broadcast partners several years prior to its contractual opt-out option.” Brutal. QUOTE  “For a representative of Paramount to outright say they won’t negotiate with the NFL until then… means the NFL’s grand plan to extract more revenue from its media partners has failed; a rare miscalculation for the league which rakes in over $10 billion from its broadcast partners each year.”

CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter — Disney is preparing a major restructuring of its TV operations, which is expected to result in hundreds of layoffs. Years ago, the entertainment giant created brands based on linear TV — which was most popular at the time — but things change. Streaming is king.

Status, Oliver Darcy — Google scored a major legal victory when federal judge Amit Mehta dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought by Penske Media and Chegg over AI Overviews, ruling that publishers failed to prove Google unlawfully siphoned web traffic. QUOTE  “The decision could represent an important early test case as media companies increasingly challenge the economic impacts of A.I. features on their businesses.”

Awful Announcing’s The A Block, Matt Yoder — Kirk Herbstreit’s contract extension with Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football includes an “unprecedented” (or, as Yoder also says, “bizarre”) conditional clause allowing the streamer to replace him if a white-whale broadcast target like Rams coach Sean McVay becomes available. QUOTE  “But the real question for Amazon is who else is on their list of ‘better than Kirk Herbstreit.’ Does it include another future free agent in ESPN’s Troy Aikman? Does it include Fox’s Greg Olsen? What about Travis Kelce? An unlikely lifeline for Tony Romo? Just how extensive is that list? It can’t make Kirk Herbstreit feel great knowing that his current employer only wants him around if they have to settle.”

OTHER COOL STUFF

Page Six Hollywood— Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench wrote a fiery letter to Petco demanding the retail giant stop selling parakeets after seeing an undercover PETA video of what the animal welfare group said was a breeding factory in the retail giant’s supply chain. The situation clearly ruffled Dench’s feathers as she wrote, “thousands of parakeets were confined to cramped, filthy cages with no opportunity to fly, explore, or engage in the natural behaviours that make them who they are.”

Awful Announcing — ESPN renewed its sports-themed Jeopardy! series for a second season, but this time the network is opening auditions to fans instead of on-air talent.

👀 WHAT GOT MISSED? 👀

The Free Press, Nellie Bowles — There’s plenty to take away from Trump’s meeting with AI and social media leaders this week, but for Bowles, it’s all about the body language. “The best part of the summit was watching Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei trying to act normal,” she wrote. “At some point he gave a brief statement and then when someone in the press asked a question, he got so flustered that he started stimming, excused himself from the dance circle, then turned to hide behind someone (anyone), and it’s all so awkward that everyone around him tried not to laugh. Poor Dario.”

🏆 NEWSLETTER OF THE DAY 🏆

Punchbowl News AM — There was a lot to get through today, but Punchbowl’s morning newsletter has even more. On top of their look at whether or not Republicans have faith in their senatorial candidates in North Carolina and Georgia, the team also dives into the political futures of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who could see a “scramble for power” depending on what kind of big swings the Senate endures in this year’s midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also heading west to fundraise in California and Nevada (the latter keeps popping up as a state of potential play for Dems this year), and Punchbowl also took a look at the growing battle between the White House and utility companies that are “gearing up for one last round of lobbying on the new bipartisan permitting bill” but “finding themselves without the same juice this time around.”

This newsletter was produced by Lindsey Ellefson.