Media

Mediaite reports: Newsmax staffers received a memo on Monday morning alerting them to a mandatory and company-wide sexual harassment training, just months after a sexual harassment scandal involving a top executive rocked the conservative cable news outlet. The training, which will run for an entire week in February, comes after Mediaite reported in November on allegations against Newsmax vice president …

CNN reports: In the wake of the 2020 election, the president of the far-right network One America News sent a potentially explosive email to former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, with a spreadsheet claiming to contain passwords of employees from the voting technology company Smartmatic, according to court filings. The existence of the spreadsheet was recently disclosed by Smartmatic, which …

The Washington Post reports: Maryland’s largest daily newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, has been acquired by David D. Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, a family-controlled TV station company headquartered outside Baltimore, for an undisclosed sum. Union representatives and staff expressed surprise at the sale. Some said they learned of the deal only shortly before it was publicly announced. …

Mediaite reports: CNN anchor Sara Sidner wrapped up the 11 am ET hour of CNN News Central with an emotional announcement, her voice cracking several times as she shared with her viewers that she had been diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. Sidner asked viewers to “take a second to recall the names of eight women who you love and …

“With this show going away, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to look for a new challenge. Tonight is not just my final episode of The Mehdi Hasan Show. It’s my last day with MSNBC. Yes, I’ve decided to leave. To be clear, I am so, so proud of what we’ve achieved on this show on this network, and …

The Hill reports: MSNBC host Rachel Maddow warned a second stint in the White House for former President Trump could be dangerous for the free press, going as far to say Trump wants to “execute us.” “He wants to cancel the news, so they’re done,” Sara Haines, a co-host of “The View” said as Maddow appeared on the weekday table …

Axios reports: The Daily Wire, a conservative media brand known for its popular podcast “The Ben Shapiro show,” has debuted a new subscription streaming app exclusively for kids entertainment content, called Bentkey. The new platform, launching on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Walt Disney Company, was built in response to Disney’s positioning on Florida’s Parental Rights in …

Reuters reports: Israel’s communications minister said on Sunday he was seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau, and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. The proposal to shut down Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being vetted by legal experts, Shlomo …

Bloomberg News reports: Netflix Inc. plans to open new destinations where fans can immerse themselves in the worlds of their favorite TV shows, shop for clothing, eat themed food and maybe even try a Squid Game obstacle course. Dubbed Netflix House, the venues will feature a mix of retail, dining and live experiences, according to Josh Simon, the company’s vice …

NPR reports: A listener-supported radio station in North Carolina, WCPE, is planning to withhold the broadcast of six contemporary operas this season from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, because of the station management’s objections to the operas’ content. It is a classical music controversy that echoes larger, nationwide culture war debates. WCPE’s protest comes at a time when the Metropolitan Opera …

The Washington Post reports: MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez addressed the criminal charges filed against her father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), on her show Saturday evening, telling viewers she will not be covering the case — but saying that it deserves coverage. “Last week, a grand jury indicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez,” Menendez told viewers at the beginning of the show, …

The Huffington Post reports: The $1.6 billion defamation case Dominion Voting Systems brought against Newsmax following the 2020 presidential election is set to go on trial in late September 2024, a judge ruled. The voting technology company sued the right-wing network in August 2021, alleging Newsmax deliberately made knowingly false statements regarding the 2020 presidential race and Dominion’s voting machines …

Bloomberg News reports: Walt Disney Co. has held exploratory talks about selling its ABC network and TV stations to local broadcaster Nexstar Media Group Inc., according to people familiar with the discussions. The talks are preliminary and haven’t involved a specific valuation. Disney, in a statement, said that while it’s still considering a variety of strategic options for its traditional …

“I actually love Washington during a government shutdown. I think it’s great. There’s less traffic and it’s a much nicer town during a government shutdown. And honestly, you know, the government shuts down every Saturday and Sunday and nobody panics. But this is all political theater. It has been for years and years. What happened to touting Bidenomics, though? Because, …

“On my first day on the job at Meet The Press, I was handed an audience show survey of Sunday show viewers and the Number One reason folks said they tuned in was not who the person was behind the chair or the guest. It was simply to get educated. “So for nearly a decade, I’ve had the honor of …

The Washington Post reports: Fox News has fired veteran executive John Finley after determining that he violated the company’s conduct standards. Finley, who helped develop many of the network’s biggest shows and had once been Sean Hannity’s executive producer, was put on leave from his role as executive vice president of development in recent weeks while an investigation was conducted …

“We have no border. And did you see this report? It’s an 800 percent increase of illegal Chinese migrants coming through Mexico. Gordon Chang thinks that’s the first wave of saboteurs, possibly here to wage war. It’s serious. “Two years ago, Afghanistan — it was tough, but Joe blew it entirely, entirely. Two years ago, we lost Afghanistan. The Taliban …

“Panel after panel, breaking news. Oh my goodness gracious, a voicemail. Now, that’s very unfortunate, but it’s also life in the fast lane. It happens. You know, famous people tend to get threats. “It’s one of the reasons back when we had phone books, you couldn’t look up Dustin Hoffman’s phone number in the phone book because weirdos would call …

Semafor reports: If Vivek Ramaswamy wants to appear on Newsmax, he should pay to do it. That was the message that network chief Chris Ruddy delivered to the Republican presidential candidate during a private call earlier this summer, according to two people to whom the candidate described the conversation. Ramaswamy had complained that the right-leaning network was sticking him in …

Media Matters reports: On July 12, Newsmax hosts Eric Bolling and Dick Morris floated the idea that former President Donald Trump should skip the upcoming Republican primary debate on Fox News and instead “schedule a town hall or some other forum on Newsmax, to compete with Fox News” in the same time slot. Both Morris and Bolling are former Fox …