While the Ellisons have a lot of money, both it and its sources do have limits. I wonder when the Ellisons will decide that enough is enough and sell off the Tiffany network in pieces
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"Newsroom culture clash" at CBS News
- Thread starter Mark Roberts
- Start date
While the Ellisons have a lot of money, both it and its sources do have limits. I wonder when the Ellisons will decide that enough is enough and sell off the Tiffany network in pieces
Rogan has become more critical of Trump lately. Not sure he’s “on brand” anymore.
His only "brand" is making money by appealing to young white gamer bros.
There’s an interesting angle that bears watching. Rogan, such as he is, isn’t the only die-hard defender to tentatively break ranks. Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly are among those who have, to an extent, opened some lines of criticism while remaining staunchly right wing (for this particular thread, sticking to media personalities, while of course there are politicians who have to varying degrees done the same). They are a tiny sliver of the ecosystem but they exist, for now.
Is it expedience as approval ratings remain near historic lows? Because right now people are p—ed off about costs? Maybe. Don’t know. Time will tell.
But what if there is a bit of a schism between the hard right and Trump individually? Ellison and company are not going to become liberals. Nor is Rogan. If there is an opening to put a right wing crackpot on 60 Minutes who has dipped his pinky toe into not kissing the orange tush, is that how they pretend to be “editorially independent?” They’re not. Not even close. But they can put the guy whose main claim to fame was making people eat bugs and slap some kind of fake “balanced” slogan on it. Hedging their bets about Trump’s viability in the long term while still taking the pro-fascist turn.
By no means is it about integrity, just practicality.
WNYC's "On The Media," did a segment about Mr. Rogan on one of its shows shortly after the 2024 elections. One of the things the show's co-hosts pointed out was that Mr. Rogan, while he pontificated about a lot of things, actually did no, or very little research on the subjects he discussed. In other words, beyond his right-wing views (which some were willing to overlook), Mr. Rogan really didn't know much about many of the topics discussed on his podcasts and that ticked off many actual journalists.
And it shows. In 2023, Rogan claimed that Joe Biden had said there were airports during the revolutionary war, and cited that as proof that Biden was going senile. A few moments later, his producer told him it was actually Trump who said that (Biden was quoting him).
Not uncommon. Call it the Larry King style of hosting. He does no research, and just talks off the cuff.
That's what differentiates him from someone like Charlie Rose.
It's possible that Rogan could get better prep by working with an experienced staff. That's what usually happens.
Of course. He’s an utterly ill-informed fool. But in a country that increasingly embraces inane conspiracies and denies actual science and data as hoaxes, he is exhibit B, right up there after the “president.”
Paramount’s Top Lawyer Claims Some Opponents of Warner Bros. Merger Are Engaging in ‘Fear Mongering’ Because of ‘Their Own Antisemitic Views’
The chief legal counsel of Paramount Skydance, Makan Delrahim, has alleged that some opponents of the David Ellison-led company's pending $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery are motivated by 'antisemitic views.'
variety.com
Here we go again and it’s a reflection on why we keep running into the very issues affecting CBS News.
Paramount’s Top Lawyer Claims Some Opponents of Warner Bros. Merger Are Engaging in ‘Fear Mongering’ Because of ‘Their Own Antisemitic Views’
The chief legal counsel of Paramount Skydance, Makan Delrahim, has alleged that some opponents of the David Ellison-led company's pending $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery are motivated by 'antisemitic views.'
Here we go again and it’s a reflection on why we keep running into the very issues affecting CBS News.
I love the following paragraph from the supplied article:
"
Meanwhile, regarding Paramount’s potential absorption of CNN with the WBD deal, Delrahim commented, “Antitrust regulators are going to see that it’s going
to create synergistic effects. You might be able to cross-program and more people will be exposed to the incredible programming of CBS News. They’ll benefit
from each other’s independent strengths.”"
Yeah...right...whatever. I think Mr. Delahome's mouth is going to get him in to trouble...
When I read that article, the lawyer's name sounded familiar. Here's what I found out:
Makan Delrahim - Wikipedia
When he was in the DOJ, he was the one who sought to prevent the AT&T merger with Time Warner. He lost.
When someone says something like that you know, in fact, they are feeling intimidated.
What strikes me is how ill-prepared Bilton was for this reaction. Anyone who spends more than a quarter-hour researching the history of CBS ... especially that of 60 Minutes ... will know that those journalists will fiercely defend their independence and will use their formidable skills and personalities to try to figure out what's really going on. Their whole reason for working is to hold the powerful accountable. That was particularly notable when Pelley asked why the two correspondents and four producers (including EP Tanya Simon) were fired. Pelley warned him, "This is not the crowd to dodge," according to the Washington Post's account of yesterday's meeting. Bilton tried to do exactly that, by saying that those decisions were made before he came on board. That might be true, but then he had better have backup from his bosses, and that was absent.
Another quote of Pelley from the Post article: "You came into our house. This is '60 Minutes,' and I guess you wandered in expecting to read a statement off your phone, and you wouldn't answer any questions?"
Maybe Bilton expected a more genteel reaction, having come out of the New York Times years earlier. He didn't do his homework. Maybe he thought he didn't need to.
So Bari Weiss' lieutenant thought Pelley was rude. Have these people ever spent time in a working newsroom?
Not only is the new regime inexperienced (I'm surprised the visa screw-up with Tony Dokoupil hasn't gotten more notice in this thread), I suspect they're not so smart. That's kind of typical for sycophants: they know just enough to see that there are people out there who are smarter, but they still want power, so they try to compensate by sucking up.
No doubt there will be more.
It really doesn't matter. He has the power to remake the show however he chooses. They work for him, not the other way around.
They should all be revising their resumes and taking meetings with the competition.
Popcorn consumption is likely to go up.
That would be standard thinking in a corporate environment...which many journalists have challenges with.
Bill Owens, Ex-‘60 Minutes’ Boss, Scorns CBS News Overhaul of Show
Bill Owens. former '60 Minutes' chief, alleged Monday evening that 'partisans and ideologues' work at CBS News and were undermining the newsmagazine
variety.com
I'm having this incredible case of deja vu. It's Larry Tisch all over again. They're bring up all the same names, and they get the same response,
The model people should be studying is Scott McFarlane. He was former CBS. He got out quickly, and is doing just fine.
New ‘60 Minutes’ Boss Will Grapple With Demoralized Staff, High Costs, Hard-Core Attitudes
New '60 Minutes' Boss Nick Bilton Will Grapple With Demoralized Staff, Hard-Core Journalism Practices, and High Costs
variety.com
Which is no reason for them not to rip him a new one. Loudly. And publicly.
Walk and chew gum. If ethics and principles matter to them, they should be doing what they’re doing. Calling attention to the destruction of the show and its standards.
But it is (or rather, was?) uncommon for an interviewer on a news program to "just talk off the cuff." When someone like Mike Wallace would sit down with a world leader or controversial figure, he'd done his homework. Correspondents would hold their subjects' feet to the fire, and they brought the receipts. Softball interviews have never been "on brand" for 60 Minutes.
Rogan has some nut-case on and barely pushes back. "Oh, that's interesting. I guess UFOs are real and the aliens are among us. Up next, vaccines are probably bad..."
If Weiss and Bilton are dead set on making the show into an offshoot of the "manosphere," then Pelley is right...they're murdering it.
The interesting thing is that there are Gen Z kids on YouTube who are doing a better job than Bilton knows how to do. I've been following a story about Lego (of all things) and the young people behind the channel have done some really decent work. Long story short, a chain of stores bilked a family out of their $200k worth of Star Wars Lego sets, and the people behind the channel went through every legal and "by the book" effort necessary to return the money/Lego to the family, but were stymied by the Utah-based owners, who (apparently) are in tight with the local police, who had the YouTubers arrested for everything from stalking to trafficking heroin when they tried to serve legal papers after winning a lawsuit. The story is compelling for a number of reasons, including crooked business owners screwing over a family trying to sell their dying father's collection to cover his medical bills, (allegedly) crooked small town cops, and "the little guy" fighting for what's right.
It's not anywhere near the polish and professionalism of 60 Minutes, but it's getting millions of views across not just the original channel (Reckless Ben) but other channels covering the story. Does that mean "Reckless Ben" should be hired as the next 60 Minutes correspondent? No, but it hints at a path forward. Namely, that young people DO find "investigative journalism" compelling if it is relateable. Not only will they watch it, but will seek it out and support it with clicks and views and shares.
Scott Pelley to Resign or Be Fired from 60 Minutes: Report
One day after lashing out at 60 Minutes' new EP in a closed-door meeting, Scott Pelley is reportedly on the verge of departing from CBS News.
www.mediaite.com