Say, “Bye, bye birdie.”
Twitter boss Elon Musk appears to be getting rid of Twitter’s longtime logo — the blue silhouette of a bird — in favor of an X.
Musk sent out a series of tweets Sunday, first hinting at the change. He posted, “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow.”
About that time, if you went online and typed in “X.com,” it took you to Twitter. Musk made that announcement Sunday afternoon, adding, “Interim X logo goes live later today.”
Earlier this year, in court filings, Twitter Inc. officially changed its name to X Corp.
As The Wall Street Journal’s Collin Eaton pointed out, “Musk, whose rocket company Space Exploration Technologies is called SpaceX, has a long history with the letter. His former online banking startup, X.com, later became PayPal after a merger with another firm. Musk often refers to one of his children as X.”
Musk also posted what appeared to be an old photo of himself making an X with his arms, tweeting, “Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X.”
This doesn’t appear to be a short-term publicity stunt. It sounds permanent. Musk also reportedly sent an email to Twitter employees, writing, “… we are indeed changing to X. … This is my last message from a Twitter email.”
On a Twitter audio stream Sunday, Musk said, “It should have been done a long time ago. Sorry it took so long.”
Then, Sunday afternoon, Linda Yaccarino, who became Twitter’s CEO last month, tweeted, “It’s an exceptionally rare thing — in life or in business — that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”
She continued by writing, “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine. For years, fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfill our great potential. X will do that and more. We’ve already started to see X take shape over the past 8 months through our rapid feature launches, but we’re just getting started.”
She concluded with, “There’s absolutely no limit to this transformation. X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything. @elonmusk and I are looking forward to working with our teams and every single one of our partners to bring X to the world.”
Yaccarino’s tweets were roasted by many on Twitter, some comparing it to something that the character Kendall Roy might have said on the HBO show “Succession.”
Dan Wolken, a sports columnist for USA Today, had a response, tweeting, “Nobody wanted to go further, Linda. We just wanted to read and send tweets. You guys don’t seem to get this.”
I’m not sure I see the business strategy of replacing a known brand — one that has been successful for a long time. Besides the name “Twitter,” the little blue bird has become synonymous with Twitter. It was designed in 2006 and has been tweaked at least three times since then, but it has always been instantly recognizable.
Leave it to podcaster and tech reporter Kara Swisher to sum it all up. She tweeted, “Rebranding HBO to Max was the dumbest rebrand in recent history. Elon: Hold my beer and/or whatever is being partaken at 3 am.”
Handing RFK Jr. a megaphone
On his “MediaBuzz” show Sunday, Fox News’ Howie Kurtz asked why networks keep handing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a microphone. Kennedy recently had a town hall on NewsNation and even appeared on Fox News just before Kurtz’s show. Kennedy was on Maria Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures” show. And, oh by the way, Kennedy will sit down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity for a town hall on Tuesday night.
Kurtz asked Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins, “Why do news organizations keep putting RFK on the air? He has a long history of spreading conspiracy theories and falsehoods. He is obviously entitled to speak — I’m not saying he shouldn’t have any access to the media. Sometimes he is challenged as he was by Martha MacCallum this week, but it’s almost like he’s a celebrity providing entertainment.”
Jenkins said, “So let me see if I got this right. Here is an outsider with an existing pop culture celebrity, peddling in conspiracy theories, draws racist accusations. Then pivots and says he was taken out of context, attacks his attackers, blames the media, and rises politically. Where have we possibly ever seen that before? Let me think. Ahh, Donald Trump. This is the 2016 playbook we’re watching happen, but there’s a D next to his name, not an R.”
I’m not sure I would agree that RFK Jr. is rising politically, as Jenkins suggests. Kurtz said, “Kennedy is not a serious challenger to Biden.” And Kurtz is right.
The other points Jenkins made, however, were not off base.
Mediaite’s Ken Meyer has more, including video from “MediaBuzz.”
Psaki’s take
Jen Psaki pointed out on her Sunday MSNBC show that Fox News has donated what she calls a “considerable amount of air time” to Kennedy. Psaki also noted that Fox News’ website had published more than 80 articles and videos about Kennedy since he launched his campaign in April. This even though he is nowhere near President Joe Biden in any poll.
Kennedy also seems to be a favorite of Republicans in general. Kennedy was a star witness last week in the GOP-led hearing on the weaponization of the federal government.
Psaki asked what it is about Kennedy that appeals to many on the right. She asked if it was his past anti-vax comments or his belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories or other things — to which Psaki said, “I couldn’t even cover all of these outlandish, crazy claims because we need to continue with our show, but RFK Jr. has a long list of them.”
But then Psaki might have hit on it when she said it’s not really about propping up Kennedy, but about finding someone the right thinks could cause trouble for Biden.
She then laid on the sarcasm, saying, “But it would be incredibly cynical if Republicans were elevating a conspiracy theorist who spews false and inaccurate lies, some that could even be damaging to the public and public health, just to create trouble for their political opponent. I mean, that would be a leap, even for the right to embrace a candidate enamored with conspiracies just as a means to advance their political objectives. They’ve never sunk that low before.”
‘Barbenheimer’ sets records at box office
Four people take a selfie in front of an “Oppenheimer” movie poster before they attended an advance screening of “Barbie,” last Thursday at AMC The Grove 14 theaters in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Barbenheimer — the blockbuster movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” released over the weekend — turned out to be bigger than expected. And big things were expected.
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” generated $155 million in its domestic debut, while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” surpassed its high projections by grossing $80.5 million.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Pamela McClintock reported it’s the first time that one movie earned $100 million or more and another earned $50 million or more over a three-day weekend. The Washington Post’s Michael Cavna wrote, “This also marks Hollywood’s biggest three-day weekend since the pandemic began and the fourth-biggest weekend ever, not adjusting for inflation.”
Speaking of Barbie, here’s a good piece: The Washington Post’s Maura Judkis and Shelly Tan with “What Barbie’s many careers say about feminism and American girlhood.”
Media tidbits
- The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin, Lauren Hirsch and Kevin Draper with “ESPN Is Said to Talk With Leagues About Taking Stake in Network.”
- For The New Yorker, Paige Williams with “Breaking News. A Small Town Paper Takes on the County Sheriff.”
- The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell and Taylor Lorenz with “The creator economy was already exploding. Then Hollywood went on strike.”
- We are just under one month away from the first Republican presidential debate. It’s scheduled for Aug. 23 on Fox News, and so far, leading candidate Donald Trump has not committed to participating. The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr and Josh Dawsey write, “Fox News hosts are pushing Trump to join the Fox News GOP debate.”
Hot type
- The Los Angeles Times’ Keri Blakinger with “‘I can’t die like this’: Video shows trans man beaten by deputy during stop.”
- The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf with “Why Is Tracy Chapman at the Center of a Country-Music Controversy?”
- Finally, a fun piece looking at actor Cillian Murphy, who stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the blockbuster movie “Oppenheimer.” It’s Variety’s Jenelle Riley with “Cillian Murphy’s 10 Best Performances, Ranked: From ‘Peaky Blinders’ to ‘Oppenheimer.’”
More resources for journalists
- Covering Climate Change Science and Policy in a Polarized World (Seminar, Washington D.C.) — Apply Aug. 14.
- Executive Leadership Summit (Oct.) (Seminar) — Apply by Aug. 14.
- Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color (Nov. 15-18) (Seminar) — Apply by Sept. 15.
- Will Work for Impact: Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism (Oct. 2-30) (Online) — Enroll now.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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