Whew, what a couple of weeks it has been in media. The so-called Media Trial of the Century ended abruptly just as it was getting started last week when Fox News settled out of court with Dominion Voting Systems. Doesn’t that feel like two months ago now?
Then, just as we settled in for what we thought was going to be a quiet lull in media news, the landscape was turned upside down when, within an hour on Monday, Fox News fired Tucker Carlson and CNN fired Don Lemon.
Thursday didn’t produce that kind of major news, but there was news out of CNN, as well as a firing at ESPN. Let’s start with CNN.
Switching chairs
CNN announced that Dana Bash will replace John King as the anchor on the weekday show “Inside Politics.” King is off to a new gig at CNN — a project focused on voters in key battleground states heading into the 2024 election.
In a statement, King said, “This is my ‘back to the future’ dream assignment. It is my tenth presidential cycle and, given the stakes, I felt it was time to get back to my roots reporting across the country.”
Meanwhile, in the same statement, Bash said, “After nearly 30 years at CNN covering campaigns, Capitol Hill and the White House, I am excited to helm a program devoted to the politics that impact Americans’ lives. John built an extraordinary show that has attracted a loyal audience of political junkies, and I am looking forward to leading its next chapter.”
Oh, one more note. When the news broke, the headline for the online version of the Los Angeles Times story was: “John King exits CNN’s ‘Inside Politics’ for new role. His ex-wife Dana Bash will succeed him.”
Bash responded on Twitter, writing, “Hey @latimes – yes John and I used to be married. We are now friends and share a wonderful son together. In this context I am not an ‘ex wife,’ I am a veteran journalist with decades of experience who worked hard for this role. Do better please.”
A short time later, the Times changed the headline to “John King exits CNN’s ‘Inside Politics’ for new role. Dana Bash will succeed him.”
Reporter fired at ESPN
ESPN national baseball reporter Marly Rivera has been fired after getting into a confrontation with another reporter and calling that reporter the C-word. Rivera had an argument with reporter Ivón Gaete over an interview with Yankees star Aaron Judge. Rivera told The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand that she had set up a time to interview Judge one-on-one before Tuesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium. Rivera claims Gaete also tried to interview Judge and ignored Rivera’s claim that she had scheduled that time to interview him. That’s when Rivera called her the name. (Awful Announcing has the video.)
Rivera told Marchand, “I fully accept responsibility for what I said, which I should not have. There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions. I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball and I do believe that I am being singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements.”
Marchand reported that Gaete is the wife of the MLB’s vice president of communications, John Blundell. Rivera said she and Blundell have had disagreements over the years and she feels that could have contributed to her getting fired. Gaete is a freelance reporter and was on assignment for Tokyo Broadcasting.
Being a former sportswriter, I had a thought about this: There are few things more infuriating than going through the proper channels to set up an exclusive interview with an athlete and then having another reporter horn in on your time. I’m not saying that’s exactly what happened here, but if that was the case, I can understand Rivera’s frustrations. However, calling another reporter a name — especially that name — is inexcusable.
And there might be more to this. The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss wrote that the “video of the exchange with Gaete touched off an investigation that became a referendum on how Rivera did her job and interacted with colleagues.”
Rivera had been with ESPN for 13 years, including also working on ESPN’s Spanish-speaking station, ESPN Deportes.
Strauss wrote, “Multiple reporters described to The Post incidents involving Rivera that they said crossed the line from typical scrapping in America’s largest media market to creating a toxic work environment. Last year, she flipped off another reporter and called her a ‘white b—-’ after the reporter attempted to take a photo of a group of Hispanic players that Rivera was taking a picture of, according to two people who witnessed the incident. In another instance, she called a Latino reporter a ‘fake Hispanic,’ according to multiple people who witnessed it.”
Lemon speaks
Don Lemon was on the red carpet for the Time 100 Gala on Wednesday night in New York City. He spoke with “Entertainment Tonight’s” Rachel Smith in his first public comments since getting fired by CNN on Monday.
Lemon said, “I’m doing well, and I’m here to celebrate. … I’m happy to be here. I am happy to be moving in a new direction. I’m going to miss all the talented people and journalists at CNN, who are my friends and who I love, and who I’ve been speaking to.”
He added, “I’m fine, life is good, I’ve got my beautiful fiancé here and we’re all good.”
Lemon was with fiancé Tim Malone.
More layoffs
Ugh. More grim layoff news. Vice Media is canceling its signature TV show, “Vice News Tonight.” It’s all a part of what the company is calling “painful but necessary reductions.”
In a memo to staff, co-chief executives Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said, “In response to the current market conditions and business realities facing (Vice Media Group) and the broader news and media industry, we are moving forward on some painful but necessary reductions, primarily across our News business.”
Now onto other media news, tidbits and links for your weekend review …
- TV personality Jerry Springer — the former host of a trashy but popular daytime talk show that made him a culturally relevant figure of the 1990s, as well as the former mayor of Cincinnati — has died after a brief illness. He was 79. The New York Times’ Neil Genzlinger wrote that Springer “went from a somewhat outlandish political career to an almost indescribably outlandish broadcasting career.” Here’s more from The Associated Press’ Dan Sewell.
- Powerful interview as the “Today” show’s Savannah Guthrie speaks with Todd and Lisa Sturgeon, the parents of the gunman in the mass shooting at a Louisville bank.
- The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi with “The dirty little secret of White House news conferences.”
- The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum with “Newsmax Ratings Climb After Tucker Carlson’s Exit at Fox.”
- As far as Fox News’ ratings in Tucker Carlson’s old time slot, media reporter Brian Stelter breaks it down: Tucker’s finale: 2.65 million; Monday: 2.59 million; Tuesday: 1.70 million; Wednesday: 1.33 million.
- Thursday night was James Corden’s final show as host of CBS’s “The Late, Late Show.” NPR TV critic Eric Deggans with “Why aren’t more people talking about James Corden’s farewell to ‘The Late Late Show’?”
- The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay with “Why the Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘Failure’ Speech Is a Viral Phenomenon.”
- Vulture’s Josef Adalian with “Carol Burnett Has a Story for Everything.”
- The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and John Koblin with “Questions Swirl About NBCUniversal’s Future After C.E.O.’s Shocking Firing.”
More resources for journalists
- Subscribe to Poynter’s Friday newsletter, Open Tabs with Poynter managing editor Ren LaForme, and get behind-the-scenes stories only available to subscribers.
- Join us for An Evening with Denis Phillips — May 12, at The Straz. Get tickets.
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- Lead With Influence (July 2023) (Seminar) — Apply by June 2.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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