Tucker Carlson is acting like others haven’t sat down with Putin due to lack of trying. More likely, Putin is using Carlson to put on a performance. Email not displaying correctly?
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** OPINION
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** Vladimir Putin to be interviewed by a Western journalist? It’s not as good as it sounds
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Tucker Carlson, shown here in July 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The intriguing news is that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have agreed to sit down for an interview with a journalist from the West.

The bad news? That so-called journalist is Tucker Carlson.

Carlson, the ousted Fox News prime-time host who now is off doing his own thing on X and his self-titled platform, posted a video ([link removed]) where he appears to be in Moscow. In the video, posted at 1:44 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Carlson indicated that he had yet to interview Putin, but that he would “soon. And that the interview would air in the near future. Reportedly, Carlson has been in Russia for several days.

It would be Putin’s first interview with anyone associated with Western media since Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022. CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt wrote ([link removed]) , “Russian state media reported late Wednesday that the car allegedly being used by the former Fox News host had been spotted leaving the president’s office.”

Carlson said in the video, “We are not encouraging you to agree with what Putin may say in this interview. But we are urging you to watch it. You should know as much as you can. And then, like a free citizen and not a slave, you can decide for yourself.”

Carlson has been critical of the United States and its involvement in the region ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. Carlson also has been critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Carlson warns that the war, and any American involvement, is upending the future economy of the world and the U.S., and that English-speaking countries are unaware of the impacts the war is having and will have — according to him, anyway. For that, he blamed the media in the West, saying, “Their media outlets are corrupt. They lie to their readers and viewers, and they do that mostly by omission. We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin. We are here because we love the United States, and we want it to remain prosperous and free.”

Carlson also took a shot at other media companies, saying that while they have “fawned” over Zelenskyy in interviews he called propaganda, “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict, Vladimir Putin.”

That drew a rebuke from CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, who tweeted ([link removed]) , “Does Tucker really think we journalists haven't been trying to interview President Putin every day since his full scale invasion of Ukraine? It's absurd — we'll continue to ask for an interview, just as we have for years now.”

So why is Putin agreeing to meet with someone such as Carlson instead of journalists such as Amanpour? Well, that appears obvious.

The Daily Beast’s Julia Davis wrote ([link removed]) , “The timing was quite obviously chosen to coincide with Russia’s upcoming presidential election. This event is merely one of the performances in the Kremlin’s Kabuki theater of democracy, where even Putin’s rivals acknowledge they have no hope of actually winning, and merely hope to stay alive and remain out of prison. However, being able to show that a well-known American figure is willing to bend the knee to an international pariah is a great opportunity for Putin to re-assert his dominance and standing.”

Davis also added this remarkable passage in her story: “To underscore the depth of Carlson’s commitment to the Russian cause, state media programs pointed out that in America, he is called out as a traitor and his trip is being compared to Jane Fonda’s visit to Vietnam in 1972. During Sunday’s broadcast of a show ‘At Dawn’ on channel Solovyov Live, former New York Times correspondent John Varoli feverishly exclaimed that Carlson could be ‘liquidated’ at any moment, describing him as ‘Joe Biden’s enemy number one.’ In Russia, where the killings or imprisonments of journalists and dissidents are quite routine, an absurd assertion that the Biden administration is trying to hunt down Tucker Carlson might sound believable.”

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** Breaking news rocks sports world
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Some breaking news Tuesday could change the way sports fans view sports. That’s not hyperbole.

Disney, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery are starting a joint streaming platform that will make all of their sports programming available under one roof. That means subscribers to this new service will be able to access all of the sports programming from ABC, Fox, the entire slate of ESPN’s networks, as well ESPN+, and sporting events from cable channels such as FS1, TNT, TBS, the Big Ten and SEC Networks and so many more. The result would be hundreds of hours of games and programming from the four major sports leagues — NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — as well as other pro sports and major college sports.

It is expected to launch in the fall. Pricing has yet to be determined, although CNBC’s Alex Sherman reported ([link removed]) a source told him that a “logical starting point could be $45 or $50 per month.” The three companies will each own an equal third. In a statement ([link removed]) , the companies said, “The service would have a new brand with an independent management team.”

In addition, subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product with the companies’ streaming platforms, Disney+, Hulu and Max.

So let me get this straight: A bunch of networks are getting together to combine forces under one application for one price? Gee, this sounds a lot like … cable.

The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch tweeted ([link removed]) , “Welcome to cable, 2024-style.”

ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Scott Van Pelt tweeted ([link removed]) , “This is what inevitably will happen. All this streaming and having to toggle back and forth on apps - which ends up costing more money when you add it all up - people are going to be like, can't we just watch all this (stuff) in one place? You can. Well - you could. It was cable.”

And The Big Lead’s Kyle Koster might have said it best of all when he tweeted ([link removed]) , “They've worked very hard to kill cable so they can just invent cable again at twice the cost and hassle.”

Still, this is a big deal for those who have cut the cable cord.

Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote ([link removed]) , “The concentration of top sports under one roof would be significant. Between them, ESPN and Warner have most rights to the NHL and the NBA, while Fox, Warner and ESPN control at present the majority of rights to Major League Baseball. Only the NFL would enjoy a large presence with entities that are not a part of the joint venture, with ‘Sunday Night Football’ at NBCUniversal, ‘Thursday Night Football’ at Amazon and a Sunday afternoon game at CBS.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti reported ([link removed]) that talks about this unique merger started about four months ago when Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro began focusing on bundling their product with other media companies’ sports products. Iger reached out to Fox’s CEO Lachlan Murdoch, who had been having similar conversations with Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav.

There will be much more on this in the coming days and weeks, but a couple of items worth mentioning.

This does not mean cable subscribers will have to get this new bundle to watch sports. Those who get cable will still get ESPN, TNT, TBS and so on.

The other part of this is that ESPN has been exploring the idea of having its own direct-to-consumer app. Sherman reported that he has been told this new deal does not mean ESPN is moving away from the idea of direct-to-consumer service. They are still researching that.


** On the topic of sports streaming …
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at a press conference in Las Vegas on Monday. (AP Photo/Matt York)

NFL fans freaked out last month when a playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins was broadcast nationally on the Peacock streaming service. Football fans, who believe it is their God-given right to watch NFL games on over-the-air TV, were outraged that they had to have a streaming service subscription to see an NFL playoff game.

But the NFL knew what it was doing.

Counting the viewers in Kansas City and Miami who could watch over the air, the game drew 23 million viewers. Most of those were through Peacock, and the game is considered the most-streamed live event in U.S. history.

Counting all the playoff games so far, the average audience is 38.5 million. The Peacock number was well below that. But 23 million is no joke and the NFL is playing the long game here.

Just how long?

That topic came up this week during NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s state of the game press conference ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl. The NFL already has a weekly regular season game on Amazon Prime, and Goodell noted the reality that many consumers are cord-cutting — canceling cable and getting their entertainment through streaming.

“We have to fish where the fish are and we have a lot of consumers that are on those platforms, and the Peacock game showed that,” Goodell said. “Amazon showed that over the last two years. … Our fans are on these platforms and our fans want to access them.”

Fans might not like it, but Goodell also noted that many years ago, the NFL got pushback for putting some games on cable (specifically, ESPN) at a time when all games were on network TV.

It would be naive to believe the NFL will stop at just one game a week and one playoff game on a streaming platform. But CBS’s Tracy Wolfson asked the question that everyone is wondering: Could there be a day when the Super Bowl is on a streamer?

“Certainly not in my time,” Goodell said. “One of the secrets of our success is we are really committed to broadcast television. Ninety percent of our games are on broadcast television. I think it’s the reason why you will see over 200 million people watch this game here in the United States, because it’s on broadcast television and the broadest possible platform. We’ll see the Super Bowl continue to be on the broadest possible platform, and I think we’ll continue to see the NFL on the broadest possible platform.”

When Goodell says “certainly not in my time,” it should be noted that his current contract ends in 2027 — so that’s only three more Super Bowls. Then again, it would not be surprising to see Goodell’s contract extended. He’s only 64.

But The Big Lead’s Kyle Koster writes ([link removed]) , “It's really hard if not impossible to find anyone who believes a streaming Super Bowl will happen in the next five years anyway so we're not entirely sure we learned anything or Goodell was saying anything of real substance.”

Koster added, “This question will linger.”


** Taking a pass
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For a while there, Super Bowl Sunday had a tradition in addition to football and food. It also was known for the presidential interview. At some point during the endlessly long pregame show, the network that was hosting the big game would interview the president of the United States. They’d talk a little football mixed in with serious questions about the latest world events. Some of the interview would air during the pregame and the rest would air online or on other platforms, such as the evening news.

The presidential Super Bowl interview started back in 2004 when then-President George W. Bush was interviewed by CBS sports broadcaster Jim Nantz. It lasted only four minutes and was not at all hard-hitting. It wasn’t intended to be.

But during Barack Obama’s presidency, the interview started to take on a more serious tone, with news-side journalists brought in to sprinkle in some tough questions.

Donald Trump did the Super Bowl interview in three of his four years as president. (He skipped NBC and Lester Holt in 2018.) Then Joe Biden did the interview in his first two years as president. But he skipped Fox in 2023 and now will sit out this year’s interview on CBS.

White House communications director Ben LaBolt told CNN ([link removed]) , “We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for — the game.”

Part of that actually makes a little sense. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. At a time when there already is news fatigue, football fans want football, not politics. A year ago, when I wrote about Biden not doing an interview with Fox, I wrote ([link removed]) , “In the end, most people don’t even care. The big question during Sunday’s Super Bowl pregame wasn’t ‘Where’s Biden?’ It was, ‘Do you think we have enough wings?’”

And while I still think people are more concerned about having enough wings this Sunday, you do have to wonder if some people will ask, “Where’s Biden?”

As Frank Sesno, a former CNN White House correspondent and bureau chief, and current director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs (and member of Poynter’s National Advisory Board ([link removed]) ), told CNN’s Oliver Darcy ([link removed]) , Biden skipping the interview “… reinforces the narrative that he’s running from a fight. The Super Bowl is super ratings and generally a full-house free pass for a president. The interview is more apple pie than food for thought. So for Biden to take a pass on this (so to speak) will be taken by the over-the-hill crowd as another piece of evidence that he’s not in the game. It’s safer for him — no interview means no gaffes, no viral video of a mangled answer. But it also gives another punchline to the standup comics and the armchair quarterbacks.”


** More change at the Los Angeles Times
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(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Another senior editor is leaving the Los Angeles Times.

Julia Turner, senior vice president for content business strategy, becomes the fourth senior editor to leave the paper over the past month.

In a note to staff, as reported by the Times’ Meg James ([link removed]) , Turner said, “The time has come for me to explore other ways to contribute to the mission of strengthening, protecting and preserving news in the digital age. It has been an extraordinary privilege to be part of this newsroom — one of the most talented and tenacious this industry has ever produced. I leave a stronger, better, braver journalist, thanks to all of you.”

The Times has been in turmoil for a while now, and things boiled over in January when executive editor Kevin Merida abruptly resigned. Within days, the Times announced that major layoffs were looming. Two weeks later, the Times made it official by laying off around 115 — about a fourth of the newsroom.

Before becoming the top content executive, Turner had been deputy managing editor for entertainment and strategy. She joined the Times in 2018 from Slate, where she had been editor-in-chief.

About Turner, James wrote, “A thoughtful editor, she encouraged the entertainment staff to elevate its journalism with the goal of becoming an essential read by culture aficionados, Los Angeles residents and those who work in the industry.”


** An NPR legend retires
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Linda Wertheimer, the first director and longtime host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” is retiring after 53 years at NPR.

She is called one of the “founding mothers” of NPR.

Wertheimer joined NPR at its inception, helped start “All Things Considered” in 1971 and became a host of the show in 1989. She then became a senior national correspondent in 2002. According to her NPR bio, in 1976, Wertheimer became the first woman to anchor network coverage of a presidential nomination convention and election night. Over her career at NPR, she has anchored 10 presidential nomination conventions and 12 election nights.

In a humble and classy goodbye note to staff ([link removed]) , Wertheimer talked mostly about the people she worked with over the years, and how they made NPR such a great place, although she did say, “Along the way I spent many years traveling and listening to voters. I can say without a trace of modesty that after all those conversations I always knew who was going to win the election.”

Edith Chapin — NPR’s interim chief content officer, senior vice president and editor-in-chief — said in a note, “Linda is an NPR icon blazing trails for women, for the news magazines and superlative reporting of politics in this country.”

Chapin added, “None of us would be here today without Linda's commitment to telling the story fully, creatively and with curiosity. We stand on her shoulders, hoping that each of us can do for NPR what she has done for decades. Thank you, Linda. We will keep your standards at heart and aim to preserve the legacy you have established so that NPR thrives for decades to come.”


** Media tidbits
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* Poynter’s Kelly McBride with “Better relationships with cops won’t help journalists cover crime.” ([link removed])
* Semafor’s Liz Hoffman and Max Tani with “Roofing billionaires in $50M talks for Graydon Carter’s glossy newsletter.” ([link removed])
* The Hollywood Reporter’s Katie Kilkenny with “The Onion Union Ratifies Strike-Averting Contract.” ([link removed])
* Richard Deitsch’s latest sports media column for The Athletic includes a conversation with CBS NFL broadcasters Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson: “CBS broadcast crew on Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift and Las Vegas: ‘There is nothing that’s bigger.’” ([link removed])
* Meanwhile, Andrew Marchand, who recently left the New York Post, has his first sports media column for The Athletic: “Sports media is my passion, and I can’t wait for what’s next.” ([link removed]) Marchand writes, “My goal in joining The Athletic is to try to tell you what you can’t see or don’t hear on your screens. There is nothing like the thrill of breaking a big story, but just as great is being able to explain the ‘why’ of it all and to tell it in a way that makes it more interesting to you. I have a saying that I post on social media with my tongue in cheek: Everybody wants to cover sports media #EWTCSM. While I’m somewhat joking, there is truth in it. Fans, athletes and pretty much everyone have a lot of opinions about what they watch and hear.”
* And speaking of Romo … I have always been and remain a fan of Romo, but there’s no question that he has gone from a darling of critics and fans to being a frequent target of harsh criticism. (I personally think sports media critics and fans feed off one another to unfairly pile on Romo.) However, The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis is typically a reasonable voice when it comes to sports media criticism and he strikes the right tone in: “Romo Rules, Revisited.” ([link removed])
* Nationally syndicated sports talk radio host Jim Rome has been doing his program since the mid-1990s. For the past seven years, the show has been simulcast on cable TV — CBS Sports Network. But Rome announced Tuesday ([link removed]) that this will be the last week his show will be on CBS Sports Network. The radio show will soon be simulcast on X. He said he doesn’t have a launch date set yet, but “it’s not that far down the road.”


** Hot type
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For The Atavist, William Ralston with “Mayday. The race to find four children who survived a plane crash deep in the Amazon.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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