Confider #96 Top Messenger Exec Accused of Homophobic Slur, Katie Roiphe Hired Scandal-Tainted Editor at NYU?
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Welcome to this week’s edition of Confider, the media newsletter that pulls back the curtain to reveal what’s really going on inside the world’s most powerful navel-gazing industry. Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.
TOP POSTS:
EXCLUSIVE — Top Messenger Executive Accused of Homophobic Slur
EXCLUSIVE—Katie Roiphe Strikes Again
MIND-BOGGLING: The former producer who is suing Ed Henry for sexual assault and sex trafficking has sounded off on Newsmax’s decision to turn to the disgraced ex-Fox News anchor to criticize E. Jean Carroll. During a segment last week, Henry—who was hired by Newsmax amid outrage from the network’s staffers—said Carroll “doesn’t sound like a victim” after she celebrated the $83 million verdict in the second Donald Trump defamation case. “Someone should educate him that the sound of a victim and the sound of justice are not mutually exclusive,” ex-Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart told Confider. “He’s the last person qualified to provide any sort of opinion on what a victim sounds like.” Henry was fired by Fox News in 2020 amid sexual misconduct accusations and was later accused by Eckhart of rape in a graphic civil lawsuit. While Henry has denied the allegations, he also voluntarily dismissed the defamation lawsuits he filed against CNN and NPR for reporting on the accusations. A judge in September 2021 ruled that Henry must face Eckhart’s lawsuit and later rejected his motion to dismiss allegations that he violated New York’s “revenge porn” laws. The lawsuit, which is currently in the Southern District of New York, was amended in late 2022 to include new claims under the New York Adult Survivor’s Act. “We have no comment on the civil litigation involved here, which includes allegations against Mr. Henry that he has repeatedly denied,” a Newsmax spokesperson told Confider.
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IN PLAIN SIGHT: While cable news is dealing with dwindling ratings, middle-of-the-road channel NewsNation has seen a ratings surge in recent weeks. While the upstart is still well behind its competitors in total viewership, NewsNation is on pace to deliver its second-highest-rated week in primetime on the heels of delivering one of its top-watched weeks, which included heavy coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs fans mystery…Meanwhile, CNN’s Phil Mattingly sounded despondent on X after the network canceled his morning show, writing that his “only regret is I couldn’t deliver a different outcome” for the show’s production team…
MORE FROM THE BEAST MEDIA DESK:
—After it was reported that President Joe Biden was actively seeking pop megastar Taylor Swift’s endorsement, Fox News began openly pleading with the “Shake It Off” singer to “stay out of politics” and “stick to singing.” Read more here.
—ABC’s George Stephanopoulos couldn’t take another second of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) suggesting that Donald Trump could defy the Supreme Court. Watch the eye-popping moment here.
—New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman returned to his war-mongering ways in a new piece last week when he suggested the solution to the Middle East conflicts was “setting fire to the whole jungle,” Ben Burgis writes. Read Burgis’ takedown here.
RECENT READS
—Days after writer Celeste Marcus went public about her outreach to The Atlantic over writer Yascha Mounk, whom she claims raped her, The Atlantic has cut all ties with the author. Mounk has not commented on the allegations and has not posted on X since Jan. 7, when Marcus first reached out to The Atlantic’s top editor. Read about the magazine’s debacle here.
—Semafor reporter and Friend of the Beast Max Tani took a look at how the digital music magazine Pitchfork ended up in the Condé Nast empire—and how the company has left it a shell of what it once was. Read his piece here.
—Podcaster and serial vaccine skeptic Joe Rogan is about to get a lot richer from Spotify—without having to host his show solely on the platform. Read about his $250 million deal here.
Confider will be back next week with more saucy scooplets. In the meantime, subscribe here and send us questions, complaints, or tips here.
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