| Take a breath of that crisp fall air. You've made it to the first October weekend! Oliver Darcy here at 9:40pm ET on Friday, October 1, with the latest on Ozy shutting down, the deadlock on Capitol Hill, Facebook's PR crisis, Substack's "Writer in Residence" program, and more. Plus weekend reads and this Sunday's "Reliable" lineup. But first...
On positive pandemic news
The press is — without question — very aggressive covering bad news related to the pandemic. When cases and hospitalizations rise, you hear about it. Cable news is saturated with coverage, newspaper front pages are plastered with headlines, scary charts are abound everywhere. There simply is no escaping it.
But the pendulum does not swing as far in the other direction when things are trending positive. That is not to say that such news is not covered. Of course, it is. But the urgency is, for obvious reasons, missing. It isn't there. And that allows for positive news pertaining to the pandemic to get buried behind other stories, thrown on the back burner. As the old adage goes, "No news is good news."
But it really is important for the press to show a healthy level of enthusiasm in — cautiously — relaying positive headlines to the public. When cases are plunging, as they are right now, people should see the charts showing it. When hospitalizations fall dramatically in states that saw record highs, such as Florida, people should hear about it. Otherwise consumers are left with coverage that is at a constant 11. And when the volume is always cranked up to maximum volume, people tune out...
Five positive stories  >> CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday that cases in the US fell 15% from the previous week. You can see how much cases have fallen in recent weeks in the chart above...
>> The number of vaccinated adults continues its march north. Approximately 77% of eligible adults have received one dose of the vaccine now…
>> Merck announced on Friday that its Covid pill cut the risk of hospitalization or death from the virus by half in a study…
>> The FDA advisory committee will start on October 14 discussing whether to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 through 11…
>> The White House said Friday that the number of rapid Covid tests will double in the next two months…
A new tragic milestone
All of that is most definitely not to say that all of the news is positive. As a result of the Delta surge, the US hit another tragic milestone Friday, surpassing 700,000 deaths from the pandemic. As The New York Times noted in the lede of its story, it's a milestone "that few experts had anticipated months ago when vaccines became widely available to the American public." In other words, it was avoidable...
A balancing act
Speaking of vaccines: A big dilemma newsrooms are facing as deadlines arrive for workforces to comply with vaccine mandates is how much attention should be devoted to those who refuse to do so. On one hand, there is news value in reporting on staffing shortages and trying to understand why people — particularly nurses and healthcare professionals — would rather get fired than take a life-saving drug.
But on the other hand, overly focusing on this group can leave the public with the impression that they represent far more of the country than they do. Andy Slavitt, former White House Covid advisor, recently made this point: "When vaccine requirements are announced, whether in the military, a company, or a hospital, there is attention paid to the often dozen(s) who protest. Less attention is paid to the thousands who get vaccinated..." FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE -- "Headlines prioritize fear over hope in stories about vaccine mandates," Gideon Taaffe writes... (MMFA)
-- "The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. is ebbing, but you would never know it from the headlines. Bad news, accurate or not, sells. And in the case of COVID-19, it also supports the journalists' prejudices," Dr. Joel Zinberg writes... (National Review)
-- Amitha Kalaichandran points out: "It's not just the reporting on the pandemic that matters -- the opinions shared by experts also matter..." (Poynter)
-- In the newest episode of his "Reality Check: Extremist Beat" series, John Avlon talks to Donie O'Sullivan and Elle Reeve about the "political roots of the anti-vax movement..." (CNN)
-- Spotify's Joe Rogan pushes another baseless conspiracy theory: This time, he suggests Biden didn't actually get a booster shot... (Daily Beast)
-- Big Friday evening headline: "Justice Sotomayor rejects request to block New York City school vaccine mandate..." (CNN) Ozy and out
Ben Smith exposed the hollow shell of Ozy Media in his Sunday night column, so it seemed appropriate that he also broke the news of the company's breakup on Friday. The "board of directors" -- and it's unclear what that even means at this point, after multiple resignations -- said "we must announce today that we are closing Ozy's doors."
In a letter obtained by Axios, founder and CEO Carlos Watson said that "after considering all alternatives and input," the company had "determined that ceasing operations and beginning the process of winding down" with "an eye toward preservation of value" was "in the best interest of all stakeholders." Berkeley Research Group will handle the wind-down.
Inside Ozy...
Kerry Flynn writes: "For the first time in their Ozy career, one current staffer's workday was no longer 'super stressful and full,' they told me. That's because some planned work was paused after Smith's initial column dropped. For example, Ozy's Twitter account has been posting a lot less frequently. The only tweet shared Friday -- 'Have you been paying attention to the world this week? Test your knowledge with the OZY News Quiz!' -- came off tongue-in-cheek. My source said there were meetings late Tuesday and on Wednesday, led by CEO Carlos Watson, but added that while many questions were asked, few answers were given. Staffers learned the latest news about the state of their company through Twitter. But the lack of communication changed around 5pm Friday when Watson held an all-hands meeting and shared the shut-down news. 'I know this isn't anything that any of us wanted,' he said." This entire episode serves as a painful reminder that well-intentioned staffers become collateral damage at mismanaged startups. Read Flynn's full story here...
Remaining Q's
>> Will the company or its executives face any charges from federal investigators?
>> What will happen to the company's assets?
>> What about the dozens of rank-and-file employees? What kind of severance packages will they all receive?
>> If the entire company was, as Antoinette Sui writes, "built on Carlos Watson's charisma – and relentless spin," how will he spin his way out of this one?
>> What are his former partners, including TV networks like A&E and PBS, thinking?
>> How many other Ozys are out there? Ben Smith on Sunday's "Reliable"
Brian Stelter writes: "NYT media columnist Ben Smith will join me on Sunday's show since he broke the Ozy story. Plus: Charlotte Alter, Jonathan Cohn, Susan Glasser, Juliette Kayyem, and Meg Kinnard. See you Sunday at 11am ET on CNN..."  Democratic lawmakers at an impasse
"When it comes to the 11th hour push by congressional Democrats and the White House to reach an agreement on two huge pieces of their domestic agenda, the answer they have come up with is, why not a 12th hour? Or a 12th day? Perhaps, even a 12th week?"
That's how Anderson Cooper summed up the state of negotiations on Capitol Hill Friday night. After blowing past deadlines, Biden headed down the street earlier in the day to talk directly with Democratic lawmakers. But, when he emerged, he indicated a resolution might not be hammered out for some time. CNN's team has the latest here...
Cubbies to prevent leaks  CNN's Kristin Wilson snapped this photo Friday afternoon. "These are cell phone cubbies," she explained. "They are set up in the hallway just outside of where the Dem Caucus meets. They were brought here after complaints that news of caucus meeting keeps getting leaked out." There are lots of folks arguing the pros and cons of Congressional leaks at the moment. Ryan Grim argued that "leaks might be annoying to leadership but at least they're real time and can be checked quickly. No real time leaks means people can just make stuff up later and create a narrative..." WEEKEND PLANNER "SNL" is back for its 47th season with Owen Wilson hosting and Kacey Musgraves as the musical guest...
The iHeartRadio Music Festival will air at 8pm on The CW...
The FB whistleblower talks to Scott Pelley on "60 Minutes" Sunday evening...
Sunday Night Football features Tom Brady taking on the New England Patriots. Kickoff is at 8:20pm on NBC...
The "Billions" season finale airs at 9pm on Showtime. The penultimate episode of "Scenes From a Marriage" airs at the same time on HBO... Weekend reads
-- WaPo's Erik Wemple writes about how "journalists bungled coverage of the Attica uprising" and why "50 years later, the consequences remain..."
-- Ruth Hopkins asks in The Cut: "If I am taken, will anyone look for me? As a Native woman, I know the media probably wouldn't cover my disappearance..."
-- The New Yorker's Sue Halpern examines what Facebook knows about its own products and explains why it "should be calamitous" for the company...
-- The Verge's Zoe Schiffer goes inside the culture at Apple and says its "fortress of secrecy is crumbling..."
-- NYMag's Benjamin Wallace explains "how Miami seduced Silicon Valley..."
-- The Daily Beast's William Bredderman reports on "tech tycoon" Steve Kirsch who "dangled a COVID cure" and "then went full anti-vaxxer..."
-- The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon analyzes "Squid Game" and the show's disturbing nature: "The violence, the psychological warfare, the haunting real-world feasibility of something seemingly so outrageous: it pierces you, but then it stays there. It's the show's own brutal gameplay with the audience. A metaphorical stabbing..."
-- Will Staley wonders in NYT Mag: "Why is every young person in America watching 'The Sopranos'?" Alex Jones loses another case
More bad news for InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. On Friday, HuffPost's Sebastian Murdock reported that he has "lost his third lawsuit brought by a parent of a child who died in the Sandy Hook school shooting, one day after he lost two other Sandy Hook cases." The loss, per Murdock, was again by default judgement.
So where does this go from here? Kyle Farrar, an attorney representing the Sandy Hook victims' families, said Friday on "AC360" that they will be deposing Jones on October 22. The trial to determine the amount in damages Jones will owe the families is set for next year. "We still have to do some discovery things," Farrar said, adding that the are working to determine how much in assets Jones actually has... FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO -- Aaron Blake writes about how pro-Trump conspiracy theorists, such as Alex Jones, are increasingly facing legal consequences. "Whether it will change things for a movement built on misinformation is another matter entirely," he says... (WaPo)
-- Speaking of which: It looks like Jones is now welcome on The Blaze... (MMFA)
-- "President Moon Jae-in and his Democratic Party in South Korea have spent months vowing to stamp out what they have called fake news in the media. But lawmakers had to postpone a vote on a new bill this week when they encountered a problem: no one can agree on exactly how to do it," Choe Sang-Hun reports... (NYT)
-- Hollie McKay details how the Taliban's return to power is leaving female journalists "in undefined territory..." (Deadline)
-- William McKenzie writes about the "troubling steps being taken to suppress journalists" around the world and what Biden can do to confront it... (The Hill) What will the Facebook whistleblower say?  The Facebook whistleblower is set to appear on "60 Minutes" Sunday evening and unveil who she is. CBS has only released at 10-second trailer previewing the appearance, along with a general summary of her criticisms of the company. Which is to say we don't know much about what she might say and any additional headaches she might cause the company... "Past storms haven't fazed Facebook. Instagram Kids might"
That's the headline atop this zoomed out look on the PR crisis that Facebook currently faces. The Associated Press' Amanda Seitz and Barbara Ortutay suggest that a number of factors indicate Instagram Kids might present the most serious problem to the company yet. "The Cambridge Analytica scandal was complicated and hard to follow. During those hearings, some lawmakers didn't seem to have even a basic understanding on how social media works," the duo wrote. "Thursday's hearing showed that they've done some homework. The fallout could put an end to the tech company's plan for a children's product — and might even spur lawmakers to regulate the company, if only they can agree on how..." FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE -- Mike Isaac, Sheera Frenkel, and Ryan Mac have a big new story out on how Facebook is behind closed doors dealing with the controversies it faces... (NYT)
-- Kate Klonick's big-picture point: "The Facebook Files series is motivating change. But it will take more than breathless reporting to make sure that reform happens in effective ways..." (NYT)
-- Olivia Salon speaks to eight parents who are mourning children "poisoned by deadly pills bought on Snapchat..." (NBC News)
-- Shira Ovide breaks down the strategy behind "many of the companies whose products you see only on Instagram or TikTok..." (NYT) Ten years of "Erin Burnett OutFront"
Brian Stelter writes: "Happy ten-year anniversary to Erin Burnett and her 'OutFront' team. 'OutFront' is the longest-running show in the 7pm hour on CNN and across cable news. It celebrated the milestone on Friday night with this retrospective piece. It made me think back to the time I profiled Burnett for the NYT in 2008, when she was a rising star at CNBC. I wrote, 'No anchor has ever managed to translate a business news background into mainstream recognition. But she is determined to try.' She has clearly succeeded!" Pat Robertson steps down as "700 Club" host
Televangelist Pat Robertson announced Friday that he will step down as host of "The 700 Club" — a role he has had for more than five decades. Robertson, who is 91, said his "very capable" son Gordon Robertson will take his place on the Christian Broadcasting Network's flagship show. The elder Robertson will, according to a press release, now be "devoting his energy and experience full-time to helping train and equip members of the 11,000-strong student body of Regent University as they are preparing to become 'Christian Leaders to Change the World...'"
>> Big picture: "During his 55 years hosting the show, Mr. Robertson helped make CBN a Christian media empire and played an influential role as evangelicals became more politically engaged," WSJ's Talal Ansari wrote. "He interviewed multiple U.S. presidents, including Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, as well as multiple world leaders, and covered significant world events..." Fox unveils upgraded DC bureau
The right-wing channel Fox News continued to celebrate its forthcoming 25th anniversary Thursday night, unveiling an upgraded DC newsroom. Execs Lachlan Murdoch, Suzanne Scott, and Jay Wallace were present as they delivered remarks and Murdoch cut ceremonial tape with a large pair of scissors. In addition to the upgrades, the DC bureau now features a greenroom named after the late Charles Krauthammer and a radio studio named after the late Tony Snow. Mediaite has pictures of the new offices here...
Masked up!  Viewers who watch Fox rarely see how, behind the scenes, the company continues to take basic Covid precautions – all as the network's top hosts rail against them. But, in a Bret Baier package showing off the unveiling of the new DC bureau, we got a glimpse. And you'll notice that it shows everyone in the office wearing a face mask... FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR -- Veteran reporter Janet Hook announced that Friday was her last day at the LA Times, a paper she has called home since 1995... (Twitter)
-- This week Colby College presented the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for Courage in Journalism to eight journalists "who were subjected to the U.S. government's subpoena of records related to leak investigations..." (Colby)
-- "SAG-AFTRA and NPR have agreed on a new nationwide contract covering 521 NPR employees," David Robb reports... (Deadline)
-- What Hollywood is watching: Members of IATSE "received ballots on Friday morning asking them to authorize the first nationwide strike in the union's history." Results should be announced on Monday... (Variety) Substack starts "Writer in Residence" program
"Substack is launching a 'Writer in Residence' program that will spotlight one new creator throughout their journey in building a Substack for one month," Sara Fischer reported Friday. "The company hopes that the residency program will "enrich the entire Substack community" by providing creators and readers with a person to learn from as they launch a new project from scratch, per Hanne Winarsky, Head of Writer Development at Substack..." Natalie Morales leaves NBC for "The Talk"
Brian Stelter writes: "Natalie Morales announced on Friday that she is leaving NBC after 22 years. She will remain on 'Dateline NBC' through the end of the year, and 'Today' will bid farewell in the coming weeks. Half an hour after the memo came out, the Daily Mail reported her new role: 'Morales is off to save 'The Talk' after Sharon Osbourne's exit from the show.' Expect the official announcement soon..." FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE -- "Aladdin" on Broadway has "canceled performances yet again starting Friday through the next two weeks after breakthrough COVID-19 cases were discovered..." (NYPost)
-- Todd Boehly has been appointed interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association... (THR)
-- Claire Atkinson's take: "The person who part-owns the production company behind the Golden Globes, and indirectly owns a magazine which covers it, will now run the body which votes on who wins..." (Twitter)
-- "Electronic Arts appointed longtime executive Laura Miele as its new chief operating officer, a revamp of leadership that marks a big promotion for the most powerful woman in video games," Olga Kharif reports... (Bloomberg)
-- "After many failures and setbacks in gaming we have a success:" Jeff Bezos gave a shout out to Amazon's "New World" game... (PCGamer)  "Diana: The Musical" brings the stage to Netflix  Brian Lowry writes: "After 'Hamilton' and 'Come From Away' brought musicals to streaming, Netflix gets into the game with a bonus, as 'Diana: The Musical' premieres in advance of hitting the stage. But this splashy look at Princess Diana's life features a fairly unmemorable roster of songs (read my full review here). The musical also has all the other versions of the story, including 'The Crown' and the upcoming movie starring Kristen Stewart, hanging over its head..." The bada-bing at the box office
Brian Lowry writes: "While 'Shang-Chi' continues its assault on the box office – having crossed the $200-million mark in the US – and America waits for next week's 007 invasion, this weekend includes a prequel ('The Many Saints of Newark') and two sequels ('The Addams Family 2' and 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'), with only the last of those making its debut exclusively in theaters. As for 'Many Saints,' while it's more than just a 'Sopranos' origin story, as some of its marketing would suggest, the movie does follow in the footsteps (again) of 'The Godfather,' which set the standard in terms of charting a privileged son's descent into the dark side of the family business, despite the fact that his father 'never wanted this for you...'" More "Sopranos" on the way?
David Chase, the creator of "The Sopranos," has inked a new, five-year deal with WarnerMedia. "There is no statement yet on what Chase's new content might be," THR's James Hibberd wrote. "But the deal announcement coincides with Chase's long-awaited 'Sopranos' prequel movie, 'The Many Saints of Newark,' hitting theaters and HBO Max. Chase said in a recent interview he 'might' be open to making a sequel to the film..." FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX -- "No Time to Die" is getting the "widest theatrical release of all time in the U.K.," Manori Ravindran writes... (Variety)
-- Kelly Gilblom writes about how James Bond has become "theaters' newest hope for a box office jolt..." (Bloomberg)
-- Another positive sign at the box office: "'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' roared to a monstrously good $11.6 million in Thursday previews, injecting an enervated box office with a much needed shot of adrenaline," Brent Lang reports... (Variety)
-- "'Judas and the Black Messiah' director Shaka King is setting up shop at FX Productions," Rick Porter writes... (THR)
-- "To celebrate the original series 15th anniversary on Friday, Showtime dropped two pieces of key art for 'Dexter's' next chapter, which is set to debut on Nov. 7," Alexandra Del Rosario writes... (Deadline) SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
Pet of the day!
The Pew Charitable Trusts editorial director Bernard Ohanian emails: "Chairman Meow (named by my son when he was taking World History in high school) stakes out a spot in our new bookshelves..."   Thank you for reading tonight and every night! Email us your feedback here anytime. And send us your pet photos here for POTD consideration. We'll be back Sunday... Share this newsletter:
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