From the Beast’s media desk

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.

EXCLUSIVE — YOU CAN FIGHT CITY HALL: A fiery lawsuit has rocked New York’s Room 9, the cramped and storied space housing reporters covering City Hall, where star scribes like The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, The Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey, and Semafor’s always thankful Ben Smith cut their teeth. Former New York Daily News City Hall reporter Anna Sanders says she was paid less than her male counterpart on the beat, and now she’s suing the paper, its parent company Tribune Publishing, and former EIC Robert York for employment discrimination and retaliation. According to court documents obtained and reviewed by Confider, Sanders claims she was paid $2,000 less than fellow former City Hall reporter Shant Shahrigian, now a night editor at the Daily News, and is seeking almost a million dollars in damages for “her adverse treatment and termination from employment.” 

But what has attracted the most chatter in this case is an affidavit provided by New York Times editorial board member and MSNBC political analyst Mara Gay—a close friend of Sanders who also used to work at the Daily News—in which she takes a number of pot shots at Shahrigian to question why he was paid more than his female colleague. Gay burnishes her Times and MSNBC credentials in the affidavit and writes that “the work of Shahrigian, Ms. Sanders’ future colleague, was not widely known among the city’s top reporters, or the powerful people we wrote about.” She adds that Shahrigian was not employed full time “as a reporter at all.” Furthermore, she writes, “His previous experiences at Riverdale Press, while assuredly important to that community, did not put him anywhere near the center of the most competitive, impactful or prominent journalism.” 

In another zinger, Gay writes that “Ms. Sanders’ work was known to be buzzier, punchier, and more impactful than Mr. Shahrigian” and that “Mr. Shahrigian’s degree in journalism is commendable. However, many prominent journalists, including myself, have never sought such a degree, or found it necessary.” It is not clear whether Gay personally knows Shahrigian. 

Gay referred Confider to the Times’ comms shop when reached for comment. “Ms. Gay submitted the affidavit in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of The New York Times Company nor The Times’s Editorial Board,” a spokesperson emailed Confider. 

The lawsuit also reveals that in a meeting with then-City Council Speaker Cory Johnson, Sanders complained about the pay issue. “We are fairly confident that if this comes before a New York jury we will get the result we are seeking,” Sanders’ attorney, Colleen M. Meenan, told Confider. A rep for the Daily News did not respond to a request for comment while York and Shahrigian declined to comment.

Tips? We’re all ears: confider@thedailybeast.com or call/text us 551 655 2343.

EXCLUSIVE — OAN GOES VIGILANTE: Earlier this year, One America News star Dan Ball paced the halls of the newsroom with a handgun strapped to his hip, policing the MAGA channel’s San Diego headquarters after a homeless man allegedly snuck into the building, three people familiar with the situation told Confider. A female on-air personality was visibly shaken after encountering the unauthorized visitor in the building early one morning, these sources said. “It can be kind of scary at the studio on the early morning shift when you are pretty much the only person there,” one OAN insider explained. “Especially on the weekends when you are basically there alone.” 

After word of the incident spread at the network, prompting concerns about a lack of security, star host Ball, who views himself as the face of the network, went full vigilante mode. “It got to the point where Dan was walking around with his firearm downstairs like some sort of Howdy Doody, like he was going to stop someone if they came in,” another OAN insider added. “It was just way over the top. The bravado and the ego was very much what fueled it.” (While California generally prohibits open carry in public, it permits adults to lawfully carry a handgun in private business spaces.) The lack of security personnel, which sources lamented as being limited to a front-entrance receptionist, has led employees to joke that everyone there must be strapped. OAN president Charles Herring did not comment on Ball’s armed patrol but did dispute the claims of lax security: “One cannot enter the property without speaking on camera requesting entrance,” he wrote to Confider. “For obvious reasons, I do not wish to discuss the multiple security layers that are in place, including visible measures and non-visual measures not known to some staff.” 

Current and former OAN staffers who spoke with Confider suggested this incident, which occurred in the spring, typified the threadbare budget on which owner Robert Herring and his sons run the network. The Trump-boosting channel has faced extinction ever since DirecTV and other providers dropped it, costing OAN nearly all of its revenue. In recent months, the network has cut costs by closing up its Florida and New York offices and reducing its D.C. operations to a couple of staffers. Furthermore, despite devoting much of its programming to illegal immigration, OAN staffers told Confider that ownership won’t even send reporters to the U.S.-Mexico border even though it is only 15 miles away. “‘Oh, we will just pull video from AP or Reuters,’” one ex-staffer, who recently left the company, relayed as the common reason given for no field reporting. Despite an exodus of staffers over the past few years, Charles insisted to Confider that OAN’s headcount is “slightly up” from a year ago. 

Meanwhile, as current employees struggle with low wages, sometimes taking second jobs as we previously reported, the Herrings have tried to placate them by handing out $15-25 gift cards in lieu of bonuses and raises. One time, according to two former staffers, the Herrings gave out Shell gas cards that had nothing on them. Other times, the gift cards have run counter to OAN’s right-wing anti-”woke” orthodoxy: The network ran a “Boycott Target” campaign around Pride Month, one insider explained, but later gave out Target gift cards. And while the Herrings told employees they would not receive raises earlier this year, the newsroom was shocked to see the boss publicly offer Tucker Carlson millions of dollars to come to OAN after Fox News fired him. That included Ball—known for his temper—who allegedly “fumed” over Herring’s proposal, our sources relayed. “He was sitting in his office with glass walls pacing up and down, he was so mad,” said one OAN insider who witnessed the incident. “He thinks he’s better than Tucker.” When reached for comment, Ball berated Confider, calling this reporter a “fucking hack” before hanging up. He then emailed: “Go print your lies, like you always do… You are just a lying POS propagandist for the left. Oh, and go fuck yourself. Print that.”

EXCLUSIVE — ABC NEWS HIRE: After a monthslong search, ABC News has finally settled on a SVP of communications for its beleaguered news division, Confider has learned. Jeannie Kedas, currently the chief comms officer at eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar’s First Look Media, is set to be named in the role as early as this week. Kedas was previously EVP of comms at Viacom and before that served as a personal assistant and later press secretary for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. She is expected to report directly into Disney HQ in Burbank and notably not to ABC News boss Kim Godwin, whose contract is up in the spring. Disney got close to naming two other spin doctors in the role, former CNN communications exec Lauren Pratapas and current Dow Jones SVP Head of Corporate Communications Ashok Sinha, but the deals were never inked. Kedas did not respond to a request for comment and a rep for Disney declined to comment.

EXCLUSIVE — NYT REPORTER VS. CELEB TRAINER: Among the many high-profile lawsuits filed just before New York’s Adult Survivors Act was set to expire last Friday, this one flew under the radar. New York Times staff reporter Sarah Maslin Nir has sued celebrity trainer Garth Wakeford, claiming he raped her in 2001 when she was 18 and he was a 31-year-old bouncer she’d met at Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons. According to the suit, Wakeford took an “extremely” drunk Nir to a local beach, where she lost consciousness before waking to find him penetrating her. She claimed she fought to break free but Wakeford, who is 6-foot-5-inches tall, would not let her leave until he finished. A year later, Nir wrote in the complaint, she confronted Wakeford, who admitted to the battery and expressed remorse. Furthermore, the journo stated, she decided against filing a report with the East Hampton PD in 2017 because of Wakeford’s connections to the responding officer, but she did file a complaint in 2019, which led to a probe but no charges. Wakeford became well-known to the public via his appearances on Real Housewives of New York City, when he dated original cast member Luann de Lesseps. Nir declined to comment when reached, while Wakeford’s reps told Page Six that the claims are “meritless and without basis.”

IN PLAIN SIGHT: Bloomberg Media CEO Scott Havens has a new gig: running all non-baseball operations for the cursed New York Mets franchise. Good luck with that… The Washington Post has quietly added a rather peculiar correction to its Nov. 18 scoop that Israel and Hamas were nearing a hostage deal. According to the editor’s note, “A previous version of this article, headline and accompanying news alert incorrectly characterized The Post’s reporting.” So the Post mischaracterized the Post. Got it, we think… Say, did you know Sean Hannity is into mixed martial arts? He only mentions it every opportunity he gets. The latest: Comparing his forthcoming Ron DeSantis vs. Gavin Newsom debate to an MMA fight. “I’m into mixed martial arts and anybody that steps into the octagon, I have deep respect for because you’re stepping into a war,” Hannity unsubtly told Politico.

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MORE FROM THE BEAST MEDIA DESK

— For a few hours on Wednesday, Fox News sparked panic by falsely reporting that a fiery accident at the U.S.-Canada border was an “attempted terrorist attack” featuring a vehicle “full of explosives.” Before reporter Alexis McAdams began walking back her reporting, the right-wing network went all-in on fearmongering that the crash—which appeared to be caused by reckless driving—was tied to the war in Gaza or illegal immigration. Read about it here. 

—It’s no secret that public radio listenership is decidedly liberal. But a new weekly radio show, hosted by former NPR producer Jeremy Dobson and aptly titled The Middle, hopes to change that. More here.

—Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, whose name is often synonymous with the Spanish-language outlet, criticized his news network for giving Donald Trump “an open microphone to broadcast his falsehoods and conspiracy theories” earlier this month. The ex-president’s interview “put in doubt the independence of our news department, and created discomfort and uncertainty within the newsroom,” Ramos said. More here.

RECENT READS

—Who’d have thought that PR powerhouse Edelman’s “trust barometer,” which touts that people living under oppressive regimes like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have higher levels of trust in their governments than those in democracies, was, well, untrustworthy? The Guardian reports that some of those authoritarian regimes have paid Edelman millions of dollars to help launder their reputations. Read the investigation here.

—Jeff Zucker’s quest to get back in the news game may be about to hit some serious snags across the pond. Zucker’s Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI company is the frontrunner to take control of the much sought-after U.K. Telegraph, but both conservative MPs and the paper’s legendary former editor are voicing concerns about a potential deal. Read more here.

—Sports Illustrated has published many articles by AI authors without disclosing it, reports Futurism, which found that the AI-generated bylines were regularly replaced with new ones and used profile pictures that were for sale online via an AI headshot store. The magazine later added notes saying the content was “created by a third party,” but after Futurism hit up SI publisher Arena Group all of the AI authors were deleted without explanation. Read here.

***WHAT ARE WE OUTRAGED ABOUT NOW?***

Nearly a year after Fox News first lost its mind over a 2020 photo of Jill Biden using a gas stove, the network has found another reason to light the proverbial flame and crank its outrage burner all the way to high (haha, please forgive us). While wishing her followers a “Happy Thanksgiving” last week, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted a photo of her and her husband in their kitchen. Behind them was a gas stove. Conservatives have spent most of 2023 warning about Democrats coming for your gas stoves and so right-wing media tripped over itself to go after the veep for her alleged hypocrisy. “Gas Stoves for Kamala, Not for Thee,” blared a Newsmax headline. Fox News, meanwhile, spent four straight days raging about the social-media post. While declaring that Harris was “rightly” mocked over the image, Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt claimed on Friday night that liberals want to ban gas stoves because they hate everything good and pure—like gas stoves. “I think because they hate us. They hate humans. They hate joyfulness. They hate pies. They hate good food,” he huffed. “They want all of America to be as miserable and unhappy and unloved as they are.” The conservative cable giant was still going strong by Monday afternoon, with goofy pundit Raymond Arroyo ranting about “Gasgate” on Outnumbered. “Remember how we had the COVID hypocrisy slow scroll on this show, we scrolled all the names not wearing their masks. We need a climate change hypocrisy slow scroll and add these two to the list with the gas stove,” Trump flack turned Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany added.

Confider will return next week with more saucy scooplets. In the meantime, subscribe here  and send us questions, complaints, or tips here or call/text us 551 655 2343.