Questions for 2023; Renner in Hospital; 'Avatar' Swims Closer to $2 Billion

Monday, January 2, 2023

Welcome to the first edition of Reliable Sources in 2023! We're back after our holiday hiatus with a slightly abbreviated letter. Scroll down for the latest on Jeremy Renner, Prince Harry, Elon Musk, James Cameron, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Questions for 2023

CNN Photo Illustration/Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images

Hello 2023! As we kick off the new year, there are plenty of reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic about the future of the media industry. A multitude of serious questions are facing the sector and their ultimate answers will impact — and in some cases transform — the industry in significant ways. Here are some questions at the top of mind:

► How will the worsening advertising market affect media organizations? What companies will layoffs hit next?

► Can mainstream news organizations restore trust ahead of the 2024 election cycle amid attacks from the GOP, right-wing media, and other critics, such as Elon Musk?

► What will CNN do with its prime time and dayside lineups? Will MSNBC make any major changes to its programming? And how will the networks look heading into the 2024 election year?

► What will happen with Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic's billion-dollar lawsuits against Fox News and other right-wing media outlets?

► Will News Corp. and Fox Corp. unite again under one roof? Or will Rupert Murdoch's plan go awry?

► Will Jeff Bezos sell off The Washington Post? Will the newspaper's current leadership remain in place by the end of the year?

► Will Mike Bloomberg actually make a play to purchase Dow Jones or The WaPo?

► Will The New York Times and NewsGuild strike a deal? Or will we see a full-blown strike occur?

► Will T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach return to "GMA 3"? If so, when?

► Have we hit peak newsletter or not? Will Substack's influence grow or fade?

► Will TikTok be banned in the US?

► What will Twitter look like under Musk's ownership? Will news outlets continue to publish on the platform? Will more journalists get banned?

► Will Meta allow Donald Trump to return to its platforms? A decision is expected this month. (Scroll down for more on this.)

► Will Trump return to Twitter now that his account has been reinstated? Or will he stick with his Truth Social platform?

► Is the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act dead now that Republicans are set to control the House?

► What will happen with Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA? Will the media conglomerate retain its sports rights?

► Will Netflix delve into live sports? Will Big Tech continue buying up the rights for major deals?

► How will Netflix and Disney+ with ads ultimately end up performing?

► Will Apple be the next Big Tech giant to acquire a major Hollywood studio? Perhaps Paramount?

► How will David Zaslav be able to reverse Warner Bros. Discovery's stock slide? What will the company's much-anticipated super-streamer look like?

► How will Bob Iger reposition Disney for the future? Will he sell some of the company's assets, such as its broadcast divisions?

► How will "Top Gun: Maverick" fare at the Academy Awards? And will "Emancipation" get a nod, setting up an awkward situation where Will Smith could win an Oscar while being banned from the show?

► Will "Avatar: The Way of Water" cross the $2 billion mark at the global box office?

► How will Prince Harry's memoir perform when it is released on January 10? Will there be more royal revelations that come to light? Or have all the bombshells been revealed via the Netflix series and Oprah interview?

► And an evergreen question we asked last year: What's the biggest unknown in the media business that no one is even thinking about right now?

THE SIDEBAR

Lillian Rizzo explains why 2023 is currently shaping up to be a not-so-great year for media stocks. (CNBC)
Ted Johnson has a list of the "top news media stories to watch" in 2023. (Deadline)
Parmy Olson outlines what to expect from Big Tech in the new year. (Bloomberg)
The LAT's entertainment team lists the 23 concerts and albums they are excited about for 2023. (LAT)
Rachel Cooke details the nonfiction books set for release in 2023. (Guardian)
Kimberly Nordyke compiles the big movie releases of 2023. (THR)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Renner in Critical Condition: Actor Jeremy Renner is in the hospital after suffering a horrible snow-plowing accident on Sunday. "As of now, we can confirm Jeremy is in critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather related accident while plowing snow," Renner's publicist said in a statement. "His family is with him and he is receiving excellent care." The Washoe County Sheriff's Office separately said that authorities had responded to a "traumatic injury." CNN's team has more.

THE BUSINESS

IN THE INDUSTRY

Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett are at the anchor desk Monday evening for the first time as the official new co-hosts of PBS' "NewsHour." Brian Steinberg wrote about how the show is "preparing itself to tell stories in some very new media frontiers." (Variety)
Tributes are still pouring in for Barbara Walters. "Good Morning America" looked back on her life on Monday with Robin Roberts recalling how the legendary broadcast journalist had once given her a "pep talk." (ABC News)
Speaking of Roberts, the "GMA" anchor announced Monday that she will marry her longtime partner Amber Laign. (THR)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Meta's Momentous Decision: Donald Trump could regain the keys to another social media platform by the month's end. Meta, which banned the former president after the January 6 insurrection, is mulling whether to reinstate his accounts, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Monday. The decision is being considered by an internal working group. The Financial Times' Hannah Murphy has more here.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Elon Musk is teasing the "Fauci Files" for "later this week." (Insider)
The massive trove of documents released by the January 6 House committee is giving reporters a mountain of raw information to dig through. (Politico)
A developing storyline: Republicans are looking to retain the 1/6 documents, suggesting they "intend to attempt to rebut the panel's investigation," Sarah Wire reports. (LAT)

THE VALLEY

TOO MANY TABS

Meta is "racing to get out" of China, where its hardware is currently manufactured. (WaPo)
The incoming GOP chair of a new House select committee on China is calling TikTok "digital fentanyl." (CNN)
Twitter has been sued by its landlord for failing to pay its rent in its San Francisco office headquarters. (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk says Twitter will introduce new navigations features in January. (Twitter)
"Google, Apple and Meta offer near-limitless digital basements in which to store photos, videos and important documents, but you should keep a copy of what you hold most dear," Kashmir Hill writes. (NYT)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/20th Century Studios

'Avatar's' Ambitions: "Avatar: The Way of Water" is continuing its swim at the box office. The James Cameron sci-fi epic grossed $86 million over the New Year's holiday weekend, bringing its total domestic gross to $444 million and global gross to $1.4 billion. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro told me that he believes the film "has a better chance than ever" to surpass the $2 billion mark. "But we'll see how much the post-holiday drop impacts trajectories," Robbins added to me. THR's Pamela McClintock has more here.

OFF STAGE

In a "60 Minutes" teaser, Prince Harry talks with Anderson Cooper about his forthcoming memoir and why he continues to speak out publicly. (CBS News)
China's box office dropped 36% in 2022 compared with the previous year as the country struggled with Covid outbreaks. (Deadline)
Two new diversity reports indicate that diversity still needs to be improved behind the camera in Hollywood. (THR)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will be back in your inbox around this time tomorrow.