Fox News Held Talks With Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSavannah Guthrie’s next one-hour special won’t appear on any of NBC News’ best known properties, which include “Today” and “NBC Nightly News.”  And yet, it may be of more critical importance to the NBCUniversal-owned news organization than any in-depth report she’s presented in recent months.Guthrie will today kick off a week-long focus by NBC News on the mental health of young people during the pandemic, the first of what NBC News President Noah Oppenheim says

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAttorneys for Fox News filed individual motions Thursday night to dismiss Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit on behalf of Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, three anchors who have been named in the matter in which the voting technology company is seeking a whopping $2.7 billion.The three motions were filed by Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm representing Fox News in the matter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBloomberg News on Thursday began notifying a group of employees they were being terminated, according to three people familiar with the matter, the latest in an ongoing string of layoffs at media companies as they grapple with the economics of the  digital age.Some staffers were given the sense the company hoped to enact a restructuring among a group of veteran editors, according to one of these people, who noted that some employees affected had been with

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News Channel plans to fill its 11 p.m. weeknight hour with an “irreverent” late-night show from host Greg Gutfeld, the latest in a series of programming maneuvers the Fox Corporation-owned outlet has put into place in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election,The show currently airing at 11 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News Media made a bid Monday to quash a massive $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit that has called into question segments delivered on at least three of its programs, saying the legal case presented by voting-technology firm Smartmatic is “meritless” and would “chill First Amendment activities.”Smartmatic, a maker of software that helps in elections,  has been the subject of disparaging commentary from a handful of conservative-news outlets.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLou Dobbs’ program is off the schedule at Fox Business Network, and Larry Kudlow’s will soon be on.Fox Business Network will launch a new 4 p.m. program led by Kudlow on Tuesday, February 16, putting the former Trump economic adviser and CNBC personality on screen just as the stock markets close for the day.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Business Network is poised to cancel Lou Dobbs’ long-running program, the latest in a series of programming changes taking place at Fox News Media, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.A spokesperson for Fox News Media could not be reached for immediate comment.Dobbs is one of three Fox News personalities who has been sued along with the Fox Corporation unit by Smartmatic, the voting technology company that has levied a $2.7 billion defamation

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSmartmatic, a maker of voting technology whose name has been the subject of disparaging commentary from a handful of conservative-news outlets, on Thursday said it had sued Fox News and three of its popular on-air personalities — Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro — for more than $2.7 billion, citing efforts made on Fox News programs to disparage the company’s business.Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, two attorneys who had been working for President

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis is helping to tie things together at ABC News.You might not see the string during one of her recent hours on the Disney unit’s ABC News Live. On Tuesday evening, Davis’ “ABC News Live Prime” took viewers to Russia to examine how the government was cracking down on citizen protests and spent time looking at Congress’ effort to devise pandemic relief and hold an impeachment trial.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis and Whit Johnson have been named co-anchors of the weekend broadcasts of ABC News “World News Tonight,” filling roles in the wake of the departure of anchor Tom Llanas.In a memo sent to ABC News staffers Monday, James Goldston, the unit’s outgoing president, said Johnson will anchor Saturdays, while Davis will anchor Sundays. They will commence their new duties this weekend.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue tends to focus on the young. Now the owner of TV’s Lifetime, History and A&E cable outlets is pressing advertisers to pay more attention to more than a few old souls.A+E Networks intends to do ad deals based on what it calls a “total audience currency” in the industry’s next round of “upfront” negotiations, when U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJames Goldston, the president of ABC News, will leave the Walt Disney-backed unit at the end of March, the latest in a recent series of changes among top national news executives.“It’s a really tough decision,” Goldston said in a memo to staffers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Llamas, the ABC News anchor who leads the unit’s weekend “World News Tonight” broadcast and is its chief national affairs correspondent, is jumping from the Disney operation to NBC News.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLarry Kudlow, the former CNBC host turned Trump economic advisor, has found a new media job after his time at the White House — and it’s not with his former employer.Kudlow, who took on the unenviable job of predicting a quick V-shaped recovery for the nation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and also tried to make the case the contagion was contained before it took full root in the U.S,, will launch a new weekday program for Fox Business Network.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs NBC News’ newly minted chief White House correspondents, Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander have the sort of job that rarely ends neatly for the week on Friday at 5 p.m.

Scandal fans had to do a double take when they watched President Joe Biden‘s White House press secretary Jen Psaki, 42, give her first daily briefings at the White House this week. The redhead’s resemblance to the television show‘s red-headed character, Abby Whelan, who was played by Darby Stanchfield, 49, was quickly brought up in tweets and other social media posts when she stood behind the podium.

Joe Biden’s new Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, is getting a lot of attention from “Scandal” viewers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who rose from an early stint at a station in Sioux City, Iowa to anchor three of the nation’s best-known TV-news programs – “Today,” “NBC Nightly News” and, for a short time, “Meet the Press,” is set to step down formally from NBC News, where he has worked since 1966.Brokaw’s time on air has dwindled in recent years, while he has served as a special correspondent for the NBCUniversal-owned outlet.More to come….

On Wednesday, just hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, White House press secretary Jen Psaki took to the podium in the James S. Brady Briefing Room in the West Wing and said she and the president wanted to bring "truth and transparency back to the briefing room." In the first press briefing of President Biden's administration, Psaki said to the assembled reporters, "There will be times when we see things differently in this room… that's okay.

In her debut as White House press secretary, Jen Psaki said that the daily briefings will return, but she also signaled a new direction from the years of Donald Trump.