Media and Politics News, Opinion and Analysis - TheWrap Covering Hollywood https://www.thewrap.com/category/media/ Your trusted source for breaking entertainment news, film reviews, TV updates and Hollywood insights. Stay informed with the latest entertainment headlines and analysis from TheWrap. Tue, 03 Dec 2024 21:09:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://i0.wp.com/www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the_wrap_symbol_black_bkg.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Media and Politics News, Opinion and Analysis - TheWrap Covering Hollywood https://www.thewrap.com/category/media/ 32 32 Microsoft Hit With $1.27 Billion Lawsuit Over ‘Punishing’ Cloud Practices https://www.thewrap.com/microsoft-1-billion-pounds-lawsuit-cloud/ Tue, 03 Dec 2024 21:09:12 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7662434 The tech giant overcharged U.K. companies for using its Windows Server when used with rival cloud services, the lawsuit claims

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Microsoft was sued for one billion pounds ($1.27 billion) in the U.K. on Tuesday for allegedly overcharging customers for using its Windows Server.

The lawsuit, brought by the firm Scott+Scott and representing “thousands” of British businesses, says the tech giant charged higher prices to customers to access its server if they were using rival could services from Amazon, Google, and Alibaba.

“Put simply, Microsoft is punishing U.K. businesses and organizations for using Google, Amazon, and Alibaba for cloud computing by forcing them to pay more money for Windows Server,” said Dr. Maria Luisa Stasi, who is representing the businesses and organizations in the lawsuit.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

The company, according to Stasi, has tried to “force” customers into using its Azure cloud services and restricted competition as a result of its actions.

“This lawsuit aims to challenge Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior, push them to reveal exactly how much businesses in the U.K. have been illegally penalized, and return the money to organizations that have been unfairly overcharged.”

The lawsuit is being funded by LCM Funding U.K., according to the Wall Street Journal, which ensures claimants don’t face a financial risk to joining in the collective action.

Microsoft’s stock price is flat on the day, trading at $430.40 per share.

The lawsuit shines a light on the highly competitive and lucrative cloud sector among the three major providers. Amazon’s cloud business brought in $27.5 billion during its most recent quarter, and the company expects $110 billion in cloud revenue in 2024. Microsoft reported cloud sales of $24.1 billion last quarter, and Google reported $11.4 billion in revenue from its cloud business.

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Forbes Staffers Walk Out on ’30 Under 30′ Day to Protest Salaries https://www.thewrap.com/forbes-staffers-walk-out-30-under-30-day/ Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:48:37 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7662245 Editorial staffers are looking for a $75,000 minimum salary and better annual raises from Forbes

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The Forbes editorial staff, represented by The Forbes Union, are walking out on the job Tuesday — the same day the financial publication plans on releasing its trademark “30 Under 30” lists. The walkout comes amid ongoing negotiations between the union and Forbes management over salaries and raises.

Founded in 2021, The Forbes Union represents about 100 writers, editors, and other editorial staffers at the outlet. Tuesday’s walkout was first reported by Fox News.

The Union is currently looking for a $75,000 wage floor, 8% annual raises, and 15% raises, at minimum, for promotions; they also want bonus pay for working weekends and overtime. Forbes management, on the other hand, has proposed $60,000 minimum salaries, a 1% annual raise, and a 5% minimum increase for promotions.

“[Forbes] CEO Mike Federle said at a recent town hall that management is eager to get a contract but that it seems like a very long way off. That’s because of his actions and that of management,” Andrea Murphy, Forbes’ unit chair and statistics editor, told Fox News. “We have been and will continue to be ready to get this contract done, including pay that recognizes the value we bring to Forbes.”

Murphy added Forbes’ $60,000 minimum salary proposal isn’t good enough. “That is just not a fair salary for the amount of work that people are doing.”

The walkout was scheduled for the same day Forbes planned on releasing 20 “30 Under 30” lists, its annual lists highlighting young movers and shakers in a variety of fields.

A Forbes spokesperson said the company was “working diligently with the NewsGuild of NY” to reach a deal.

“While we respect their right to stage a walk out, we are disappointed by the Union’s decision, especially when we have a bargaining session scheduled tomorrow and a willingness to meet across the month. In the meantime,” the spokesperson said. “Forbes continues to serve its audiences and publish its content across platforms.”

The spokesperson added: “It’s worth noting that the company has continued to make increases in the salaries of Guild bargaining unit members since 2021 when the NewsGuild of NY was certified as bargaining representative. In fact, 58% of our employees in the Guild unit received increases in 2024. Many companies freeze increases for employees until an initial labor agreement is reached.”

The Forbes Union has been working to get a new deal for three years with the help of The NewsGuild of New York; the NewsGuild on Tuesday said Forbes employees have been “met with disrespect and illegal, union-busting tactics” by the magazine’s management during that time.

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Gersh Acquires Sports Agency You First https://www.thewrap.com/gersh-acquires-sports-agency-you-first/ Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:41:53 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661983 The acquisition doubles the size of the agency to over 600 employees worldwide

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Gersh has acquired You First, a leading global sports and entertainment agency, the company announced on Tuesday.

With this acquisition, Gersh doubles its size to over 600 employees, establishes a global footprint with 22 offices in 14 countries, and positions itself as a player in worldwide sports representation. The combination of You First and Gersh will create new opportunities for clients across both sports and entertainment, building on the strengths of each agency.

You First represents over 1,000 clients globally across multiple sports, with a strong presence in soccer and basketball. Its roster includes celebrated names such as Fabián Ruiz, Alexia Putellas, Milos Kerkez, Christoph Baumgartner, and Luis de la Fuente, among others. Its US basketball division, Tandem, represents NBA players and legends, including Desmond Bane, Jarrett Allen, Jeremy Sochan, Ray Allen, and Vince Carter.

Beyond representing global sporting talent active both on and off the field, You First works closely with sports leagues and leading global corporations—such as Formula 1, Wrexham FC, Samsung and Starbucks—to forge innovative, data-driven marketing campaigns that empower brands to connect with fans through sports, entertainment, social platforms and live events. You First CEO and co-Founder, Juan Aísa, will join the board of Gersh and continue to run You First from its headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

The acquisition of You First provides Gersh with a platform to expand into sports representation and consulting. With the launch of its new sports division, Gersh Sports, the agency will continue its expansion into new client-serving businesses, which it began earlier this year with the acquisition of the A3 Agency’s Digital and Alternative departments. Gersh Sports, which will be led by Steve Gersh, will unify the agency’s sports initiatives and drive collaboration across its entertainment and sports divisions.

“Sports representation is a natural next step in our growth as we continue to evolve the agency,” Steve Gersh, a managing partner of Gersh, said in a statement to The Wrap. “In acquiring You First, our strategic ambitions were to find a partner with global scale, a diversified and multi-sport practice, and strong management. Juan and the You First team bring all these attributes, and an ethos of steadfast client-centric advocacy that is core to Gersh’s representation practices.”

Juan Aísa, CEO of You First, added: “The partnership with Gersh strengthens our position in the industry and allows us to offer even greater support to our clients. Together, we’re building an ecosystem that goes beyond sports and entertainment representation to foster innovation and create new opportunities for global expansion.”

Steve Stanford, head of strategy for Gersh, added: “As we continue to grow the agency, our focus is to broaden the practice into new areas of representation, and growing the core business, while building an ecosystem in which clients across all divisions can directly benefit from this enhanced capability. Gersh has always filled a unique space in the representation landscape, and we want to grow the business in ways that do not come at the expense of what it does best: focus on individuals and their ambitions.”

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Power Women Summit: Advocating for Women When It Feels Hard https://www.thewrap.com/power-women-summit-advocating-for-women-when-it-feels-hard/ Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:12:51 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7662053 I’ve been re-setting my expectations for a long time, expecting a new normal. Time to re-set, again

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As the person who helped create the Power Women Summit, I get to climb onstage every year and say: it’s getting better for women! Equality is on the rise! Our world is reaching for balance! For inclusion! 

And you all might be thinking: Who are you kidding?

For all the world, I imagined this year’s Power Women Summit to happen in the afterglow of a different outcome in the election.  

If you’re like me, maybe you wake up every day with a strong desire to stay in bed. To NOT reach for your phone. And think: Are we in December? Is the election over?

So – OK. And however old or young you are, the setbacks come as a surprise. It can’t be normal that women in this country don’t have reproductive freedom, I can’t accept that. It can’t be normal that women in Afghanistan can no longer speak aloud in public. It can’t be normal that women face arrest and torture in Iran for showing their hair. And yes, Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to a convicted felon, leaving us to wonder if a woman can ever rise to our highest office.

I’ve been re-setting my expectations for a long time, expecting that the world would come around to a reasonable middle ground in which we just treat one another as equals.

So I’ll tell you what I tell myself, and what I do not.

I’m not going to tell you to be resilient. Though we have to be. I’m not going to tell you to be fearless. Because our fear is not misplaced. The present moment is not what we expected. The future is uncertain. But today is a day of support, of alliance, of optimism. It’s a day to put a first foot in front of another foot. Just today — we are going to continue walking on our path. With confidence. And with pride. 

And there are so many leaders at the Summit to lift us up. Twenty-three-year-old Jordan Chiles, an Olympic champion who led the US gymnastics team in Paris to a gold medal, is opening the event and talking about discipline. Disappointment. And triumph. I’m excited to hear from Stacey Abrams, the political trailblazer who helped flip Georgia to the Democratic Party in 2020 and will speak with Laura Dern about climate change. We will hear from some of our top directors and showrunners, producers, writers, stylists. And two sisters, Dakota and Elle Fanning, will be our spotlight conversation. 

Today is a feast for the spirit.  

We cannot win the fight for equality without setbacks. Advocating for change means being reminded that not everyone is ready for it. It’s OK. We’re on our feet. We’re on the path. It was only 104 years ago that women won the right to even vote. That battle took 70 years.  

So we keep going. We’re not angry. We’re not defeated. We’re not discouraged. We have our eyes open. We’re prepared. And we’re just not going away. The Summit is here to remind us of that.

I’d like to thank sponsors including: South Coast Plaza, Loeb & Loeb LLP, Lionsgate, Whalar, Paramount Global, CLEAR, Universal, Hallmark Media, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery, FX, Yahoo!, Searchlight Pictures and NBCUniversal, and the Shari Redstone Foundation. 

Thanks to our staff and our community and university partners. 

Onward to the Summit! 

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Gavin Newsom’s $25 Million Anti-Trump War Chest ‘Will Stop Him From Breaking the Law,’ California AG Says | Video https://www.thewrap.com/gavin-newsom-25-million-trump-war-chest-reason/ Tue, 03 Dec 2024 01:24:17 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661776 "He likes to do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants ... And if he does that, we will be there to stop him," Rob Bonta tells CNN

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Gavin Newsom’s proposed $25 million anti-Trump war chest, which the California governor announced Monday, will stop the president-elect from “breaking the law,” the state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta told CNN’s Jake Tapper later that evening.

Asked while on “The Lead” Monday what the special budget legislation requesting $25 million would be used for, Bonta detailed the number of ways that President-elect Trump is anticipated to break the law, from not following the processes of the Administrative Procedures Act, to violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, to misallocating funds for projects that they’re not meant for and more.

Watch a clip of the segment below:

“If history is an indicator of the future, if the statements made by Mr. Trump, his inner circle, Project 2025 are any indicator, we will need to go to court to stop him from breaking the law, from violating the Constitution, from breaking federal law, from overreaching his enumerated, limited, delineated executive authority and make sure he stays within his actual sphere of given lawful jurisdiction,” Bonta explained. “So, in short, if he breaks the law, we’re going to court to stop him.”

“What do you mean breaking the law?” Tapper pressed. “Like, give me more of an example there, because that’s quite a preemptive accusation.”

That’s when the attorney general broke down the possibilities — many of which he said were seeds planted in the former president’s first administration from 2016–2020.

“If he violates the Equal Protection Clause by going after LGBTQ+ communities in ways that are in violation of the Constitution; if he goes outside his actual federal authority and doesn’t follow the processes of the Administrative Procedures Act, where you need notice and comment and you can’t do things that are arbitrary and capricious — he violated that quite a bit in Trump Administration 1.0; if he tries to use funds for a project or for a purpose that they’re not supposed to be used for, like building the border wall — he did that in Trump 1.0,” he said. “Those are all varied examples of how he broke the law.”

“He was pretty creative in the ways that he did it,” Bonta added. “He likes to do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, regardless of the Constitution or federal law, and if he does that, we will be there to stop him.”

Newsom first introduced the proposed $25 million in funding to prepare for legal battles against the Trump administration on Monday, the first day the governor held a special session of the state’s legislature to prepare such safeguards ahead of Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Anticipated court battles, Newsom laid out, include legal developments around reproductive rights, environmental protection and immigration.

“The new litigation fund will help safeguard critical funding for disaster relief, health care and other vital services that millions of Californians depend on daily,” Newsom wrote in his proposal, adding that California intends to “defend against unlawful federal actions that could jeopardize not only tangible resources and the state’s economy” but social causes including abortion rights and equality.

Watch the clip from CNN above or in full here.

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J.K. Rowling Slams ‘Insulting’ NY Times Story on Confrontational Trans Activists, Says She Faces ‘Threats of Murder, Rape, Violence’ https://www.thewrap.com/jk-rowling-new-york-times-confrontational-trans-activists/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:42:02 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661650 "Some who've been riding high on their own supply are waking up with a hell of a hangover," the “Harry Potter” author adds

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J.K. Rowling took to social media to continue to air out her thoughts on gender identity and the intensity of trans activists in the wake of a recent New York Times article, “Transgender Activists Question the Movement’s Confrontational Approach.”

The article, published Nov. 26 and written by Jeremy W. Peters, purported that some within the transgender activist movement think they’re being too confrontational when dealing with anti-trans opponents. The “Harry Potter” author has been vocal against the trans community for years and called the article a “rewriting of history,” adding that, “‘Yes, maybe trans activists went a little over the top at times’ takes are frankly insulting.”

“I’ve been sent thousands of threats of murder, rape and violence,” Rowling wrote on X Monday. “A trans woman posted my family’s home address with a bomb-making guide. My eldest child was targeted by a prominent trans activist who attempted to doxx her and ended up doxxing the wrong young woman. I could write a twenty thousand word essay on what the consequences have been to me and my family, and what we’ve endured is NOTHING compared to the harm done to others.”

She continued, “By standing up to a movement that relies on threats of violence, ostracisation and guilt-by-association, all of us have been smeared and defamed, but many have lost their livelihoods. Some have been physically assaulted by trans activists. Female politicians have been forced to hire personal security on the advice of police. The news that one of the U.K.’s leading endocrinologists, Dr. Hillary Cass, was advised not to travel by public transport for her own safety should shame everyone who let this insanity run amok.”

The Times spoke with Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, the executive director of Advocates for Transgender Equality, for its story. He said that if the confrontational approach to dealing with anti-trans people continues, no one will be open to changing perspectives.

“We have to make it OK for someone to change their minds,” Heng-Lehtinen told the Times. “We cannot vilify them for not being on our side. No one wants to join that team.”

Rowling finished her social media post by saying “some who’ve been riding high on their own supply are waking up with a hell of a hangover” and that receipts of interactions she’s faced will make for some “very ugly reading.”

“Mealy-mouthed retconning of what has actually happened over the past 10 years is predictable but will not stand,” she said. “I don’t doubt those who’ve turned a blind eye to the purges of non-believers, or even applauded and encouraged them, would rather minimize what the true cost of speaking out was, but ‘yes, maybe trans activists went a little over the top at times’ takes are frankly insulting. A full reckoning on the effects of gender ideology on individuals, society and politics is still a long way off, but I know this: the receipts will make very ugly reading when that time comes, and there are far too many of them to sweep politely under the carpet.”

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Apple Employee Sues Over Company Surveillance Policies That ‘Unlawfully Restrain’ Staff Freedoms, Suppress Speech https://www.thewrap.com/apple-speech-suppression-lawsuit/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:39:32 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661639 The tech giant unlawfully tracks what employees say on their personal devices, digital ads manager Amar Bhakta claims

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Apple is being sued by an employee who claims the tech giant’s “speech suppression policies” unlawfully restrict its workers from talking about their experience at the company. The same lawsuit, filed Monday in Santa Clara, California, calls Apple a “surveillance capitalist” that violates its employees’ privacy by tracking their personal iPhones and other devices.

“Apple’s speech suppression policies have harmed – and continue to harm – Apple’s employees,” the lawsuit claims. “The secrecy permits the wrongdoing to continue. This is a real and ongoing concern.”

The lawsuit was filed in state court by Apple employee Amar Bhakta, who has managed digital ads for the company since joining in 2020. Bhakta and his lawyers claim Apple violates its employees right to free speech by imposing stiff restrictions on what they can talk about.

This hurts employees in several ways, the lawsuit claims, including: blocking them from discussing their wages and work conditions; “invades” employee privacy by having them submit to having their nonwork devices surveilled; and allowing Apple to unlawfully “clawback” earned wages.

“Apple’s surveillance policies and practices chill, and thus also unlawfully restrain, employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of employee movement in the job market, and freedom of speech,” the lawsuit claims.

In particular, Bhakta was upset the company “forbade” him from discussing his job on podcasts and in other public settings, as well as required him to edit some information on his LinkedIn page — something that hurts his future job prospects, the lawsuit claims.

Apple did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

“At Apple, we’re focused on creating the best products and services in the world and we work to protect the inventions our teams create for customers,” Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said in a statement to The Verge. “Every employee has the right to discuss their wages, hours and working conditions and this is part of our business conduct policy, which all employees are trained on annually. We strongly disagree with these claims and believe they lack merit.”

The tech company, headquartered in nearby Cupertino, California, has access to personal emails, photos, and health information, among other private details, thanks to its overreaching surveillance, the lawsuit added. Apple violated California law by requiring employees to allow the company to “engage in physical, video, and electronic surveillance” of them, the suit continued.

“The personal data contained on an iPhone or other digital devices is more than private. It is also valuable,” the lawsuit continued. “Personal data is the fuel of surveillance capitalism.”

And employees who wish to switch from Apple to Google or other non-Apple products to avoid surveillance are put in a tricky spot, according to the lawsuit.

“The cost to employees of switching to a non-Apple device for purely personal reasons is too high,” the lawsuit claims, pointing to Apple’s “monopoly power” on the U.S. smartphone market. “Apple’s employees, even more so than Apple’s customers, are trapped in Apple’s prison yard.”

The lawsuit does not specify how much Bhakta is seeking in damages.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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Kendrick Lamar, MrBeast and US Election Lead YouTube’s Trending Topics, Creators for 2024 https://www.thewrap.com/youtube-trending-topics-creators-artists-2024/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:25:04 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661441 There was also significant search for "Amazing Digital Circus," "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Deadpool & Wolverine"

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To the surprise of no one, the 2024 presidential election was one of the most searched topics on YouTube in 2024. But perhaps more surprising is how prominently Kendrick Lamar was featured in the company’s annual U.S. roundup of trending topics, artists and creators.

The “Not Like Us” rapper appeared on the Trending Topics list as well as the Top Songs list, out Monday. Though the Trending Topics list compiled some of the most-searched topics during the year, YouTube noted they were not ranked.

“YouTube is home to a new era of breakthrough entertainment,” said Kevin Allocca, global director of global culture & trends at YouTube, in a statement. “This year’s trends demonstrate how YouTube and its creators not only reflect but actively shape the cultural landscape. We’re seeing a unique blend of community engagement, creator innovation and diverse content coming together to make YouTube the place where culture thrives.”

Interest in the U.S. election was fueled by presidential candidates who appeared on podcasts such as “All the Smoke,” “Call Her Daddy” and “The Joe Rogan Experience,” all of which have major followings on YouTube. Speaking of podcasts, “Club Shay Shay” saw 528 million views in 2024, 83 million of which came from the Kat Williams interview.

When it came to celebrity topics, Sabrina Carpenter and “Sean Combs scandal” made the most-searched list, in addition to Lamar. As for TV and movies, the anime “Jujutsu Kaisen,” Prime Video’s animated musical “Hazbin Hotel,” and Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” all made the cut. The video games “Helldivers 2” and “Roblox’s” Dress to Impress were also included. Content related to Dress to Impress generated over 4 billion views in 2024 alone.

But perhaps the most interesting addition was “The Amazing Digital Circus.” The Australian adult animated web series was first uploaded to YouTube in 2023. Since then, the series has been nominated for an Annie Award and is available to stream on Netflix. Like “Hazbin Hotel,” it stands as an example of an independently made series that gained attention largely through word of mouth and social media chatter rather than more traditional marketing pushes. To date there have been over 25 billion views of videos related to “Amazing Digital Circus.”

When it came to the year’s most popular songs, Lamar made the list twice, once for “Not Like Us,” which secured the No. 1 spot, and a second time for his collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin on “Like That,” which secured the No. 9 spot.

Other featured artists included Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” (No. 2), Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” (No. 3), Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (No. 4), GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” (No. 5), Tommy Richman’s “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” (No. 6), Luis R Conriquez and Netón Vega’s “Si No Quieres No” (No. 7), Xavi’s “La Diabla” (No. 8) and Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)” (No. 10).

Another unsurprising addition was MrBeast at the top of YouTube’s list of creators. Currently, the influencer has 329 million subscribers. Other creators on the list included the Stokes Twins (97 million subs), UR · Cristiano (66.6 million subs), CaseOH (6.03 million subs), Zack D. Films (16.6 million subs), Nick DiGiovanni (21.3 million subs), Jordan Matter (26.2 million subs), Mark Rober (59.3 million subs), The Trench Family (9.71 million subs) and Camilla Araujo (7.68 million subs). Despite their varying subscriber counts, this roundup reflects the most popular creators in 2024.

Finally, YouTube also unveiled 2024’s top songs on YouTube Shorts. Tommy Richman (“MILLION DOLLAR BABY”), Lay Bankz (“Tell Ur Girlfriend”), prodbycpkshawn [“Pop like this Pt. 2 (Slow”)], Odetari (“KEEP UP”), Bobby Caldwell (“What You Won’t Do for Love”), фрози and Joyful [“Bounce (I Just Wanna Dance)], Eternxlkz (“SLAY!”) Megan Thee Stallion [“Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba)], Surf Curse (“Disco”) and Steve Lacy (“Static”) all made the list.

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TheWrap Wins 7 First Place National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, Including Best Entertainment Blog https://www.thewrap.com/thewrap-national-arts-and-entertainment-journalism-awards-wins-2024-best-blog/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:23:41 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661337 Adam Chitwood, Alexei Barrionuevo, Matthew Creith, Natalie Korach, Andi Ortiz, Drew Taylor and Sharon Waxman secured top honors

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TheWrap secured seven first place wins at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, including a Best Entertainment Blog win for founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman’s “Waxword.”

TheWrap as a whole also won second place in the category of Best Entertainment Website, Online.

Other first place winners included Alexei Barrionuevo, Adam Chitwood, Matthew Creith, Jeremy Fuster, Natalie Korach, Andi Ortiz and Drew Taylor. Barrionuevo and Korach took home the honor for Best Music Feature, Online for their deep dive into the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival, “Death in the Desert: When Hamas Came to an Israeli Rave, Friends Perished.” The piece was described as “A compelling and moving account of a music festival and its tragic aftermath through the words of those affected” by one of the organization’s judges.

In the Hard News category as it related to TV and streaming, Fuster won for “5 Days to End the Strike: When Writers and Studios (Finally) Hit a Contract Breakthrough.” “This story goes deep inside to show the final days leading to a settlement of the Writers Guild strike,” a NAEJ Awards judge wrote.

On the film side of Hard News, Drew Taylor won for “The Final Days of ‘Coyote vs. Acme’: Offers, Rejections and a Roadrunner Race Against Time,” his exploration into how Warner Bros. Discovery came to shelve one of its movies. A NAEJ Awards judge noted that the piece “explains a lot about the film business these days where a picture deemed a potential underperformer can be worth as much as a tax write-off, never to be seen by audiences.”

When it came to the Obituary/In Appreciation category for TV Personalities in both print and online, Creith won for “Norman Lear Blazed a Path for Pushing Political Buttons on Network Television.” “This appreciation for the man and his moment in history expertly combines poignance and hard truths about the time we’re in,” a judge wrote of the piece.

In the Best Celebrity News, Online category, Andi Ortiz won for her insightful “Three Years After Britney, Wendy Williams Shows Celebrity Conservatorships May Still Be Toxic to Women.” “A well-crafted, judiciously reported look at the double standards plaguing conservatorship, presented with compelling insight and detail while avoiding sensationalism,” a judge wrote of the piece.

Finally, Chitwood won in the Best Personality Profile, TV/Streaming Industry — Under 2,500 Words category for his heartfelt “Bill Hader Had an ‘Emotional Comedown’ After Ending ‘Barry.'” The profile was described as “fascinating” by a NAEJ Awards judge. “The author has a lot to work with with the subject matter, and he takes it and runs with it,” they wrote.

Those weren’t the only awards Chitwood and Taylor won. The two also took home a second place win in the Soft News, Film Related category for their deep dive, “The 4K Blu-ray Collectors Market Is the Future of Physical Media.” Steve Pond also won in the Personality Profile, Film Industry — Over 2,500 Words, Print category for his examination of Martin Scorsese, “The Lion in Winter.”

The publication also had two third place winners. Kayla Cobb and Loree Seitz earned bronze in the Diversity in the TV/Streaming Industry, Online category for their article “The Rise of Women’s Sports Isn’t a Moment, It’s a Movement.”

The National Entertainment Journalism Awards were founded in 2008 to recognize the work of U.S.-based entertainment reporters and editors. The awards also includes theater, film and television critics across print, radio, TV and online. Though TheWrap is often a presence at this awards show, the organization’s seven first place wins is a step up from the two the publication took home in 2023. That year also saw Waxman win Best Entertainment Blog for “Waxword.”

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Dinesh D’Souza Apologizes to Man Misidentified as Ballot Harvester in ‘2000 Mules’: ‘Sorry for Any Harm’ https://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouza-apologizes-ballot-harvester-2000-mules/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 14:37:00 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7661339 "Surveillance videos used in the film may not have actually been correlated with the geolocation data," the conservative filmmaker says

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Conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza issued an apology to a man whose blurred-out face appears in the 2020 election conspiracy film for falsely identifying him as a ballot harvester, saying surveillance video footage was not correlated with cell-phone geolocation data as the movie suggests.

“As those who have seen the film or read the book know, ‘2000 Mules’ was based on cell phone geolocation data collected and reviewed by True the Vote,” D’Souza said in the statement on his website. “An analysis of this data revealed highly suspicious patterns of certain cell phones, which were recorded in the location of 10 or more dropboxes. This data was the premise of the film.”

D’Souza said the film makes clear that True The Vote linked the footage and data, but that “we recently learned that surveillance videos used in the film may not have actually been correlated with the geolocation data,” creating the impression that the people pictured were ballot “mules” illegally harvesting votes in 2020.

“While all of these individuals’ images were blurred and unrecognizable, one of the individuals has since come forward publicly and has initiated a lawsuit over the use of his blurred image in the film and the book,” D’Souza wrote. “I owe this individual, Mark Andrews, an apology. I now understand that the surveillance videos used in the film were characterized on the basis of inaccurate information provided to me and my team. If I had known then that the videos were not linked to geolocation data, I would have clarified this and produced and edited the film differently.”

D’Souza argued that his team “operated in good faith and in reliance on True the Vote,” and doubled down on the “basic message” of “2000 Mules,” that there was “systematic election fraud sufficient to call the outcome into question.”

“While the video in the film created an incorrect inference as to Mr. Andrews, the underlying premise of the film holds true,” he wrote.

The distributor of D’Souza’s “2000 Mules” book apologized to Andrews in May.

“I make this apology not under the terms of a settlement agreement or other duress, but because it is the right thing to do, given what we have now learned,” D’Souza said. “While I do not believe Mr. Andrews was ever identified by the film or book, I am sorry for any harm he believes he and his family has suffered as a result of “2000 Mules.”

The post Dinesh D’Souza Apologizes to Man Misidentified as Ballot Harvester in ‘2000 Mules’: ‘Sorry for Any Harm’ appeared first on TheWrap.

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