Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem
In March of this year, an uncomfortable reality dawned on Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, and the non-profit’s leadership team. As he examined the progressive media watchdog’s finances, which had come under enormous strain over the last year amid a costly legal war waged by Elon Musk, Carusone concluded that he would need to make some difficult cuts to the organization.
Soon after, Carusone convened an all-staff Zoom meeting and warned employees of a potential budget shortfall, including the possibility of layoffs. Weeks later, he confirmed that Media Matters would need to reduce costs, but said he wanted to do so as humanely as possible. Rather than impose blanket layoffs, Carusone encouraged employees who expected to leave the organization within the next 12 to 18 months to share their plans with him.
Ultimately, after a series of conversations and one-on-ones, Carusone was forced to make difficult choices. Last month, according to people familiar with the matter, Media Matters…
Stahl Speaks Out: For the first time since the implosion at “60 Minutes,” Lesley Stahl is speaking publicly about the turmoil that has engulfed the storied newsmagazine under Bari Weiss. In an interview with Puck’s Bill Cohan, Stahl described Weiss’ purge of the show’s executive producer, three correspondents, and other top staff as “the hardest chapter of my career” and…
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