Rupert Murdoch. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Next Tuesday night, News Corporation will welcome advertisers onto Fox Corporation’s studio lot in Los Angeles for a celebratory cocktail party. The reason: to court their dollars as the company embarks on a major gambit with the launch of the California Post—a western offshoot of the New York Post.
As much of the media struggles to maintain relevance in the digital era and grapples with financial headwinds battering the industry that has hollowed out newsrooms, the Post is expanding, seeing an opportunity in the ruins of the Los Angeles Times and others that have hit hard times. Indeed, the Murdochs appear ready to stake their claim in California, never mind that the politically blue state runs largely counter to the Post’s conservative editorial skew.
Part of that has to do with the sheer size of the nation’s largest state, which, it’s been noted, is home to 40 million people, and thus more GOP voters (even if they’re vastly outnumbered) than most conservative bastions. And while it may seem contradictory for Murdoch to set his sights on a deep-blue state like California, a closer look reveals clear strategic logic. Despite the state’s well-earned liberal reputation, Los Angeles and Orange County harbor a not insignificant number of conservatives—many of whom may be disillusioned with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass over issues like homelessness, crime, and the manner in which they addressed the recent wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January.
While the Post event will be a small reception, Status has learned that the company is bringing out the big guns. Those expected to be in attendance next week include…
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New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks at a protest outside Condé Nast offices. (Photo courtesy James' office)
Countering Condé: On Wednesday at 6 p.m., members of the Condé Nast Union, New Yorker Union, and representatives from the NewsGuild of New York gathered outside Condé Nast’s headquarters at 1 World Trade Center to stage a protest in response to four union members’ abrupt firing last week. The Guild maintains that the firings were “illegal,” as the staffers involved were participating in “legally protected” union action, demanding a full reversal of both the four firings and additional suspensions doled out to others present.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined Susan DeCarava, president of the guild, and other union representatives at the rally in support of the staffers. James went as far to threaten legal action…
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