Jay Penske attends the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. (Photo by Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
Late last month, Status first revealed that Jay Penske’s media empire had been offering podcasters pricey packages to boost their Golden Globe prospects—an awards show he also owns. The report sent shockwaves through his newsrooms, Status has learned, reverberating across the various Hollywood trade publications that he owns and prompting internal concern that was communicated to senior editors.
The controversy centers around a new “Best Podcast” award that the Penske Media Corporation-operated Globes announced would be handed out at this year's annual ceremony. The company unveiled a list of 25 podcasts eligible for the new honor, a list that includes right-wing hosts like Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro, in addition to outright extremists like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
But PMC went further than simply including the right-wing shows as possible contenders. As Status previously reported, Penske’s company quietly started selling marketing packages—costing upwards of $75,000—that allow podcasters to promote their programs directly to Globes voters who will determine the winner. According to a pitch deck Status obtained, the $75,000 package includes a “Variety Creative Impact Award” and a feature story across Variety’s magazine, website, and social channels. It also comes with an onstage award presentation at a PMC event. In other words, toxic right-wing figures can pay to be showered in positive coverage.
Suffice to say, the pay-to-play offer has not sat well with the publication’s staff—and the discontent has radiated across the broader PMC universe. According to multiple people familiar with the matter…
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Dan Bongino. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Bongino Barks Back: The heads of Donald Trump's Very Tough FBI, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, are showcasing their thin skin, apparently unable to tolerate scrutiny from within their own MAGA ranks. On Thursday, Bongino erupted at Rep. Thomas Massie over a tweet about the FBI’s probe into the January 6 pipe bomber, unloading on him on X: “You know my number, and you’re free to call me anytime. But it’s easier to tweet and throw BS bombs,” Bongino fumed, dismissing the congressman as “a dog barking behind a fence.” Of course, given Bongino’s former career as a dishonest podcaster who made millions throwing “BS bombs” himself, the lengthy screed was chock full of irony.
In any event, soon after, the FBI…
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