Maddow’s first Hollywood venture based on ‘Great Sedition Trial’

NEWS AND OPINION:

Longtime MSNBC host Rachel Maddow — who retired from her prime-time perch earlier this year vowing to “work on special projects” — seems to have begun that quest. And it appears to be a big deal — a very big and complex deal even by Hollywood standards.

“After drawing interest from several high-profile buyers, Rachel Maddow is partnering with one of the biggest players in town on a feature adaptation of her podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra,” reports Deadline Hollywood, an industry source.

The eight-episode podcast was produced by Ms. Maddow with support from MSNBC and NBC. It is centered on the “Great Sedition Trial of 1944” — which MSNBC describes as “an all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power,” in which members of Congress aid and abet a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.

“Amblin Entertainment has optioned film rights to the podcast from MSNBC and Maddow’s production company Surprise Inside. Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger would produce the film for Amblin,” Deadline said.

Amblin Entertainment was founded by Mr. Spielberg and is known for producing such blockbuster films as “Back to the Future,” and “Saving Private Ryan.” Ms. Krieger is a Golden Globe-winning producer who has collaborated with Mr. Spielberg, most recently as producer of “The Fabelmans” and “West Side Story.”

All this activity, Deadline said, is one of “many projects” in Ms. Maddow’s expanding creative portfolio.

MEANWHILE, IN EL PASO

A Texas city continues to grapple with the U.S. border crisis. El Paso — like many cities in the region — likely will face a new surge of migrants when Title 42 expires in less than a week. The pandemic-era policy previously allowed the U.S. Border Patrol to turn away migrants effectively.

“El Pasoans are compassionate and welcoming people, so it should come as no surprise that, when faced with a federal humanitarian crisis brought about by a migration surge, the city responds with a respectful and dignified approach,” Mario D’Agostino, the deputy city manager for public safety, wrote in a column for the El Paso Times.

He noted that the city has a new Migrant Welcome Center and continues to provide “a variety of triage services” for the new arrivals.

“As of Monday, Dec. 5, within the 2022 calendar year, the city has spent $9.52 million supporting the federal migrant crisis. The city has received $2.24 million from [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]. The city continues to work on recouping the additional $7.28 million still pending reimbursement from the federal government. We are thankful that the county has now taken on the Migrant Center Welcome Center duties with the federal funding it received,” Mr. D’Agostino said.

“In preparation for the end of Title 42, and the exponential surge that will take place, the city will have to assist again in a much larger role to handle the increase and we have prepared by requesting an additional $20 million in advanced funding from FEMA to support continued assistance for non-governmental organizations, the reopening of the city’s Migrant Welcome Center, shelter, meals, transportation, and support services for migrants arriving in El Paso,” Mr. D’Agostino wrote.

“Taking care of the migrants means we are also taking care of our community, as we do not want to add to the homeless population,” he said, advising local citizens to consult the city’s online El Paso Migrant Situational Awareness Dashboard for “up-to-date, clear, and transparent information regarding the ongoing migrant crisis” — and to continue to support six local charities that are now focused on aiding the newcomers.

MEANWHILE, IN THE MEDIA

There was significant border-related coverage this week. according to Kathleen Krumhansl, a Media Research Center analyst who covers “Latino news” for the conservative press watchdog.

Univision — the largest provider of Spanish-language TV programming in the U.S. — had a media moment of note on Tuesday.

“Univision’s normally melodramatic coverage of the calamity going on at the nation’s southern border experienced a rare moment of lucidity when anchor Satcha Pretto, from Univision’s Despierta America, shamed President Joe Biden for his failure to visit the border and ‘see for himself what was happening’ during last week’s public relations trip to Arizona,” Ms. Krumhansl wrote in an analysis.

“‘There are many who wonder how it’s possible that although President Biden was there, very close to the border last week, he did not go to see for himself what was happening, Pretto said to close the three-minute report by Elyangelica Gonzalez, effectively becoming the sole Latino journalist to bring up Biden’s total lack of interest in facing the disaster he has created,” Ms. Krumhansl said.

Ms. Gonzalez also referred to the border situation as “chaos,” the analyst noted.

FOXIFIED

In the week of Dec. 5-11, Fox News drew the largest audience across the entire cable TV realm, drawing an average of 2.2 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The week also marked the 95th in a row in which Fox News outranked MSNBC and CNN in the cable news bout. Fox News, in fact, aired 74 of the top 100 cable newscasts.

The Fox News ratings champions, meanwhile, continue to score. “The Five” was the most-watched cable news program of the week with an average daily audience of 3.3 million viewers, followed by “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” with 3 million, and “Jesse Watters Primetime” with 2.8 million.

Morning fare fared very well, indeed. “Fox & Friends” bested rivals for the 90th week in a row with 1.3 million viewers — compared with CNN’s “This Morning” (442,000 viewers) and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” (953,000 viewers).

POLL DU JOUR

• 12% of small-business owners in the U.S. rate their area’s overall economic health as “very good.”

• 18% rate their local economy as “somewhat good.”

• 30% rate their local economy as “about average.”

• 29% rate the local economy as “somewhat poor.”

• 10% rate the local economy as “very poor.”

• 1% “don’t know” how to rate the local economy.

SOURCE: A Metlife/Ú.S. Chamber of Commerce/Ipsos survey of 750 small-business owners and operators in the U.S. conducted Oct. 11-27 and released Wednesday.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.