| | | | | | | Presented By Instagram | | | | Axios AM | | By Mike Allen · Dec 18, 2022 | | Good morning! Axios' Erica Pandey, at erica@axios.com, is your Sunday host. - Smart Brevity™ count: 1,199 words ... 4½ minutes. Edited by Donica Phifer.
🕎 Hanukkah — the eight-day Jewish festival of lights — begins at sundown. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Musk's media-shifting machine |  | | | Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue | | | | Elon Musk and allies are building a new anti-left media ecosystem almost overnight. - Why it matters: It's as if the New York Times editorial page suddenly flipped to the right.
With the reins in Musk's hands, the right is gaining power in online spaces the left once dominated, Axios' Erica Pandey reports. - "The furious and enthusiastic reactions to Musk's takeover resemble the furious and enthusiastic reactions to presidential races," writes Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for the New York Times (subscription).
- In both cases, Douthat says, "the leadership change really affects how people experience their daily lives,"
Look who's driving the news on Twitter: - Anti-mainstream-media journalists — like Bari Weiss and Matt Taibbi — are driving the narrative, getting the clicks and earning new followers on Musk's Twitter.
- They're thriving in an environment where alternative, anti-left and anti-establishment media has taken center stage.
Case in point: Bari Weiss' new media company, The Free Press — which launched 10 days ago — has amassed nearly 125,000 followers. - That's about three times as many as Puck, the buzzy news outlet with big names that launched in 2021, has picked up.
Look who's gotten the boot: - Twitter suspended a slew of journalists who cover tech and Musk at mainstream media outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN on Thursday, alarming free-speech advocates. Many of the suspended accounts were reinstated over the weekend.
- Taylor Lorenz, a tech columnist for the Washington Post, had her Twitter account suspended late Saturday night after she tweeted requesting Musk's comment on a story, she writes.
- Susan Li of Fox Business also got a ban after reporting on the suspensions, she told CNN's Oliver Darcy.
👀 What we're watching: Musk's moves at Twitter are part of a larger — growing — anti-left, alternative media ecosystem. - For example, Joe Rogan's podcast, with a fan base that leans heavily conservative, per Morning Consult, was the most listened-to show of the second half of 2022, according to Edison Research.
- Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro's podcast is at No. 7 — and climbing.
🥊 Reality check: Musk and his allies say they're pursuing a platform where free speech reigns. But some of his changes to Twitter might reinforce echo chambers. 🔎 The intrigue: Musk announced a new potential Twitter feature Saturday that would allow Twitter Blue users — those who subscribe for verified, blue-check-mark accounts — to "downvote" other accounts by muting or blocking them. - Billionaire investor Mark Cuban replied: "My guess is the blue checks lean pro-Elon and will use the impact of blocks, mutes and likes to create intentional echo chambers that reflect Elon's positions."
🔮 What's next: Musk's Twitter — like Musk himself — can be unpredictable. The CEO has already turned on Weiss, just days after offering the Twitter Files trove to her as a trusted journalist. |     | | | | | | 2. 🌉 Silent downtown |  | | | San Francisco's skyline. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Image | | | | Here's a stunning stat: During a typical week, San Francisco's office buildings are at roughly 40% of their pre-COVID occupancy. - Why it matters: Once bustling, "today San Francisco has what is perhaps the most deserted major downtown in America," Conor Dougherty and Emma Goldberg write in the New York Times (subscription).
San Francisco's office occupancy rates are 7 percentage points below the average major U.S. city. - That's because its downtown — more than that of other metros — relies on the tech industry, which has by and large been enthusiastic about letting employees work from anywhere, forever.
The stakes: The silent downtown has consequences for an entire ecosystem of businesses that counted on office workers' foot traffic — like cafes, salad joints and sandwich shops. | | | | | | | | 3. Scoop: GOP's Jan. 6 rebuttal |  | | | Pro-Trump rioters storm the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Image. | | | | House Republicans are privately plotting to release their own 100+ page rebuttal timed to the Jan. 6 committee report, which is expected Wednesday, Axios' Alayna Treene and Andrew Solender report. - Why it matters: Republicans aim to cast the select committee's report as partisan by contrasting its expected focus on former President Trump with their concentration on Capitol security.
What we're watching: The precise timing is still being worked out, Axios is told, with Republicans waiting to see what the select committee does at its Monday hearing. Details: Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the leader of the shadow group, told Axios their report will "focus on security failures," arguing the select committee has "never dealt with the serious issues." - The Republicans probed the Capitol Police and FBI's intelligence gathering and dissemination, plus insufficient law enforcement — including by interviewing Capitol Police officers.
- By contrast, Banks claimed, the select committee's plan to have Trump as the focal point of its report is "all about political payback."
The other side: The select committee's report is expected to focus on Trump, but the findings on security failures are included in the attachments likely being released with the report, per Politico. | | | | | | | | A message from Instagram | | Explore 30+ Instagram tools helping teens have positive experiences | | |  | | | | Instagram's tools can help parents keep their teens safe on social media, help teens see less sensitive content and help them spend less time on our platform. Because teens' experiences on Instagram should be positive and supportive. Explore our tools and set them up today. | | | | | | 4. ✈️ New lingo: "Bleisure" travel |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | Business travel hasn't bounced back post-pandemic, but "bleisure" travel, combining work and fun, is on the rise. Why it matters: People who travel for work make up 10% of passengers but 55% to 75% of airline revenue. - The end of business travel means fewer flight options and pricier tickets for everyone else.
- But it may be coming back, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription).
What's happening: The work-from-anywhere revolution means people can combine business travel with vacation — and extend business trips to explore new cities for fun. - One trend to watch: These new "bleisure" travelers are filling a key void left by the business travelers of the past. They're booking flights on off days, like Tuesday, because they're not rushing back to the office and can even work from the skies.
- One pandemic casualty: Airlines say same-day business trips — flying out in the morning and back at night — are down.
| | | | | | | | Bonus: ⚽ Pic du jour |  | | | Photo: Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images | | | | French fans show their support for the national team during Sunday's traditional Christmas bath in the Mediterranean Sea off Nice's coast. - The World Cup final, between defending champion France and Argentina, is currently underway.
- Argentina's captain and star Lionel Messi will be vying for his first World Cup title in a decades-long career.
| | | | | | | | 5. 🇺🇸 Honoring heroes |  | | | Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | | In Virginia yesterday, thousands of volunteers joined Wreaths Across America Day at Arlington National Cemetery, decorating the gravestones of fallen service members | | | | | | | | 6. 🎵 Charted: Sleeper hit |  Data: Luminate; Chart: Axios Visuals The second most-streamed song of 2022 in the U.S. was "Heat Waves," by the English group Glass Animals. - Why it matters: "Heat Waves" only really took off after a snippet of it became ubiquitous on TikTok. As such, it's a prime example of how a song that almost no one loves can become huge just thanks to social media, Axios' Felix Salmon writes.
Between the lines: "Heat Waves" didn't look like a megahit upon its release. - It amassed 2.3 million U.S. streams in its first week — respectable, not earth-shattering.
- Compare it with Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero," which picked up 51 million.
The big picture: It's not uncommon for a song to reach 1 billion U.S. cumulative streams. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin," was initially released in 1981 and is still in the 200 most-streamed songs of 2022. | | | | | | | | A message from Instagram | | Set up supervision on Instagram to help keep your teen safe online | | |  | | | | Parents have support when it comes to keeping their teens safe on Instagram. They can see who their teen follows, who follows them and any reports their teen shares once supervision on Family Center is set up. Explore Family Center and set it up today. | | |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | |
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