Who Had the Worst Week?

• Novitas Communications and Aiello PR have settled their lawsuit just weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial. Novitas sued alleging that Aiello PR had reneged on their 2020 agreement to shut down and sell its clients to Novitas for $180,000. Aiello has agreed to pay Novitas $140,000 to settle the matter. 
• Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency company FTX, was convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy and now faces up to 110 years in jail.
• Magazine publisher Condé Nast will cut 5% of its workforce due to “digital advertising pressures, a decline in social media traffic and shifting audience behaviors.”
• Spirit Airlines is leaving DIA. Over the past three years, its marketshare at the airport has dropped from 2.1% to 0.8%, reflecting tough competition with other low-cost carriers Frontier and Southwest.
• Andrew Garson, a senior PR executive at Catalyst Public Relations and MWW in New York City, pled guilty to defrauding his employers of more than $3 million. He created false invoices and used his corporate credit cards for personal expenses.
• Former Denver TV sportscaster Todd Romero filed a lawsuit alleging that Altitude Sports discriminated against him because because of race, age and his decision to seek treatment for a prescription-drug addiction.
• HBO/Max CEO and Chairman Casey Bloys apologized to TV critics for attacking them anonymously for bad reviews via a burner Twitter account. His apology read in part, “I have progressed over the past couple of years to using DMs.” I guess that’s growth.
• The vacancy rate among downtown Denver office space has now topped 30% for the first time since the early 1990s.
• A U.S. District Court judge dismissed former Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against former Denver Broncos Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe had criticized Favre after the State of Mississippi sued Favre alleging he misappropriated funds intended to help welfare families.
• Meanwhile, former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels was fired this week by the Las Vegas Raiders. He made history by being the first NFL head coach fired by two teams before he completed his second season with either.
• The social media platform Twitter (“X”) says its value is now $19 billion, less than half of the $44 billion Elon Musk paid for it a year ago. Users and advertisers have left the platform in droves since he took over.
• Street fights and looting are one thing, but teens in New Zealand have completely crossed the line. The latest trend is to cruise the streets overnight in cars and on bicycles with powerful speakers belting out. … Celine Dion.
• A man swimming in a scenic Northern California lake was attacked by a group of otters. “They wanted to kill me,” he said. “If we wanted to kill you, you’d be dead,” the otters should have responded.
• The Milwaukee Bucks invited rapper Flavor Flav to the sing the national anthem at one of its games this week, and it went exactly how you thought it would.
• FIFA is poised to award soccer’s 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia despite its atrocious human rights record and stifling heat.

So, who won the week?

• Denver Mayor Mike Johnston‘s administration continues to fill open roles. DIA Acting Director of Communications Jose Salas was named Deputy Director of Communications, and 9News producer Erin Powell accepted a position as deputy director of digital media.
• Independent (and occasionally renegade) journalist Shay Castle has been named editor of the Boulder Weekly.
• Sports talk radio host Darren “D-Mac” McKee, who was let go from 104.3 The Fan in September, landed this week at Altitude Sports Radio 92.5.