Who Had the Worst Week?

• It’s official: Nexstar, the owner of Denver‘s Fox31 and CW2, is acquiring Tegna, the owner of 9News. So will Nexstar relegate 9News to the same second-tier role as CW2? It makes my head hurt, but that is one potential outcome suggested by Inside the News in Colorado‘s Corey Hutchins. By the way, Corey’s newsletter is a must-read for anyone in Colorado‘s journalism and public relations industries. You can subscribe for free.
• Watchmaker Swatch issued an apology and pulled an ad campaign that featured images of a male Asian model pulling the corners of his eyes up and backwards in what critics called a derogatory “slanted eye” pose.
• President Donald Trump has threatened Colorado with unnamed “harsh measures!!!” – using three exclamation points, so you know he means it – if Gov. Jared Polis doesn’t immediately pardon election conspiracist and felon Tina Peters. President Trump posted online: “Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!”
• Walmart has recalled frozen shrimp in 13 states due to radioactive contamination.
• A few years ago, ESPN was trumpeting its business relationship with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s production company. This week, it withdrew from a collaboration with Kaepernick and filmmaker Spike Lee on a docuseries about Kaepernick’s banishment from the NFL for speaking out on social justice issues. I wonder what changed over the past couple of years?
• Cracker Barrel enthusiasts are accusing the company’s new logo of being “woke” and the always-helpful Donald Trump, Jr. used his X account to suggest that the company’s new brand is linked to its inclusive hiring practices. Meanwhile, Steak ‘n Shake, lays hanging around the brink of bankruptcy, has decided that this is another opportunity to try to ingratiate itself into MAGA culture by trolling Cracker Barrel.
•  A volunteer adviser to Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams “has been suspended from his reelection campaign after she handed a journalist an envelope of cash stuffed inside a bag of potato chips.” Now questions are being raised about whether this is a standard Adams practice with Chinese-language media.
• With temperatures in the high 90s this week, Denver Public Schools was forced to close 13 of its schools due to extreme heat. The first week of June typically is in the high 70s to low 80s. Maybe time to think about pushing the school year back a few weeks into June?
• MSNBC is rebranding as MS NOW following NBCUniversal’s decision to spin off its cable assets.
• Newsmax has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems for $67 million. That is a lot, but not nearly as much as the $788 million Fox agreed to pay for making similar false election-rigging claims.
• James Dobson, the founder of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family that helped position the city as the cultural center of far-right religious politics, died at the age of 89.
• Fun fact: “The White Lotus,” “The Wire,” “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” are among the televisions shows banned in Russia. Homosexual relationships and poking fun at Vladimir Putin appear to be two gig reasons shows get banned.
• Ari Shapiro, host of NPR‘s “All Things Considered” who will be honored as the Denver Press Club‘s annual Damon Runyon Award winner in October, will depart the network in late September. He is the latest highly visible NPR employee to leave since Congress stripped federal funding from public broadcasters.

Who won the week?

• Adams State softball player Emily Sauvageau auctioned the Shohei Ohtani home run ball she caught – the 300th of his career – for $44,322.
• Note: “Who Had the Worst Week?” will be taking the next couple of weeks off for vacation. See you in September.