Network News Switcheroos, Wonder Walz, The $10B Cosmetics Kingpin

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compendium of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Dylan Byers offers a potpourri of insider media news and scuttlebutt: WBD’s brutal quarter, the looming Zaz-Roberts showdown, CBS News’s musical chairs, ABC’s post-Godwin landscape, the Axios pivot, and more.

Plus, below the fold: William D. Cohan gets an inside look at the Harris campaign’s astounding two-week fundraising blitz. Rachel Strugatz chats with e.l.f. C.M.O. Kory Marchisotto about the cosmetics kingpin‘s meticulous corporate strategy. Peter Hamby trades notes with John Heilemann about the real impact of Tim Walz on the ’24 race. On Somebody’s Gotta Win, Tara Palmeri sits down with Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik to dissect how the Trump campaign is struggling to define its political foils. On The Town, Matt Belloni rings up the NYT’s Brooks Barnes to unpack Disney’s latest earnings report and Iger’s fresh challenges. And on The Powers That Be, Lauren Sherman joins Peter to reveal the trouble brewing at Nike before offering some pressing observations on campaign trail fashion faux pas.

DYLAN BYERS

News and notes on a particularly busy August in the industry: David Zaslav’s brutal quarter, CBS News’s uninspiring new management structure, Deb OConnell’s moves at ABC, and Axios’s pivot.

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16 Emmy^® Nominations

Including

Outstanding Drama Series

Outstanding Writing — Francesca Sloane & Donald Glover

Outstanding Directing — Hiro Murai

Outstanding Lead Actor — Donald Glover

Outstanding Lead Actress — Maya Erskine

"brilliant" — THE TIMES

"Everything is layered in truth, whether it’s an awkward first meeting, honest conversations, irresistible lust, or the kind of heart-puncturing fights that only happen when you know a person inside out." — AV CLUB

MR. & MRS. SMITH is available for Television Academy members at ConsiderAmazon.com

WILLIAM D. COHAN

My candid chat with Rufus Gifford, son of the legendary banker, and now Jeffrey Katzenberg’s partner in shaking the money tree and “creating connectivity” between the donor world and the Harris-Walz campaign.

RACHEL STRUGATZ

How the multibillion-dollar cosmetics kingpin outmaneuvered rivals through savvy marketing (Jennifer Coolidge!), employee equity, and behaving more like a Silicon Valley startup than a New York beauty brand.

PETER HAMBY & JOHN HEILEMANN

After tangoing with Shapiro, Kamala Harris is taking Mr. Minnesota Nice Guy to the big dance. Puck’s Peter Hamby and John Heilemann discuss why veep picks almost never make a difference—until they do.