Olympics Media Games, Biden Aftershocks, White Party Down

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

First up today, Eriq Gardner digs into the growing web of legal entanglements facing Fanatics C.E.O. Michael Rubin—the polarizing host of the annual Hamptons celebrity Fourth of July White Party—as he attempts to aggressively expand his sports merchandising juggernaut.

Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe reveals how foreign policy insiders are digesting the Kamala Harris anointment. On The Town, Matt Belloni gets NBCU chairman Mark Lazarus on the blower to unpack the business of broadcasting the Olympics. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Dylan Byers partake in an incisive meta-analysis of how the media has covered Joe Biden’s exit from the race.

ERIQ GARDNER

For years, Fanatics C.E.O. Michael Rubin has created a nouveau riche fantasy life, best encapsulated by his Hamptons summer “all-white” party, based on his sports merchandising juggernaut. Now, a series of legal headaches threaten Fanatics’ I.P.O., and the industry, itself.

JULIA IOFFE

In the wake of Biden’s departure from the race, the foreign policy crowd is experiencing all the feels—jubilation, resentment, excitement, agony, and the sense that “the chessboard is empty” with Harris atop the ticket. Plus, the view from the Kremlin on the new Democratic nominee (and, for what it’s worth, J.D. Vance).

MATTHEW BELLONI

Matt is joined by Mark Lazarus, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman, to discuss the business behind broadcasting the Olympics, how these Games will feel different than the 2020 Olympics, what they learned from streaming an NFL playoff game on Peacock, Al Michaels’s A.I. broadcasting debut, and NBA rights.

PETER HAMBY & DYLAN BYERS

Dylan Byers joins Peter Hamby for an incisive meta analysis of how the media has covered Joe Biden’s historic decision to exit the presidential race. Among other things: How is MSNBC pivoting to the Harris story, and how will the White House press corps get along with Biden’s former campaign staff?