| | | | | There are 23 bodies inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Two more bodies outside. A 26th churchgoer died after being transported to the hospital. The killer died while trying to flee. What is there to say, other than a prayer? | | | "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name..." | | | LINKS: "Among the dead were several children, a pregnant woman and the pastor's 14-year-old daughter..." BuzzFeed has a running list of all the viral hoaxes about the shooting and the suspect... Per CNN, "2 of the 5 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history happened in the last 35 days..." The Onion has republished the story that it posts in the wake of mass shootings: "'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens..." | | Mobilizing staffers in San Antonio | | San Antonio is about 30 miles from the crime scene. San Antonio Express-News editor Mike Leary told me how his newsroom mobilized: "We noticed Twitter traffic about a shooting and our digital producer, Chris Quinn, followed up. That led to stories posted on mySA, our free site. Pretty quickly, we were able to verify that the shooter was dead and that there were massive casualties at the church. As you can imagine, at midday, we had a skeleton crew, but we sent our on-duty Express-News reporter and mySA dispatched its police reporter. Our photo editor diverted a photographer who had been assigned to cover the Spurs NBA game. We followed up by calling multiple additional reporters to send to the site, including our federal courts reporter who is well-sourced with law enforcement. We also sent two other photographers."
As the afternoon went on: "We also called in additional reporters to work the phones and take feeds from the field as well as editors to supervise the copy. We added additional pages to our Monday section and scrapped our planned front-page stories. Our chief designer came in as well to oversee the additional pages and to develop graphics..." | | | The cablers added hours of live coverage on Sunday. MSNBC's Ali Velshi tweeted that he's en route to Sutherland Springs... ABC's "GMA" news anchor Amy Robach and chief national correspondent Matt Gutman arrived Sunday night... When the attack happened, CNN en Español's Gustavo Valdes was a few hours away in Houston, so he arrived in the community by Sunday evening for live shots... CNN's Chris Cuomo and John Berman will anchor from there on Monday morning... Cuomo tweeted Sunday evening: "Don't forget - frequency of mass shootings is uniquely American. It is not inevitable. It is not natural..." | | Everytown spox: "We certainly aren't numb to it" | | Everytown for Gun Safety tweeted Sunday evening: "Remember the victims, not the shooter. Refrain from using the Sutherland Springs shooter's name. #NoNotoriety"
I thought to myself -- Everytown and other gun control groups must be numb to the mass murder news cycle -- an overwhelming number of requests for comments and interviews, and then a return to the status quo? But Taylor Maxwell, Everytown's deputy comms director, said no: "My sense is that the repetition of the same horrors is as traumatic for reporters as it is for us -- we certainly aren't numb to it."
"What's often lost is that as the news cycle moves on, Americans rise up," Maxwell told me... "The vast majority of Americans want common sense gun safety laws -- our job in these moments is to make sure that reporters hear them. And I'd argue we're gaining ground on that..." The group tries to convert "immediate outrage and heartbreak online" into action... | | -- WashPost's Paul Farhi: "America, slowly bleeding to death."
-- Juliette Kayyem on CNN: "We have to begin to view these kinds of shootings as homeland security issues..."
-- Radio host Hugh Hewitt: "3 deadly hurricanes, two mass shootings and devastating fires...I don't recall any stretch like this since the months following 9/11..."
-- EW's Dana Schwartz: "I know it's too soon to use #Texas to talk gun control, so let's have that conversation now but it'll be about Vegas..." | | Rachel Crosby, the state courts reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, recently wrote about what it was like to break the news that 20+ were dead in the Vegas concert attack. The final death toll was 58. She felt an immediate urge to "reject the truth," she told me, maybe in an effort to protect her community. She said she "struggled with that but went on autopilot, reporting while internally screaming."
How did it feel to watch this unfold in another community? "Reading the news out of Sutherland Springs sent me into a wave of weird, secondhand grief," she said. "October 1st was so difficult for me and thousands of others, and it makes me so incredibly sad to imagine more people having to go through something like it..." | | | From the people who brought you the Panama Papers... | | | "It's called the Paradise Papers" because the papers come from a law firm based in Bermuda. As the NYT's Michael Forsythe explains here, it's "the latest in a series of leaks made public by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists shedding light on the trillions of dollars that move through offshore tax havens." Reporters at the German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung shared the document trove with ICIJ, and then 90+ news orgs got involved. American partners included the NYT, NBC News, and Vice... | | -- By Jackie Wattles and Jill Disis: "What you need to know about the Paradise Papers..."
-- There are 13 million+ leaked docs...
-- Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails: The NYT's Jesse Drucker used the papers to report on how investments by Yuri Milner in Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Twitter were backed by VTB, a Russian state-controlled bank, through "a maze of offshore shell companies..."
-- Here's how ICIJ plans to publish more info throughout the week... | | -- This is what a "White House in crisis" looks like: Only 1 in 3 Americans believe their president is "honest and trustworthy," according to the new WashPost/ABC poll...
-- I talked about Trump's record-low approval #'s with Eliana Johnson and Errol Louis on Sunday's "Reliable..."
-- Via CNN: "A resignation, detentions and missiles: 24 hours that shook the Middle East..."
-- Seconding what Andrea Mitchell tweeted about the Saudi purge: "Long term," the "most important story of the day?"
-- The news about Rand Paul being assaulted was disturbing enough on Saturday... but it became even worse on Sunday... his injuries were "more severe than originally reported," including five rib fractures... | | Kellyanne Conway on "Reliable Sources" | | When interviewing a newsmaker, sometimes non-answers are just as revealing as answers. That's how I felt about my Sunday morning interview with Kellyanne Conway. Watch the video on CNN.com. Here's what I asked and what she said in response:
-- Me: "Given President Trump's historically low approval ratings, what specific steps are you and your colleagues taking to try to repair Trump's credibility?" Conway: "Let me tell you about the numbers that matter to America," like the "1.5 million jobs created on his watch..."
-- Me: "I think viewers see what you're doing, pivoting. When I say Russia, you say Clinton. It's part of the strategy. Would you agree?" Conway: "I'd be happy to never talk about the 2016 election again..."
-- Me: Per the WSJ, the DOJ is weighing a lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner deal. "Has President Trump had any involvement in the review of this deal?" Conway: "We're not going to interfere with that..."
-- Me: "What about the Sinclair-Tribune deal? Sinclair has a conservative bent. Does he oppose that deal?" Conway: "Haven't discussed that with him recently. We don't discuss that here..." | | The most blatant pivot of all | | I suggested POTUS should be more transparent by, for example, releasing his tax returns. Trump filed an extension this year, so "the deadline to file his federal tax return was October 18. Do you know if he has filed his tax returns?" Conway: "Do you know what it might look like in the future? A postcard or a--"
I interrupted: "That's a great pivot and I respect the pivot, but why will he not release this year's tax return?"
She said "I think Americans want to know about the tax cuts." I think they also want to know about the president's tax return! | | | Speaking of transparency, I asked: "Will President Trump see the White House doctor and will he release the results of his physicals?" Conway: "I don't ask the president about private matters about his health or--" I jumped in: "It's not a private matter. All presidents disclose their medical records and they disclose their physicals..." | | Reactions to the Conway interview | | -- Conway repeatedly asserted that CNN is "anti-Trump" and "should own" that position. At the end of the interview, I responded: "We're not anti-Trump, Kellyanne. We're pro-truth. We're pro-honesty. We're pro-decency, and this is a tough moment in American history for people that support facts and decency."
-- Many web sites picked up on Conway's false claim that the dossier is "completely unverified," and my response, "That is misinformation that you're spreading on my program..."
-- Some viewers said I shouldn't have booked Conway in the first place. I respectfully disagree. Interviewing someone and getting non-answers is better than having no interview at all. Decide for yourself, here's the transcript...
-- Jay Rosen's take in this Twitter thread: "Whatever Brian asked her, Kellyanne 'answered' with either a reason CNN sucks, or a 'why aren't we talking about Hillary Clinton?' This would force Brian to meta-communicate about her pivoting, which made the interview all about her refusal to do an interview. As public information, such an exchange is almost useless. As public performance, it allows CNN and Kellyanne to beat up on each other." | | -- A story on the front page of Sunday's NYT that must've made Google execs cringe: How "videos that are disturbing for children" slip past YouTube Kids' filters... (NYT)
-- Richard Deitsch writes: "Tony Romo had his toughest challenge this week as a broadcaster." He called his first Dallas Cowboys game. "Here's how he did..." (SI)
-- Jim Rutenberg's Monday column is about Rumiyah, "ISIS's in-house magazine," just a Google search away... (NYT) | | WSJ poaches the NYT's Gretchen Morgenson | | | A "whoa" moment in the battle between the WSJ and the NYT's business section: Gretchen Morgenson, a 19-year vet of the NYT, "will join The Journal's Investigative team as a senior special writer, starting late this month," according to this internal memo, sent out on Sunday... | | Media week ahead calendar | | -- Monday: The premiere of HBO's four-hour documentary "Rolling Stone: Stories From the Edge..."
-- Tuesday: Election Day in America!
-- Tuesday after the bell: Snapchat earnings...
-- Wednesday after the bell: 21st Century Fox earnings...
-- Wednesday night: 51st Annual CMA Awards...
-- Thursday: Randall Stephenson, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jack Dorsey at the NYT's DealBook conference...
-- Thursday after the bell: Disney and News Corp. earnings...
-- Friday: Taylor Swift's new album drops...
-- Friday: "Murder on the Orient Express" opens, 43 years after the original Agatha Christie adaptation... | | U.S. Media Literacy Week! | | | Monday marks the start of the third annual U.S. Media Literacy Week. Reuters and the National Association for Media Literacy Education are hosting a conference on the subject... And I'll be on the first panel of the day. Here's the agenda... Follow along via the hashtags #MediaLitWk and #mlw17 on Twitter... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Flipboard's Josh Quittner says Facebook's "withering contempt for 'news' was obvious from the company's start." He writes: "Thanks to the newsfeed, 'news' became a meaningless word..." (Medium)
-- ICYMI: The Harvard Crimson writes critically about the off-the-record privileges enjoyed by visiting fellow Sean Spicer, asking for the school to put an end to "secret Harvard fellowships..." (The Crimson)
-- The French equivalent of #MeToo is #BalanceTonPorc, or "Out your pig." NPR looks at how the Weinstein scandal is causing shockwaves across the pond... (NPR) | | | NPR CEO Jarl Mohn, under fire for his mishandling of the Michael Oreskes harassment scandal, sent another memo to staffers on Saturday. He said "I have pledged to do better, and I will... NPR's Board of Directors is engaging an outside law firm to undertake a thorough review of what happened, when, and how. The results of that review will go to the Board, and we will share with you a summary of that review and the recommendations that come out of it..." And he said Oreskes "will not be receiving any severance pay or any other separation benefits..." | | | David Folkenflik's latest reporting on the Oreskes matter: "In recent days, I have spoken to nine women," and their allegations present "an insidious pattern," he said on "Reliable..." | | New story by Ronan Farrow coming very soon... | | Ronan Farrow's next Weinstein story for The New Yorker could come out as soon as Monday. He was coy on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," but he said "there's certainly more to say here about the reasons why this stayed quiet as long as it did, and I think some of the answers to that question will come out in this reporting..."
-- More: Farrow was loath to talk about why NBC scrapped his story, forcing him to take it to The New Yorker, but he said he knew that to "not run this story would be a dereliction of my ethical duties." Re: NBC, he added, "I don't want to become the story right now. There may be more to say about that later..." | | This weekend's other developments | | -- In Hollywood: "Primary Wave Entertainment co-CEO David Guillod has resigned from the company following sexual assault allegations," THR reports...
-- A first-person essay by actor Harry Dreyfuss: "When I Was 18, Kevin Spacey Groped Me"
-- Jessica Bennett, the new NYT gender editor, has this in Monday's paper: "How the Weinstein Scandal Unleashed a Tsunami"
-- On Monday: The Producers Guild of America is set to make its final determination on Weinstein's expulsion... | | With President Trump, Rupert Murdoch has achieved "what he's always wanted in this country," a "direct line to the person at the top of the pyramid of government. He's got a flawed president in his mind, but one he's going to stick with as long as he can..."
--David Folkenflik on Sunday's "Reliable Sources..." | | Milo is NOT writing a column for The Daily Caller, after all | | The Daily Caller on Saturday, facing backlash, fired its opinion editor and canceled a weekly column he had offered right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, Oliver Darcy reports.
What went wrong here? Daily Caller EIC Geoffrey Ingersoll fired opinion editor Rob Mariani, telling Darcy in a statement that Mariani was let go for "failure to properly convey" the deal he made with Yiannopoulos to him and the website's CEO. But Mariani told Darcy that the idea to publish Yiannopoulos's initial column was suggested to him by a top editor and that it was "met with enthusiasm" by Ingersoll... Read more here... | | What happens when local newsrooms wither | | Days after Joe Ricketts abruptly closed DNAinfo, Gothamist, DCist and a group of other local news web sites, some of the laid-off staffers will hold a rally on Monday with the Writers Guild of America, East...
-- On Sunday's "Reliable Sources," Errol Louis pointed out that cuts in local news coverage are "almost imperceptible" sometimes, but have lasting consequences. "This is a problem that people have tried to wish away," he said. "People thought there would be technological solutions. None of that has panned out so far." Watch our segment here...
-- Harry Siegel's latest: "The news hole keeps shrinking and the memory hole keeps growing..." | | | For the record, part four | | | -- Congratulations to CNN's David Chalian and his husband Justin Bernstine! They were married on Saturday at the Parker Palm Springs... (NYT)
-- Margaret Sullivan's Monday column is about the media's successes and failures in the year since Trump was elected... (WashPost)
-- Speaking of the campaign: Nonsensical claims in Donna Brazile's book got a lot of media attention over the weekend. Her "Hacks" tour will continue all week long...
-- Now the president's Asia trip is underway... Lester Holt is anchoring from Seoul for the next two days....
-- Saturday's "SNL," hosted by Larry David, scored its best overnight #'s "so far this season..." (TVNewser) | | Jimmy Fallon's mother has died | | Deepest condolences to Jimmy Fallon, whose mother Gloria Fallon died on Saturday. She was 68. "Jimmy was at his mother's bedside, along with her loved ones, when she passed away at NYU Langone Medical Center in NYC. Our prayers go out to Jimmy and his family as they go through this tough time," an NBC spokeswoman said.
Per Today.com: "In light of Fallon's loss, NBC has announced that 'The Tonight Show' tapings for the coming week have been cancelled..." | | | Frank Pallotta writes: Make that 17 for 17 for Marvel. "Thor: Ragnarok," Marvel Studios' seventeenth film, opened on top of the box office this weekend. That keeps the perfect streak alive for Disney's superhero studio. It has never had one of its films fall short of opening in the number one spot. The film brought in an estimated $121 million in 4,080 theaters in North America this weekend. That makes "Ragnarok" the fourth-largest opening of the year in the U.S. It is also by far the biggest opening for the character... Read more... | | Here's Tom Hanks playing Ben Bradlee | | | Steven Spielberg's "The Post" will hit theaters in December... And we're starting to see stills from the set... Here are Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, via Hollywood Elsewhere... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I appreciate every message. The feedback helps us craft the next day's newsletter! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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