| | | | | Exec summary: Time Inc. staffers are on edge about Meredith's takeover... The WashPost beat James O'Keefe at his own twisted "game..." And "Access Hollywood" has a response to the latest controversy over the "Access" tape... | | President Trump wants to hold a fake news "contest," complete with a "fake news trophy." Hmmm. Wait, shouldn't he be a candidate?
Every time he asserts that real, established news outlets are "fake" while promoting sources that are full of actual fake info... every time he blasts the free press and promotes an alternative pro-Trump universe... it's a setback for media literacy and an informed citizenry. Here's my latest column... | | | On Sunday's "Reliable," John Avlon commented that "most presidents do grow into the office," but not Trump -- he has "rejected that mantle of responsibility." Case in point: One year ago today, Trump claimed that "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." There weren't millions of illegal votes, and he did not win the popular vote. What happened when CNN pointed this out one year ago today? He posted a string of tweets bashing CNN. One year later, his Twitter feed is still a mix of anti-media sentiment and conspiratorial tweets... | | | It's unclear who's running MAGAPILL. But the reasons for the site are pretty clear. The webmasters are seizing on a market opportunity -- offering up sycophantic pro-Trump news in an alternative universe from the national news media. I tried to point this out in a piece for "Erin Burnett OutFront" on Monday night. Trump's recent retweet gave MAGAPILL a presidential thumbs-up... It's a site and Twitter feed filled with fringe conspiracy theories... | | | All of Monday's storylines... Trump smearing real news as "fake," promoting conspiratorial sites, suggesting the "Access" tape was faked, calling Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas..." all of it leads back to the uncomfortable question that Bob Corker and others have raised: Is President Trump fit for office? And if not, then what? | | -- Politico's Jason Schwartz says "Trump's tweet over the weekend criticizing CNN International produced extra frustration and exasperation because of the inherent risks of overseas reporting and the feeling that his message imperiled journalists working in countries hostile to a free press..."
-- Wolf Blitzer: "No matter how many insults or blatant assaults on the press and its freedom," the pursuit of the truth continues. "Even the loudest critics can't silence the facts."
-- Jake Tapper on Trump's "insatiable coverage for glowing coverage:" The president "seeks to discredit voices that do not show him deference. This seems, at least in part, to undermine accountability for him and his administration..." | | "They call her Pocahontas" | | | Warren says Trump's comment on Monday was a "racial slur." Sarah Sanders says it was not. That's how you get cable news banners that say things like "TRUMP DIDN'T USE A RACIAL SLUR..." | | "I think it is important that we don'' all become immune to statements like this from the President of the United States..."
--Dana Bash on "The Situation Room," reacting to the "Pocahontas" insult... | | | YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST... | | | To be announced on Tuesday: Shonda Rhimes is guest-editing The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment issue... The edition officially comes out on 12/6... It's "the first time THR has enlisted a guest editor in the 26-year history of the Women in Entertainment issue." For Rhimes, it's a chance to promote her new site Shondaland.com... | | James O'Keefe and his "colleagues" schemed to bait a WashPost reporter with a fake sexual assault allegation against Roy Moore -- hoping that the Post would reveal its bias in the initial conversations and eventually publish the lie. That's the account from the Post -- described in exquisite detail here -- definitely the #1 story of the day among news media insiders. Read all the way to the kicker!
-- O'Keefe is spinning... saying he's got embarrassing videos from inside the Post... we'll see about that. So far, it's a "nothing-burger," to borrow one of his favorite terms...
-- Context: You'll recall that CNN was targeted months ago by O'Keefe. So was the NYT. It's been a wake-up call for many journalists -- there could be pranksters out there trying to entrap you...
-- Bottom line: Figures like O'Keefe aren't trying to improve journalism. They're trying to tear it down. O'Keefe is exactly the kind of "anti-journalism" purveyor I described on "Reliable" over the summer... Here's the video... | | -- The Examiner's Byron York tweeted that O'Keefe's idiocy was "beyond boneheaded." He said "O'Keefe really ought to hang it up. Stupidity + maliciousness a bad combination..."
-- NYMag's Jonathan Chait: "Conservative tries to prove the Washington Post is fake news, proves the opposite by mistake..."
-- I'll have more on this on CNN's "New Day" in the 6 and 7am hours on Tuesday... | | What O'Keefe really "exposed" | | | A loyal newsletter reader named Geoffrey emails: "I applaud Project Veritas' hard work in exposing good reporters engaged in serious journalism. Their lies in attempts to create 'fake news' have instead shown that the 'terrible' MSM have standards and don't print whatever they're told, even if it fits into some greater narrative..." | | Shares in Time Inc. and Meredith both surged 10% on Monday's deal news. Morale at Time Inc. went in an opposite direction. CNNMoney obtained a recording of one of outgoing Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista's two town halls... The very first question was about the Koch brothers' involvement in backing the Meredith deal... Per Frank Pallotta, who listened to the whole recording, an employee asked why the brothers would invest more than $600 million in the company "if not to influence our journalism?"
"I can't speculate on exactly what their decision making was," Battista responded. "What I can do is tell you the facts we got today, and those are that Meredith has made it clear in their press release that the Koch brothers won't have any board seat, that they won't be influencing management, or editorial operations..." | | Will the weekly mags be sold? | | | The headline from Battista's talk with staffers: Meredith may not keep of all of Time Inc.'s titles. "They're going to do a pretty exhaustive review," he said, "and at that time they're going to decide what makes sense for them going forward." Meredith's expertise is in monthly mags, so will weeklies like Time and Fortune be sold? If so, to whom? The Daily Beast popped a story on Monday night about National Enquirer owner David Pecker's interest in Time... Details here... | | -- A Time Inc. reporter tells me: "Half the office thinks it'll be fine, the Kochs won't really be involved, etc. The other half thinks we're screwed. Nobody has any answers..."
-- Meredith prez Thomas H. Harty acknowledged in an interview with the NYT's Sydney Ember that more layoffs are likely at Time Inc...
-- "Magazines don't necessarily last forever. Sometimes, they simply outlive their usefulness," former Time Inc. staffer Joe Nocera writes here...
-- David Axelrod tweeted: "The Kochs are buying into Time and a host of other publications. Sinclair is vying to gobble up Tribune broadcasting, with stations across the country. The Right is staking a claim to the MSM..." | | -- Announced on Monday: CNN's Van Jones will host a twice-a-month show in prime time, "The Van Jones Show," starting in January... (Mediaite)
-- Another piece of CNN news: Sky News foreign affairs editor Sam Kiley is joining CNN as a senior international correspondent... (Variety)
-- ICYMI: Margaret Sullivan's Monday column: "If cops can get phone data without a warrant, it could be a nightmare for journalists — and sources..." (WashPost) | | "Access Hollywood" says the tape is "very real" | | "Before we go, we wanted to clear something up that has been reported across the media landscape," Natalie Morales said on Monday's "Access Hollywood."
About that NYT report that President Trump suggested to two people that the infamous "Access" tape is not real? "Let us make this perfectly clear: The tape is very real," Morales said. "Remember his excuse at the time was 'locker room talk?' He said every one of those words..."
-- A third source: On "AC360," Maggie Haberman said a third person "close to Trump" has said that Trump has expressed doubts about the tape's authenticity. "He's not certain it's his voice..."
-- Separately, one of TMZ's headlines on Monday night: "Billy Bush hospitalized after getting hit by a golf ball" | | Q's about Murdoch's chats with Trump | | It's been one week since the DOJ sued AT&T over the Time Warner deal. My interest was piqued by this Q at the end of Monday's W.H. briefing:
"In the conversations that the President has had with Rupert Murdoch, has he ever brought up CNN or talked about the AT&T-Time Warner merger?" Sanders: "Not that I'm aware of. Not that I know of."
At the risk of stating the obvious, Sanders would have no idea... | | Frum: Is DOJ "doing the right thing for the wrong reason?" | | | Brian Lowry emails: In this column, David Frum identifies the key question about the DOJ's opposition to the AT&T-Time Warner deal -- namely, whether it reflects legitimate concern about media consolidation, or something more nefarious, such as an arbitrary exercise animus toward one division of Time Warner, CNN. As Frum concludes, the inability to get a clear read on that is preventing us from a necessary conversation -- "rethinking antitrust in this age of digital monopoly power..." | | | -- ICYMI: Bret Stephens' NYT column contains an interview with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. "I have no evidence that there's been inappropriate behavior," Stephenson said. "What I have is a really peculiar timeline..." | | Jacobs sends a "cease and desist" letter to Gianforte | | Hadas Gold emails: Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs sent a "cease and desist" letter to Rep. Greg Gianforte and his spokesperson after documents released earlier this month showed that Gianforte misled police in their initial report of a May incident where the Montana Republican assaulted Jacobs. Police documents released on Nov. 17 showed that Gianforte claimed Jacobs grabbed him by the wrist and pulled both of them to the floor when Jacobs tried to ask Gianforte a question ahead of a campaign event. But multiple witnesses contested the account, and Gianforte eventually pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor assault and later publicly acknowledged that Jacobs "did not initiate any physical contact with me."
The problem for Jacobs, according to the letter, is Gianforte's spokesman's response to the reports about Gianforte's initial statements to police. Details via IJR and the Great Falls Tribune... | | Actress becoming a princess | | | The BEST story of the day: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement story. Shoutout to the BBC's Mishal Husain -- she had the only sit-down interview with the pair after Monday morning's wedding announcement. No pressure, right?! | | "Suits" cast celebrates the engagement | | | Via EW: "Patrick J. Adams, who plays Markle's TV-fiancé Mike Ross on 'Suits,' fired off a facetious tweet reacting to the news. 'She said she was just going out to get some milk…' Adams tweeted..." | | Chris Hayes on MSNBC in the 8pm hour: "It's pretty clear at this point that almost nobody in Washington wants to talk about sexual misconduct allegations against members of their own party." He asserted that the scandals have benefited the GOP by taking attention away from the "wildly unpopular" tax bill...
The following hour on Fox, Sean Hannity talked about Democrats "drowning in scandals" without mentioning Roy Moore... | | | "Harvey Weinstein resigned his membership at the DGA, effective today," a spokesperson for the Directors Guild confirmed Monday evening... | | Venit demoted, but back at WME | | | "Adam Venit, former head of WME's Motion Picture Group, is returning to the agency as an agent after a 30-day investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made by actor Terry Crews," TheWrap's Jeremy Fuster reports. "Venit will no longer head the film division but will continue as an agent." Venit's clients include Dustin Hoffman, Emma Stone, Diane Keaton, and Adam Sandler. "Crews responded to news of Venit's return and demotion with disapproval on Twitter, writing, 'Someone got a pass...'" | | | Here are Sunday's "Reliable Sources" highlights | | | -- On "Reliable Sources," we showed how Trump "shades the truth..." There's a spectrum between a true statement and a lie, with lots of shades in between...
-- I also spoke with David Gelles about the DOJ's hard line against AT&T at the same time the FCC is moving to repeal "net neutrality." It's "one administration, two agencies, and two very different messages," Gelles said... Watch the full Q&A here... | | "I've made my point." Keith Olbermann is done with his GQ web videos. "I am retiring from political commentary in all media venues," he said in a Monday night video.
Olbermann's message: "No illness, no scandal, no firing. Just: I've said what I've had to say," namely, that Trump is on the road to impeachment... | | Focus acquires the rights to "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" | | Megan Thomas emails: Focus Features has acquired the rights to a new documentary about Mister Rogers from Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Nelville ("20 Feet From Stardom").
"The Fred Rogers I discovered making this film is at once comfortably familiar and completely surprising. I believe Mister Rogers is the kind of voice we need to hear right now," Neville said in a statement Monday. "Won't You Be My Neighbor" is set for a June 2018 release... | | A successor for John Lasseter? | | | CNN's S. Mitra Kalita emails: This THR article lays out why "Coco" and its inclusive, authentic storytelling are so needed in 2017. There's irony, though, in Pixar's success with this film about a Mexican boy grappling with family tradition. Explaining her departure from the animation company, actress and writer Rashida Jones cited "a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice." Pixar co-founder John Lasseter is on leave, citing a series of "missteps." His name still tops "Coco's" closing credits as executive producer, followed by Darla K. Anderson. She's now mentioned as his possible replacement... | | Megan Thomas emails: THR reports that Jeremy Piven's CBS drama "Wisdom of the Crowd" won't be continuing beyond its initial 13-episode run. "The decision to conclude the drama, which stars Piven as a tech innovator who creates a crowd-sourcing hub to revolutionize crime solving in San Francisco, comes as the network had been 'looking into' the actor following allegations of sexual harassment..."
-- Meanwhile, "Man With a Plan" and "Superior Donuts" won full-season orders from CBS on Monday... | | A four-episode cross-over storyline! Bow down to the writers... | | | Brian Lowry emails: Tonight The CW kicks off what's become an annual and increasingly elaborate stunt: A four-episode cross-over storyline linking its DC Comics-derived series "Supergirl," "Arrow," "Legends of Tomorrow" and "The Flash." With "Justice League" in theaters, it's a reminder that as things currently stand, DC/Warner Bros. actually has a firmer handle on those properties in TV than movies... | | | One more from Megan Thomas: Sesame Street's parody of the Netflix hit "Stranger Things" is as watch-worthy as it sounds. "Cookiegorgon" has eaten everything in the "Snackside Down," but it all ends with sweet lesson about sharing. If "Stranger Things" isn't your show, Cookie and the gang have also parodied "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones" among other hits. Here's the "Stranger" video... | | | 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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