| | | | Good evening from the Time 100 gala in NYC... always one of the liveliest media events of the year... Demi Lovato performed before dinner was served... John Legend is performing later... | | Time EIC Nancy Gibbs lauded this year's honorees and Time 100 alums... and lamented politicians' attacks on the media. "Free press," she pointed out, is "still a new idea in the long sweep of history."
"To demonize the press," she said, "to treat it as an enemy of democracy rather than an engine, is to lay the groundwork for repression..." | | Ousted U.S. attorney Preet Bharara was one of the most popular figures at the cocktail reception, with journalists like Megyn Kelly making sure to say hello... When I asked about the probe into Fox News that his former office is conducting, he unsurprisingly said, "I'm not talking about any investigations that may or may not..." and drifted off... | | Arianna Huffington, Alan Murray, David Rhodes, Phil Griffin, Andy Lack, Ryan Kadro, Chris Licht, Noah Oppenheim, Leslie Jones, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Katie Couric, Gretchen Carlson, Riz Ahmed, Marla Kaplowitz, Cecile Richards, Harvey Weinstein, Callie Schweitzer, Christa Robinson, Kerri Chyka, Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and many others... | | | Fox News anchor joins lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and harassment | | Tom Kludt reports: Fox News' legal troubles grew even larger Tuesday, with new plaintiffs, including an anchor, joining a suit alleging racial discrimination and harassment at the network. The suit is now headlined by Kelly Wright, a black reporter and anchor who has been with Fox News since 2003. Wright claims that he "has been effectively sidelined and asked to perform the role of a 'Jim Crow' -- the racist caricature of a Black entertainer."
Wright's allegations involve, among others, recently fired Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and current network co-president Bill Shine...
-- The big picture view: Wright is one of 13 plaintiffs, all people of color who are either current or former Fox News employees, to sue the network in the last month charging racial discrimination.
-- The lawyers and some of the plaintiffs will hold a presser in NYC Wednesday morning... | | There was also a separate discrimination suit filed by a single plaintiff, represented by the same lawyers. on Tuesday. Fox's statement: "Fox News and Dianne Brandi vehemently deny the race discrimination claims in both lawsuits. They are copycat complaints of the original one filed last month. We will vigorously defend these cases." | | | O'Reilly-like #'s for Tucker | | On Fox's first night without Bill O'Reilly, the network still had O'Reilly-like ratings. Tucker Carlson had a big # at 8pm: 636,000 viewers in the demo. And "The Five" beat Rachel Maddow at 9pm.
All told, it was a normal night for Fox News, despite extraordinary circumstances, and right now normal is good for Fox. Here's my full story...
-- Important caveat: The real impact of O'Reilly's exit won't be known for months...
-- Tweet of the day... from a reader... "Fox's audience doesn't stop going to Panera because they removed one sandwich off the menu." | | "Last night's ratings are in and I couldn't be more proud... This was a stellar performance... I know the last few weeks have been tough for everyone here, but our passion for news and commitment to our viewers continue to lead us through..." | | | BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER MEMO ON TUESDAY... | | | Another sign of Fox's efforts to change its workplace culture | | Right before the ratings came out, new Fox News HR chief Kevin Lord sent around another memo about sensitivity training. This one was aimed at freelancers and contributors: "All Fox News Channel employees, contributors, and freelancers are required to go through a one-time, one-hour sensitivity training session," the memo said. "It is critical that everyone attends to ensure that we maintain a professional workplace."
According to Fox, 96% of its full-time employees have already completed the training... | | | Day two of Bill O'Reilly's pod | | Tom Kludt emails: It was Bill O'Reilly's second day as a full-time podcaster -- and so far, so good. He talked Trump's tax plan, the proposed border wall and Obama's Wall Street speech. The analysis and delivery were both familiar to anyone who tuned in to the "Factor" the past couple decades; the medium -- not so much. "It is a whole new world for me to get used to just doing news analysis on the net," O'Reilly said at the top of Tuesday's episode. "But I don't have to have makeup. That's a really good thing..."
O'Reilly claimed about 750,000 people listened to Monday's episode. (Impossible to verify.) The host, never lacking for self-confidence, sounded sure that he had another hit on his hands. "This thing is going to work," he told listeners. Would you bet against him? | | When CNN president Jeff Zucker spoke at The Information's NYC subscriber summit on Tuesday, "Zucker said CNN had no plans to hire Mr. O'Reilly: 'We're not in that game. We're not interested.' But even with Fox News losing a TV show that had been the highest rated in cable news for decades, he was skeptical that viewers would flee. 'Those consumers are bought in,' he said..." | | -- "On the Time Warner deal, approval is moving along as expected," and "we expect approval this year," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says... (TheWrap)
-- Investment banker Patrick Steel is Politico's new CEO. "He's a money guy, not a content guy," WSJ's Mike Shields writes. Some conservative outlets are suspicious because of Steel's past donations to Democrats...
-- "Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was paid $23.2 million in 2016... Chief content officer Ted Sarandos was paid $18.9 million..." (THR) | | | Robert Siegel stepping down | | NPR's Robert Siegel has been hosting "All Things Considered" since 1987. What were you doing back in 1987? On Tuesday, Siegel, 69, said he's going to step down next January. "I feel that it is time for me to begin a new phase of life." Here's my full story... | | Siegel is the "senior host," with three co-hosts, Audie Cornish, Kelly McEvers and Ari Shapiro. "Finding his successor will not be easy," NPR says. "We will conduct a national search -- looking inside NPR and across the media landscape -- for the next voice of All Things Considered..." | | Breitbart's trouble on Capitol Hill | | Tom Kludt writes: Breitbart News was stymied once again on Tuesday in its efforts to secure press credentials on Capitol Hill. The site's temporary credentials expire on May 31. The main issue: "Breitbart's ties to Rebekah Mercer" and the Government Accountability Institute...
-- Jonathan Peters writes: "With the Senate Daily Press Gallery in the news, let's not forget what an opaque, Kafkaesque operation it can be..."
-- Glenn Thrush tweets: "The committee is following strict credentialing guidelines -- have no beef -- but @BreitbartNews is a legit news outlet that covers the Hill." He adds: "The more advocacy journalists are mainstreamed into the reporting community, the more they adopt best practices..." | | -- Earlier this month Pod Save America announced a tour, now Lenny Letter is staging a Lenny America tour...
-- Congrats to this year's Peabodys winners... including CNN for Syria coverage, the "CBS Evening News" for reports on WV's opioid crisis, "This American Life," NPR, ProPublica, and the Texas Tribune... (Variety)
-- And congrats to this year's Webbys winners... including "Mr. Robot," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Van Jones, Solange, Steve Buscemi, CNN, "Deadpool," and many many more... (Variety) | | | The idea behind "Wikitribune" | | "Jimmy Wales is launching a news platform that will bring journalists together with an army of volunteer fact checkers. He's calling the site 'Wikitribune.' Its main goal? Fighting fake news," CNNMoney's Ivana Kottasová writes.
-- The idea: "The site will publish news stories written by professional journalists. But in a page borrowed from Wikipedia, internet users will be able to propose factual corrections and additions. The changes will be reviewed by volunteer fact checkers..." | | | Google's latest moves to minimize "fake news" | | "Google has sprinkled some new ingredients into its search engine in an effort to prevent bogus information and offensive suggestions from souring its results," the AP's Michael Liedtke reports.
On the subject of "fake news:" "It's not a problem that is going to go all the way to zero, but we now think we can stay a step ahead of things," Google VP Ben Gomes says... | | But Media editor Alex Koppelman emails: Google's declarations on this subject haven't been that convincing. They're no different now. Why do I say that? Right after reading this story, I did a Google search for vaccines and autism and there at the top of the page of results was a paid link to an anti-vaxxer website. It's easy for Google to say it's making changes, but those changes mean very little unless the company is willing to put its foot down -- and some money at risk -- when it comes to advertising, too... | | | For the record, part three | | | -- A great read: NYT's Katie Rosman profiles a Christian-oriented streaming service called Pure Flix... (NYT)
-- Something to keep an eye on: There's a TV station in Alaska that will be getting the bulk of its news video from "citizen journalists," via a collaboration with Fresco News... (TVNewsCheck)
-- Warner Bros and DC Entertainment are working on a direct-to-consumer digital service "that will debut in 2018..." (Deadline) | | | Now it's officially "HuffPost" | | The Huffington Post is now HuffPost. Here's the explanation from EIC Lydia Polgreen. Arianna says she's fully supportive: "I love the new design and branding. We called it 'HuffPost' from day one, even when some insisted on calling it HuffPo!" | | | Ezra Klein's smart point: Trump wants a fight | | This month's Playboy Interview is with Ezra Klein, who says, "You need to figure out the truth and not get distracted by the lies. Donald Trump wants a fight with the media. What he does not want is the media reporting on his administration." | | "Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday on his show that he's 'very, very troubled' to see President Donald Trump appearing to back down from initial demands for funding the proposed wall," BI's Pamela Engel reports... | | | "The Handmaid's Tale" starts streaming on Wednesday | | Sandra Gonzalez emails: On Wednesday Hulu premieres "The Handmaid's Tale," a dystopian tale based off the 1985 book by Margaret Atwood. Simply put: It's a must-watch.
In the show, Elisabeth Moss, of "Mad Men" fame, plays a character named Offred, a woman who lost her entire family in the lead-up to the United States' transformation into a totalitarian land known as the Gilead. Moss first read the script back in April 2016 and immediately connected to Offred's will to survive. But she told me the role took on a new meaning after the election. "It became more personal than anything I ever expected," she said...
Samira Wiley, who plays Moira, echoed the sentiment, adding that the series is also a cautionary tale. "I think it's scarily relevant right now," she said. "I think one of the things we can see — especially through the flashbacks [in the show] — is how it doesn't happen all at once, and that's the thing that's so scary." I'll have more from my interviews on Wednesday...
>> Related: Read Brian Lowry's review here... | | | Where's "Carpool Karaoke" on Apple Music? | | CNNMoney's Robert Mclean writes: Apple announced "last July that the 16-episode series would be an Apple Music exclusive, with CBS Television Studios and 'Late Late Show' host James Corden set to produce." The company even released a trailer in February, teasing an April premiere date. But now Apple just says "'Carpool Karaoke' for Apple Music will premiere later this year..." | | | Lowry reviews "Great News" | | Brian Lowry emails: NBC's new sitcom "Great News" isn't bad, but like most TV series about TV in general and TV news in particular -- with the notable exception of those written by Aaron Sorkin -- it's still trafficking in cliches as old as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show..." | | | "Star Wars: Episode IX" lands May 24, 2019 | | Frank Pallotta emails: Make room for the Skywalkers at your 2019 Memorial Day cookout. Disney announced Wednesday that the sequel to the upcoming "Last Jedi" and ninth installment in the "Star Wars" saga will fly into theaters on May 24, 2019. This is a shift for "Star Wars," which has previously saved its domination at the box office for Christmas.
-- More: Disney said the live action "Lion King" and "Frozen 2" will hit theaters that year as well, making 2019 a potential monster box office year for the Mouse House... | | ICYMI: Stephen Colbert alluded to his recent ratings success on Monday night's "Late Show:"
"I've got to say, Donald Trump has done a lot for me in the first 100 days. Thank you for your service, Mr. President." | | By Chloe Melas:
-- Former "Bachelor" star Chris Soules was arrested after allegedly leaving the scene of a deadly crash in Iowa...
-- Scott Baio clarifies a comment he made blaming drug use for the death of his former "Happy Days" co-star Erin Moran...
-- "Dirty Dancing" remake: Here's a first look at Abigail Breslin as Baby... | | | "Reliable Sources" highlights | | | | Catch up on Sunday's "Reliable" | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. We appreciate every email. | |  | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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