| | | | Three CNN journalists resign after Russia-related story is retracted | | A difficult day at CNN: Three well-respected journalists are out after the publication of a Russia-related article that was retracted.
Thomas Frank, who wrote the story in question; Eric Lichtblau, an editor in the new CNN Investigates unit; and Lex Haris, who oversaw the unit, all resigned. "In the aftermath of the retraction of a story published on CNN.com, CNN has accepted the resignations of the employees involved in the story's publication," a spokesman said Monday evening. Here's my story with all the details...
-- What's the story in question? Well, it was not a huge bombshell. It was incremental news... published last Thursday... saying that Congress was investigating a "Russian investment fund with ties to Trump officials." It cited a single anonymous source.
-- What went wrong? On Friday the story was deleted from CNN.com and then formally retracted because an internal investigation found that some standard editorial processes were not followed before it was published. "The story wasn't solid enough to publish as-is," one of the people briefed on the investigation told me. | | "We have to play error-free ball" | | That's what a CNN source said to the WashPost's Erik Wemple, who broke the news of the resignations on Monday evening. He called it a "cataclysm" for a news outlet that has "spent huge sums recruiting ever-greater reportorial muscle." The investigative unit was part of that. Haris, an esteemed editor with 15+ years at CNNMoney, was put in charge of the unit in January. Lichtblau, a Pulitzer winner, was recruited from the NYT to join him.
This is obviously a setback for the unit, but the reporters have been doing a lot of great work. The reporters were told on Monday afternoon that Matt Lait, who was managing editor under Haris, will be running the unit for the time being... | | This episode is a reminder... | | | ...About why newsrooms like CNN have strong checks and balances and editorial workflows. A sensitive story like Frank's, citing a single anonymous source, would typically be reviewed by several departments within CNN -- including fact-checkers, journalism standards experts and lawyers -- before publication. Maybe newsers could do a better job telling the public about these processes... | | Reactions from two conservative columnists... | | -- Commentary editor John Podhoretz called it "impressive and decisive" action: "CNN acknowledged its own error and took action almost immediately. This is what people should want."
-- And the NYPost's Seth Mandel tweeted: "CNN is taking this really seriously, and setting quite an example for media accountability." He added: "Seriously. This is one of those times media critics on the right should speak up and praise CNN. This is pride-swallowing, grownup stuff..." | | Fox's Tucker Carlson cited the resignations in a Monday night essay that lambasted CNN's coverage of the Russia investigations. (This has been a theme of his for weeks.) CNN "is no longer just a news organization. It is a campaign with a political mission, run, not surprisingly, by a man named Jeff Zucker, who once expressed interest in running for office himself," Carlson said. Carlson's colleague Sean Hannity posted a flurry of similar comments on Twitter Monday night. And conservative provocateur James O'Keefe hinted that he has another "CNN tape" (remember that?) coming out later this week...
>> Related: BuzzFeed's Charlie Warzel comments that "no amount of contrition will appease pro-Trump media..." | | | >> Michael Grynbaum writing in Tuesday's NYT: "The resignations are a black eye at a sensitive moment for the news organization, which has emerged as a regular target of Mr. Trump and his supporters." | | | Haris sent me this statement: "On Friday, CNN retracted a story published by my team. As Executive Editor of that team, I have resigned. I've been with CNN since 2001, and am sure about one thing: This is a news organization that prizes accuracy and fairness above all else. I am leaving, but will carry those principles wherever I go." | | Fighting for truth while getting the facts right | | CNN's Jake Tapper was out in L.A. on Sunday night, accepting the L.A. Press Club's President's Award, speaking about this period in journalism. In a trying time, "our facts need to be squeaky clean and uncorrupted," he said:
"Make no mistake: we need to fight for truth and decency. To preserve them so that when this era is over, when our children in two decades' time ask us how we handled this period, we can look them in the eyes. But part of that service is to preserve the foundation on which journalists stand. And that foundation is built on concepts such as fairness, and non-partisanship, and doing our jobs without fear or favor. When we tweet every emotion we have every moment we have them, we undermine that foundation. When we publish or broadcast shoddy journalism, we undermine it. When we do not rise to the moment, we undermine it. And that undermines what we are fighting for."
Here's the full text of his speech... | | "J-Lo doesn't sell," but Megyn Kelly does | | | Megan Thomas emails: Jeffrey Toobin's look inside The National Enquirer written for the New Yorker is fascinating – ruthless editorial meetings, Trump fever, headline tests conducted by phone and Time Inc. takeover plans... | | Pecker's interest in picking up Time Inc. | | | Toobin's piece really is a must-read. When I saw him on Monday afternoon, I told him I was amazed by how much access American Media CEO David Pecker gave him. Pecker confirmed what some Time Inc. execs have long feared -- that he's interested in taking over the publishing company. "I think that there's a huge opportunity," he said... | | -- "Vimeo says it's not going to launch a video subscription service, after all," Recode's Peter Kafka reports...
-- Is Snapchat's recently unveiled map of users the "new news feed?" Interesting piece here...
-- An important step for public radio: "Across the United States, NPR is reorganizing its member stations around regional hubs," Poynter's Al Tompkins reports...
-- Correction: Last night's newsletter called Amy Siskind, a 20-year veteran of the WSJ. The "J" was the mistake. She's not a vet of the Wall Street Journal, she's a vet of Wall Street! Our apologies... | | Alec Baldwin confirms: he'll be back on "SNL" playing Trump in the fall | | | Alec Baldwin tells CNN's Chloe Melas: "Yeah, we're going to fit that in. I think people have enjoyed it." That being his Trump impersonations on "SNL." Chloe writes: "His busy fall schedule will keep the number of Trump impersonations to a minimum, he said, which means 'SNL' fans will be treated to 'a couple celery sticks' rather than a 'whole meal' of blonde wigs and orange bronzer..." | | Eric Bolling's book party | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Fox's Eric Bolling held a party for the release of his new book "The Swamp" Monday evening. Friends and Fox personalities gathered at Del Friscos in Midtown Manhattan to congratulate him on the book. Seen at the party: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eboni Williams, Lisa Boothe, Sergio Gor, Max Tani. Bolling told me Don Lemon was supposed to attend, but had texted he was stuck in traffic from Long Island: "I love you Don Lemon, but c'mon!" Bolling joked... | | It's not "must see TV," it's "MUST HEAR TV" | | Is this White House trying to go back in time -- back to the pre-cable news, pre-YouTube, pre-Periscope days? On Monday the W.H. once again forbid live video and audio of the briefing... if you're keeping track, that means there have been only 5 on-camera briefings this month and 10 off-camera briefings.
In a new twist, the W.H. allowed still photos at this one. CNN's Jim Acosta asked Spicer to allow video, to no avail. CNN once again aired the audio of the entire Q&A -- not the opening remarks, however -- right after the briefing ended.
White House coverage norms, like televised briefings, are being "eroded away, right in front of our eyes," Acosta said afterward. He pointed out that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's visit with Trump did not include a customary joint press conference, either. Trump is "getting the coverage without the accountability," Acosta said...
>> Don Lemon on Monday's "CNN Tonight:" "I think that someone has to take a stand and turn the cameras on -- and see what the ramifications are -- because they can't kick everybody out." | | | Bill Carter and I will be talking about all this with on CNN's "New Day" Tuesday around 6:50am... | | Trump misses his own deadline for ISIS news conference | | | On Sunday's show, I highlighted Trump's promise to hold a news conference about the fight against ISIS in "two weeks." He has said it twice... on May 21 and June 12... so at Monday's briefing, Spicer was asked for an update. "As soon as I have an update on that, I'll let you know," he said... Kaitlan Collins has the full story here... | | Here's why (some) historians should be pundits... | | Monday morning in the NYT: "Historians Shouldn't Be Pundits," said Moshik Temkin of the Harvard Kennedy School.
On Monday afternoon Princeton prof and CNN contributor Julian Zelizer penned a response: "Why (Some) Historians Should Be Pundits." I'm siding with Zelizer on this one... | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails:
-- Digiday's Jessica Davies interviewed 9 agency execs about Facebook's video ad viewability rates. They told her the rates can be as low as 20% (some suspect an even lower %) compared to approximately 50% on sites...
-- A familiar story: Fox Sports is cutting 20 writing and editing positions to invest in video production, Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw reports...
-- Recommended reading via NiemanLab: "How Fusion and The Guardian are changing their coverage of underreported areas..." | | Congrats, Michelle and Jamie! | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Michelle Fields and Jamie Weinstein, who first met while working at The Daily Caller, tied the knot on Saturday. The magnificent wedding ceremony -- it truly was stunning -- was held at the Breakers in Palm Beach. Seen at the wedding: Juleanna Glover, Olivia Nuzzi, Jonathan Swan, Betsy Woodruff, Daniel Lippman, Ben Jacobs, Will Rahn, Taylor Lorenz, Asawin Suebsaeng, Liz Brown, Josiah Ryan, Kaitlan Collins, Chad Brady, Vince Coglianese, Matt Lewis, Alex Pappas, Benny and Katelyn Rieley Johnson, Mitchell Sutherland, Guy Benson... | | McEnroe vs. Serena: 44 years after 'Battle of the Sexes,' the same dumb debate | | | Megan Thomas emails: Media, pay equity, sexism, Silicon Valley and sports rolled into one -- this is a great read by the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins... | | Han Solo movie split shows franchise directors face long odds | | | Brian Lowry emails: The exit of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the Han Solo movie has triggered a pretty hyperbolic reaction, given what's already pretty clear: The major studios that preside over "cinematic universes" might like tapping prestige talent, but when push comes to shove, companies like Marvel, Lucasfilm and DC feel they know their business better than these guns for hire do... Read more... | | John Oliver's message for the anti-vaccine crowd | | | Brian Lowry emails: As expected, John Oliver couldn't discuss the lawsuit filed against his HBO show, "Last Week Tonight," by coal CEO Bob Murray, citing advice from attorneys. But he did deliver a pretty blistering piece about the anti-vaccine contingent... Check out the video here... | | Lowry reviews the "Veep" and "Valley" season finales | | | One more HBO note from Lowry: "Veep" and "Silicon Valley" both wrapped up their seasons Sunday -- with an unexpected twist and a big goodbye, respectively -- as the network takes a brief Sunday-night siesta while preparing for the summer's most eagerly anticipated commodity, the return of "Game of Thrones" on July 16... | | Happy anniversary to the "Harry Potter" franchise | | | Lisa Respers France emails: "Harry Potter" turned 20 on Monday... launching a huge book and movie franchise... here's a look back at how Potter magically transformed the world... | | | "Reliable Sources" highlights | | | Quotes from Sunday's "Reliable" | | -- "The tweet speaks for itself?" No. "Just getting information from a tweet" is not enough, April Ryan says...
-- A friendly reminder that Trump's war with the media works: when "they're fighting with us," the GOP base "loves it," David Drucker says...
-- The Trump presidency began with "shock-and-awe," a barrage of interviews and press appearances, "an attempt to shape reality," Michael D'Antonio says. But now Trump is retreating...
-- Masha Gessen's view: "We're definitely hurtling towards a closed system of government..." | | A rare interview with Phil Donahue | | Phil Donahue believes the press should pay more attention to "angry" Trump voters, but also to those who didn't bother voting. "Apathy is killing us," he said in a sit-down on Sunday's "Reliable."
Donahue was endlessly quotable... at one point he compared Trump to Elvis... and he urged more on-the-ground, outside-DC reporting. "You're going to get more truth the lower you go," he said... | | "Fox & Friends" acts as a Trump infomercial | | The essay on Sunday's "Reliable" was a team effort. Our producing team analyzed one whole week of "Fox and Friends..." every segment, every guest, every banner. Why? Because it seems to be the president's favorite show... Trump gave "F&F" two interviews this week, his only interviews all month along...
So we summed up the findings in this essay. The show is pro-Trump, anti-media and remarkably repetitive. Watching for an entire week, we saw lots of the president's friends, but almost no dissenting voices. It's all about showering Trump with positive attention and burying his perceived opponents with negative attention. An infomercial in the guise of a morning talk show. The video clips really tell the story... watch the segment here... | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Email us... we're at reliablesources@cnn.com... we appreciate every email. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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