| | | | | Exec summary: Hello from L.A., where I'm working on a very exciting project. Details to come. Shoutout to Oliver Darcy for helping to compile tonight's letter! | | Trump sitting down with Piers Morgan in Davos | | Breaking: A White House source confirms to me that President Trump will be taping an interview with Piers Morgan in Davos on Wednesday.
Trump and Morgan are old pals, since Morgan won "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2008. The interview will air on ITV, where Morgan co-hosts "Good Morning Britain." The Mirror is calling this the "first international TV interview" of Trump's presidency: "ITV bosses are thrilled by the scoop... Morgan thinks it could be the biggest interview of his career..." | | Trump will also appear on CNBC | | | That's according to the same W.H. source. Details TK... These will be Trump's first TV interviews in nearly three months... | | Via CNN's Kaitlan Collins: "White House aides were unaware that the President was going to drop in on Chief of Staff John Kelly's remarks with reporters tonight. It wasn't scheduled, and they were just as surprised by it as the press, staffers say..."
--> WashPost reporter/brand new CNN analyst Josh Dawsey said he had to "first read quotes on Mueller / obstruction, etc. to one source to get reaction. 'When did he say that?' person said..." | | Key graf in this new WashPost story... | | "Trump says he wants to talk to Mueller, would do so under oath" was the biggest headline from Trump's surprise chat with reporters. But there was a lot to digest. CNN has published the full transcript AND audio.
I was struck by Trump's aside when CNN's new W.H. correspondent Pamela Brown asked questions -- he started talking about Brown's parents Phyllis George and John Y. Brown. Toward the end of the Q&A, he said, apparently to Brown, "Say hello to your parents for me."
--> Another headline: Breitbart went with "AMNESTY DON SUGGESTS CITIZENSHIP FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS" in reaction to Trump's comments about DACA recipients...
--> Dan Scavino posted a picture of the scrum... | | | From this story by Josh Dawsey, David Nakamura and Devlin Barrett: "People who have appeared before Mueller's team say prosecutors have detailed accounts of events, sometimes to the minute, and have surprised witnesses by showing them emails or documents they were unaware that the team had or that their colleagues had written. One person said Mueller's team has asked about Trump's private comments around key events and how he explained decisions..." | | -- Just announced: The NY Daily News is putting up a pay wall on Feb. 1... Readers will have access to 10 free articles a month before the wall goes up... (NYDN)
-- Another Alex Kantrowitz scoop: "Facebook is testing a new local news and events module as it revamps its News Feed following a series of controversies. Here's what the test looks like live inside the platform..." (BuzzFeed)
-- Another David Folkenflik scoop: "As additional sign of turmoil inside LAT newsroom, biz editor Kimi Yoshino suspended for 2 days and escorted from bldg. No cause known..." (Twitter) | | What does Trump mean when he says "collusion?" | | Hadas Gold emails: Maggie Haberman asked a great question at the W.H. press briefing on Wednesday and reminded me that sometimes the simplest questions are the best ones (Mara Liasson from NPR also does this quite often). Haberman asked simply, "The president has said repeatedly there was no collusion between the campaign and Russia. Can you define what he means when he says collusion?"
"Look," Sarah Sanders said, "I think the accusation against the president is that he had help winning the election, and that's simply untrue. The president won because he was the better candidate..." | | The rhetoric on the right is getting more and more heated | | Brian Lowry emails: TPM's Josh Marshall calls attention to the increasingly overheated conspiracy theories being bandied about on Fox News and Fox Biz -- singling out Lou Dobbs' program -- and closes with this rather sobering observation: "People who believe that sort of thing do weird and dangerous things."
--> Peter Wehner tweeted: "There's lots of talk these days on the American right about 'silent coups,' 'secret societies' and the 'deep state.' This kind of thing used to be confined to the fever swamps; now it's been mainstreamed. It's destructive on many levels, and loopy." | | --> Chris Cillizza's latest: "The FBI's 'secret society,' explained"
--> Via Oliver Darcy, this was quite an exchange between Chris Cuomo and Rep. Matt Gaetz... | | | Donie O'Sullivan emails: More than 1,000 Twitter accounts set up between Thursday and Sunday night have tweeted #ReleaseTheMemo. Our analysis found that almost half of the accounts don't even have a profile picture. Leading Democrats say they want Twitter and Facebook to investigate if Russian accounts are pushing the hashtag. We don't have access to the data Twitter has -- but Russian or not, our analysis shows the challenge facing Twitter to police its own platform -- at a time when social media's impact on democracy faces increased scrutiny... | | -- Things that make you go "huh:" In an interview with Erik Wemple, "James O'Keefe took issue with any claim that he and Project Veritas were out to plant a false story with The Post..." (WashPost)
-- "Billy Bush Opens Up About Rebuilding His Life." If you're interested, here's his People mag cover story... (People)
-- "Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media have acquired 'RBG,' a documentary about pioneering Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in a worldwide deal." The film was produced by CNN Films and Storyville Films; CNN Films will keep U.S. broadcast distribution rights for the project... (TheWrap) | | "Meg Whitman Tapped as CEO of Jeffrey Katzenberg's Mobile Content Venture" | | That's the headline on Andrew Wallenstein's scoop for Variety. "In some ways this is a return to my start-up roots," Whitman told him. "I took eBay from $4 million and 30 employees to $8 billion in revenues and 18,000 employees."
So what exactly will she be doing at "NewTV?" As Wallenstein wrote, the company "aims to revolutionize entertainment with short-form premium content customized for mobile consumption." Jeffrey Katzenberg has been pitching it for months, but details are still scarce. "We're deep in the process of fundraising right now so I can't talk about it," Whitman said. "But we're going to be recruiting the very best talent, and in a few more months we'll have more to say on this..." | | CBS is bringing back "Murphy Brown" | | CBS and Warner Bros. are bringing back "Murphy Brown." Candice Bergen is reprising her role as a newsmagazine host. And original creator Diane English is also coming back. CBS is ordering 13 episodes for 2018-19.
"It goes without saying that the media and social landscapes have changed significantly since the show went off the air, and CBS indicated the series would tackle this 'world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate' head-on," Sandra Gonzalez reports... | | | Oliver Darcy emails: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti on Wednesday announced in a company memo organizational changes to BuzzFeed Entertainment Group. Peretti said Ze Frank would transition from president of BFEG to chief research and development officer, building a "small team" to "focus on creating production models for new formats, platforms, and audience experiences." Meanwhile, Summer Burton was promoted to take an expanded role as head of BuzzFeed Entertainment and native advertising. Peretti praised Frank, writing in his memo to employees that he "built our video presence from the ground up" and "has done more for digital creativity than anyone I know." You can read more about the structural changes at The Hollywood Reporter... | | Sources say Ze Frank has been 'marginalized' | | More from Oliver Darcy: While Peretti may have not characterized it this way, several sources at BuzzFeed I spoke with on Wednesday said Frank had effectively been demoted. Prior to the switch, Frank was managing hundreds of people. Now he's leading a 12-person team. The people I spoke with said Frank was a "creative genius," but not the best manager. "He's being marginalized," one BuzzFeeder told me, adding, "It's a huge demotion."
A BuzzFeed spokesperson disputed this, telling me, "Jonah and Ze crafted this new role for Ze to put his extraordinary talents directly against an immediate business priority -- experimentation in video production, formats and distribution -- and fulfill's Ze's desire to get back to front-line content creation. It may not fit with traditional notions in traditional organizations of 'career growth,' but Ze is the furthest thing from traditional and that's why he's been among the most influential and successful creators of the Internet era." Through the spokesperson, Frank declined to comment... | | "We, as a society, need investigative journalists more than ever. What finally started this reckoning and ended this decades-long cycle of abuse was investigative reporting."
--Michigan Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis at Larry Nassar's sentencing on Wednesday... | | "Fire and Fury" sales: 1.7 million copies in three weeks | | Henry Holt says it has sold 1.7 million copies of "Fire and Fury" across "all formats including hardcover, digital and audio books." To date 1.5 million hardcovers have been printed (not all sold yet). Phenomenal. I mean, consider this: Almost no one had heard of the book until three weeks ago.
Demand greatly exceeded supply, but the publisher has finally caught up... Amazon is no longer quoting a 2-to-4 week delay and I noticed copies of the book at two airport bookstores yesterday. Here's my full story... | | John Sterling stepping back | | | Shortly after the "1.7 million" press release came out, Henry Holt announced some more news: The editor of Wolff's book and so many others, John Sterling, "has decided to step back from full-time work for the company so he can devote most of his time to starting a new career in politics." Sterling is a book world giant. Stephen Rubin's memo said Sterling will "work part-time and edit a small number of his authors and acquire only the occasional book." | | | For the record, part three | | | By Julia Waldow:
-- "Lewis D'Vorkin's voice is tranquil as he threatens his staff:" The wow-worthy opener of Lyz Lenz's intricate profile of the Los Angeles Times's EIC, and a look into how he became "LA Journalism's 'Prince of Darkness,'" for CJR... (CJR)
-- BuzzFeed News tracked down and catalogued 1,700 Twitter profiles to give readers "an inside look at the accounts Twitter has censored in countries around the world." Interesting tidbit: one "notable group of accounts on the withheld list are journalists..." (BuzzFeed)
-- Digiday reveals how the NYT is "using interactive tools to build loyalty (and ultimately subscriptions)..." (Digiday) | | Bolling meets with Trump to talk opioid epidemic | | | Tom Kludt emails: Over at THR, Jeremy Barr landed an interview with ex-Fox News host Eric Bolling, who's still grieving the untimely death of his 19-year-old son, Eric Chase. Bolling said he met with President Trump in the White House earlier this week to discuss the opioid epidemic (Eric died of an overdose involving a pill laced with fentanyl). He also detailed the well-wishes he's received from his contemporaries in the world of TV news: Joe Scarborough, Sean Hannity, Don Lemon, Megyn Kelly, Van Jones... | | Pope issues warning about 'fake news' | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Yes, you read that right. Pope Francis on Wednesday released a message about "fake news" -- he likened it to the "crafty serpent" from Genesis -- and said it is a "sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes." The Pope said disinformation "thieves on the absence of healthy confrontation with sources of information that could effectively challenge prejudices and generate constructive dialogue: instead, it risks turning people into unwilling accomplices in spreading biased and baseless ideas." CNN's Rosa Flores has a full story here... | | During an appearance on "The View" on Tuesday, Ann Curry had some thoughts on Megyn Kelly's Jane Fonda remarks. The pull quote: "This is not journalism." Lisa Respers France wrote it up...
Joan Vennochi mentioned the Curry comment in this new Boston Globe column. She says the hostility toward Kelly "seems out of proportion to her alleged crime, and rooted in selective memory." Vennochi's argument: "If Kelly's past" at Fox "isn't dead, neither is Fonda's. It's all fair game, from glamorous antiwar zealot to wrinkle-free octogenarian..." | | | For the record, part four | | | -- Smart Lucia Moses story: "Publishers that find themselves at the end of their rope with Facebook have found favor with one person there: Adam Mosseri..." (Digiday)
-- "Snapchat's VP of Product, Tom Conrad, is leaving the company in March..." (Recode)
-- Via Julia Waldow: Naomi Fry and Carolyn Kormann are taking on new writing roles at newyorker.com, covering culture and the environment, respectively... (Twitter)
-- Oprah Winfrey is on the March cover of In Style... (Fashionista) | | Comcast earnings exceed expectations | | Comcast Q4 earnings: The company "increased revenue and profit beyond Wall Street's expectations, as the addition of broadband customers and growth at the NBCUniversal media unit helped offset a third straight quarter of television subscriber losses," the WSJ's Austen Hufford reports.
--> Brian Roberts "said on an earnings conference call that the company would continue to look at potential deal targets." But "the bar is set high," Roberts said... | | Today's Weinstein Co. update | | | As we reported earlier, an investment group led by Maria Contreras-Sweet has moved into exclusive negotiations about a bid for Weinstein Company's assets. The final deal is a week or so away... But TheWrap reported some new details about her plan on Wednesday night... The story says the new firm "will have private breastfeeding rooms, three free meals a day and emphasize an open and inclusive workplace." And there will be a "multi-million dollar 'victim fund' for Harvey Weinstein's accusers..." | | By Frank Pallotta:
-- Tiffany Haddish inks first-look deal with HBO... (THR)
-- A new 'Cat in the Hat' movie is in the works at Warner Bros... (Variety)
-- How 'Paddington 2' warmed America's cold, cold heart... (Washington Post)
-- Can Hollywood fix its harassment problem while celebrating itself? (NYT) | | Meryl on "Big Little Lies!" | | | A rare TV role for Meryl Streep. And what a role it will be: She will "will play the mother-in-law of Nicole Kidman's character, Celeste Wright," on "Big Little Lies" season two. Sandra Gonzalez has the full story here... | | Sir Elton John's "farewell" tour | | | Chloe Melas emails: Sir Elton John announced Wednesday at Gotham Hall that his next tour will be his last. He's calling it his "farewell" tour -- but it's going to take three years to do! He says the main reason for his eventual retirement is to spend more time with his children... | | Waco standoff revisited in Paramount drama, A&E documentary | | Brian Lowry emails: The 25th anniversary of the Waco standoff is occasion enough for an outpouring of TV programming, starting with "Waco," a six-hour miniseries -- starring Taylor Kitsch as David Koresh -- being used to launch the rebranded Paramount Network. It will be closely followed by a complementary four-hour documentary, "Waco: Madman or Messiah," on A&E...
Read Lowry's piece here... | | | For the record, part five | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Don't look for an *NSYNC Super Bowl reunion. Joey Fatone says he and the guys will not be joining Justin Timberlake during his halftime show...
-- Joel Taylor of Discovery's "Storm Chasers" has died at the age of 38... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I love the feedback, corrections, suggestions, and tips. Thank you! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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