| | | | Mark Zuckerberg's first words to CNN's Laurie Segall: "This was a major breach of trust, and I'm really sorry that this happened."
Zuckerberg broke his silence about the Cambridge Analytica controversy by giving four interviews on Wednesday afternoon. And he made a lot of news: He opened the door to testifying before Congress, discussed potential regulations, and said Facebook is taking election meddling extremely seriously.
Segall and CNN had the TV exclusive. We aired portions of the interview on "AC360" on Wednesday night... Segall will be on "New Day" in the morning with more... On CNN.com, you can watch the interview excerpts, read a transcript, and/or read our recap... | | | Here are the interviews with Wired mag, the New York Times, and Recode... Zuckerberg used the forums to reiterate what he said in his Wednesday afternoon FB post about data collection changes... | | These interviews were an important first step, I said on CNN after the interview, but hopefully not the last step. What reporters definitely want... and what I think many members of the public want... is more of an ongoing conversation about the issues raised by this controversy and FB's other challenges. A conversation involving FB execs about the tradeoffs of the social age...
--> Email from a PR pro: "How did it take almost a week to do this interview? Why are they always on defense?!" | | The view from Facebookworld | | | One suitable framing for this data scandal, suggested by a Facebook source: FB is confronting problems from the past. Policies from years ago (like looser access for developers) still haunting the company. Yes, but here's the thing... This is all about trust, not just in the past, but now and in the future. Will users trust that there won't be more missteps and breaches? | | | Sen. Amy Klobuchar tweeted: "Just watched Mark Zuckerberg on @CNN & I was surprised to hear him say he supported the senate bill on election ads. That's my bill -- the Honest Ads Act -- w/ @SenJohnMcCain & @MarkWarner... It's a new position for Facebook & we'd like to get it done before election. Twitter? Google?" | | | MORE NEWS FROM THE INTERVIEWS... | | The WSJ reported several months ago that Robert Mueller's team had requested documents from Cambridge Analytica. ABC News expanded on that reporting on Wednesday.
Wired's Nicholas Thompson asked Zuckerberg, "How confident are you that Facebook data didn't get into the hands of Russian operatives -- into the Internet Research Agency, or even into other groups that we may not have found yet?" Z: "I can't really say that. I hope that we will know that more certainly after we do an audit..." | | | Journos also used the rare interview opportunities to ask some bigger picture Q's... | | More meddling in elections? It's happening right now | | | Zuckerberg says he is "sure someone's trying" to use FB to meddle with the US midterm elections right now. When Laurie Segall asked about the possibility, he said "I'm sure that there's v2, version two, of whatever the Russian effort was in 2016, I'm sure they're working on that." He talked about FB's efforts to protect elections all around the world... Here's my recap for CNNMoney... | | Macedonian accounts tried to interfere in the Alabama special election | | One of Zuckerberg's lines was that this is "hard" but "not rocket science."
"One of the things that gives me confidence is that we've seen a number of elections at this point where this has gone a lot better," he told the NYT's Kevin Roose and Sheera Frenkel... "In 2017 with the special election in Alabama, we deployed some new A.I. tools to identify fake accounts and false news, and we found a significant number of Macedonian accounts that were trying to spread false news, and were able to eliminate those. And that, actually, is something I haven't talked about publicly before, so you're the first people I'm telling about that..." | | What about #DeleteFacebook? | | | Roose asked Zuckerberg: "Are you worried about the #DeleteFacebook campaign that's been going around? Have you seen meaningful numbers of people deleting their accounts, and are you worried that will be a trend?" Z: "I don't think we've seen a meaningful number of people act on that, but, you know, it's not good. I think it's a clear signal that this is a major trust issue for people, and I understand that..." | | What's he envisioning here? Direct democracy on FB? | | | Check out this part of Kara Swisher and Kurt Wagner's story: "Zuckerberg also reiterated his concern about having too much of his own personal ideology influencing Facebook's rules and regulations." He said "What I would really like to do is find a way to get our policies set in a way that reflects the values of the community, so I am not the one making those decisions. I feel fundamentally uncomfortable sitting here in California in an office making content policy decisions for people around the world." Hmm... | | | Toward the end of CNN's interview, Segall asked Zuckerberg how being a father has changed him. His answer is in the transcript... | | Brokaw with the bottom line | | The NBC News vet tweeted:
"The ying and yang of the digital age: FACEBOOK'S failures to protect your privacy -- to allow others to cash in.
a huge problem.
BUT the digital age allowed investigators to track down the tex bomber. like all technology, digital requires judgment." | | | HEADS UP... HERE'S WHAT WILL BE IN THE NEWS ON THURSDAY... | | | It's taking place in NYC on Thursday... Facebook's Campbell Brown is on a morning panel... and I'm sure that some of the other speakers will also weigh in on this week's data debacle. Here's the agenda/speakers lineup... Oliver Darcy and I will be attending... | | | The very last interview of the day at the FT event will be with Steve Bannon... FT head honcho Lionel Barber will question him... There's lots to ask about Bannon's time at Cambridge Analytica, the Trump campaign's use of data, etc... | | VF's new cover is coming out | | The April cover of Vanity Fair will drop on Thursday. Remember, March's issue was Radhika Jones' first issue as editor, but for timing and transition reasons, the issue still had Graydon Carter's fingerprints. April will reflect more of her vision... Her second editor's letter will also come out on Thursday...
--> So who's on the cover? Lena Waithe, reportedly, but VF won't confirm it quite yet... | | Karen McDougal on "AC360" | | It's official: CBS confirmed on Wednesday evening that Anderson Cooper's interview with Stormy Daniels will air this Sunday night. The first clip is literally just a teaser of Cooper asking Daniels why she's doing the interview...
Before the Daniels interview airs, though, Cooper's other exclusive interview, with Karen McDougal, will air on "AC360" Thursday night... | | -- Margaret Sullivan's latest: "No, billionaires won't save us. That's a myth that links Zuckerberg and Trump..." (WashPost)
-- Michael Wolff's streak is over: After 10 weeks as No. 1 on the NYT's hardcover nonfiction chart, "Fire and Fury" fell to No. 2 this week... David Corn and Michael Isikoff's "Russian Roulette" is the new No. 1 title... I can see it staying there til James Comey's book comes out in April...
-- Natasha Bertrand is NBC/MSNBC's newest contributor... | | Opening statements on Thursday | | | Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson are expected to be in court Thursday morning... Along with DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim... Opening statements will be heard in DOJ vs. AT&T starting at 10:30am. We'll have complete coverage on CNNMoney... Hadas Gold, Jessica Schneider and Tom Kludt will be at the courthouse... | | I'm seeing lots of columns like this... | | | Greg Ip's take for the WSJ: The suit "seems conceived in a world before the internet became a gigantic petri dish for video content. This isn't a trivial omission..." | | | Don't discount the government's case. As Hadas Gold said on "New Day" on Tuesday, Judge Richard Leon is a "pretty tough sort of old-school judge and honestly, day by day, I feel like it could go either way..." | | Time, SI, Fortune, Money are up for sale | | Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Money magazines are officially up for sale. Meredith told staffers on Wednesday and then announced the sale publicly. There are multiple prospective buyers for the magazines, Meredith CEO Tom Harty said, according to staffers who spoke with Hadas Gold and me.
The execs "were very upfront," one of the staffers said. "Sounds like there are several buyers but they may have one in mind. They mentioned wealthy individuals, some of whom have journalistic backgrounds." Harty didn't name names, but in response to Q's he said it's not the Kochs and not David Pecker... | | Meredith cutting about 1,000 jobs post-merger | | | NYT's Sydney Ember adds: "Meredith also said on Wednesday that it was immediately laying off roughly 200 employees and that it would eliminate about 1,000 more positions over the next 10 months. The layoffs are part of the company's plan to cut between $400 million and $500 million in costs over the next two years..." | | -- Julia Waldow emails a recommended read by Jane Lytvynenko: The P.R. firm Third Dimension Strategies "has been secretly placing articles into conservative publications..." (BuzzFeed News)
-- David Klein emails: Pew takes a deep dive on science journalism as seen on Facebook... (Pew)
-- One more via David: "Turkey's Demiroren Holding, an unlisted firm seen as backing President Tayyip Erdogan, has agreed to buy the respected Hurriyet newspaper and broadcaster CNN Turk, an official said, a deal that could further cement media support for the government..." (Reuters) | | Darcy spoke with Fox insiders... | | | Oliver Darcy emails: "The thing hit like a bombshell." That's how one longtime Fox News employee described the scene at the company after Ralph Peters' exit note leaked. Peters, a longtime contributor, blasted Fox News as a "propaganda machine" for Trump. Another source told me that the situation had "rattled" Fox News execs. One employee even told me that they were "jealous" about the way Peters made a splash on his way out and that the person "fantasized" about doing the same. Read more... | | I spoke with some Fox critics... | | | "I'm guessing that he made a calculation that Trump is going down and Fox may go down with him," Bruce Bartlett told me. Read more from Bartlett and others in my column here... | | YouTube banning videos that promote gun sales | | | Hadas Gold emails: YouTube is tightening its rules for gun videos. Though they've long banned videos that try to sell guns, the platform is getting more specific in its rules. Now content "promoting the sale or manufacture of firearms and their accessories" like bumps stocks and high capacity magazines will be banned from the platform. Certain instructional and installation videos for homemade guns and certain accessories will also be banned. A YouTube spokesperson told me the rules take effect next month. Read more here... | | YouTube wants to "frustrate and seduce" music video viewers | | Daniella Emanuel emails: YouTube is planning to expand the number of ads that users experience between music videos, in order to "frustrate and seduce" them into subscribing to its "forthcoming subscription music service..."
--> Lucas Shaw tweeted: "This is a real concession to the music business, which has long complained that youtube let's people listen to a bottomless library of songs for free. | | About Jimmy Iovine's future with Apple... | | Apple "is losing the public face of its music operations, just as its streaming service is finding its beat," Tripp Mickle and Anne Steele write in Thursday's WSJ. "Jimmy Iovine will transition into a consulting role in August and step back from daily involvement with the company's streaming-music business, according to people familiar with his plans..." Read more...
--> Speaking of the music biz: "Pandora is spending $145 million to buy the ad tech company that works with everybody in streaming audio - including Spotify," Mike Shields reports... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Daniella Emanuel:
-- Vox has updated its running list of 202 people in power who were "accused of sexual misconduct" over the past year. There are 52 people under the "Media" category and 81 in "Arts & Entertainment"...(Vox)
-- A new report from Amnesty International calls Twitter "a toxic place for women," with a focus on those in marginalized groups... (Bustle)
-- The Indy 500 race "will be broadcast on NBC after 54 years on ABC..." (Deadline) | | An update on Parkland's student journalists | | | Julia Waldow sends along an update on the journalism program at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS: In a testament to the power of student journalism and a new move for MSD's yearbook, The Aerie will be available for purchase to parties outside the school this spring. Walsworth Yearbooks, the publisher, is offering a limited run of 500 copies of the book for $100 each, plus shipping and handling, to anyone who wants one, The Aerie's adviser, Sarah Lerner, told me. The books, available for preorder here, will ship directly to customers. And, "all proceeds after printing costs go to the victims fund," Lerner said. The book, to be released in May, covers the events and aftermath of the February 14 shooting, including vigils and memorials, political matters, and the first week back at school, and pays tribute to each of the victims through a series of profiles. Read more on the Walsworth Yearbooks blog... | | Jimmy Fallon joins celebrities supporting March For Our Lives | | | The march is just a couple of days away... Chloe Melas has the details about Jimmy Fallon's contribution here... | | Brian Lowry emails: Wednesday's season finale of "The X-Files" certainly felt like a series finale to me. Especially with Gillian Anderson having announced she's done, the franchise is clearly pretty well spent...
--> Wednesday also marked the finish of FX's latest edition of "American Crime Story," "The Assassination of Gianni Versace," which was quite good, without reaching the bar set by "The People v. O.J. Simpson..." | | At what point do more Netflix originals risk becoming too much? | | More from Brian Lowry: As a critic, I'm occasionally struck by my inability to keep pace with all the original shows premiering on Netflix. How can a normal person keep up? Yet what amounts to a marketing challenge for the service -- and seemingly a boon to subscribers, in terms of having more options -- has become a talking point for rivals like Disney and HBO: Because Netflix is in the volume business, you'll get better bang for the buck, and more tender loving care, with us.
Read Lowry's full column here... | | Lowry reviews "Pacific Rim Uprising" | | | One more from Brian Lowry: "Pacific Rim" was a big enough hit internationally to give birth (albeit five years later) to "Pacific Rim Uprising," a movie where the giant robots are even bigger, but everything otherwise feels smaller than the pretty forgettable original... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... the feedback helps us improve this newsletter every day... Thanks! | | | | | | |
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