| | | | | Exec summary: Facebook disappoints investors, HBO pledges "quality control," BET cancels Robin Thede's show, AMC brings back Chris Hardwick, and much more... | | ...And bars the questioner | | Does the White House think this will work? Shut down a well-respected reporter for asking questions at an Oval Office photo op? Punish her by saying she's "dis-invited" from the president's next press event?
That's what happened on Wednesday. White House vets couldn't remember a case quite like it.
Bill Shine and Sarah Sanders told CNN's Kaitlan Collins that she asked "inappropriate" questions during Trump's meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. They barred her from Trump's surprise Rose Garden event with Juncker.
Maybe Shine and Sanders are banking on the possibility that Trump's fans will jeer Collins and cheer them on. Maybe they believe these battles are "good" for the White House. Maybe they want to intimidate other reporters. Or maybe they were just following Trump's order. I'm with Wolf Blitzer, who said to me on "The Situation Room," "I can only assume the president ordered them to do that..."
| | My full story is up on CNN.com. I tried to emphasize that Collins wasn't just there on behalf of CNN. She was the pool reporter on behalf of all the TV networks on Wednesday. As NBC's Kasie Hunt wrote, "These were questions from the TV pool reporter, which means this is effectively an action taken against all the TV journalists covering the White House."
The White House accused Collins of shouting Q's and refusing to leave the photo op. But her behavior was completely in line with protocol. Other reporters who were in the room said Collins was perfectly respectful. When I interviewed her, she said, "I'm from Alabama. I'm not rude. I believe you should always be polite when you ask a question. I totally believe that."
| | "Inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak" | | The White House Correspondents Association immediately stood up for Collins and spoke out against the ban: "This type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak. It cannot stand. Reporters asking questions of powerful government officials, up to and including the President, helps hold those people accountable."
So... About those questions...
| | Here's what Collins tried to ask | | — "Did Michael Cohen betray you, Mr. President?"
— "Are you worried about what is on the other tapes?"
— "Why is Vladimir Putin not accepting your invitation?"
Trump did not answer.
You'll recall that, last week, the W.H. invited Putin to DC "in the fall." But Putin did not accept the invite right away. Now, apparently, the meeting is off. A couple hours after Collins asked the question, John Bolton said in a statement that the next Putin meeting will happen "after the first of the year."
Wait, what? Why? Is this because Putin didn't accept the invite? Here's what Bolton said: "The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year."
| | Fox has pool duty on Thursday | | Pool duty is alphabetical... CBS was Tuesday, CNN was Wednesday, so Fox News is up on Thursday... We'll see if there are any opportunities to ask Trump Q's...
Notably, Fox News defended Collins and CNN... Fox News prez Jay Wallace, who worked together with Shine for years, said "we stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press." | | Why hasn't the W.H. corrected this transcript yet? | | Oliver Darcy emails: Did the White House intentionally edit out a key question from the transcript of Trump's joint news conference earlier this month with Putin? If you watched MSNBC Tuesday night or CNN Wednesday morning, you may have walked away with that impression. But, upon examination, it appears that the missing question from the W.H. transcript and video was more likely the result of a technical glitch. Details...
>> What was missing: "President Putin, did you want President Trump to win the election?" Putin said yes. But the Q is still missing from the WhiteHouse.gov transcript...
>> When Rachel Maddow highlighted the omission on Tuesday night, she implied it was intentional. She's not backing down. On Wednesday night, she downplayed Philip Bump's WashPost story that showed the technical issue was likely to blame... She said Bump only "speculated" that the "wonky audio feed" was the culprit. "Judge for yourself," she told her audience...
>> CNN said Alisyn Camerota will address the issue on "New Day" Thursday... | | The Daily News laid off half its staff. Now what? | | There have been so many reactions to the New York Daily News layoffs. I wanted to hear directly from the people affected. So I sat down with three of the reporters -- Erin Durkin, Chelsia Rose Marcius, and Kerry Burke -- who were laid off on Monday. For this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast, we talked about the paper's incredible history, Tronc's handling of the layoffs, the paper's uncertain future, and their own futures.
We had a very emotional conversation. Yes, there's some anger at Tronc. But mostly there's concern about what's going to happen to the Daily News and other sources of local news. Listen to our discussion via Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, or Stitcher... | | "More than 100 recordings" | | Wednesday brought several follow-ups to Tuesday's CNN scoop about the Cohen-Trump tape:
>> Trump tweeted: "What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before?" (Does anyone really think Trump was surprised by this?!)
>> It's been reported that the feds have 12 audio tapes made by Cohen. But many more exist. The WashPost reported Wednesday night the government "has seized more than 100 recordings that Cohen made of his conversations with people discussing matters that could relate to Trump and his businesses and with Trump himself talking..."
>> The BIG picture: "Secret Trump recording is *just one* of millions of items seized in raids on Cohen's home & office. It's gonna be a long summer," CBS's Paula Reid said...
>> The BIGGEST picture: The AP says Cohen "is viewed by many in Trump's orbit as the greatest threat to the former businessman's presidency..."
| | Tapes between Cohen and reporters | | On Wednesday the WSJ reported that one of Cohen's OTHER tapes was a lengthy conversation with... CNN's Chris Cuomo, who aired the Trump tape on Tuesday. Per the WSJ, "Cohen assured the reporter that he wasn't running a tape, according to the people familiar with the matter." But he taped it anyway. Cuomo and CNN had no comment...
>> Cohen taped conversations with other reporters too. I've been wondering if he taped our most recent call. It was a hum-drum call about his ill-fated attempt to sue BuzzFeed, but who knows... The point is that the conduct of reporters is not under investigation, but Cohen's conduct is...
| | "Favor-trading" between Cohen and the National Enquirer's owner | | On Wednesday the WSJ also dropped a big new story about the "yearslong" relationship between Cohen and American Media Inc. chairman David Pecker. I know this is a lot to keep up with. But here's the main point: It was a relationship "characterized by mutual benefit and favor-trading... The shared history could expose American Media, Mr. Cohen and by extension, Mr. Trump, to criminal campaign-finance charges..."
>> Related: I wrote about Trump and Cohen's "friend David" here... | | -- HUGE media biz news down under: "In one of the biggest media deals ever seen in Australia, Nine and Fairfax have announced plans for a $4 billion merger..." (Herald Sun)
-- Meghna Chakrabarti is the new Monday-Thursday host of WBUR's syndicated talk show "On Point." And David Folkenflik will host the program on Fridays. Congrats to both! (WBUR)
-- Jon Levine's scoop: Fox News has hired former ESPNer Britt McHenry "to provide commentary on the network's new 24-hour digital streaming service, Fox Nation..." (TheWrap)
-- YouTube has issued a "strike" against Alex Jones... It means "Jones cannot livestream content for three months..." (CNNMoney) | | BET cancels Robin Thede's show | | "BET has pulled the plug on 'The Rundown with Robin Thede,' the weekly late-night comedy series that debuted last October," Variety's Cynthia Littleton reports. "'Rundown' gave Thede a platform as the only African-American female host in late-night TV."
BET said "[we] look forward to finding ways to continue in partnership with Robin..." And she said "I'm already in development on several other projects..." | | AMC bringing back Chris Hardwick after "review" | | AMC benched host Chris Hardwick after an ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual and emotional abuse last month. Working with a law firm, the network conducted a review... And now the network says he's returning to work.
"We take these matters very seriously and given the information available to us after a very careful review, including interviews with numerous individuals, we believe returning Chris to work is the appropriate step," AMC said in a statement.
He'll be back on "Talking Dead" on August 12, Sandra Gonzalez reports... | | -- Joe Pompeo's latest: Michael Barbaro has become "the Ira Glass of the NYT." What's next for him? (VF)
-- Our polarized USA. Emily Kohlman emails: A new Pew analysis finds that more partisan members of Congress were less likely to address local issues on Facebook than moderates were. Also: Posts about local issues received less engagement compared to posts supporting or opposing candidates... (Pew)
-- Megan Thomas flagged this important media story from The Root: "Black journalist groups call out TV station for airing photo of stabbing victim Nia Wilson appearing to hold a gun" (The Root) | | What just happened at Facebook? | | "Facebook's stock plunged as much as 24% in after hours trading on Wednesday after the company said it expects revenue growth to slow as it 'puts privacy first' and rethinks its product experiences," CNN's Seth Fiegerman reports.
Key points from the story:
-- Overall revenue was up 42% from the same period last year. 42%! But that was still below "Wall Street expectations..."
-- On an earnings call, Facebook CFO David Wehner "said sales growth may decline as the company prioritizes new formats like Stories and offers users 'more choice around privacy...'"
-- "At the same time, Facebook expects its expenses to grow. Wehner said the company will invest 'billions of dollars per year' improving safety and security after a bruising period of headlines about Facebook's role in enabling fake news and election meddling. 'We think that's the right thing to do for the business,' he said..." | | Still: ***2.5 billion users last month*** | | The main Facebook site "stagnated or even shrank in some of its most developed markets," Fiegerman notes. "The number of daily users remained flat in the United States and Canada and declined in Europe."
BUT: Execs "cited a new figure to remind investors of its massive audience: 2.5 billion people used at least one of Facebook's apps (which include Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook) last month..." | | This is one of many, many examples of the pressure FB is feeling... | | Oliver Darcy emails: The parents of one of the Sandy Hook victims wrote an open note published Wednesday to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. They wrote, "After our son's death, online abuse claiming the attack was a hoax drove us into hiding. Yet Facebook refuses to take meaningful action."
>> Worth noting: Facebook has chosen to leave up InfoWars videos that strongly suggest Parkland survivors were acting or that the shooting was a false flag... | | | For the record, part three | | | By David Klein:
-- "Who was Ruben Pat?" He is the second Mexican journalist from the same paper, Semanario Playa News, to turn up dead in the past month. "Last year, Pat said he feared for his life after a story he published linking local officials with drug cartels..." (Newsweek)
-- A Russian TV anchor's body turned up with a skull fracture: "Denis Suvorov, 27, worked as a host and online editor at Rossia Nizhny Novgorod, which is broadcast by the state-run VGTRK media holding..." (The Moscow Times)
-- A jailed Egyptian journalist, Mahmoud Abou Zeid, could be facing the death penalty... (LA Times) | | Trump called Sinclair "conservative" -- and staffers bristled | | "With a late-night tweet, Donald Trump gave Ajit Pai the gift the chairman never seemed to be able to get for himself: distance from the White House," Axios's David McCabe writes.
He's talking about Trump's pro-Sinclair, anti-FCC tweet. Hadas Gold has the full story here. But here's the thing: Sources at Sinclair's stations told me they were bewildered by the president's defense of the company.
"Trump's tweet actually hurts us -- because of the conservative line," one staffer said.
Other Sinclair journalists seconded this point, saying colleagues were unhappy with Trump's portrayal of the company as "conservative." While stations have been forced to air pro-Trump commentaries and stories, most journalists at local stations want to be recognized for their straight-forward, nonpartisan work. They don't want to be labeled by the president or anyone else... | | MSNBC threw a party for the one-year anniversary of "The Beat with Ari Melber" Thursday night...
Spotted: Desus & Mero, Phil Griffin, Jonathan Wald, Errol Cockfield, Fat Joe, Sam Nunberg, Bill Kristol, Nick Ackerman, Chuck Nice, Natasha Bertrand, Ayman Mohyeldin, Howard Fineman, Oliver Darcy, Lloyd Grove, Jon Levine, Stephanie Ruhle, Rashida Jones, Howell Raines, Janelle Rodriguez, Jesse Rodriguez, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Kevin Liles, Peter Rosenberg, more... | | Brian Lowry emails: HBO was certainly ready for questions about its future as part of AT&T, with programming chief Casey Bloys kicking off the TV Critics Assn. tour by saying that there were "no plans to dilute the brand" in pursuit of the increased volume being sought by its new owner, under WarnerMedia chief John Stankey.
Bloys acknowledged that it would be a balancing act to try to invest more in programming and still maintain "quality control," while providing program creators the tender loving care that the network has insisted is a point of differentiation between itself and Netflix. Read more...
| | Oliver, Pfeiffer, Lovett... | | More from Lowry: During separate sessions, HBO's John Oliver discussed trying to "compartmentalize" its coverage of the Trump admin so that Trump doesn't monopolize time on his program, while the quartet behind Pod Save America -- which will produce a quartet of specials for HBO -- offered a critique of those covering the president, citing the BBC's tough interview with Sean Spicer as the kind of treatment they want to see more often. Dan Pfeiffer also urged reporters to bore in on actual policy questions, saying with regard to Trump, "They know he can't answer the question, so they don't ask the question."
>> Even though it was an HBO event, the podcasters were also asked about Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series "Who is America?," with Jon Lovett pointing out that it's silly to act as if someone like Cohen is an extension of the Democratic Party. "I don't think Sacha Baron Cohen is going to hurt [Sen.] Claire McCaskill in Missouri," he quipped... | | Must-read Paltrow profile | | | Megan Thomas emails: This ridiculously good NYT Magazine profile on Gwyneth Paltrow from Taffy Brodesser-Akner is getting high praise among journos on Twitter. It's a lengthy, humorous and fascinating read -- and worth every word... | | | Brian Lowry emails: A footnote to the Deadline scoop about a possible "Frasier" reboot: Kelsey Grammar is an outspoken conservative, a point that might be worth remembering when Roseanne Barr appears on "Hannity" Thursday night, especially if she repeats her assertion that she was fired for supporting Trump... | | Ausiello writing a "coming-of-age dramedy" | | | I missed this yesterday: "J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot is developing a half-hour, single-camera, coming-of-age dramedy based on TVLine founder Michael Ausiello's TV-obsessed, closeted-gay childhood in small-town New Jersey during the 1980s," Deadline reports. "Ausiello, who grew up in Roselle Park, is writing the script for the untitled project, which is expected to be taken to the marketplace shortly." More here... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Amid her hospitalization for an apparent overdose, fans have been paying tribute to Demi Lovato with #HowDemiHasHelpedMe...
-- Here's what Lovato has said about sobriety and mental health in the past...
-- The National Transportation Safety Board doesn't love the #InMyFeelings challenge. They don't know if Keke loves Drake, but if she's riding, they want her to stay in the car... | | | Let me know what you think of this newsletter. Email your likes, dislikes, thoughts: brian.stelter@turner.com | | | | | | |
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