| | | | Greetings! This is Oliver Darcy here, and I have a quick housekeeping note before we get started. The Reliable Sources newsletter will be going on a vacation for the holiday weekend. Brian Stelter will be back at the helm on Monday.
It's been a pleasure filling in for him, and thank you to everyone who has emailed kind thoughts and continued reading in Stelter's absence. Once again you can email me at oliver.darcy@turner.com or find me on Twitter. Now, let's get to the news... | | Ex-Ronan Farrow producer breaks silence | | Drudge's Thursday night headline: "NBC MUZZLED #METOO."
Within a few minutes of each other, The Daily Beast and the NYT dropped big new stories about NBC's mishandling of Ronan Farrow's reporting into Harvey Weinstein. NYT's John Koblin had the first interview with Farrow's producing partner, Rich McHugh, who left the network earlier this month. And the Beast had new details about "back-biting inside the network" and more.
McHugh told Koblin that NBC was "resistant" to the Weinstein reporting all along. And there's much more. The network disagrees... | | Stelter emails: Here's what McHugh told me in a statement Thursday night:
"NBC has some of the finest journalists in the business -- this is not about them. This is about the leadership at NBC. At a critical juncture in our reporting on Harvey Weinstein, as we were about to interview a woman with a credible allegation of rape against him, I was told not to do the interview and ordered to stand down, thus effectively killing the story. Those orders came to me from the highest levels of NBC. That was unethical, and a massive breach of journalistic integrity."
McHugh added: "Is there anyone in the journalistic community who actually believes NBC didn't breach its journalistic duty to continue reporting this story? Something else must have been going on. As a journalist for 16 years I do know that when you have an explosive story you never let it walk out the door. You keep digging for more so you can publish it at your network. NBC owed it to those brave women who spoke to us to get their stories out." | | "Something else must have been going on." | | | Stelter adds: That's the key line in McHugh's statement. "Something else must have been going on." What else was going on? What spurred NBC to shelve the story? I think we'll finally find out when Farrow's book "Catch & Kill" comes out... No word yet about a publication date though... | | 👀 Ex-McHugh colleague: NBC execs not telling truth | | ABC News reporter Chris Francescani tweeted NYT's story Thursday night, writing, "I worked in the @NBCNews Investigative Unit in the fall of 2016. @RichMcHughNBC and @RonanFarrow are telling the truth. @NBCNews executives are not."
>> Josh Elliott, another McHugh colleague, tweeted: "@RichMcHughNBC is, simply, the most forthright and unassailably ethical producer I've known. He was my partner for years at @abcnews and afterward, and there is no more honest—or talented—a journalist. The work he's done has meant so much to so many, and I'm proud to know him." | | NBC News fires back: "Outright lie" we tried to kill story | | An NBC News spokesperson said in a statement Thursday night, "The assertion that NBC News tried to kill the Weinstein story while Ronan Farrow was at NBC News, or even more ludicrously, after he left NBC News, is an outright lie."
>> The NBC News spokesperson added: "In August of 2017, after NBC News assigned Ronan Farrow to investigate Weinstein and supported his reporting efforts for eight months, Farrow believed his reporting was ready for air. NBC disagreed because, unfortunately, he did not yet have a single victim of -- or witness to -- misconduct by Weinstein who was willing to be identified. Dissatisfied with that decision, Farrow chose to leave for a print outlet that he said was willing to publish immediately. NBC News told him 'we will not stand in your way,' and allowed him to take his reporting to The New Yorker, where, two months later, he published a strong piece that cited the following victims by name: Asia Argento, Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Lucia Evans, Emma de Canes, Jessica Barth, and Sophie Dix. Not one of these seven women was included in the reporting Farrow presented while at NBC News." | | When will Ronan break his silence on NBC? | | It's getting more and more difficult for Farrow to stay silent about his experience reporting on Weinstein while at NBC. I checked in with a spokesperson for The New Yorker to see when he might address the matter. The spokesperson would only say that Farrow was on a plane as the NYT and Daily Beast stories dropped and had no comment beyond what Farrow told NYT in Thursday's article. "He's focused on other reporting," the spokesperson said.
>> Keep in mind: Farrow is working on a book titled "Catch & Kill." As Stelter tweeted, it's going to detail his experience reporting on Weinstein while at NBC News. It's only a matter of time before we hear his side of the story... | | -- Ben Smith's latest is a must-read: "I helped create insider political journalism. Now it's time for it to go away..." (BuzzFeed)
-- Ashley Parker in Friday's paper: Trump's assertions are "bound by one unifying theme: All of his perceived opponents are peddling false facts and only Trump can be trusted..." (WaPo)
-- CNN does not intend to reveal other source in network's Michael Cohen story... (Business Insider)
-- Forbes chats with Fox Business Network President Brian Jones about the network's rating success... (Forbes)
-- Several media professionals have launched a 2.5 minute newscast exclusively for Facebook... (Axios) | | Trump attacks the press at another rally | | CNN's Noah Gray shared this from the rally: "The same night President Trump spent much of his rally attacking the news media and referring to reporters in the crowd as 'fake news,' he told the crowd that the Trump administration is committed to 'standing up for free speech.'"
Trump said his admin is "standing up for the free speech rights of all Americans." He called out Twitter, Facebook and Google by name, saying, "We're not gonna let them control what we cannot see, read and learn from..." | | Man charged for anti-press threats | | A California man was charged on Thursday for allegedly making threats against Boston Globe employees. According to court docs, the man called the Globe's newsroom on August 16 and the 22nd and made threats. Tom Kludt has a full story here...
>> The August 16 threat: "You're the enemy of the people, and we're going to kill every f***ing one of you. Hey, why don't you call the F, why don't you call Mueller, maybe he can help you out buddy. ... I'm going to shoot you in the f***ing head later today, at 4 o'clock." | | Chuck Todd: Don't miss work Friday | | Chuck Todd had some advice for journalists on Thursday: Don't skip work on Friday, or you could miss a potential bombshell. "Here's what I've learned about Bob Mueller," Todd said. "Not a single person that has known him, been with him, worked with him, wouldn't say that he would have ended this investigation if there was no collusion. He would have already ended this investigation."
Todd then added that he believes Mueller will likely keep quiet between Labor Day and Election Day. Which led the "Meet the Press" host to this conclusion: "I'm not missing work tomorrow. I wouldn't miss work tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last business day of the pre-Labor Day to Election Day window." Mediaite has video of Todd's advice here... | | Alex Jones' bid to throw out Sandy Hook defamation lawsuit denied | | From Tom Kludt's latest story: "Alex Jones was denied on Thursday in his bid to have a defamation lawsuit brought by parents of a Sandy Hook victim thrown out. Judge Scott Jenkins ruled in an Austin, Texas, courtroom that Jones' motion to have the case dismissed has been denied, bringing the suit one step closer to trial." Read Kludt's full story here...
>> Background from Kludt: "The suit was brought by Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose 6-year-old son Noah died in the Sandy Hook massacre, and it is just one of the legal battles being waged against Jones by parents of children who were killed in the 2012 shooting." | | NYT: Trump tried to buy, bury decades of dirt from National Enquirer | | The NYT dropped an explosive report on Thursday morning. Jim Rutenberg and Maggie Haberman reported that Trump, as a candidate for president, sought to purchase potentially damaging stories about him from American Media Inc, the company that publishes the National Enquirer. Some key notes....
>> The NYT said the info dated back to the 1980s and included "older National Enquirer stories about Mr. Trump's marital woes and lawsuits; related story notes and lists of sensitive sources; some tips about alleged affairs; and minutia, like allegations of unscrupulous golfing..."
>> The plan was never finalized...
>> Lawyers for Trump and Cohen declined to comment to NYT... | | | Stelter emails: It's hard to stay away 😉 Jamie just said I should log offline again. But easier said than done! What if Chuck Todd is right? (See above.) Anyway, I'm going to go learn how to sail... John Avlon will be hosting "Reliable Sources" this weekend... Join him Sunday at 11am ET on CNN! | | By Daniella Emanuel:
-- Twitter announced Thursday that it will be "requiring some organizations that purchase political ads on topics such as abortion, health-care reform and immigration to disclose more information about themselves to users..." (WaPo)
-- More MoviePass drama: A board member of the parent company has resigned, "claiming that management withheld financial information and made important decisions without the board's knowledge..." (Deadline)
-- The Financial Times has had a paywall for the past 17 years. Next year, they're finally expected to hit one million subscribers...(The Drum)
-- Sopan Deb writes about whether the public is ready for Louis C.K.'s return to the comedy scene...(NYT)
-- Some changes to Vox Media: The outlet will be "restructuring" the ad sales team to focus on "industry categories..." (WSJ) | | 23 years ago, CNN.com was born | | | Happy birthday to CNN.com! The website -- and CNN's digital arm -- turned 23 years old on Thursday. Take a look at the homepage back on launch day in August 1995... | | You'll notice that one story on the homepage "making news' back in 1995 was about critics warning of a "multimedia hell." It turns out the story was rather prescient. Here's the lede: "Some telecommunications experts fear the multimedia revolution is setting the stage for the eventual breakdown of society."
>> More from the *1995* story: John Eger, communications and public policy professor at San Diego State University, warned against what he called the divisive power of telecommunications. He said religious, linguistic and tribal conflicts throughout the world have been started and fueled to some extent by the spread of telecommunications, which he said can easily promote sensationalism and propaganda. "This is the hell...that we must be most concerned about," he cautioned.
>> And another line: American lawyer Delbert Smith said the telecommunications revolution is about control and power. "Hell is a loss of privacy, and nothing brings us closer to hell than telecommunications technology," he said. "We will all end up consumers with no privacy in a technological world with no protections." | | A prescient warning from the past | | | Someone should track down Smith and Eger, because it seems they had an eye into the future back when they made their predictions more than 25 years ago. Today, in 2018, we see social media used to stir hate that has led to violence (see Myanmar), interfere with elections (see USA), and in general promote sensationalism. We also see a loss in privacy with Big Tech controlling oceans of personal data about their consumers... | | Trump: There may be "anti-trust situation" with Big Tech | | All of this has led some to suggest that the government should step in and break the large tech companies up. Steve Bannon told me as much on Wednesday night, saying the government should seize data from Big Tech and put it into a public trust run by an independent board of directors.
President Trump, on Thursday, told Bloomberg that there might be an "antitrust situation" with Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Trump wouldn't "comment on the breaking up" of such companies, but said, "As you know, many people think it is a very anti-trust situation, the three of them." It will be interesting to see how Trump's rhetoric on the issue develops moving forward... | | Mike Allen's "scary thought" | | | In his newsletter Thursday morning, Axios co-founder Mike Allen shared a "scary thought" he had. Allen said he had conversed with Donald Trump Jr. who had told him he'd love to see Silicon Valley conservatives "start" a new social media platform. Don Jr. said if that were to happen he'd "help promote the platform and be all over that." Allen confessed that idea scared him, writing, "Imagine tribal news delivered via tribal pipes. And, as one mischievous Trump adviser told us, imagine the president moving his Twitter show to that network." | | Hatch asks FTC to investigate Google | | | Following Trump's unfounded claims of Big Tech bias earlier this week, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch on Thursday wrote a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons asking the federal agency to examine the "competitive effects of Google's conduct in search and digital advertising." Hatch wrote that he found reports of "purportedly anticompetitive conduct by the company" to be "disquieting" and asked for answers... | | It feels like the Upside-down | | Of course, it's strange that this rhetoric is coming from Republicans who typically champion the free market and cringe at the idea of regulation. Talk of putting large swaths of data into a public trust is also strange considering Bannon's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Vanity Fair's Tina Nguyen wrote a piece Thursday in which she said Bannon was "certainly" being "hypocritical, given his own history of weaponizing big data for political gains." She also noted that the Trump base has a "well-documented mistrust of the government's data-collection programs." This is, in part, what led me to say earlier on CNN that we are truly living in the Upside-down... | | How should Big Tech respond? | | | Chuck Todd and Kara Swisher sat down on "Meet The Press Daily" Thursday afternoon and had a chat about the current state of affairs with Big Tech. Todd asked Swisher how tech companies should respond when they face unfounded accusations of bias. Swisher's suggestion? "By ignoring it completely. Look at what Jeff Bezos is doing every time he comes out -- he just doesn't say a word," Swisher said. "I think Google has to just say this is not true, and move along." | | The stakes are getting higher for next week's hearings... | | | It might be a tad difficult for tech companies to stay entirely mum next week. Executives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter are set to testify before Congress. They will surely face all sorts of questions, ranging from bias to censorship to election meddling... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Julia Waldow:
-- Trump's tariffs on Canadian newsprint may be overturned, but "the burden of print weighs heavier and heavier," Ken Doctor writes... (Nieman Lab)
-- The Information reveals the top 100 execs at Facebook... (The Information)
-- CBS Sports' new Google Assistant action helps sports fans boost their fantasy football teams... (Digiday)
-- Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhones on September 12... (Engadget) | | Poignant scene as McCain arrives in DC | | | Throughout the day, poignant images aired across cable news, as Sen. John McCain's remains were taken to a church for a memorial service, and then transported to Washington, DC, for additional services. John Berman, hosting "AC360" Thursday night, described the scenes as "powerfully emotional." | | 16 years ago this week... | | | Via NYTGender Instagram: "Sixteen years ago this week, in 2002, The Times opened its wedding pages to gay unions. At the time, same-sex marriage was not yet legal in the United States and so the section — which was previously called 'Weddings' -- became 'Weddings/Celebrations.' Pictured here: Daniel Andrew Gross and Steven Goldstein, the first gay couple to be recognized, who affirmed their partnership in a civil union ceremony in Vermont." | | New "Reliable" podcast: Breaking Hollywood's stereotype of female journalists | | | Julia Waldow emails: From Camille Preaker in "Sharp Objects" to Zoe Barnes in "House of Cards," Hollywood has depicted female journalists as unethical, lazy, and oversexualized for years, says Sophie Gilbert, staff writer for The Atlantic. Gilbert joined Brian Stelter to discuss how and why the trope developed, its place within the #MeToo era, and its effects on public perception of the media business. Listen here via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn... | | Correction from Wednesday night's newsletter! | | | When I was putting Wednesday night's edition of the newsletter, I misspelled Daniella Emanuel's name. Sincerest apologies, Daniella! | | -- The man who hacked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence was sentenced to 8 months in prison... (NYT)
-- "Crazy Rich Asians" is poised to dominate the Labor Day weekend... (THR) | | Aretha Franklin comes home to New Bethel Baptist Church | | | Lisa Respers France emails: Aretha Franklin came home Thursday to New Bethel Baptist Church, which is where she got her start. Thousands waited in line to view her body at the church at which her father pastored. | | That time Aretha Franklin was the best wedding singer | | | France emails another story: Bill White and Bryan Eure weren't sure how Aretha Franklin would feel about performing as part of their wedding festivities. After all, there was no artist with deeper roots in the black church than Franklin, who began as a gospel singer under the tutelage of her father Rev. C.L. Franklin, and the church has not historically been known to champion gay rights. But Franklin not only brought the house down, but she embraced the event and the couple. Read the full story here... | | Producers Guild to honor Marvel chief | | | Brian Lowry emails: As further evidence that superhero movies are helping keep the film industry afloat, the Producers Guild of America will honor Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige with its David O. Selznick Awards at its annual honors in January. Feige holds a producer title on all of Marvel's films, including this year's blockbusters "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War," which combined have grossed $3.4 billion worldwide... | | 'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan' revives hero for delivery by Amazon | | | Lowry emails one more: Amazon has a marketable title in "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" -- a series based on the books that have spawned a number of movies -- and a marketable star in John Krasinski, coming off his success in "A Quiet Place." The show itself, however feels a bit mundane, essentially going back to introduce the intelligence analyst during his early years. Read Lowry's full review here... | | |
Thanks for reading! Email me your feedback... See you tomorrow...
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