Exec summary: Scroll down for tributes to Stan Lee, wildfire coverage, the "blue wave" debate, and much more...
| | How many news sites will you pay for?
New York magazine is the latest publisher to announce a paywall plan. NYMag.com, The Cut, Grub Street, Intelligencer, The Strategist, and Vulture will implement a "metered paywall" right after Thanksgiving, the NYT's Jaclyn Peiser scooped on Monday.
On its face this move makes sense for NYMag. But when you consider just how many news sites are now making people pay... You start to wonder which sites are going to struggle. On Peiser's list of new paywalls: "Bloomberg Media, The Atlantic and the Condé Nast magazines Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired." That's in addition to the WSJ, NYT, WaPo, LAT, and many other newspaper sites...
"Paywallization"
NiemanLab's Joshua Benton tweeted, "I am very, very curious to see how the accelerating paywallization of premium newsy-magazine sites" like NYMag "will impact the discourse around news."
Benton pointed out, rightly I think, that "the number of people who can be convinced to pay for NYT or WaPo" is smaller than "the number who can be convinced to pay for NYT/WaPo AND a bunch of other premium sites." How MUCH smaller? We're going to find out...
The new voting wars
President Trump and his allies continue to whip up conspiracy theories about voter fraud. As Nate Silver said Monday, this rhetoric "trying to delegitimize election results is awfully dangerous. Maybe the most openly authoritarian move he's made so far."
Election law expert Rick Hasen's latest piece for Slate is well worth reading. "There's no mincing words: We are entering into a dangerous new phase in the voting wars," he says. And it threatens "to undermine the very foundation of American democracy."
Another Jr. gaffe
Put yourself in the shoes of a news editor. What do you do when prominent tweeters, including the president's son Donald Trump Jr., grab hold of a six-year-old story from your website and use it to spread lies about voter fraud?
NBC's station in Miami had that problem on Monday. Junior shared a headline that read "Nearly 200,000 Florida Voters May Not Be Citizens."
He neglected to point out that this story (about a review of the voter rolls) was from May 2012. So NBCMiami.com attached an update, right at the top of the story, that explained "the initial list of 180,000 names was whittled to 2,625." Further checks were done. Ultimately "only 85 noncitizens were ultimately removed from the rolls out of a total of about 12 million voters at that time." Another day, another embarrassment for Junior...
AT&T CEO weighs in on Acosta situation
CNN's Jim Acosta has been banned from the White House for nearly a week now. As I discussed on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," there's talk about a potential lawsuit. | | On Monday night, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was interviewed on stage by WSJ EIC Matt Murray at the WSJ D.Live conference... Per CNN's Sara O'Brien, who's there, Stephenson was asked about Acosta, and he said, "The leadership at CNN obviously finds him effective and therefore, there you go. If the president doesn't like his conduct, then there's a process. There's been no process followed to remove his credentials."
Beloved Cleveland reporter found dead
Nikki Delamotte, a culture reporter for Cleveland.com, was "found shot to death in a suspected homicide Monday," her newsroom reported Monday. Delamotte was 30.
The news of her death has broken so many hearts in and around Cleveland. Reporter Evan MacDonald, who was tasked with covering the apparent murder, said her "passionate storytelling and kindness left an indelible mark on her community and newsroom."
Cleveland.com is the website of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper's editorial board said Delamotte "was the new friend you'd known forever... How could anyone kill someone so good, so kind, who uplifted all of us through her writing and celebrated all that was good, quirky and delicious about Cleveland? Nikki, so humble about her personal gifts, specialized in uncovering hidden gems and those less-well-known people we found we all wanted to know..."
In a cruel twist...
Gun violence was on Delamotte's mind in the days before her death. The last retweet from her Twitter account was this Saturday post by Jay Rosen, recommending a thread by Lois Beckett, who said the media needs to spend more time covering ways to prevent mass shootings. The takeaway, Rosen said, was that "the way shootings are covered creates cynicism and passivity— in us."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- A damning headline on Karen Tumulty's latest column: "Does anyone love our military less than President Trump?" (WaPo)
-- Expect an HQ2 announcement on Tuesday: The WSJ reported Monday night that Amazon has officially picked Long Island City in NY and Crystal City in VA for new projects... (WSJ)
-- Derek Thompson says Amazon's "national beauty contest" was "shameful" and "should be illegal..." (The Atlantic)
-- David Marchese is jumping from New York to the NYT Mag... he'll be the new Talk columnist... (NYT)
-- And Marchese's final New York interview, with Alex Trebek, came out Monday... It's a must-read... (Vulture)
Covering the CA firestorms
"The devastation zone is so vast," CNN's Paul Vercammen told me via email Monday. "As reporters, we are coming across destruction zones with no first responders in sight." He sent along this picture of a burnt bridge he saw Saturday in Agoura Hills, on the famed Mulholland Drive... | | As I wrote here, the stories of these fires in Northern and Southern CA are being told through video diaries by survivors, vivid updates from reporters, and wall-to-wall live coverage by local stations. All three network nightly newscasts led with the fires on Monday...
Deadliest fire in CA history
The death toll from the Camp Fire now stands at 42, making it the "deadliest wildfire in the state's history." The death toll from the Woolsey Fire remains at 2.
Here's CNN's latest story. "The strongest Santa Ana winds in the south may bring gusts near hurricane force on Tuesday, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said..."
Watching your family's home burn on live TV
This LA Times story is about Mark Bakalor, whose parents "lived for years in a house on Lobo Canyon Road in Agoura Hills" and whose in-laws lived in Bell Canyon. His mother watched her home burn on live TV, and less than an hour later he saw the "smoldering remains" of his in-laws' home on another station...
Making the climate change link
"The Woolsey and Camp fires are not coincidental, one-off monstrosities, but rather significant new evidence of a rapidly changing climate. Sadly, far too much media coverage has failed to draw that link," CJR's Jon Allsop writes...
Vercammen's advice
He has been covering fires in CA for more than three decades. "While the flames are out in our area, it's still important for crews at times to wear goggles between live shots," he wrote me. "Ashes are being whipped up by swirling winds and an ashy particle in the eye is a hot, stingy mess. I once went to LensCrafters after a fire -- and never did an eye wash feel like is a trip to a luxurious spa. I'd advise reporters to consider such a trek, as an all out E.R. visit may not be necessary, but their eyes need some relief..."
--> Most importantly, Vercammen said, "I remind all our work is nothing compared to the first responders risking our lives. Our mission is to help those crews by getting the word out to people about evacuations, wind shifts, evacuation centers, etc..."
The food chain continues
The LAT's Matt Pearce tweeted: "Our friends at the newsroom union of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, following their coverage of the horrible synagogue shooting, have bought lunch for us at the L.A. Times in solidarity with all the tragedies our journalists have been covering." This tradition has been going for years now... | |
From tragedy to tragedy
Megan Thomas emails from L.A.: With the ongoing wildfires in California, news coverage of Thursday's mass shooting in Thousand Oaks has been split between tragedies. "The Real" co-host Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband Adam Housley, who lost their 18-year-old niece Alaina in the shooting, appeared in a heartbreaking interview with Alaina's father, Arik, on "CBS This Morning" Monday.
"We don't believe that her voice will die. We believe that there is a message that's out there," Arik said. "To us, it's to be kind to one another. It's to put down your technology, put down your phones and look at somebody and have a conversation. It's not about gun control; this message is about doing something bigger, to be with your community, to love one another."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Hey, a new newsletter! "NBC Nightly News" is launching a daily email, helmed by Dan Donahue, timed to the evening rush. Here's Monday's... (NBC)
-- CNN introduced a new daytime newscast on Monday: "CNN Right Now," anchored by Brianna Keilar, is on weekdays at 1 p.m. ET... Also on Monday, Erin Burnett returned to her 7 p.m. program... Both women gave birth to baby boys over the summer...
-- Gerry Baker's show for Fox Business has a name and a time: "WSJ At Large With Gerry Baker" will premiere Friday, Nov. 30 at 9:30 p.m... (Deadline)
-- Joseph Libonati is replacing Cameron Blanchard as the head of comms at Condé Nast... (NYPost)
-- Jacqueline Gifford is the new EIC of Travel + Leisure...
Michelle Obama's book is out
Tuesday is the launch day for Michelle Obama's "Becoming." It's been #1 on Amazon since Friday, and it's likely to stay there for a while. The press rollout is checking every box: She's on the cover of ELLE, she's the newest Oprah Book Club pick, she's on the cover of People mag...
And she is the rare A-lister who will be on all three network A.M. shows in the space of a week. Normally these shows are so hyper-competitive, they wouldn't settle for going second or third. But here's the plan: Obama is live in Chicago with Robin Roberts on Tuesday's "GMA." Then Obama is taping interviews with Gayle King and Jenna Bush Hager. Those sit-downs will air Wednesday on CBS and NBC. Here's my full story...
--> Related: Joe Pompeo says Obama is a publishing "unicorn..."
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FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Lobbyists for smaller cable operators sent a letter to the DOJ last week demanding an investigation of Comcast's practices... Trump saw Charlie Gasparino's Fox Business report about the letter, and tweeted a shot at Comcast... (Mediaite)
-- An Phung emails: Two telecom companies that grew up together are heading in different directions. Read the WSJ's deep dive into AT&T and Verizon... (WSJ)
-- "CNN Digital currently has more women than men on staff. This is significant. The news business has long suffered from a lack of female representation. Women make up just 32% of U.S. newsrooms..." (Fast Company)
-- An amazing commercial for "Trumpy Bear" got a ton of Twitter attention on Monday. Here's an explainer by Taylor Telford... (WaPo)
-- BTW, although the Twitter chatter was about the ad running on Fox News, it only aired locally, through an ad buy with a local cable operator... Fox says "we do not do business with them nationally..." (Examiner)
The "blue wave" debate continues
"No it wasn't a blue wave," the AP says in this new story by Steve Peoples. "But a week after the voting, Democrats are riding higher than they thought on Election Night. As vote counting presses on in several states, the Democrats have steadily chalked up victories across the country, firming up their grip on the U.S. House of Representatives and statehouses. The slow roll of wins has given the party plenty to celebrate..."
-- Here's an excellent CNN.com piece by Kyle Blaine and Jennifer Agiesta: "What has changed since election night..."
-- Margaret Sullivan's new column: "There's one big lesson from the media's election-night's rush to judgment: Slow the hell down..."
Sinema beats McSally in AZ
Monday evening's breaking news: "Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema will win Arizona's US Senate race," Eric Bradner reports, "defeating Republican Rep. Martha McSally and flipping a seat that had been in GOP hands for 24 years." Given the tension in FL and other states, McSally is being praised for her graceful concession...
Reminder...
CNN is promoting a Tuesday night prime time special, "Election Night in America Continued," which will revisit the results and cover the ongoing counts and recounts. It'll be on from 8 til 11 p.m. ET...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Is Jennifer Rubin observing reality or engaging in wishful thinking? Her latest piece, titled "Trump is cracking," was the most-read item on the WaPo website Monday night... (WaPo)
-- The BBC has released extensive new research from India, Kenya, and Nigeria "into the way ordinary citizens engage with and spread fake news..." (BBC)
-- Collaborations between two news outlets? Try three: Reporters from Newsy, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica all worked on this project about "how rape goes unpunished in America." It's rolling out all week long... (YouTube)
-- Jill Disis emails: Bloomberg reports that the New York Yankees are buying back the YES Network from Fox. The fate of the rest of 21st Century Fox's regional sports networks are still unclear -- Disney agreed to sell the channels so it could get regulatory approval to buy most of Fox... (Bloomberg)
| | Stan Lee, 1922-2018
The lead of CNN's obit: "Stan Lee, the colorful Marvel Comics patriarch who helped usher in a new era of superhero storytelling -- and saw his creations become a giant influence in the movie business -- has died." He was 95. Read the rest here...
--> More: Sandra Gonzalez and Chloe Melas wrote about Hollywood's tributes to Lee...
Lee's heroes broke records and changed Hollywood
Frank Pallotta writes: Lee had one of the most influential careers in pop culture history. Disney's Marvel Studios, which created a cinematic universe based on Lee's creations, has had 20 straight No. 1 openings at the box office. The studio has made nearly $18 billion over the past decade, making it one of the most successful brands in Hollywood history. That includes hit films such as "Avengers: Infinity War," "Iron Man" and "Black Panther." In fact, films that Lee helped produce make up four of the top ten highest grossing films in box office history. Read more...
Frank's tribute
Frank Pallotta emails: This will come as a complete shock, but I love comics. I've loved them my whole life, and I love Marvel Comics more than maybe any thing else in pop culture. That's because of Stan Lee. His heroes mattered because they could've been anyone. Sure, Peter Parker was Spider-Man, but once the mask was on, the web-slinger transcended gender, race and social status. Many, including a skinny kid who grew up to be a journalist (hi!), loved these heroes because they were them...
Lowry's reflections
Brian Lowry emails: The outpouring of tributes to Stan Lee reflects the infectious nature of the man, a self-described "ham" who reveled in his movie cameos and put the title "Creative Giant" on his business cards. His influence over comic books and pop culture -- through the popularity of Marvel titles on screen -- clearly exceeded his wildest expectations, despite a sad end to his life that saw accusations of elder abuse and manipulation after the death of his wife in 2017. Personally, like a lot of people, it feels like losing a chunk of my childhood, with the compensating knowledge that what Lee built (especially with artist Jack Kirby, but also Steve Ditko and others) will long survive him...
-- Among celebrities, the best reaction probably belonged to Mark Hamill, who closed his tweet by saying, "They say you should never meet a childhood idol. They are wrong."
"A super hero in his own right..."
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement, "Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart."
Lee's ode to America
Megan Thomas emails: The Atlantic republished a 2007 cartoon column by Stan Lee called "America is a Dream." It's incredibly timely...
| | "Toy Story 4" teaser!
"Pixar released the trailer for 'Toy Story 4' on Monday," Chloe Melas writes, "and just when you thought you knew the whole gang -- Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Slinky Dog, Hamm the Piggy Bank and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head -- along comes someone new. It appears to be a very confused and scared spork named Forky. But this is not just any spork. This utensil has pipe cleaners for arms and is voiced by Tony Hale." Watch... | |
Netflix show accused of Islamophobia by Hasan Minhaj, who has a Netflix show
Good for Hasan Minhaj: "Less than one month after premiering his talk show on Netflix," he is proving "he's not afraid of speaking his mind, even when his target is another show that airs on Netflix," Sandra Gonzalez writes. On the newest episode of his show "Patriot Act," Minhaj "accuses the Netflix drama 'The Bodyguard' of Islamophobia..." Read on...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- The Kardashians paid tribute to first responders during their win at the People's Choice Awards on Sunday night...
-- Here are all the People's Choice Awards winners...
-- In honor of the success of his "24K Magic" album and tour, Bruno Mars is providing 24K Thanksgiving meals for the needy in his native Hawaii...
ICYMI: Sunday's "Reliable Sources"
If you missed Sunday's "Reliable Sources" on TV, you can listen to the pod via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn... Watch the video clips on CNN.com... Or watch the full program via CNNgo or VOD... | |
Thanks for reading. Email me feedback anytime! See you tomorrow... | | | |
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