What a week! This is Oliver Darcy, filling in for Brian Stelter on this Friday edition of the Reliable Sources newsletter. (It's National Margarita Day, so I'm trying to get out of here a tad early.) Brian will be back on Sunday evening, but until then, direct your feedback/tips to me! I'm available via email and on Twitter. Now let's dive into things...
Waiting for Mueller That's been the theme all Friday. As I type this out around 8.30 p.m. ET, we continue to anxiously wait for the Special Counsel's Office to submit its sentencing memo in Paul Manafort's prosecution. It's due sometime before midnight, and as CNN's Katelyn Polantz notes in her story, "It is the last major requisite court filing" in Robert Mueller's "longest running case." And it could be explosive. (Or not.)
Earlier in the day, there was a fair amount of speculation that Mueller might submit another key document: his final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. But that speculation dissipated in the afternoon. A DOJ official briefed on the plans told CNN that Mueller is not expected to deliver his report next week. So it seems we'll have to wait a bit longer for that...
That said, WaPo's Phillip Bump had a great point in his latest story: Mueller has been slowly writing his report in "plain sight" through public indictments since his appointment. In other words, as Bump put it, "Mueller's report is, to some significant degree, already out."
Celebrities dominate the cycle
So what dominated the news cycle on Friday as we waited for Mueller? Celebrities. At one point during the afternoon, I looked up at my television screen and each cable news channel was covering a different alleged celebrity crime. CNN was discussing Robert Kraft allegedly soliciting sex at a Florida day spa. MSNBC was covering the news that R. Kelly had been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. And Fox News was covering the developments in the Jussie Smollett case.
That moment neatly summed up the day. The day was dominated by report after report after report regarding various celebrities...
Smollett cut from "Empire"
First came news that Smollett had been cut from the final two episodes of this season's "Empire." Executive producers of the show put out a statement calling the allegations against Smollett "very disturbing." They said that while they are "placing our truest in the legal system as the process plays out," they also were "aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show." In an effort to "avoid further disruption on set," the statement said, they had "decided to remove the role of 'Jamal' from the final two episodes of the season."
The news came after Smollett returned to the "Empire" set on Thursday to continue filming. CNN reported at the time that the actor maintained his innocence, to the shock and dismay of one of the individuals who was present...
Kraft charged in sting A little more than an hour after the Smollett news broke, Twitter lit up with the shocking report that Patriots owner and billionaire Kraft had been arrested in a sting for allegedly soliciting sex at a day spa in Jupiter, Florida. Police said they had video evidence, though they wouldn't immediately be releasing it. Through a rep, Kraft denied he had committed a crime.
>> NFL's statement: "The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments"
>> Trump's comment made during a pool spray: "It's very sad... I was very surprised to see it." R.Kelly indicted on 10 counts of sex abuse As the world continued to digest the Kraft news, another major story broke. In the 1pm hour, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that R. Kelly had been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse. CNN and other media outlets soon confirmed the report. R. Kelly's attorney said in a tweet that the musician would be surrendering himself to authorities between 11pm and midnight CT...
>> Michael Avenatti, who had said he had handed over evidence to authorities that "leaves no question as to whether" Kelly is guilty, tweeted on Friday, "It's over. After 25 years of serial sexual abuse and assault of underage girls, the day of reckoning for R Kelly has arrived."
>> Lifetime, which aired "Surviving R. Kelly" earlier this year, released a statement saying, "We are proud that Lifetime was able to provide a platform for survivors to be heard."
>> Lisa Respers France and Sara Sidner write about how the indictment has "been a long time coming for many..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- McKay Coppins profiles The Bulwark, which he characterizes as a website made up of the "outlaws of conservative media" who aim to shame "the pro-Trump elite..." (The Atlantic)
-- New York-area News 12 is partnering with ProPublica's Documenting Hate database to track local hate crimes... (Nieman Lab)
-- Farhad Manjoo's latest, on the ways in which "Netflix Is the Most Intoxicating Portal to Planet Earth..." (NYT)
-- Chuck Todd and his EP John Reiss appear on the Polilogue Podcast, a podcast dedicated to discussing the Sunday news shows each week... (Polilogue)
It's Oscars weekend | | The 91st annual Academy Awards is set for Sunday. There will be no host. (You'll remember Kevin Hart dropped out several eternities ago over homophobic comments he had previously made.) A Netflix film, "Roma," is seen as one of the favorites, with 10 nominations. And there will be plenty of performances, including one by Queen. If you need to get caught up before the big show, Chloe Melas has an excellent primer here...
Vanity Fair disinvites NYT from its party
While there is no host, there is plenty of drama. On Thursday, NYT reporters Katherine Rosman and Brooks Barnes published a story about how the annual Vanity Fair party has been on the descent and has a guest list "bloated by corporate sponsorships." That apparently irked VF, which is headed by Radhika Jones, the former NYT books department editorial director.
On Friday, NYT Styles editor Choire Sicha tweeted, "Just got word that Vanity Fair has disinvited The New York Times from covering their annual Oscars party. They said it 'feels like the Times has already run their coverage of the VF party this year,' they said. I guess we did!" A NYT spokesperson confirmed to me that a VF rep wrote to them to disinvite a reporter and photographer slated to attend the event. I reached out to VF, but didn't hear back...
>> Rosman, one of the reporters who wrote Thursay's story, tweeted, "My apologies to the New York Times reporter who has been disinvited from the @VanityFair Oscar party because of my and @brooksbarnesNYT's reporting. You're welcome to come to my apartment to watch with me & my kids. Not a single brand exec will be there!"
>> Quick take: Why disinvite The Times over that story? The move just drew a significant amount of attention to a piece many people hadn't even seen...
Will popular movies help Oscar ratings?
Frank Pallotta emails: The Oscars tried (and failed) to find ways to get people to watch this year's Academy Awards after last year's record-low ratings. The Academy and ABC tried everything including coming up with a Most Popular Film Oscar, which was immediately derided.
Well, guess what? It ended up nominating popular films anyways. The 2019 Best Picture nominees made $607 million more than last year's batch (thanks "Black Panther"!). So if ratings go up, it could be thanks to the Academy nominating films that viewers actually saw.
Why Netflix and Hollywood spend millions to win Oscars
Pallotta emails another one: Academy Award winners will likely thank their entourage, their family and God on Sunday for receiving Hollywood's highest honor, but they might owe their biggest debt to the studios that footed the bill for their pricey Oscars campaigns.
Studios spend millions campaign to win gold, but why? Well, an Oscar can bring prestige to small studios like A24, while major studios like Disney can show that they don't just produce blockbusters -- they can also win awards. And the battle for an Oscar is no longer just a competition between traditional studios. Tech companies like Netflix have swooped in in recent years to give the old guard a run for their money.
Lowry's thoughts
Brian Lowry published a piece Friday providing a "rundown of what likely will win" in each category, and the movie that in his "estimation should." Read his thoughts over here...
This weekend on "Reliable"...
John Avlon is in the anchor chair... Joining him will be Charles Blow, Jacob Weisberg, Mitra Kalita, John McWhorter, LZ Grandson, Jennifer Egan, Barry Diller, SE Cupp, and David Folkenflik... Tune in Sunday at 11am ET...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "Awkward": WaPo employees spoke to BI's Lucia Moses about what the climate inside the newsroom was like as Jeff Bezos' personal life dominated headlines... (Business Insider)
-- IDF troops asked Fox News' Trey Yingst during a live shot for him and his crew to vacate where he was reporting from along the Gaza-Israel border due to grenades and IEDs being thrown by rioters... (TV Newser)
-- The FCC is reviewing the accuracy of its 22-year-old television content ratings system, on an order from the House and Senate appropriations committees... (Variety)
YouTube demonetizes anti-vax content | | | YouTube dropped some big news on Friday night. A spokesperson for the video-sharing platform told BuzzFeed that it would no longer permit advertisements to run on anti-vaccination content. "We have strict policies that govern what videos we allow ads to appear on, and videos that promote anti-vaccination content are a violation of those policies. We enforce these policies vigorously, and if we find a video that violates them we immediately take action and remove ads," the spox said. BuzzFeed said the move came after it sent YouTube inquiries about the anti-vaccination content it hosts...
WSJ exposes how some apps provide sensitive data to Facebook
Meanwhile, over on the Facebook side of things... The WSJ said in a report published Friday that apps on your phone might be sharing your most intimate information with Facebook without your knowledge. Reporter Sam Schechner unearthed how some apps were passing along health data, such as a user's heart rate or information on her menstruation cycle, to the social giant.
When The Journal contacted Facebook, a spokesperson said some of the apps did appear to violate its Terms of Service. The Facebook spokesperson said it would tell the apps to stop sharing sensitive information with it, and that if the apps failed to comply, it would take action. "We require app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us," the Facebook spokesperson told The Journal.
A broken record
This isn't the first time social media giants have been spurred into action after a third party informed them that its Terms of Service was being violated. It's not even the sole example from this week, or as you'll know from reading this news letter, from today. (See also YouTube taking action this week after concerns were raised about pedophiles exploiting the platform.) Time after time again, multi-billion dollar companies have failed to enforce their own rules, and have only taken action after an outside party has brought an issue to their attention. What needs to change for these companies to take a more proactive stance?
Ev leaves Twitter
Ahiza Garcia emails: Twitter co-founder Evan Williams is leaving the company's board at the end of February. He had served as CEO of Twitter for two years, until 2010. "It's been an incredible 13 years, and I'm proud of what Twitter has accomplished during my time with the company," Williams said. He said he was leaving to focus on other projects. Two years ago, Williams started selling off shares in Twitter as the company was struggling to grow subscribers. As of May 2018, Williams owned 3.86% of Twitter's shares.
Zucker addresses controversial hire
On Friday morning's editorial call here at CNN, network president Jeff Zucker took questions from staff and addressed concerns about the hiring of Sarah Isgur. Isgur, a life-long Republican operative and former DOJ spokesperson under Jeff Sessions, is due to start next month as a politics editor at CNN.
WSJ's Ben Mullin reported details of the call, but here are some highlights with a few quotes I jotted down myself...
-- Zucker stressed that Isgur is not overseeing CNN's 2020 coverage, and noted that responsibility falls to David Chalian, CNN's political director.
-- Zucker said Isgur would not have the authority to approve reporters' anonymous sources.
-- Zucker said he had been "very reluctant" to address Isgur's hiring because he is "very uncomfortable discussing individual employment." But he said, "I do fully understand the confusion and the conversations that have taken place, and I don't want us to ever shy away from being able to have this conversation."
-- Zucker noted that he has hired individuals who have worked for critics of CNN, including people who have formerly worked for Sean Hannity.
-- Zucker urged staffers, "Let's not rush to judgement. Let's give everyone a chance."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Ali Rogin joins PBS NewsHour's foreign affairs team from ABC News... (TV Newser)
-- Speaking of job changes, I forgot to mention in Thursday's letter that Andrew Ferguson, most recently at the now-defunct The Weekly Standard, has joined The Atlantic as a staff writer...
-- Uber CMO Rebecca Messina speaks on her efforts to "restor[e] enthusiasm for a tarnished brand..." (WSJ)
More inflammatory rhetoric from the right Another day, another outrageous and irresponsible comment from a frequent Fox News guest. This example comes courtesy of Joe diGenova, who appeared on Laura Ingraham's podcast and declared that "we are in a civil war." He said "the suggestion that there's ever going to be civil discourse in this country for the foreseeable future in this country is over" and that "it's going to be total war." Then diGenova said he tells his friends he does two things: "I vote and I buy guns..."
The inflammatory rhetoric would be bad any day, but it's particularly bad considering it came after a Coast Guard officer was accused of stockpiling weapons with the goal of murdering Democrats and journalists in a mass killing. DiGenova should know better.
Trump claims his language has been "very nice"
During a pool spray, Trump was asked about his rhetoric in light of the Coast Guard officer's alleged plot to kill the kinds of people Trump often verbally attacks. Trump said the whole incident was "a shame" and "very sad thing."
A reporter asked, "Do you think you bear any responsibility for monitoring your language?" Trump replied, "No, I don't. I think my language is very nice."
Sanders falsely states Trump hasn't encouraged violence
Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was pressed on the same issue. To defend Trump, Sanders falsely stated that he hasn't "at any point done anything but condemn violence." In fact, Trump has encouraged violence during his rallies, and during one rally even offered to pay the legal bills for anyone who would "knock the crap" out of anyone they saw "getting ready to throw a tomato."
TNR hires new publisher
The New Republic announced on Friday it had hired a new publisher. Kerrie Gillis, a former exec at The Village Voice and NYT, has accepted the role, calling it an "exciting time" to join the publication. Rachel Rosenfelt, the former publisher, said in a statement that she had "chosen to relocate to California to pursue new opportunities" and was "very proud" of her work at TNR...
| | This week's "Reliable" podcast: Tim Carney on "social deserts" and media's blind spots
Katie Pellico writes: Washington Examiner commentary editor Timothy P. Carney charts the collapse of the local American community and its "human-level institutions," from local newsrooms to Little League, in his new book, "Alienated America." On this week's "Reliable" podcast, Carney offers some suggestions for national newsrooms looking to bridge the divide.
Listen to the pod via Apple, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your preferred app...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
An Phung emails: I read two really good Q&As today that offer incredible insight into how the news business works.
-- First, Alex French and Maximillian Potter talked to CJR about why Esquire killed their investigation into Hollywood producer Bryan Singer's alleged sexual misconduct... (CJR)
-- And NYT CEO Mark Thompson talked to Ken Doctor about the forces that are driving the newspaper's breakneck growth... (Nieman)
| | -- The NYT reported that Michael Cohen provided prosecutors "information about possible irregularities within the president's family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee..." (NYT)
-- Trump stood by Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, saying he has "done a great job." Trump added that he doesn't "really...know too much" about the plea deal Acosta struck with Jeffrey Epstein... (Politico)
-- Trump said he plans to nominate Kelly Knight Craft, the US ambassador to Canada, for the position of UN ambassador... (CNN)
| | By Katie Pellico:
-- Rolling Stone's Tim Ingham on "Why Marshmello's Fortnite Show Will Prove 'Revolutionary' for the Music Industry." Ingham reveals that, in a move reminiscent of "Ready Player One," the DJ was "geared up head-to-toe with a body-motion suit and everything" for the February 2 show... (Rolling Stone)
-- Barstool Sports brought in more than $15 million last year from its 25 different podcast shows... (Digiday)
-- John Krasinski confirmed he'll direct "A Quiet Place 2," in addition to writing the sequel's script. A spoiler-free note that Emily Blunt will return onscreen. Krasinski announced the release date on Instagram: May 15, 2020... (Deadline)
-- CBS has renewed its "Big Bang Theory" spin-off "Young Sheldon" for seasons 3 and 4... (Variety)
-- California's workplace safety agency is investigating a "stunt gone wrong" on Thursday's set of Spectrum's "L.A.'s Finest." Both of the show's co-creators reportedly sustained injuries during a driving stunt sequence... (THR) | | | I want to hear from you! Shoot me an email, or find me on Twitter... Tips are always appreciated... Brian is back on Sunday evening for a post-Oscars edition of the letter... See you next time! | | | |
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