EXEC SUMMARY: Hello from 32,000 feet heading west. In the news: Gayle King's R. Kelly interview is becoming a prime time special... Jesse Watters is apologizing for mixing up King and Robin Roberts... Condé Nast's owner is buying a plagiarism-checking company for $1.7 billion... Plus, "AOC is the new Trump bump" and much more...
| | Praying for Alex Trebek
This is an incredibly difficult time for Alex Trebek, his family members, and the extended "Jeopardy!" family that spans the globe. | | Trebek showed tremendous courage by recording a candid video message to fans about his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He even managed to work in a joke about being under contract for three more years.
Trebek was diagnosed earlier this week, and his video was released on Wednesday afternoon.
"In a time that is all about what is keeping us apart, we got tough news today about someone who has always brought America together, literally for decades," CNN's Chris Cuomo said Wednesday night. "I don't care what your race, color, creed, gender, or bank account level, you've watched Jeopardy. Since 1984 Alex Trebek has been the smartest guy in our living rooms, teaching us, but more importantly, bringing us together."
Trebek's show puts "facts first," Cuomo said, and "we need him, now more than ever. So Mr. Trebek, fight as you have never fought before."
Trebek says he will keep working
In his video, he said "I'm going to fight this, and I'm going to keep working," before saying "I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease."
FCC commissioner Ajit Pai tweeted to Trebek, "Your determination to #BeatCancer and good spirits in the face of adversity inspire us all."
Uniting the TV world
"Jeopardy!" is produced by Sony, distributed by CBS and featured on ABC stations across the country.
Sony's Mike Hopkins said: "If anyone can beat this it's Alex. He has our full support as he tackles this challenge head-on."
CBS TV Distribution said: "Our thoughts and prayers of support go out to Alex and his family. We have no doubt that he will fight this with the tenacity and grace for which he is known."
And Disney's Bob Iger tweeted: "We admire your courage and determination, and in the words of Winston Churchill: 'never, never, never, never give up!'"
What makes Trebek so special
Ken Jennings, one of the most famous winners in the show's history, tweeted out: "I've said this before but Alex Trebek is in a way the last Cronkite: authoritative, reassuring TV voice you hear every night, almost to the point of ritual."
If you missed it at the time, read David Marchese's conversation with Trebek from last November. Marchese asked, "Do you have a vision for your last show?" Trebek: "All I want on my last show is 30 seconds, and I'll do what Johnny Carson did: 'Hey, folks, thank you. Been a good run and all good things must come to an end.' Then I'll move on."
| | FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Important: NBC's San Diego station discovered that "the U.S. government created a secret database of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan." More to come on this... (NBC)
-- American freelance journalist Cody Weddle was "reportedly detained by Venezuelan authorities" on Wednesday... Now he's on the way home... (CNN)
-- Daniel Dale found that Trump's CPAC speech "was by far his most-dishonest single event as president..." (Toronto Star)
-- "Five months after its failed token sale, Civil is back with a revised, streamlined process..." (NiemanLab)
| | Gayle King and Robin Roberts are different people
Yes, Fox's Jesse Watters really mixed up Robin Roberts and Gayle King on Wednesday. This was the exchange on "The Five:"
WATTERS: Hats off to Gayle King, for totally redeeming herself after the [Jussie] Smollett fiasco.
DANA PERINO: That was not Gayle King.
WATTERS: Oh. I knew that.
PERINO: Robin Roberts did the Smollett interview.
Watters then apologized, and said sorry again later in the hour. The Root's Anne Branigin said the gaffe revealed "the full, dazzling breadth of his punditry: which is to get things all the way wrong while simultaneously being a touch racist."
(I wonder if either morning show host will comment on this on Thursday morning?) | | King was praised for her poise
As R. Kelly erupted, King didn't flinch. She didn't give an inch. On Wednesday morning, celebs and fans and fellow journalists applauded King "for her journalistic skills and praised her professionalism," People's Nicole Sands wrote. Her name was a top Twitter trend in the United States during "CBS This Morning."
--> Via Lisa Respers France, here's some of what we learned in the interview. More will air on Thursday morning...
--> King told Jeff Glor on the "Evening News" that Kelly's camp "said they were pleased with the interview..." Seriously...
A new report about King's contract talks...
Page Six's Sara Nathan notes that King "is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renegotiation with CBS News." Nathan hears she's looking for a big, big raise...
--> Colbert just added King to his Thursday night "Late Show" lineup...
CBS to air Friday night special
Brian Lowry emails: I often wonder why the major networks aren't more aggressive about doing what CBS News will this Friday -- namely, repackage its Gayle King-R. Kelly interview into a one-hour primetime special, complete with footage that didn't air on the morning show. It seems like an inexpensive way to improve their lineups, while preempting low-rated shows (in this case, the drama "Ransom") or murder-of-the-week newsmagazines that could easily be rescheduled.
--> In a similar move, Oxygen will repeat a 2017 special, "Michael Jackson: The Jury Speaks," on Saturday, drafting off all the attention devoted to HBO's "Leaving Neverland..."
O'Donnell sits down with McSally
At a subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) revealed that she was raped while she served in the military. She said she did not trust the system enough to report the crime. From CNN.com's story: "Welling up with emotion, McSally said she almost left the Air Force over her despair."
Soon after the hearing, Norah O'Donnell sat down with McSally... CBS says it is the lawmaker's "first and only television interview" about this... And notes that O'Donnell "has reported extensively on sexual assault in the armed services." The interview will air on Thursday and Friday's "CBS This Morning..."
WarnerMedia investigating allegations against Warner Bros. chief
"WarnerMedia is investigating Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara over allegations that he offered to promote the career of a young actress with whom he was having a sexual relationship," An Phung and Frank Pallotta wrote Wednesday night.
The allegations were reported in this very detailed THR article by Tatiana Siegel and Kim Masters. Siegel said on Twitter that it has been in the works for 15 months.
"Tsujihara, who has served as CEO of Warner Bros. since 2013, saw his role expand this week as part of AT&T's restructuring of WarnerMedia," Phung and Pallotta wrote in this CNN Business story. "Earlier Wednesday, Tsujihara was on stage with WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey and his direct reports as part of a town hall with the company's employees to discuss the moves." (CNN is also part of WarnerMedia.)
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Bob Greenblatt "told staffers Wednesday that creating a direct-to-consumer streaming service would require closer coordination between the company's entertainment units, saying its large competitors were 'eating our lunch...'" (WSJ)
-- Joe Pompeo has a close look at the New York Post's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez coverage... He quotes a source saying "AOC is the new Trump bump..." (VF)
| | Minds are made up
Just how hardened are Americans' impressions of President Trump? This much: "Only 3-in-10 Americans (29%) think that any new information could come out about Trump that would significantly change public views of him, while 2-in-3 (67%) feel that people are set in their opinions regardless of what new information may come out," according to Monmouth's new poll.
--> On a related note: "Few Americans (27%) feel they learned anything new" from Michael Cohen's public testimony...
John Kelly reacts to New Yorker report
Former chief of staff John Kelly isn't exactly pouring cold water on the report in The New Yorker about Trump pressuring Gary Cohn to make sure the DOJ sued to block the AT&T deal. When asked at a Duke U event Wednesday if it was a "realistic description of what happened," Kelly began by recounting the report almost word for word: "According to the story, we were both in there, he told us to do this, in fact I think he said, 'Look, Kelly, I told him to do this 50 times, he hasn't done it, so get this done.' And then Gary, we walked out of the room, allegedly said 'no F-ing way and all that.'"
Kelly said "Gary would not have dropped the f-bomb that early in our relationship, first of all, and no one would've talked to me like that. Gary might've come out and said, 'That's a bad decision,' but we would work on it." So Kelly mostly sidestepped the specific AT&T issue...
DNC rejects Fox | | The DNC's decision to exclude Fox News from its primary debate partners is a microcosm of a much bigger fight about Fox and its place in American society. At issue: What IS Fox at heart? I've long said that it is both a news operation and a GOP political operation. Two species in the body of one beast. Sometimes this combination is advantageous to the network as a whole -- but other times one side hurts the other side. Some say the news operation is a veneer, others say that's offensive to the journalists there.
Wednesday's announcement by the DNC has prompted other questions too. Are Fox fans actually open to the Democratic party's ideas? How "persuadable" is the audience? How much has the network changed in the past few years?
And these questions are really at the heart of the current debate: Do Democrats believe Fox has a legitimate news operation, something to be taken seriously? Or do they believe Fox is strictly an opponent? What do the answers to these Q's say about the direction of the party?
Fox is arguably more "anti-Dem" than "pro-Trump"
The DNC has been talking with all the major networks about the primary debate lineup. Frankly I was surprised that Fox was in contention at all. The network held a town hall with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in 2016, but it hasn't held an actual Dem primary debate since 2004.
As I said up top, Fox has a news division, but the network is mostly defined by its opinion division, where hosts and guests demonize Democrats from morning til night. Fox prime time is arguably more "anti-Dem" than "pro-Trump." The more you watch, the more obvious this is...
Tom Perez's decision
That brings us to the DNC chair's decision. He cited "recent reporting in the New Yorker on the inappropriate relationship between President Trump, his administration and Fox News," which seems like a fig leaf, since almost everything in Mayer's article was already publicly known.
Fox says it hopes the DNC will reconsider. Mediaite has the reactions from inside Fox...
Lowry's take
Brian Lowry emails: At the risk of looking wishy-washy, I can see both sides of the argument about the Democrats allowing Fox News to host a presidential debate. On the one hand, you don't want to look like you're shying away from tough questions. On the other, it can easily appear naïve to essentially validate Fox as being like any other news outlet -- not only in the wake of Mayer's piece, but on a day when analyst Brit Hume delivers a very on-brand message by calling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez "adorable" and dismissing her like a child as if she was one of those 20-somethings in the "Spring break" segments that the network usually runs around this time every year...
Two competing points of view
>> Producer-activist Robert Greenwald, who directed the anti-Fox film "Outfoxed," told MSNBC's Ari Melber, "It's essentially a merger between Fox and Trump. So there should be no doubt in anybody's mind -- the Democrats should not be in any shape or form supporting or encouraging this media arm."
>> Politico's senior media writer Jack Shafer: "The party's avoidance of the network reveals a shameful political gutlessness." The title of his piece: "If You're Afraid of Shep Smith, You Probably Shouldn't Be President."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
By Katie Pellico:
-- How Facebook's text post feature has "been weaponized into an effective way to spread misinformation on the platform..." (Poynter)
-- SiriusXM is putting together a content team to focus on original audio content for Pandora listeners... (The Wrap)
-- Comedy Central is launching "its first YouTube channel for originals..." (Variety)
Zuckerberg announces "privacy-focused" plans
CNN's Kaya Yurieff writes: Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to reposition Facebook as a privacy-focused platform. In a FB post on Wednesday, he detailed his overarching vision for how to make the service more secure, including "end-to-end encryption." And he teased plans to integrate its various services, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook...
Is he trying to have it both ways?
In an interview with WIRED's Nicholas Thompson, Zuckerberg admitted that parts of FB's current ad-targeting business model will be "harder," but said FB has to get the consumer experience right, and "if we do that well, the business will be fine."
And he explained the changes this way: "I mean, Facebook and Instagram and the digital equivalent of the town square will always be important. I actually think that they will continue to grow in importance. At the same time though, the things that we see growing the fastest in terms of what people want to do, are private messaging, stories that are ephemeral and don't stick around, small groups... So, I think that this idea of the digital living room is under-built out today."
In other words, he wants FB to be both the public town square AND the private living room. The Verge's Casey Newton reacted: "This interview explains that Zuckerberg wants to have his cake and eat it too... So less of a companywide pivot and more of a new business line..."
SXSW surprise!
I'm going to be answering questions at SXSW on Friday... and you're invited. Recode's Peter Kafka will be interrogating me at a 12:30 session titled "How the News Covers the News in 2019."
Later in the day, I'LL be asking the Q's at a 5 p.m. session about "The Weekly," the NYT's forthcoming show on FX and Hulu... Come say hi if you're in town... | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Jenna Bush Hager is starting a book club... (TODAY)
-- Standing out in the scroll: How big brands are doing more with what they say happens within the first second you lay eyes on an ad... (WSJ)
-- Vimeo is getting "weird" in a new marketing strategy that includes just a "wee bit" of YouTube trolling... (FastCo)
Jared Hohlt to head up Slate
Katie Pellico emails: Jared Hohlt will take the reins at Slate starting April 1, leaving behind a nearly 20-year tenure at New York mag. Hohlt was on the shortlist to replace Adam Moss. Instead, he will succeed Julia Turner, who left Slate in October for the LAT. Slate said it believes Hohlt's storytelling strengths will "bring stability" to the pub...
>> Fun fact: NYT remembers Hohlt "got his start at Slate as an editorial assistant two decades ago, when, he recalled in an interview, at least one contributor insisted on using a typewriter..."
Condé Nast's owner is buying a plagiarism checker
Advance Publications has "agreed to acquire Turnitin, the software company that allows teachers to check whether papers submitted by students have been plagiarized, for nearly $1.75 billion," the WSJ's Melissa Korn scooped on Wednesday. The deal is expected to close in Q2...
"PBS NewsHour" setting up West Coast bureau at ASU
The "PBS NewsHour" is opening "a dedicated newsroom and studio based at the ASU School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix," the LAT's Stephen Battaglio reported Wednesday. "The studio will provide live updates for the West Coast feed of the broadcast." They're calling it "PBS NewsHour West," an expansion for the program...
| | FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- Via Lisa Respers France: Luke Perry's 18-year-old daughter Sophie Perry has broken her silence about the death of her dad. "I'm not really sure what to say or do," she said...
-- Netflix is already banking on winning Best Picture next year with Martin Scorsese's "Irishman," aiming for a "wide theatrical release..." (THR)
-- Spectrum picked up "Mad About You," the much-discussed limited-event series set to star original co-stars Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser... (Variety)
-- "Despite the efforts of the worst people on the internet, it looks like Marvel's first female-led movie is going to be a hit..." (VICE)
-- And last but not least, read about the very last Blockbuster store left standing... (CNN)
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