Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: This is Oliver Darcy. Scroll down for weekend reads, two new podcasts, plus China's effective expulsion of a WSJ reporter, Stuart Varney's laughable claim, ESPN's digital-only show, @Jack's hack, and Sunday's "Reliable Sources" guest list. But first...

Category 4

Networks and newspapers are gearing up to cover Hurricane Dorian, now a Category 4 storm, as it slowly churns toward Florida's east coast. The National Weather Service on Friday is calling the storm "extremely dangerous." CNN has the latest updates here... And the latest satellite and radar imagery is available here...

The coverage plans

CNN anchors and correspondents will be up and down the east coast of Florida this weekend. The other cablers also have many crews in the state. On the broadcast network side, ABC said David Muir will anchor "World News Tonight" from Florida. NBC's Craig Melvin will be in Florida on Monday for the "Today" show. And CBS has re-located correspondent David Begnaud, who covered Dorian from Puerto Rico when it was a tropical storm, to Florida...

Civic responsibility versus profit

Florida newspapers have started lifting paywalls so community members have access to the latest info. The Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun-Sentinel have all said that they will ensure all coverage on the storm is free and accessible to readers...

Trump: "Not looking good"

Trump has said some inaccurate things about the hurricane already. On Thursday he said "somebody said" it will be "bigger, or at least as big, as Andrew." Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was a Category 5 storm, and Dorian is forecast to be Category 4 at landfall. But on the bright side, Trump has been issuing warnings to take the storm seriously. On Friday he told reporters that he has spoken to Gov. Rick Scott... He said things are "not looking good," but praised the "tremendous work" taking place in the Sunshine State...

MISSING: Permanent FEMA administrator, confirmed DHS secretary

Trump won't have a permanent FEMA administrator by his side and he won't have a confirmed DHS secretary either as he monitors the storm from Camp David, Kaitlan Collins reported for CNN. Asked about the lack of a permanent FEMA administrator or confirmed DHS secretary, Trump said he likes the word "acting" before some of his staff's titles...

>> The acting FEMA admin, Peter Gaynor, will be on some of the Sunday shows, including "State of the Union" on CNN...

This Sunday on "Reliable Sources"

Brian Stelter will be joined by Julia Ioffe, Elaina Plott, David Zurawik, Jeffrey Goldberg, Dahlia Lithwick... plus Brian Karem and Ted Boutrous, who are awaiting a federal judge's ruling in their bid to get Karem's White House press pass restored... Tune in Sunday at 11am ET!

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Trump said Friday that Madeleine Westerhout, his former personal assistant, exited the W.H. after making "hurtful" comments about his children... (CNN)

-- Trump spent much of his Friday tweeting out clips from Fox News segments trashing James Comey... (Mediaite)

-- NRA has filed another lawsuit against its former ad firm Ackerman McQueen. The lawsuit cites Ackerman's positive portrayal of NRA TV which the NRA says was a "failed endeavor under any appropriate performance metric..." (CNN)

The end of The Vindicator

Kerry Flynn emails: The Vindicator, a 150-year-old daily newspaper in Youngstown, Ohio, is publishing its final edition on Saturday. Staffers gathered in the newsroom on Friday night for the momentous final printing of the paper. The closure will affect 140 full-time employees. Tribune Chronicle is acquiring the subscription list, masthead and domain, so some readers will start to receive a different paper... But this is undeniably a painful loss for Youngstown and the region...

China effectively expels WSJ reporter

China has declined to renew a WSJ reporter's press credential, effectively expelling him from the country. "The government-issued credentials are required to work in China as a foreign reporter," the WSJ's story explained. "Without them, the Journal couldn't renew [the reporter's] visa, which expired Friday."

China declined to renew the credentials after the WSJ reporter, Chun Han Wong, co-authored a story about the activities of Chinese President Xi Jinping's cousin. According to WSJ, Jinping's cousin is being probed for "his alleged use of a suspected money-laundering front company and the source of funds he wagered in high-stakes gambling." The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, "We are firmly opposed to the malicious smearing and attacks against China by certain foreign journalists, who are not welcome in China..."

"Our journalism has been fair and accurate"

In a statement, WSJ EIC Matt Murray said the Chinese government had made a "disappointing" decision. "Our journalism has been fair and accurate," Murray said. "We of course remain committed to covering the important story of China with the usual high standards that our readers expect."

NYT condemns the action

The NYT's international editor, Michael Slackman, issued a statement in support of the WSJ. "This is a troubling development," Slackman said. "We condemn this action by the Chinese government and support our colleague at The Wall Street Journal. The use of visa denials to retaliate against journalists for coverage that the powerful dislike violates international standards and is unacceptable..."

🎙️ Jeffrey Goldberg on this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast

Marina di Marzo writes: Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis began his book tour by sitting down with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. It was not an easy series of interviews. Mattis, who resigned last December, said he believes he owes Trump a period of silence. But Mattis clearly believes Trump is not up to the job. Goldberg captured this in his story... And Brian Stelter talked with him about it on this week's "Reliable" podcast.

"There is a lot about Donald Trump that he finds absurd and repellent but he is trying to maintain this disciplined approach of not speaking ill of a sitting president," Goldberg said. Stelter also asked about the ongoing discussions in newsrooms about how to cover Trump's erratic behavior. 🎧 Listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your pod player of choice...

ICYMI: Another pod for the weekend road trip

Earlier this week, I headed down to Vox's studios to record an episode of the Recode Media podcast with Peter Kafka. We covered a lot of ground in the hour-long episode, ranging from right-wing trolls to& how I got my start in journalism in conservative media. You can read some highlights posted on Vox and listen here to the podcast on iTunes...

An "embarrassing" moment for Stuart Varney

It is always remarkable to see just how far Trump's media allies will go to defend him. On Friday, we got yet another example. During an interview, Fox Business host Stuart Varney challenged Joe Walsh on the notion that Trump is a liar. Walsh turned the tables on Varney, asking, "Stuart, do you believe this president lies?"

Varney replied, "No." Walsh pressed, "You don't believe he's ever lied?" Varney remained committed to his position, answering, "He exaggerates and spins." Walsh asked Varney again if he believes Trump has ever told a lie. "No," Varney reiterated. Walsh, taken aback, replied, "Umm, OK." The clip of the moment was widely-circulated online. Some reactions...

>> Olivia Nuzzi: "This is so embarrassing."

>> Charles Adler: "Having a hard time believing my eyes & ears. I know that veteran business anchor #StuartVarney doesn't need to say this. His boss @FoxBusiness VP Neil Cavuto @TeamCavuto is NOT directing him to say this. This isn't conservatism. This is quintessential cultism."

>> Gavin Purcell: "I don't really want to like Joe Walsh but this is like someone going into their friend's house and poking holes in the foundation. [I'd] be surprised how much more air time they give him."

"Nobody around Trump has ever heard him lie, apparently"

That's the headline on Aaron Blake's latest for WaPo. Blake notes that Trump "has made more than 12,000 false or misleading claims in fewer than 1,000 days as president." But, none of his allies are apparently willing to admit it. "Certainly no spokesman wants to concede a boss has been untruthful," Black concedes, "but Trump has, and he has done it so often that it's astounding to watch those close to him try to deny or deflect it."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- The lead story on CNN.com Friday night: "Did Trump just tweet out classified info?" (CNN)

-- Jonathan Lemire says Trump "feels like Fox should be on his side" because he gets policy advice from the network's personalities... (Mediaite)

-- Greg Sargent writes that what was "troubling" with Joe Biden's false war story was that he "genuinely doesn't seem to see a problem" with what happened... (WaPo)

-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fires back at Laura Ingraham: "You're a neo-Nazi fan favorite..." (Mediaite)

FIRST IN RELIABLE

ESPN launches a new digital-only live show for football season 🏈

Kerry Flynn emails: ESPN is doubling down on its efforts to keep sports fans glued to its programs even away from the TV. Starting August 31, ESPN's "Countdown to Gameday Live," will stream on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN app. It will serve as the online pre-game show to another pre-game show, "College GameDay," which airs on Saturday on the main network. ESPN is also bringing back several other live digital shows that launched in the last few years...

>> "Rankings Reaction," a show in which the hosts discuss College Football Playoff rankings, will return on November 5...

>> "The College Football Show," a weekly recap and preview of college football's biggest games, will return on August 31. Both shows will appear on Twitter, YouTube and the ESPN app.

>> The popular podcast "Fantasy Focus Live" is available in a video version on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN app...

ESPN sees live games as valuable -- even off TV

Flynn continues: In an age of delayed viewing, ESPN is capitalizing on live sports. But the network has expanded from programming exclusively for TV to partnering with social platforms like Twitter and adding free video to its the ESPN app. Ryan Spoon, SVP of social and digital content at ESPN, told me, "Very often we think about where do fans live and engage and how do we make sure we're reaching them. We think we can do really compelling, unique shows on all platforms. We're very bullish on being able to program content on the ESPN app."

Jason Fitz: Digital allows more authenticity

Flynn adds: Fitz, who co-hosts "Rankings Reactions," told me the shows fit into ESPN's priority of growing its audience. "We've learned along the way that our audience is consuming rabidly and we can be a voice not just to people but also with people through the best sports moments that make lifetime memories," he said. "[Digital] affords us the opportunity to react authentically, and it's that very authenticity that fans connect to."

@Jack, hacked

If Twitter staffers were hoping for a relaxing Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, they were out of luck. In the afternoon, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account was hacked, posting a series of racist and offensive tweets. The postings on Dorseys' account lasted for an alarming 15 minutes or so before stopping. The racist and offensive posts were later deleted. Twitter confirmed the hack, later saying Dorsey's account was secure and that there was "no indication that Twitter's systems have been compromised."

But as CNN's Kevin Collier and Ahiza Garcia noted in their story, it's not so simple: "The tweets appear to have been sent not by hacking Dorsey's actual account, but by the hacker or hackers convincing Twitter's systems that they had his phone and were texting the tweets to his account. It's likely the hacker or hackers wouldn't even have needed Dorsey's password, or ever been prompted for it..."

Bret Stephens, bedbugs, and Hitler

Bret Stephens' newest column for the NYT is, among other things, a response to this week's derision of his over-the-top response to professor David Karpf calling him a "bedbug."

The column is titled "World War II and the Ingredients of Slaughter." He says the "crucial factors" for Adolf Hitler's rise included "new forms of mass communication, the rhetoric of dehumanization and the politics of absolute good versus absolute evil." He likens radio back then to Twitter today, calling both "the technology of the id; a channel that could concentrate political fury at a time when there was plenty to go around." And he says "the political mind-set that turned human beings into categories, classes and races also turned them into rodents, insects and garbage." Including... yes... bedbugs. This column is already garnering lots of criticism...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Rupert Murdoch has "spent more than $37 million this summer" buying stock in Fox Corp... (THR)

-- James Fallows has filed another must-read "road report on the state of local journalism..." (The Atlantic)

-- Tomi Lahren has admitted that her "FREEDOM" athleisure line is not manufactured in the United States... (Daily Beast)

Another round of Vice layoffs

Kerry Flynn writes: Vice laid off about 15 people this week working on its cable network Viceland, WSJ's Sahil Patel and Benjamin Mullin reported. The cuts, affecting programming, marketing and research, stemmed from Vice reorganizing its TV efforts. Back in June, HBO canceled Vice's nightly program "Vice News Tonight." But earlier this month, Vice announced the move the show would move to Viceland.

These layoffs are yet another unfortunate step as Vice tries to reach profitability. The company had laid off 10% of its workforce, about 250 people, in February. Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc told AdAge in April that the company was on track to be profitable in the last quarter of 2019 or first quarter of 2020. Vice did not respond to a request for comment.

Politico hires Ryan Lizza as chief Washington correspondent

On Friday morning, Politico announced that it had hired Ryan Lizza as its chief Washington correspondent. In a note to staff, Carrie Budoff Brown and Matt Kaminski said Lizza will "bring his decades of experience, deep source network, and elegant pen and incisive mind" to "weigh in on the news, write feature pieces, headline events and help us all chart the next great chapter of Politico." Lizza, a CNN political analyst, was most recently Esquire's chief political correspondent after his departure from The New Yorker following an accusation of "improper sexual conduct," which he denies...

Happy 24th birthday, CNN Digital!

24 years ago, on August 30, 1995, CNN launched on the World Wide Web. "CNN debuts today on the Worldwide Web with its own homepage, accessing thousands of pages of data," the site said at launch. "The news can be accessed from a home or work computer and is continuously updated."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Kerry Flynn:

-- Comcast apparently plans to drop Starz... (The Information)

-- Ashley McCollum, the head of BuzzFeed's food vertical Tasty, left this summer. She was one of BuzzFeed's longest-tenured employees... (CMO Today)

-- The newsroom of The Arizona Republic, which is owned by Gannett, is trying to unionize. In an email to staff, executive editor Greg Burton referred to normal organizing tactics as "surveillance" and criticized the effort... (HuffPost)

Tamron Hall speaks about her exit from NBC and her new daytime talk show

As she readies for her return to television, Tamron Hall is speaking out about her exit from NBC, and how "being demoted would end up being a blessing." In a sit-down interview with NYT's Kathryn Shattuck, Hall recalled how she "suspected something" was up before it was announced Megyn Kelly would be filling her time slot.

But Hall said she was excited to begin her new show, "Tamron Hall," which debuts September 9. Asked what will make her show stand out in the sea of daytime television, Hall said, "Right now in daytime television, which predominantly female viewers watch, there is no show about relationships, no show about fertility. Nothing like that." Hall added, "Talk isn't tidy. Life isn't tidy. My show won't be tidy. Won't wrap it up in a bow at the end. We're living life the same way we do with our friends at home."

Why Amazon is buying up more sports rights

Kerry Flynn writes: As we shared here Thursday, Disney sold off the YES Network (home to live games and programming for the Yankees, Brooklyn Nets and WNBA's New York Liberty) to Yankee Global Enterprises, Sinclair and Amazon. The most interesting player here is arguably Amazon, which has slowly been stepping up its video offerings. The deal means Amazon, with its 15% stake and the right to buy more, might soon offer Yankees games in Prime Video.

In its quest for more Prime subscribers, Amazon wants to not only offer you two-day shipping but be a leader for video consumption. While Amazon Prime Video has award-winning shows like "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and a bunch of movies to pick from, Amazon is investing more in live sports – one of the few reasons people bother to watch live TV. Read more on how and why Amazon cares about live sports...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

By Katie Pellico:

-- "Twitter and Facebook are under fire for removing 'vagina' from ads for a gynecology book..." (CNN)

-- Mark Di Stefano uncovered a network of Twitter and Pinterest users compiling "creepy screengrabs of high-profile female journalists who appear on UK television..." (BuzzFeed News)

-- The NYT introduced a stricter registration wall this week, telling Publishers Daily, "When a user is registered and logged-in, we can communicate with them and understand their preferences and patterns of consumption more effectively than if they were anonymous..." (Media Post)

RIP Valerie Harper

Brian Lowry writes: Valerie Harper, who achieved fame as Rhoda on the classic sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and continued as the character in a popular spinoff series, has died after a long battle with cancer, her daughter Cristina Cacciotti and family friend Deanna Buskey confirmed to CNN. She was 80.

>> Read Lowry's full obit here...

Marvel Comics celebrates 80 years

Katie Pellico writes: It's the 80th anniversary of Marvel Comics on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Marvel released a massive "Marvel Comics 1000" issue. Each page pays tribute to a year in Marvel's history, beginning with the Human Torch's introduction in 1939.

>> NY Post's Reed Tucker went decade-by-decade, looking "at Marvel's most enduring contributions to modern entertainment."

>> THR's Graeme McMillan reported that an essay in the anniversary issue "that described America as 'deeply flawed' and called for people to take to the streets" was "removed after appearing in early preview copies." McMillan notes this comes "two weeks after 'Maus' author Art Spiegelman said that Marvel had refused an essay because of a critical reference to President Donald Trump.

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

By Katie Pellico:

-- "New York's Paris Theatre, a fixture just off Fifth Avenue for 71 years, has joined the alarming list of movie theaters overwhelmed by changing tides in the industry and urban development," Deadline's Dade Hayes reports... (Deadline)

-- "Could gene editing turn you into Captain America?" Nick Bilton myth-busts with Jamie Metzl on VF's "Inside the Hive" podcast... (Vanity Fair)

-- ICYMI, Scaahi Koul wrote a takedown for the ages: "The One Where We Talk About How 'Friends' Actually Sucks..." (BuzzFeed News)

Lowry reviews "Untouchable"

Brian Lowry emails: After nearly two years of coverage, one might think there's not much left to say about about the Harvey Weinstein story. But "Untouchable" — a BBC documentary, which premieres in the U.S. on Hulu, which acquired it after its Sundance Film Festival debut — overcomes that skepticism, providing a good contextual dive into the building of Miramax into an independent film powerhouse and the environment that allowed the mogul's alleged behavior to continue unchecked. Read on...

Bracing for flurry of film fests, and with them Oscar politicking

Lowry emails: Let the irrational exuberance — and Oscar politicking — begin, as early dispatches out of the Telluride, Venice and Toronto film festivals over the next few weeks are sure to be filled with speculation about the Academy Award race. These pronouncements always strike me as insanely premature, but it has become an extension of the annual "awards season" ritual and the cottage industries devoted to award campaigning and prognostication.

Thank you for reading. I love your feedback, and I also love your tips. Send me an email or find me on Twitter. Have a good weekend!