EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there! This is Oliver Darcy, in the chair for Brian Stelter. I've missed you all since Brian resumed writing this letter last week! Anyway, I digress.
Scroll down for CNN's latest poll, a recap of Apple's big day, and details on a recent meeting in which senators pressed MBS on Jamal Khashoggi's murder. But first... Bolton's next move | | John Bolton is not going quietly into that dark night. On Tuesday, when President Trump tweeted that he had effectively fired Bolton, the media-savvy Bolton became a one-man PR machine. First, Bolton tweeted that he had resigned, seemingly contradicting Trump's version of events.
Then, he began texting members of the media to get his story out. While live on Fox, host Brian Kilmeade received a text message from Bolton. "John Bolton just texted me," Kilmede said, adding, "He said, 'Let's be clear, I resigned.'" NYT's Peter Baker and WaPo's Robert Costa received similar texts.
Costa also received a second text. "I will have my say in due course," Bolton wrote. That begs a natural question, one that Susan Glasser astutely asked: "Will Bolton become the first of the natsec advisers Trump has publicly humiliated to break with him and reveal what has been going on backstage?" Only time will tell...
Return to Fox?
Before Bolton joined the Trump administration, he was a contributor at Fox. As Jamie Weinstein tweeted, "Big Q: Will John Bolton get his Fox News contributorship back -- and, if so, will he be a prominent critic of POTUS' FP on his favorite network going into 2020?"
>> I pinged spokespeople for Fox on Tuesday evening to see if the network would welcome him back on, but did not hear back...
Not if Tucker has any say...
Tucker Carlson, who has been one of Bolton's fiercest critics, celebrated on Tuesday evening. Carlson opened his show declaring Bolton's exit to be "great news for America." Carlson even referred to Bolton as a "man of the left" and "one of the most progressive people in the Trump administration."
Behind the scenes, Politico's Eliana Johnson reported that Carlson had told Trump it was a mistake to keep Bolton in his administration. The Politico report said that Carlson and others had told Trump that Bolton not only had policy differences with him, but that he had been using the media against him.
Trump was irked by leaks
Speaking of which... CNN's Jim Acosta reported that one factor that led Trump to fire Bolton was "the concern inside the White House that Bolton's aides were making it sound as though Vice President Mike Pence had opposed the Taliban meeting at Camp David."
"Flatly incorrect"
Bolton told The Daily Beast that the notion he was a leaker is "flatly incorrect." But he certainly has a reputation in Washington, DC, as being someone who is accessible to reporters. That was on full display Tuesday evening when Bolton answered the door during a media stakeout of his home.
Would not defend on TV
Bolton was hired, in part, because Trump liked watching him on TV. But, recently, Bolton expressed reluctance to defend the administration on-air. Sources told me Bolton had been soft-booked to appear on "Meet the Press" and "This Week" August 25 during the G7, but backed out.
An official added to CNN's Kevin Liptak that Bolton felt uncomfortable defending Trump on various issues, including Russia. Other officials told CNN that Larry Kudlow and Steven Mnuchin were simply better positioned to speak about economic issues, which were also in focus at the G7.
>> James Poniewozik: "Live by the tube, die by (the reluctance to go on) the tube..."
The big picture
WSJ's main story by Michael C. Bender and Vivian Salama makes this point: "The ouster, on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, showed how debate over policies in Afghanistan and the Middle East continues to dominate U.S. foreign policy and divide the Republican Party nearly two decades later..."
"The Only Plane in the Sky"
Brian Stelter emails: Garrett Graff's "The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11" came out on Tuesday. I'm in the middle of reading the book now, and had a hard time putting it down to write this recommendation.
The AP's Will Lester sums up my feelings about why it is so riveting: "Most people are aware of the events that followed, but what has faded from memory over the years are the dramatic details, like the emotional accounts of people telling their loved ones that they were trapped in the upper floors of the towers or on hijacked planes." Great journalism helps ensure that we don't forget.
Graff is also out with this essay for The Atlantic about one of the takeaways from his research...
WEDNESDAY PLANNER
-- 8:46am: All of the major networks will carry the day's first 9/11 memorial moment of silence...
-- An unfortunate White House milestone: Wednesday is the six-month mark since the last on-camera press briefing by a W.H. press secretary...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday that "whoever it was that came up with the idea" of "having these Taliban monsters up at Camp David" needs "to have their head examined." Uh, who wants to tell him? (Mediaite)
-- Politicon announced their 2020 lineup for the October 26 and 27 event in Nashville... (The Hill)
-- The progressive watchdog Media Matters broke down Sean Hannity's "obsession" with Hillary Clinton by the numbers... (Media Matters)
-- Snapchat will create a dedicated news channel for the 2020 debates... (Axios)
-- Andrew Ferguson writes that Malcom Gladwell has reached "his tipping point..." (The Atlantic)
-- ABC is launching a video series called "Around the Table" which brings three undecided voters together with a Democratic presidential candidate... (Variety)
-- Stephanie Ruhle is hosting a new podcast called "Modern Ruhles..." (NBC News)
Trump's homelessness crackdown linked to Fox's coverage?
| | If you watch Fox, you know that one story the network has repeatedly covered over the last several months has been homelessness in major California cities. Now, Trump has directed White House officials to do something about it, according to reports Tuesday in both WaPo and NYT.
It's not clear whether there is a direct connection between the Fox segments and Trump's desire for action. But, WaPo noted in its story: "Fox News has aired at least 18 segments on California homelessness in 2019....None of the segments aired before June, and 10 aired in August alone. Trump is known to absorb content and ideas from Fox News."
>> Related: Media Matters, the progressive media watchdog, has a breakdown on some of Fox's homelessness coverage...
CNN poll finds majority of Americans don't trust the White House
71% of Americans do not trust anything or only some of the official communications from the White House, according to a new CNN poll published Tuesday. The issue, of course, is highly polarized. But only 9% said they trusted almost all of what they heard from the White House.
>> Somewhat related point from NYT's Ken Vogel: "NOTE TO SPOKESWOMEN & MEN: When you go on background or off the record to mislead (or lie) to reporters, those reporters will remember that, & they will take it into consideration the next time they deal with you, even if it's after you've left your job & started a new one..."
Senators press MBS on Khashoggi murder
Angus King and Todd Young told CNN on Tuesday that "they pressed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about last year's murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a meeting in Jeddah over the weekend," CNN's Zachary Cohen reported Tuesday.
"While King declined to divulge specifics from the private conversation during an interview with CNN," Cohen reported, "he said that he and Young were 'very, very direct' in their conversation with the Crown Prince, known as MBS, and made it clear that the issue of Khashoggi's murder remains a 'big obstacle' in the US-Saudi relationship." Per King, MBS "wasn't angry" and "did not seem surprised or taken aback" when the senators pressed him...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Jim Sciutto spoke with Esquire about his scoop on how the CIA extracted a Russian spy... Key point from Scuitto: The Russian government had "very quickly concluded what had happened" after the spy's extraction, so reports on it "weren't telling Putin something he didn't already know..." (Esquire)
-- WaPo's Erik Wemple knocked NBC News for sending a reporter to the spy house... (WaPo)
-- But... Wemple's own colleagues also visited the home for a story. NBC News spox Richard Hudock criticized Wemple, tweeting, "Perhaps Erik missed that his own paper reported the location and description of the house, interviews with the neighbors, and the individual's true name and former position with the Russian government—all before his piece criticizing NBC was published..."
Business Insider to host GOP debate on Facebook Watch
Get ready to see some of Trump's Republican challengers on stage together. Business Insider announced Tuesday that it will host a Republican primary debate on September 24, featuring former congressman Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.
BI said it extended invites to former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and President Trump. (The Trump campaign told ABC the event was "pointless.") The event will take place at BI's NYC HQ and will be hosted by CEO Henry Blodget, politics editor Anthony Fisher, and opinion columnist Linette Lopez. Odds are it will look less like a TV debate and more like a web video roundtable...
>> BI EIC Nicholas Carlson: "It's vitally important to have an honest conversation about what it means to be a Republican in the era of Trump; our debate will be a valuable part of that discussion..."
ThinkProgress will be archived after union said it was exploring "legal options"
When the Center for American Progress announced that it was shutting down ThinkProgress, the progressive group said the website would serve as a place where its scholars could post pieces. Those plans have apparently changed after the union representing ThinkProgress staff said it was exploring "legal options," Gideon Resnick reported Tuesday for The Daily Beast.
Resnick reported that the union's statement appeared "prompted by concerns of remaining staff at ThinkProgress that the site would no longer function as an editorially independent arm of CAP," something included in the union contract. Resnick reported that hours after the union said it was exploring legal options, CAP announced it would not keep ThinkProgress running as a home for its scholars and would instead shut it down and have it archived.
Apple unveils new iPhones, iPads, and watch
| | Apple unveiled a slew of upgraded products on Tuesday at its event in Cupertino. Some highlights:
>> The main attraction, of course, was the new iPhone. Apple announced two different categories for the iPhone 11: the iPhone 11 Pro, and the cheaper iPhone 11. Both feature improved battery life and cameras. They're available for pre-order on Friday and will be in stores on September 20...
>> New iPhones mean new iOS. iOS 13 will launch on September 19, featuring new features such as dark mode and efforts to stop those annoying spam calls...
>> A seventh generation iPad was unveiled. It featured a slightly bigger, 10.2-inch retina display...
>> Apple Watch Series 5 was announced. It has an always-on display, meaning you'll no longer have to raise your wrist to trigger the screen to turn on...
>> Apple revealed that Apple Arcade will cost $4.99 a month...
Apple TV+ gets a price and launch date
Apple finally dished out the details for its forthcoming streaming service, Apple TV+. The service will cost just $4.99 -- the cheapest of any of the streaming services -- and will launch on November 1 in over 100 countries. Apple is offering seven-day free trials. In addition, customers who purchase devices like the iPhone or iPad will get a year of Apple TV+ for free. That's what led to Matthew Ball's takeaway: "Apple TV+ is free..."
Reese and Jen on the cover of EW
Entertainment Weekly's Samantha Highfill has the first behind-the-scenes look at one of Apple's launch shows, "The Morning Show," starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. The story was published to coincide with Apple's event, right when Tim Cook showed off the new cover on stage.
Highfill's story is titled "Stream Queens: Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon on their TV reunion and how The Morning Show changed after #MeToo." (She notes that "Top of the Morning" author Brian Stelter "is a consulting producer on the show, which uses his book mostly for background research.")
>> Speaking of Aniston: NYT's Jessica Bennett has a candid new profile of her in this Sunday's paper... The piece is online now...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Via Alex Heath: "Facebook is hiring human editors to curate a forthcoming news tab. Here are some of the internal guidelines the editors will follow, including the instruction to 'impartially share' news stories about Facebook itself." Here's his new story with Jessica Toonkel... (The Information)
-- Alex Weprin's latest: "Disney has begun warning AT&T and DirecTV video subscribers that they may soon lose ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Freeform and other channels due to a carriage dispute..." (THR)
-- Former BTIG analysts Richard Greenfield, Walter Piecyk, Brandon Ross, Joseph Galone and Mark Kelley have opened the doors to their new firm, LightShed Partners, covering tech, media and telecom... (Bloomberg)
Airbnb invests in Atlas Obscura
Airbnb is leading a $20 million Series B funding round into the Brooklyn-based media and experiences company Atlas Obscura, the WSJ's Lukas Alpert reported Wednesday. The travel and exploration website "said it plans to use the money to vastly expand its trips and local experience offerings, which the company says make up more than half its business..."
Vox expands Coral platform
Kerry Flynn emails: Vox announced Coral, its software tools for publishers, is now being used by more than 60 brands in 13 countries. New partners include Mother Jones, the Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Vox had acquired The Coral Project from the Mozilla Foundation back in January. In the announcement, head of Coral Andrew Losowsky, describes his team's work as helping "publishers find the best ways to engage their audience and build loyalty without relying on Facebook and Twitter."
The Dodo's new book
Flynn emails: Group Nine Media's The Dodo is releasing children's books with Scholastic. Dodo president YuJung Kim told Forbes the books will feature the "popular characters and IP from our mobile-first video series." The first book "Pumpkin's Story" is available now while "50 Odds Couples" and "Little But Fierce" is will arrive in 2020.
This is the latest in a series of expansion The Dodo has done to mature beyond its origins as a Facebook-first video publisher. In July, The Dodo launched Dodo Kids, a new division for children's programming, starting with Netflix and YouTube.
A taco editor
Flynn emails one more: Texas Monthly announced five new hires, leading with its first-ever taco editor, José R. Rala. He'll be focused on taco reviews, taco profiles, taco trends and taco traditions for the site and in print. A spokesperson tells me this is Texas Monthly's tenth full-time new hire in the past six months...
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FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By Frank Pallotta:
-- Dave Itzkoff has a great profile on Joaquin Phoenix and his upcoming role in the gritty "Joker..." (NYT)
-- How "A Very Brady Renovation" scored huge ratings for HGTV... (THR)
-- Tom Brady joins TikTok on heels of NFL's deal with the service... (Variety)
Dwayne Johnson & Dany Garcia have a new venture
"Dwayne Johnson and business partner Dany Garcia are putting their combined strengths behind a new, ambitious venture in 2020 called Athleticon," CNN's Sandra Gonzalez reported Tuesday. The event will take place next October in Atlanta, Georgia. It's a joint venture between The Garcia Companies, Seven Bucks Companies and IMG.
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Kevin Hart is "doing very well" after his accident according to his bff The Rock...
-- Joaquin Phoenix thanked his late brother River in a rare, emotional speech...
-- Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are going to be featured in Playboy...
-- Alex Trebek is back on the air with "Jeopardy!"
| | | Thanks for reading! Brian will be back tomorrow! In the meantime, send me feedback via email or connect with me on Twitter... | | | |
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