Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Scroll down for a preview of Gayle King's interview with one of Harvey Weinstein's lawyers, Randall Stephenson's appearance at a key investor conference, a farewell to an iconic newsstand, and much more...

Times turmoil

Will The New York Times take disciplinary action in the wake of this embarrassing episode involving a new book about Brett Kavanaugh? It is certainly possible, I'm told by a plugged-in staffer, as the newspaper reviews a glaring omission in its original story about the book and an offensive tweet about the story.

Regarding the tweet, the paper said it is "reviewing the decision-making with those involved." This applies to the episode more broadly as well.

The book at issue, "The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation," comes out on Tuesday. Critics on the left say the NYT buried the book's big news about a new allegation against Kavanaugh. Critics on the right say the paper smeared him by sharing the allegation without initially noting, as the book does, that it isn't backed up by the woman at the center of it. The Times ran an editors' note on Sunday night belatedly adding those facts.

Reviewing "what went wrong"

James Dao, the NYT's deputy editorial page editor, answered a few Q's about the controversy here. Re: the terrible tweet, he said there's a "process for writing and editing social media copy" and it was not followed. "The department is reviewing with everyone involved — including me — what went wrong to determine how we can avoid similar mistakes."

The bigger story from the book

The authors, Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, were on MSNBC's "The Last Word" Monday night, and they'll be on CNN's "New Day" and ABC's "The View" Tuesday morning. I'm guessing they want to steer attention back toward the broader themes of the book.

For example, CNN's Dan Berman and Ariane de Vogue are out with "5 takeaways" from the book, and the first one is this: "At the heart of the book's impact is the idea that allegations against Kavanaugh were not thoroughly investigated as the GOP-led Senate worked quickly to confirm him."

>> On Page One of Tuesday's NYT: "Allegation Reopens the Debate over Kavanaugh," by Sheryl Gay Stolberg...

The bigger story about NYT Opinion?

Oliver Darcy emails: It's the Opinion section of the NYT that fumbled this high-profile story about Kavanaugh. The story, which drew widespread criticism, is the latest in a series of high-profile blunders that have caused embarrassment to James Bennet since he became the editor overseeing Opinion in 2016. Bennet's tenure has been marked with several mishaps. There was the 2017 story that Sarah Palin has sued NYT over; the anti-Semitic cartoon published earlier this year in the international edition; and the recent conduct of columnist Bret Stephens. Read my full story here...

"Opinion produces powerful journalism"

Darcy adds: In a statement, a NYT spokesperson stood by Bennet's Opinion section, pointing to the unquestionably strong work that has also been published under his leadership. "Opinion produces powerful journalism that makes a difference in people's lives," the spokesperson said, noting that "the diversity and quality of this work is being embraced not just by readers but by professional peers."

Trump overreaches, as usual

President Trump has been on a tear about the NYT. And as usual, he has overreached.

When asked about the NYT, he told reporters "I see they're making a big correction today." The paper technically ran an editors' note, not a correction. "They don't do fact-checking anymore," he said. Of course they do fact-checking, as do other major outlets. And he said "they have to be very embarrassed." (Well, he's right about that.)

But he overreached on his Twitter feed too, passing along Fox host Greg Gutfeld's comment that "almost all of the stories the New York Times has done are inaccurate and wrong." The Times publishes hundreds of pieces a day. Of course the paper makes mistakes. Big ones. But imagine what it takes to believe that "ALMOST ALL" of the stories "are inaccurate and wrong." Later in the evening, he said "I call for the Resignation of everybody at The New York Times involved in the Kavanaugh SMEAR story, and while you're at it, the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is just as phony!" And he kept talking about it at his Monday night rally, with that trademark Trumpian mix of disdain and desire for approval, saying "The Times is dead. Long live the New York Times..."

Back to what the book says...

As Margaret Sullivan observed on Monday, the book has "real news," but it's been "lost in the furor" over the botched NYT piece. Take Jill Filipovic's review, also for WaPo, which calls the book "thoroughly reported" and a "remarkable work of slowed-down journalism."

But the rollout has hurt the book. "In these contentious days of bad-faith politics and maneuvering for advantage," Sullivan wrote, "the presentation and framing of stories — as well as their dead-on accuracy — are more important than ever. There's little room for error and not a shred of forgiveness for it."

>> VF's Joe Pompeo reports: Pogrebin and Kelly "initially pitched their reporting to the news side, but top editors ultimately felt that there wasn't enough juice to warrant a story there -- punting the scoop to the Sunday Review section..."

>> Bottom line, CNN commentator and former RNC comms chief Doug Heye emails: "Whenever something like this happens, it further erodes confidence in the press and gives those who have taking down the media as an objective a lot more ammunition."

The debate will continue

Many of Monday's arguments about the NYT were a proxy for the arguments over Kavanaugh and what should happen when people come forward with allegations about a public figure. The authors hit on this right in the intro to their book. When I was speed-reading on Monday, I hit upon this passage and transcribed it:

"It is hard -- maybe impossible -- to set aside personal history or political orientation when considering the questions about Kavanaugh. If Kavanaugh mistreated Ford and Ramirez but has conducted himself honorably in the past thirty-six years, does he deserve to be on the court? If there is not dispositive proof that Kavanaugh engaged in such misbehavior, were the accusations enough to eliminate him from consideration? Was his temperament during the last day of testimony in itself disqualifying? We leave those conclusions to our readers. No doubt they will be debated for many years to come."

TUESDAY PLANNER

Josh Campbell's "Crossfire Hurricane" also hits bookshelves...

8am ET: The Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference gets underway...

8:30am: Facebook and Twitter execs speak with the FEC about disinformation, part of a day-long event...

6:30pm: I'll be speaking at a Paley Center event titled "Media Bias: Fact or Fiction?" Other panelists include Sharyl Attkisson, Angelo Carusone, Tim Graham, Michelle Malkin, Christine Quinn...

Stephenson's turn

Paul Singer had his say last week. Now it is Randall Stephenson's turn on Tuesday.

Singer's Elliott Management Corp. issued a report last Monday calling for sweeping changes at (CNN's parent) AT&T. The WSJ is out with an in-depth look at what the activist investors want. Key graf: "Plans for Mr. Stephenson's triumphant exit, as early as next year, now threaten to turn into a monthslong fight over the direction of the $280 billion telecom company and a test of the board's loyalty to his long-term vision."

Stephenson declined to comment to the WSJ. But "he will get a chance to make his case to investors Tuesday when he takes the stage at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York." That's Communacopia... He will be speaking at 8am ET... Paul R. La Monica will be there covering it for us @ CNN Business...

The view from each side

Per the WSJ's reporting, AT&T's recent move to make John Stankey the heir apparent to Stephenson spurred "Elliott to go public." The paper, citing sources, said "the hedge fund had been studying AT&T since the Time Warner deal. It viewed the promotion of Mr. Stankey to oversee both media and companywide operations as hasty."

The flip side: "AT&T will resist any attempt to dictate its executive suite, according to people close to the company. Board members see room to improve AT&T's performance but support Mr. Stephenson's strategy and praise Mr. Stankey's leadership, according to a person familiar with the board's thinking."

So: This could go on for a while...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- The lead story on CNN.com right now links to this: "The White House would like you to abandon all common sense on 'locked and loaded'" (CNN)

-- "From 'my generals' to 'my Kevin,' Trump's preferred possessive can be a sign of affection or control," Ashley Parker writes... (WaPo)

-- David Nakamura on Monday's Medal of Freedom ceremony for Mariano Rivera: It was "the kind of feel-good, controversy-free photo op that is rare in the Trump era..." (WaPo)

-- For his debut on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars," Sean Spicer "chose a blinding lime over Trump orange..." (Deadline)

-- Matt Wilstein says it was "the most embarrassing Dancing debut ever, period..." (Beast)

Trump, Saudi, Iran... Here's the big Q

MSNBC's Katy Tur brought it up on Monday afternoon: "When it comes to an issue of whether or not to engage in an armed conflict in the Middle East, Americans are justifiably wary and reluctant to take the government's word for it." And "now that Donald Trump is president, it's even harder to take the government's word for it." She asked: "On the issue of war, how does the American public know when the government is telling the truth?"

"Obama Netflix?"

First Trump was bringing up Barack Obama's book deal. Now he's bringing up Obama's Netflix deal -- repeatedly -- in resentful I-need-to-change-the-subject tweets. "Why can't he quit him?" Brooke Baldwin asked on CNN Monday afternoon. Her guest Charles Blow answered: "Jealousy."

CNN's Kevin Liptak says "the fresh criticism amounts to the latest evidence of Trump's lingering fixation on Obama, who he's met in person only once since Inauguration Day." Read his analysis here...

>> A view from the left via Crooked Media's Brian Beutler: "I guess everyone's past the point of caring, and standards now only apply to others, but "Obama Netflix?" is the sound of barking madness."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Staffers at the WSJ, Reuters, and far beyond are mourning the death of Paul Ingrassia, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist "who was one of the leading chroniclers of the auto industry for more than three decades..." (WSJ)

-- David Brock's Shareblue "is staffing up as others in the progressive media universe are cutting back," Gideon Resnick and Maxwell Tani report... (Beast)

-- Tani and Asawin Suebsaeng also had this scoop on Monday: John Bolton is talking with book agents and "exploring" a book about his time with Trump... (Beast)

-- "A new era of the The Far Side, the newspaper strip by Gary Larson, is coming..." (NYT)

Gayle King interviews one of Harvey Weinstein's lawyers

Donna Rotunno sat down with Gayle King ahead of Weinstein's trial on charges of rape and sexual assault... The highlights will air on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday... Here's a key exchange:

KING: In his mind, has he done anything wrong?

ROTUNNO: I think he has. I think he knows--

KING: What has he done?

ROTUNNO: I think he knows he has to just be a better human being.

KING: But does he think he's broken any laws? I guess is a better question.

ROTUNNO: No, absolutely not. He absolutely does not believe that he's broken any laws. Can I stand in front of a jury and say Harvey Weinstein is the greatest guy you've ever met? No. I'm not going to do that. The jury needs to understand who Harvey Weinstein is. But even taking all of that into account, even if you believe he's the worst person that ever walked the face of the earth, he still did not commit rape, and the evidence does not prove that he did.

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

By Kerry Flynn:

-- Teens are running Instagram accounts just for polls, a feature the app introduced in October 2017. Teens say poll accounts became "extremely popular" this summer and are a new era of online quizzes popularized by BuzzFeed... (Mashable)

--"Popular dating app Tinder has wrapped filming on its first television series, as owner Match Group Inc seeks to dive deeper into creating original content..." (Reuters)

-- The Daily Beast says its subscription rate of $35 per year has five times higher the conversion rate than its initial price of $100 per year. CEO Heather Dietrich says she expects membership revenue to near direct ad revenue by end of 2021... (Digiday)

Jeanine Pirro praises far-right Islamophobe

Oliver Darcy emails: Fox's Jeanine Pirro is apparently a fan of Laura Loomer, a notorious far-right activist and Islamophobe. According to Mediaite's Ken Meyer, Pirro offered praise for Loomer in her new book, which Trump has promoted. Pirro describes Loomer as "extremely bright" and a "quick-witted millennial." Yikes!

Farewell to an iconic newsstand

Kerry Flynn writes: Out of Town News, the newsstand in Harvard Square, is closing next month as the area undergoes construction. As Boston Magazine writes, the spot is now mostly where tourists buy tickets to tour Harvard Yard across the street but it was once where Julia Child browsed cooking magazines, John Kenneth Galbraith picked up Le Monde and even where Paul Allen bought a copy of Popular Electronics to show Bill Gates. The potential redevelopment of Harvard Square, which could lead to an ousting of Out of Town News, has been in the works for years. In fact, it's something that I reported on in college. The building may not sell newspapers anymore, but it will remain standing, protected in the National Register of Historic Places...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Here's the Tavi Gevinson story I previewed last night... She opens up about her life on Instagram and how the platform affects people... (The Cut)

-- Jim Schachter, most recently the VP of news at WNYC, is the new head of New Hampshire Public Radio... (NHPR)

-- "The Brooklyn Nets are hiring former Turner executive David Levy as chief executive officer," Adrian Wojnarowski scooped Monday... (ESPN)

-- Shannon Liao writes: "Apple Arcade could change how mobile apps do business..." (CNN)

Inside the "Seinfeld" deal

The news: Netflix will be the exclusive global streaming home to "Seinfeld" for five years starting in 2021. Frank Pallotta has the details here...

The context: With Netflix losing powerhouses like "The Office" and Friends," Pallotta says the streaming service is showing fans that it'll still have "a massive, wide-ranging library – one that can include nostalgic licensed hits it doesn't own as well as a growing slate of original content..."

The cost: The LAT's Steve Battaglio called the deal "a a major comeback statement for Netflix." He said the service "paid far more than the $500 million NBCUniversal paid for 'The Office,' and the $425 million WarnerMedia shelled out for 'Friends,' people familiar with the deal said." In part that's because this is a global deal, while those were domestic....

The other bidders: "Netflix topped bids from Hulu, Amazon, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal and Viacom," Battaglio reported...

The big question: Does "Seinfeld" have as much resonance as "The Office" and "Friends?" Can Netflix give it a fourth or fifth life?

"SNL" fires Shane Gillis

It is not surprising that, as CNN's team reported here, "SNL" fired "one of its most recent hires, Shane Gillis, just days after videos of comedian making bigoted comments came to light." It is surprising that the show didn't know about those comments ahead of time.

In a statement on Monday, an "SNL" rep said "we were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

Whether you agree or disagree with the decision to cut him loose, that's a noteworthy admission. "The program did not explain what, if any, measures it had taken to survey Gillis's past professional history or online footprint before he was hired," the NYT's Dave Itzkoff notes...

>> I'll be discussing this on CNN's "New Day" in the 6am hour Tuesday...

WGA West prez is re-elected

"The Writers Guild of America will stay the course on its ongoing fight against top Hollywood agencies and packaging fees, as its membership has reelected President David A. Goodman to another term after a heavily contested campaign against challenger Phyllis Nagy," TheWrap's Jeremy Fuster reported Monday night. "It was a landslide victory for Goodman..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- "A Hollywood stunt double who lost her arm while filming one of the 'Resident Evil' movies said she thought the production company would take care of her, but now she's suing the producers of the film, hoping to make her nightmare the last for stunt workers..." (ABC)

-- Endeavor "hopes to raise $600 million-plus in its IPO," per a new SEC filing, Alex Weprin reports. That "would put a value of around $8 billion" on the company. The IPO "is now expected this fall..." (THR)

-- "The Wendy Williams Show" has been renewed through 2022... (Jezebel)

"Unbelievable" timing

Brian Lowry emails: "Unbelievable" was destined to strike a nerve, but appeared to resonate a little louder because of its timing. As more than a few binge-ing viewers pointed out, the fact-based Netflix drama -- about female detectives who tracked down a serial rapist, and a victim who wasn't believed by the police -- was trending over the weekend at the same moment that Brett Kavanaugh, and the question of whether his accusers were to be believed, was suddenly back in the news, AND after a week's worth of coverage associated with "She Said..."

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

The "I-Land" disaster

One more from Lowry: THR's Daniel Fienberg has about as scathing a takedown as you'll ever read of Netflix's "The I-Land," which contains this noteworthy tidbit about an inherent flaw in Netflix's development model: "Netflix gives straight-to-series orders and you need look no further than this show for an illustration of why that's not always a great idea. No network or service that makes decisions based on pilots ever would have picked The I-Land up to series off of this prototype."

Brad Pitt doesn't want your awards*

Brian Lowry writes: Brad Pitt has made some headlines by telling EW that he's going to "abstain" from Oscar campaigning this year, with well-regarded roles in "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" and "Ad Astra."

"I find chasing it actually a disservice to the purity of your telling a story," he said. Of course, it's easier taking the high road when, one suspects, the studios behind those films won't abstain for running "For your consideration" ads on his behalf...

And he's worried about the future of film

Kerry Flynn writes: In the latest cover for GQ magazine, Pitt shared his thoughts on the current film industry with the rise of streaming services and short-form content. "I wonder about the future of film. I really do. There's so much content out there, so much disposable content, that a lot can get lost," he said.

Pitt said "I love a slow, contemplative film—I grew up on the drive-in and whatever movies we could see, and that's where we had three television channels. So I look at youth today, and they absorb so much information and seem to like it more in quick bursts and don't have necessarily the palate to sit two hours for a film. They would rather watch a series for a quick bit, and then they can follow another one if they want to or move on to something else. So I'm very curious..."

ICYMI: Sunday's "Reliable Sources"

Check the transcript... Listen to the audio edition of the show via Apple Podcasts or your preferred pod app... Or watch the video clips on CNN.com...

Impeachment: The process vs. the substance

I opened Sunday's "Reliable Sources" by saying that Trump is winning the messaging war about impeachment, even while getting so many facts wrong. Because the Democrats are so divided, and the Dems' messaging is so mixed, I said the news coverage is focusing on the process -- not the long list of potentially impeachable conduct.

In our "A block" discussion, Susan Glasser said reporters are having a "medieval, ecclesiastical debate" on impeachment because Dems "have made the story into their own inability to understand how to counter Trump." Alexandra Rojas said Democrats need to "do better and step up, and I think they still have an opportunity to do that..."

CNN's Jim Sciutto on his Russian spy scoop

I asked Jim Sciutto for the backstory to his recent scoop about one of America's top spies inside the Russian government being exfiltrated from Russia. Key point: Sciutto said "viewers oftentimes don't realize that, that there are these weeks of conversations about what to say and what not to say in these sensitive stories..."

And speaking of that...

Inside the NYT investigation that took down Weinstein

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey shared new revelations from their new book "She Said." Twohey said the book brings "secretive aspects" of the Harvey Weinstein investigation on the record for the first time. And Kantor said she wants people to know that "even at a time when everything seems so stuck... like the very notion of truth is collapsing, facts can cause social change. Carefully documented facts can really trigger empathy and compassion and action."

More notes and quotes

-- Krystal Ball talked about why she called out Rush Limbaugh's recent smear against her: "Slut-shaming is a very common tactic that is employed against women to sort of shut down their voices, to make them irrelevant, to say that they can't be leaders…. and I didn't want this particular incident to go unchallenged."

-- Barry Glassner, author of "The Culture of Fear," said news outlets both stoke peoples' fears and "correct exaggerated fears and scares." Trump, he said, is the fear-monger-in-chief...

Thanks for reading! Email or tweet me your feedback anytime. Back tomorrow...