EXEC SUMMARY: Early morning edition! Scroll down for the latest on PopSugar's sale, WBAI's shutdown, Peacock's shakeup, Quartz's changes, and much more...
Impeachment mode
The country's leading news outlets are laying the groundwork for long-term coverage of the impeachment inquiry and all the potential fallout. Some networks are recruiting new experts who will contribute to live coverage in the months ahead. Some newsrooms are launching newsletters, mobile alerts and other ways to keep people informed. Executives are thinking through their reporter assignments, making sure the right people are in the right places. And correspondents are updating their contacts, making sure they have legal eagles on speed-dial.
CNN's newest contributors
CNN's announcements about four new additions on Monday spoke volumes. Joining the network's list of paid contributors:
-- Jeffrey Engel, a CNN presidential historian, the co-author of "Impeachment: An American History" and the author/editor of ten books.
-- Michael Gerhardt, a CNN legal analyst, the author of several books including "The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis," and a regular on CNN during the Clinton impeachment process.
-- Ross Garber, a CNN legal analyst, who represented four governors facing impeachment proceedings and many other government officials throughout his career.
-- And WaPo's Shane Harris, now a CNN national security analyst, who's been part of the Post's team breaking big stories about the whistleblower complaint.
Staffing up
Other TV networks have been adding contributors with an eye toward this moment in time, as well. Fox, for instance, signed Ken Starr to a contributor deal a while back. CBS has two Constitutional law experts, Jonathan Turley and Kim Wehle. NBC and MSNBC have a whole host of commentators.
Expert analysis is vital, but arguably what's most important right now is original reporting. "This isn't a story that's covered only from the halls of Congress or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," NBC News VP and DC bureau chief Ken Strickland told me. "Like every ongoing story in Washington, we are covering every development from all corners of the administration and we have the teams to do that better than anyone else," he said, citing reporters like Pete Williams, Andrea Mitchell and Kelly O'Donnell...
Who's missing from the cable news coverage
"If impeachment is largely fought in the court of public opinion, Republicans lawmakers are barely mounting a defense on television," Politico's Michael Calderone reports: "Since the Sept. 25 release of a rough transcript of Trump urging Ukraine's president to investigate the Bidens, none of the 53 Republican Senators have appeared on MSNBC, though a source told POLITICO the network has put out invitations to them. Just four of 197 Republican House members have appeared on MSNBC, one of whom isn't running for reelection. Seven Republican House members have appeared on CNN during this time period, but no senators have done so."
A greater # of GOP lawmakers have appeared on Fox... Still, it's striking how many of them are turning down all interview requests. As Calderone writes, they "may fear stoking Trump's ire and becoming a target of his allies in conservative media..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- CNN Digital's impeachment-related app alerts have attracted 300,000 subscribers in just a week, a spokeswoman says... And the Impeachment Tracker newsletter, written by Zach Wolf, has amassed more than 11,000 subscribers in a couple of days...
-- CNN also has a "GOP Response Tracker" -- it shows "how 80 lawmakers have reacted to Trump's call to probe Biden..." (CNN)
-- The LAT's lead story on Monday: "Why Republicans may want a House vote on impeachment inquiry and Pelosi doesn't..." (LAT)
-- "As interviews get tougher, Team Trump doubles down on avoidance," Margaret Sullivan writes... (WaPo)
-- Trump's "brazen attempts to redefine the norms of acceptable conduct work for a reason," Peter Beinart writes... (The Atlantic)
All eyes on Syria
"NewsHour" correspondent Lisa Desjardins on PBS Monday evening: "As I was making calls about these impeachment discussions and debates, everyone on the Hill wanted to talk about Syria. There is really sharp concern from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about what the president is doing."
The big headline in Tuesday's WaPo: "Trump decision on Syria brings dire warnings." And in the NYT: "Backtracking on Syria, president mixes signals, inciting a GOP furor." Here is CNN's latest... | | Trump's tweet warning Turkey and citing his own "great and unmatched wisdom" drew some of the loudest mockery I've seen in a long time, and that's saying something... Some normally cool-headed analysts expressed astonishment... "I've always thought that 'invoke the 25th amendment!' was a misguided, futile notion but after this Tweet from the President, I'm reassessing," Jeff Greenfield tweeted...
Schiff says CBP conduct "must be investigated"
Rep. Adam Schiff's reaction to the recent report that a Defense One journalist was mistreated by a CBP officer after disclosing his work as a journalist:
"It's appalling that an American reporter was harassed by a federal employee while reentering our country, and it's happened before. This must be investigated and corrective action taken. Reporters aren't the enemy of the people, they're a foundation of our democracy."
"The day the NBA fluttered before China"
...That's the title of the editorial in Tuesday's Washington Post. The editorial board says "China is attempting to enforce its version of the truth all around the world — bullying Chinese-language newspapers in Canada and the United States, patrolling the speech of its students abroad, demanding that foreign airlines and hotel chains wipe Taiwan off their maps. Some of its targets don't have the wherewithal to stand up to this assault — which is why the NBA's cravenness is so damaging. With all its financial muscle, its enormous popularity and its moral preening, if the NBA can cave so easily, who will resist the censorship of the Communist dictators?" More...
Uncanny timing by "South Park"
"The most recent episode of South Park, 'Band in China,' has been generating loads of media attention for its sharp critique of the way Hollywood tends to shape its content to avoid offending Chinese government censors in any way whatsoever," THR reports. "Now, those very same government censors, in the real world, have lashed back at South Park by deleting virtually every clip, episode and online discussion of the show from Chinese streaming services, social media and even fan pages." Here's how creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone responded to this news...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "The president, unfortunately, he lies like a little boy caught stealing from his mom's purse," Col. Ralph Peters said on "AC360..." (Twitter)
-- Jada Yuan writes: "Melania Trump seems unfazed by her husband's possible impeachment..." (WaPo)
-- Talk about a timely booking: On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Monday night, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice called Trump's plan to abandon the Kurds "bats--- crazy..." (Twitter)
Castro's NPR appearance prompts trip across the border | | NPR's new series "Off Script" has already sparked an unscripted moment. On the first episode, with Julián Castro, Dani Marrero Hi of the Texas Civil Rights Project invited him to Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from Brownsville, to see what the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy actually looks like on the ground.
"Can you come to Brownsville? Can you come to Matamoros and help them?"
On Monday, Castro tweeted out, "I'm here now to meet with refugees, some LGBTQ or disabled, who've been held up here despite policies that allow them to enter."
Here's the NPR series...
"Antisocial" is out on Tuesday
The NYT's review of Andrew Marantz's new book "Antisocial" says it describes "how a Darwinian information environment has degraded to the point where it now selects for people who can command the most attention with the fewest scruples." For example: "Marantz meets a 60-year-old 'surly racist' with 25,000 subscribers on YouTube who, in another era, might have been relegated to muttering on his front porch..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Update: Last night's newsletter had some outdated info. VF editor Radhika Jones is actually interviewing James Murdoch on stage at the New Establishment Summit later this month... (VF)
-- Here's the first excerpt from Ronan Farrow's new book... Part two will be out on Tuesday morning... (The New Yorker)
-- "RealClearPolitics has carefully cultivated a non-partisan image — while in the shadows its parent company pushes images of killer Clintons and a freedom-loving Kremlin" through a "secret Facebook page" full of far-right memes, Kevin Poulsen and Maxwell Tani report... (Beast)
Group Nine buys PopSugar
Kerry Flynn writes: Another week, another media marriage. First, it was Vox and New York. Then, it was Vice and Refinery29. Now, Group Nine has bought PopSugar, a women-focused publisher. Formed in 2016, Group Nine is home to Thrillist, Seeker, The Dodo and NowThis.
WSJ's Ben Mullin and Lukas Alpert report that PopSugar is valued at $300 million in the all-stock deal. Discovery-backed Group Nine is valued at $600 million, but remains unprofitable. PopSugar, meanwhile, can tout profitability: WSJ reports it will bring in $100 million in revenue this year.
>> PopSugar CEO Brian Sugar says: "Over the past few years, we've gotten PopSugar to profitability and found a way to build a well-diversified business that has outlasted many of our competitors in a rapidly evolving space." Of course, profitability came with some stumbles. PopSugar laid off 19 employees, about 5% of staff in May 2018, to cut costs. They also cut free snacks, beverages and other perks...
Scrutinizing these digital media deal valuations...
A media exec emails: "There are some serious questions over how these companies can be valued so much without turning a profit or having a regular audience or any evidence of a business model." Case in point, Refinery29, which is unprofitable but which sold to Vice last week at a reported $400 million valuation... The mostly-stock deal was said to value Vice at $4 million...
Quartz's changes
AdWeek's Sara Jerde reports: "Quartz co-CEO and editor in chief Kevin Delaney, who co-founded the business media organization in 2012, is departing to pursue other projects, the company announced today... Jay Lauf, who helped co-found Quartz and has served as co-CEO with Delaney as well as publisher, will now be chairman." Fellow co-founder Zach Seward will be CEO.
"The job of editor in chief was left open, with Quartz saying it was looking for a new one," the NYT notes...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Recommended reading: Nicholas Carlson's memo to the BI newsroom: "'She Said' is the best book about journalism I have ever read. Here are its best lessons for journalists." (BI)
-- AdAge's annual report looking at the $$$$'s to advertise in TV's biggest shows is here! Jeanine Poggi reports that the NFL "once again dominates, with Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football coming in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, as the most expensive shows. 'The Masked Singer' joins the list, along with NBC's 'New Amsterdam' and Fox's '9-1-1.'" More here... (AdAge)
-- Lucia Moses with the tick-tock: "How Refinery29 bootstrapped for 8 years, caught fire, and raised $133 million — only to end up selling to another struggling startup, Vice Media, for mostly stock..." (BI)
WBAI abruptly shuts down | | ...And just like that, WBAI was off the air.
The station was many things to many people. NY1 described it as "the voice of radical politics in New York City." Staffers found out on Monday morning that the station "was being shut down by the Pacifica Foundation," effective immediately, Zack Fink wrote.
In a letter to staffers, Pacifica cited "ongoing and continued projections of further financial losses" and said "we will relaunch WBAI once we are able to create a sustainable financial structure for the station..."
TODAY IN THE STREAMING WARS...
Peacock shakeup
"NBCUniversal on Monday unveiled a management shakeup that will see Bonnie Hammer shift from launching the Peacock streaming platform to overseeing all broadcast and cable studio operations," Variety's Cynthia Littleton and Elaine Low reported. "Comcast veteran Matt Strauss is joining NBCUniversal as the new head of Peacock, while Paul Telegdy will become the solo chairman of NBCEntertainment." And George Cheeks, who had been co-chair alongside Telegdy, "will shift to a vice chair role under Hammer."
Lots of changes, but the upshot is this: Hammer is now the chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios, Strauss is now the chairman of Peacock, and both execs report to Steve Burke. These moves certainly raise eyebrows, since NBCU just announced the management for its Peacock streaming service just last month...
HBO Max picks up "Search Party" from TBS
Brian Lowry emails: HBO Max's pickup of "Search Party" from TBS (another WarnerMedia platform) is a reminder that streaming benefits a certain kind of show -- namely, those perceived to have an avid following, which might contribute to a subscription decision, even if it's tiny by commercial TV standards. Netflix has already "rescued" a number of shows that fall into that category, and we now will likely see studios doing more of the same, only by moving low-rated cult shows from their networks to their streaming services...
>> Details: HBO Max has ordered two seasons of "Search Party..."
Quibi and ESPN partner up
Frank Pallotta writes: Quibi will bring you sports highlights in 10 minutes or less thanks to ESPN. The network will be the exclusive US multi-sport content provider for Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's new streaming service when the service launches in April. The new ESPN Quibi show will feature "daily episodes and breaking news covering the biggest stories in sports," the network said on Monday...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Time's Up has "appointed Tina Tchen, a lawyer and former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, as its new chief executive..." (NYT)
-- Facebook is set to pay $40 million under a proposed settlement in a video metrics lawsuit, Eriq Gardner reports... (THR)
-- Instagram is turning off the "Following" tab in the activity feed later this week. Ashley Feinberg has an ode to the "Following" feature here... (Slate)
-- "Hulu at long last is launching one of its customers' most-requested features: the ability to download TV shows and movies to mobile devices for watching them on the go..." (Variety)
| | Lowry's "Joker" analysis
Brian Lowry emails: The strong opening for "Joker" is a win for Warner Bros. But director Todd Phillips' defense of the movie -- telling the Washington Post and others that "art isn't safe" -- is both a self-serving and cynical way of presenting what's hardly an art-house flick, but rather a major studio release with 80 years of intellectual property history behind it. Yes, any movie is "art," but with a certain class of films there's a heavier emphasis on commerce, a tension that also informed Martin Scorsese's dismissal of Marvel movies as theme-park rides, triggering fairly gentle pushback from some of those filmmakers. Read on...
Here's who will play Trump in the Comey miniseries: | | CBS Studios is moving forward on a miniseries based on James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty." The project is slated to head into production in November. Key castings were announced on Monday: Jeff Daniels will play Comey and Brendan Gleeson — aka Mad-Eye Moody from the "Harry Potter" movies — will play Trump. Michael Kelly will play Andrew McCabe and Jennifer Ehle will play Comey's wife Patrice. Sandra Gonzalez has details here...
>> Wise words from the project's director Billy Ray about casting Gleeson as Trump: "It's hard to imagine a bigger acting challenge than playing Donald Trump. You have to have presence, and a singular kind of dynamism. You also have to have the courage and the will to play Trump's psychology from the inside out. Oh, and you have to be spectacularly talented and watchable. Not many actors check all those boxes. Brendan does. I'm ecstatic about this."
The grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios
"Atlanta has come to be known as 'Black Hollywood' because of Tyler Perry and this past weekend he really made it happen," Lisa Respers France reports. "The media mogul opened a 330-acre filming complex in the Fort McPherson area that drew just about every major African-American star."
With a total of 12 sound stages, the complex is "larger than the Burbank, California, lots owned by Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Studios and Paramount combined," CBS notes. "Perry is the first black American to own a major film studio outright." Gayle King taped an interview with Perry over the weekend, and highlights will air on Tuesday's "CBS This Morning..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- 'The Walking Dead' Season 10 premiere killed it.
-- Adam Levine misses 'The Voice' -- but not how hard he was working.
-- Helena Bonham Carter sought Princess Margaret's blessing via psychic for "The Crown."
"The Irishman" is coming to a [Broadway] theater near you
Frank Pallotta writes: You may not be able to see Martin Scorsese's new Netflix film, "The Irishman," in theaters, but you'll be able to see it on Broadway. From November 1 to December 1, the three and a half hour gangster epic will be shown at the Belasco Theatre in midtown Manhattan. Netflix will hook up "what it describes as state-of-the-art equipment for the screenings," according to Deadline.
I think this is really cool idea, and showcases one of the best films of the year in an old school -- and quite beautiful -- setting... | |
ICYMI...
How to catch up on Sunday's "Reliable Sources"
Watch the video clips on CNN.com... Or listen to the podcast edition via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your preferred podcast player...
Only the tip of the iceberg?
With so many stories involving Trump and his cabinet, it seems we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Only months or years later do we see the entire piece, whether through book reporting, FOIAed papers, or interviews with former officials. Michael Shear and I talked about this on Sunday's "Reliable Sources." Shear and Julie Davis are out with their new book "Border Wars" on Tuesday. "We all think we know President Trump and what's going on because he's tweeting constantly," Shear said. "But the truth is, despite that sort of illusion of transparency, there's a LOT going on inside this administration that we don't know," Shear said...
Former Fox host says they're "lying by omission"
Juliet Huddy, who co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend" back in the day, joined me on "Reliable" with insight into her former network, specifically the right-wing talk shows that are smearing the whistleblower(s). "They're doing something that we did when we were little kids, which is, lying by omission," she said. "They leave out the the context, they leave out facts, they spin it so that it gives just enough information, but not all of the info." Here's more of what she said...
Surprising prediction from a former Trump Org exec
On Sunday's "Reliable," I asked former Trump Organization exec Barbara Res to predict how the Trump presidency ends. After one full term? Two full terms? Or sooner? Res said she was hesitant to share her opinion, because "I could very well be wrong." But she has first-hand experience working with Trump for many years. And she said "he does a lot of things to save face."
"It would be very, very, very bad for him to be impeached," Res said. "I don't know that he'll be found guilty but I don't know that he wants to be impeached. I think that's what this panic is about. And my gut [instinct] is that he'll leave office, he'll resign. Or make some kind of a deal, even, depending on what comes out." CNN Business' Clare Duffy recapped the interview here...
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