Forward

"This is McConnell's moment"

For the past week I've been thinking that there's too much media attention surrounding the House GOP, and not enough attention on the Senate. President Trump's impeachment in the House seems inevitable at this point. The question is what the Senate will decide to do. I'm clearly far from the only one thinking this way. Fox's Laura Ingraham led her Tuesday night show by saying "this is McConnell's moment."

Ingraham was pressuring the Senate Majority Leader to defend Trump -- and she said she hoped he was listening. He needs to stand up to "the Democrats' political reign of terror," Ingraham said. "He needs to show the American people that the GOP stands united behind the man that they elected to lead this country, run our foreign policy, help advance our economy. McConnell needs to make sure that every Republican keeps pressure on Pelosi, Schiff and Schumer. His resolution with Lindsey Graham was a very good start."

Looking ahead to the likely Senate trial, "McConnell must also stop acting like his hands are tied," Ingraham continued. She suggested that the rules should be updated: "These times require extraordinary measures." She also said McConnell "can and should push for a blisteringly short impeachment trial, giving Democrats maybe an afternoon to put on their sham case. I think that's too generous." Her point: "Republicans in the Senate need to step up or get out."

The counterargument is obvious: McConnell will do what's best for the party, not what's best for Trump. The party, not the man...

There are a thousand ways to say "no comment"

Tuesday's best headline: "Mitch McConnell's extraordinary efforts to say nothing at all."

CNN's Ted Barrett reported that McConnell avoided giving "substantive answers to direct questions about the allegations made by Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the first current White House official to testify in the House impeachment inquiry about President Donald Trump's controversial call with the Ukrainian President... Notably, McConnell's non-responses came just a day after Trump implored congressional Republicans to spend more energy defending his actions on that call." Read on...

>> Per CNN's John King, McConnell has been telling Republicans to "hold your powder. Let's watch how this plays out in the House. Everybody lay back, and we'll get there when we get there..."

The sound of silence

Many key GOP senators have decided to remain silent about the Ukraine scandal and the ensuing inquiry. WaPo's Robert Costa and Philip Rucker captured this dynamic in a must-read story on Monday.

They said Republican senators "are lost and adrift... and anxious about the historic reckoning that probably awaits them." Senators are "dreading having to weigh their conscience against their political calculations." Readers need more reporting like this...

>> Sarah Ellison on "Reliable Sources" last Sunday: "The only way that you can report on silence is to keep asking the questions, and saying who is willing to answer... In a vacuum, all you can do is just pick up the phone and keep asking..."

Hannity's prediction

"I have never in my life witnessed such resolution and anger," Sean Hannity said Tuesday night, citing calls to his radio show and comments on social media. "I believe that if the Democrats do this and impeach him, and they can, and he's not going to get convicted in the Senate -- I believe that the people that voted for Trump in 2016 and probably many others are going to be willing to wait in line for a month" to vote for him in 2020...

WHY THIS MATTERS: Trump and millions of people hear this rhetoric on a nightly basis, and it shapes the political debate...

New + outrageous = newsworthy

This week's Trumpworld attacks against Vindman -- and his testimony, which is being described as "devastating" -- had me thinking back to what Ezra Klein said on "Reliable Sources" a couple of days ago. "The fundamental insight Donald Trump has always had about the media is that our definition of newsworthiness relies incredibly heavily on the idea of outrageousness," Klein said. "So it is like 'new' plus 'outrageous' equals 'newsworthy,' not just new... Like maybe plus 'important,' but definitely plus outrage equals newsworthy." He said Trump's "lynching" claim illustrated this point -- the outrageous use of language stirred a "meta-conversation." Something similar is happening now re: Vindman...

>> Klein's prediction: "As the impeachment inquiry escalates and the situation for Trump becomes more dangerous, more politically dangerous, he is going to act out in ever more outrageous ways as he attempts to turn the conversation back to him. Because what he gets, and has always gotten, is, it doesn't matter if the coverage is bad, it just matters if he controls it. Donald Trump would always rather control coverage that is negative towards him -- because media being negative towards him is actually his brand, it's not bad for his brand -- than lose control of the coverage, even if it in some ways is more positive."

>> Klein also predicted that Trumpworld's moves to "wrench back the narrative could become quite dangerous to the system. I expect that in their reaction to this, you're going to have more impeachable offenses emerge..."

Newsrooms mobilize for "extreme red flag warning"

"This may be a restless night for a lot of folks here in southern California," Lester Holt said while anchoring "NBC Nightly News" from L.A. "Strong Santa Ana winds blow in tonight, creating a critical fire risk."

>> An "EXTREME" red flag warning is in effect for most of L.A. and Ventura counties. Per CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen, "the National Weather Service in Los Angeles for the first time has added enhanced language to a red flag warning to highlight the danger..."

"Reporters on call around the clock"

The L.A. Times' fire coverage is available for free right now and for the foreseeable future. Shelby Grad, the LAT's deputy managing editor for California/Metro, told me "we have more than two dozen reporters and photographers on the story, including those who are on-scene at several locations in Southern and Northern California. There are reporters on call around the clock. There have been late nights and early mornings, as the overnight hours have been when some of the worst fire activity has happened. Some reporters have worked nearly full days without resting..."

--> Per Grad, "one of the most-read stories from the Getty Fire coverage has been Brittny Mejia's story about the housekeepers and gardeners who reported to work in Brentwood even as flames were encroaching on the mansions where they work..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- As fires continue to rage in California, "far too many news articles on the fires mention climate change fleetingly, or not at all," Jon Allsop says... (CJR)

-- CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index is out, spotlighting countries "where journalists are slain and their killers go free..." (CPJ)

WEDNESDAY PLANNER

Per NBC, Savannah Guthrie "will have an exclusive live interview with the parents of Kayla Mueller..."

Two more depositions of diplomats in DC...

Apple and Facebook earnings after the bell...

Game 7 of the World Series on Fox...

HBO Max launches in May

Frank Pallotta has the key details from Tuesday's WarnerMedia day for investors: "The service will launch in May 2020 at a price of $14.99 a month." For existing HBO subscribers, "the streaming service will be available at no extra charge."

-- "We're all in," John Stankey told press and investors. Streaming is the "next great opportunity" to grow audience...

-- Via Reuters: "WarnerMedia executives said they will introduce 88 original series in 2021, 38 from HBO and 50 under the category it called 'Max Originals...'"

-- New library content deals, including "Rick and Morty" and a $500 million deal for the "South Park" library...

-- Bob Greenblatt "said that HBO Max's library might be smaller than its competitors, but human curation will help consumers cut through the options, leading to a more personalized experience. A smaller catalog also filters out 'filler no one watches,' he said..."

-- "AT&T projects that HBO Max will have 75 to 90 million subscribers worldwide by 2025, with 50 million coming from the US..."

-- WarnerMedia also said it plans "in the future to provide subscribers with unique live, interactive and special event programming..."

-- And: "AT&T intends to expand HBO Max beyond the US, initially prioritizing Latin America and Europe where the company has ownership interest in or operates premium HBO networks, and has over-the-top services..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Philip Bump's latest: "Another new poll shows the extent of the overlap between Fox News and defenders of Trump..." (WaPo)

-- New polling from USA Today and Suffolk University: "Asked if the White House had an obligation to comply with subpoenas from the House committees demanding testimony and documents, 66 percent of those surveyed said yes and only 26 percent said no. Those who think the White House should comply with congressional subpoenas include 35 percent of Republicans..." (WaPo)

Trump defenders question patriot's patriotism

Oliver Darcy emails: Trump's defenders have over the previous 24 hours attempted to discredit Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman -- who earned the Purple Heart in Iraq -- by questioning his patriotism. To do this, they've suggested that because Vindman was born in Ukraine (Vindman migrated to the US when he was three), he perhaps is acting on a loyalty to the country.

Monday night on Fox, host Laura Ingraham questioned why a national security official was "advising Ukraine while working inside the White House." Her guest, the law professor John Yoo, added that "some people might call that espionage." Then on CNN's "New Day," contributor Sean Duffy said "it seems very clear" that Vindman was "incredibly concerned about Ukrainian defense." Duffy added, "I don't know about his concern [for] American policy."

Duffy called out by CNN anchors

Darcy continues: After Duffy made his comments on "New Day," co-host John Berman immediately -- and forcefully -- pushed back, calling it a "pretty stunning" comment. Brianna Keilar went further, calling it "anti-immigrant bigotry." And Jake Tapper noted that Duffy "smeared" Vindman "as having allegiance to Ukraine and not to the country Vindman literally fought and bled for."

I checked in with a CNN spokesperson and asked if management had discussed Duffy's comments with him. I also asked what CNN's explanation is for putting a contributor on-air who, according to a CNN anchor, advanced "anti-immigrant bigotry." I didn't get an answer on either of those. That said, I'm told Duffy will be on CNN later this week...

Flashback...

CNN boss Jeff Zucker defended his hiring of pro-Trump commentators when I interviewed him last week, specifically bringing up Duffy: "It's my belief that we should represent out there what those who support Donald Trump think... We need those voices and I think there's a place for them." He added: "I acknowledge there are people who disagree with me on that. I feel strongly that their point of view should be heard."

NYT throws cold water on right-wing report about its own reporting

Oliver Darcy emails: Jack Posobiec, the correspondent for the far-right network OANN recently lauded by Trump, falsely claimed on Tuesday that Vindman had "been advising the Ukrainian government, his home country, how to counter President Trump's foreign policy goals." His source, Posobiec claimed, was The New York Times. The tweet was widely circulated in right-wing media and took on a life of its own.

The problem? NYT reported no such thing. In a story, NYT's Michael Grynbaum and Davey Alba threw cold water on the claim: "Jack Posobiec...tweeted the falsehood that Mr. Vindman had been advising the Ukrainian government on how to counter Mr. Trump's foreign policy goals. Mr. Posobiec cited The New York Times as his source — in fact, The Times reported no such thing." Yikes!

>> If you're interested: What The Times DID report was that Ukrainian officials sought advice from Vindman on how to deal with Rudy Giuliani. That, of course, is not the same thing as was echoed by Posobiec and others on the far-right...

Rebellion at Deadspin

Kerry Flynn writes: Deadspin staffers revolted on Tuesday against their parent company. The rebellion involved filling its homepage with older stories not related to sports and publishing more, like this one about good dogs. Interim EIC Barry Petchesky tweeted that he was fired for "not sticking to sports."

The backstory...

Flynn continues: On Monday, G/O Media editorial director Paul Maidment sent a memo to staff telling them to write "only about sports and that which is relevant to sports in some way." This edict wasn't necessarily surprising. Former Deadspin EIC Megan Greenwell wrote about that mandate in a piece condemning management on her last day in August. On Monday, G/O Media also removed a Deadspin blog post, which appeared across the portfolio of sites, asking for feedback on the user experience including new autoplay videos...

Cuts and additions at NBC News Digital

NBC News Digital is shutting down NBC Left Field, "the digital video studio it launched in 2017," at the end of this year, Axios' Sara Fischer reported. Roughly a dozen staffers will be laid off.

NBC is also "discontinuing the MACH specific brand, which is the science and tech vertical that NBC launched in 2017, although it will add staffing and resources to its science, tech and climate coverage overall," Fischer wrote. NBC says the laid-off staffers can apply for new jobs that are being posted -- the news division "is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, an addition of roughly 70 jobs across multiple departments," focused on growing NBC News Now...

Layoffs at i24 News

Oliver Darcy emails: There were layoffs on Tuesday at i24 News, a news network owned by Altice Media, the company that acquired Cheddar earlier this year for $200 million. A spokesperson confirmed to me that some jobs were eliminated. But, the spokesperson repeatedly declined to say how many jobs were impacted, only characterizing it as a "small number..."

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST...

NowThis announces 2020 team

Kerry Flynn writes: NowThis is announcing its 2020 correspondents list on Wednesday. Political correspondents are Nico Pitney, Versha Sharma, Allan Piper and Zinhle Essamuah. Issue correspondents are Dan Lieberman, Lucy Biggers (climate and sustainability) and Melissa Fajardo (immigration).

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Ben Terris has a new profile of Michael and James Bennet... One interesting detail about James, the editor of the NYT op-ed pages: "Last month, members of James's staff were asked to fill out a job evaluation for him, which they believed had something to do with the fact" that NYT exec editor Dean Baquet "will be stepping down as executive editor in the next few years..." (WaPo)

-- Hadas Gold's newest: "How Murdoch's many Suns play to both sides of Brexit..." (CNN)

Remembering Lauren Alix Brown

S. Mitra Kalita writes: Lauren Alix Brown, director of special projects at Quartz, has died of cancer at age 37. Part of the original launch team, Lauren was key to the growth, creativity and digital innovation at the global economy site. I know, because I hired her. She basically taught me the internet, from sizing photos to engaging with the world on its terms. I love and miss her fiercely.

A Quartz staff memo on Tuesday detailed the "fight for underrepresented voices" as her strongest legacy and quotes her own writings about cancer: "I choose to believe in love in spite of what, at times, has felt like endless rejection and disappointment. I decide that this Tuesday will be the best Tuesday ever, even though the medicine I have to take to prevent a recurrence of cancer has prevented me from sleeping through the night for nearly six months now. I try to run every day because, regardless of the health benefits, or the calories burned, I know that I will feel better for just having done it."

How to write about Alzheimer's

This Sunday Boston Globe story was an absolute must-read: "As his Alzheimer's looms, Charles and Pam Ogletree take one last walk in love." And it remains No. 1 on the Globe's website two days later.

The Globe is out with a followup about how Jenna Russell reported and wrote the sensitive story with care and compassion. Russell says Pam "was reserved at first, but she made time for me, in a series of meetings spanning about six weeks this fall, first with her alone and later including Charles. As we established a foundation of trust, our conversations quickly became very deep and rewarding. Her honesty and directness were stunning. I found myself contemplating marriage and commitment in ways I never had before." I did too, while reading the story...

On local news and trust...

Knight Foundation and Gallup are out with a new report on the "State of Public Trust in Local News." It finds that "Americans mostly believe local news media are doing a good job performing many of their democratic roles and responsibilities." But: "Partisanship is becoming a powerful lens through which people evaluate not just national news organizations like CNN and Fox News, but also their local newspaper or TV station." Read Christine Schmidt's recap of the study for NiemanLab here...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- "One year after Megyn Kelly's abrupt ouster as host of the third hour of 'Today' over comments about Halloween and blackface, NBC's ratings in her old time slot still haven't recovered," Lindsey Ellefson reports. However, NBC says "the new hosts have outperformed 'Megyn Kelly Today...'" (TheWrap)

-- Ahiza Garcia reports: Samsung's first shot at a foldable phone is off to a bumpy start, but the company is working on another take on the concept: A mobile device with a "clamshell" form factor... (CNN)

-- The headline about Common Sense Media's newest report: "US teens use screens more than seven hours a day on average -- and that's not including school work..." (CNN)

B&C Hall of Fame inductees

Broadcasting & Cable mag held its annual Hall of Fame gala in NYC Tuesday night... The inductees were Kelly Ripa, Meredith Vieira, Susan Zirinsky, Michael Fiorile, Channing Dungey, David Nevins, Byron Allen, Greg Maffei, Mike O'Neill, Armando Nuñez, Bobby Friedman, Alan Elkin, and NBC's "Dateline."

Quoting from "Dateline" correspondent Dennis Murphy's speech to a packed crowd: "Our stories, for the most part aren't police procedurals with all the gory details. I became known around the shop, I suppose, for saying early on, 'It's not about the murder, it's about the marriage.' And those are the stories we tell week in and week out. Stories of people, their dreams, their disappointments, their loves, their losses."

Facebook won't let candidate for California governor run false ads

Donie O'Sullivan's latest: FB said Tuesday night it would not allow a San Francisco man, Adriel Hampton, to run false ads on its platform – despite the man registering as a candidate for governor of California. The man told CNN he is now considering legal action against the company. "They have made a policy specific to me and I am running for California governor to regulate Facebook," Hampton says...

EU's new warning to Big Tech

Hadas Gold emails: The EU is warning tech and internet companies to get their acts together on disinformation or face further regulations. The warning comes on the day the commission published the first-annual self-assessment from Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla on progress they've made over the past year in the fight against online disinformation. In addition to the reports on the number of accounts they've taken down, ad transparency efforts and the like, the most notable warning I found from the EU was that these companies are not doing enough in sharing their data with academic researchers. "While the efforts of online platforms and fact-checkers can reduce harmful virality through platforms' services, there is still an urgent need for online platforms to establish a meaningful cooperation with a wider range of trusted and independent organizations. Access to data provided so far still does not correspond to the needs of independent researcher," the EU commissioners said in a joint statement...

The men behind "Game of Thrones" are exiting Star Wars

Frank Pallotta reports: "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are exiting the Star Wars trilogy they were set to write and produce because it conflicts with a production deal with Netflix. "There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects," they said Monday night.

The next Star Wars film debuts in 2022. With Benioff and Weiss now stepping down, it's unclear who will helm it...

--> On Tuesday came this news: One "Thrones" prequel is dead, "but another one has been given the gift of life by HBO. 'House of the Dragon' is coming to the premium cable network..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

By Lisa Respers France:

-- Former wrestler-turned-actor John Cena announced a $500K donation to California fire first responders...

-- Instead of "Carpool Karaoke," James Corden did "Airpool Karaoke" with Kanye West...

-- Kourtney Kardashian clapped back over criticism of her son's hair...

-- The late Robert Evans' final tweet was as epic as he was...

-- A new season of "The Crown," films like "The Irishman" and holiday movies. That's just some of what's streaming on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in November...

Not much to "See"

Brian Lowry writes: Most of the media attention has not surprisingly focused on "The Morning Show" among Apple TV+'s new offerings, which -- despite its intriguing premise and star-studded cast -- has generated mixed reviews, including from yours truly. But I frankly found it better than most of the streaming service's freshman class, which includes a slightly anachronistic take on Emily Dickinson, and alternate-reality space drama and a fantasy about a future where everyone is blind, "See," that squanders "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa in a pretty ridiculous vehicle. Read on...

A key point about Apple TV+...

Bloomberg's Tara Lachapelle tweeted about the critical reception that Apple's slate is getting: "What about looking at it through the lens of an add-on feature to make you feel better about buying a costly tech product, such as a new iPad? Because maybe Apple really isn't trying to take on Netflix. Here's her related piece from September...

Thanks for reading! Email me your feedback here. See you tomorrow...