Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Here's the latest on Ronan Farrow and THR, Facebook and Trump, Tucker and Twitter, MSNBC and the Washington Post, "60 Minutes" and Quibi, Ellen and George W., the NYT and The Wing, and more…

"This means war"

Don't take it from me -- take it from Fox's Laura Ingraham -- she says Tuesday's letter from White House counsel Pat Cipollone to congressional Democrats is a declaration of war by Trump. "This means war," she said Tuesday night.

The NYT is framing it the same way: "White House Declares War on Impeachment Inquiry" is the top headline on NYTimes.com right now. And in Wednesday's paper, the headline says "VOWING DEFIANCE, WHITE HOUSE SAYS INQUIRY IS INVALID."

"Well here we are," Chris Hayes said at the start of his MSNBC show Tuesday night. "The White House is now openly defying Congress's power to investigate the president for high crimes and misdemeanors."

Don Lemon invoked "war" in the intro to his CNN show too, then said "the White House is in an epic battle with Congress..."

The strategy...

CNN.com has impeachment inquiry updates right here. A few headlines that tell the story: "White House prepares for impeachment battle to go to courts..." "Official said Trump's call was 'crazy' and 'frightening'..." "President referred officials to Giuliani to discuss Ukraine..."

Tuesday's letter fits right into what the AP described as "a high-stakes strategy to counter the impeachment threat to President Donald Trump: Stall. Obfuscate. Attack. Repeat."

Everyone should be willing to say this simple truth

In an interview for this Politico story, Jake Tapper told Michael Calderone that he doesn't think it should be controversial to say "using your political office to push foreign nations to dig up dirt on your political opponents" is empirically wrong. "This is a precedent that will destroy the concept of free and fair elections. It's not really picking any sort of bold moral stance to say that you can't have that. I don't know why so few people are willing to say it."

"Support for impeachment correlates to how much attention people pay to it"

A fascinating finding via WaPo's Philip Bump. He says Quinnipiac's pollsters "asked respondents how much attention they were paying to impeachment news. Among those who said they were paying a lot of attention, a majority supported Trump's impeachment and removal. Those paying less attention were less likely to say they supported impeachment..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Stephen Colbert: "A lot of people have been saying, up to this point… when's the constitutional crisis coming? Well mark your calendar, tattoo it on your forehead and flip off your boss, cuz it's here." (Twitter)

-- The Atlantic's Yoni Appelbaum says the W.H. letter "cements its stance that the president is above accountability." (Twitter)

-- Here's what Jimmy Carter said when Andrea Mitchell asked if he has "any advice for President Trump" re: the impeachment probe: "Tell the truth, I think for a change, and also to cut back on his Twitter feed." (NBC)

-- Important big-picture piece by Marshall Cohen: "Key allegations from the Ukraine whistleblower are true, despite what Trump says." (CNN)

-- CNN's Laura Coates, who filled in for Don Lemon on Fridays over the summer, anchored an 11 p.m. special report about the impeachment inquiry on Monday... And she's back on Tuesday...

WSJ's Wednesday editorial

A view from the establishment right: "Democrats are moving fast toward what looks like an inevitable vote to impeach President Trump, so why aren't they doing more to persuade Americans who don't already agree with them? They won't convince anyone else with their current method of irregular order, secret hearings and selective leaks to the pro-impeachment press."

>> Semi-related: This column for The Hill asks, "Why aren't Democrats weaponizing Fox News on impeachment?"

Facebook's "hands-off approach" to political ads

Last week CNN rejected an anti-Biden ad made by the Trump campaign because it "makes assertions that have been proven demonstrably false by various news outlets." Facebook, on the other hand, has allowed the ad to reach millions of viewers. "And on Tuesday," the NYT's Cecilia Kang reports, "the social network rejected a request from Mr. Biden's presidential campaign to take it down, foreshadowing a continuing fight over misinformation on the service during the 2020 election as well as the impeachment inquiry into President Trump."

And/but: It's not just Facebook: "The ad has also appeared on YouTube and Twitter," Kang writes. "A spokesman for Twitter said on Tuesday that the ad complied with its policies. A YouTube official likewise said the ad complied with its policies."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- MSNBC's Ari Melber on why the Trump admin is seemingly "worried that more witness testimony about facts could make it even worse" for Trump: "It suggests the evidence will hurt him. It suggests he fears the receipts will bury him..." (Twitter)

-- Dave Weigel on right-wing media's role in all this: "Something that's been popping out to me from congressional town halls in Trump areas is Democrats repeating basic facts about the probe and the critics in the audience yelling 'fake news' and 'hearsay.' Just a smooth, efficient pipeline of talking points..." (Twitter)

-- Jamelle Bouie's view: "Sometimes, the simplest answer is the correct one. Why are most Republicans silent in the face of the president's attempt to cheat his way to re-election? Perhaps it's because they don't think it's wrong — or because they don't care if it is." (NYT)

-- "Acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan on Tuesday called recent reports of customs agents harassing journalists returning to the country 'unacceptable.'" (The Hill)

More proof that people want and need impeachment explainers

I know I've been a broken record about this, but, the more backgrounders and 101's and briefings and recaps and explainers, the better. Here's another data point: The NYT's editorial director of newsletters Adam Pasick told me the response to the new Impeachment Briefing newsletter "has been hugely positive" -- it has "been one of the most-read pieces of Times journalism every day since we launched." The letter's open rates are on par with the NYT's well-established Morning Briefing, "and occasionally even higher..."

Impeachment pods

WNYC Studios is about to start a daily podcast show called "Impeachment." Brian Lehrer will be the host. And CNN has rebranded its daily politics podcast, "The Daily DC," as "Impeachment Watch." More to come, I bet...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Carl Hulse's latest is on Trump's pull back in Syria: "For once, Republicans break with Trump, but not on impeachment..." (NYT)

-- Don't miss this new story by CNN's Mallory Simon and Kate Bolduan, about a defector who "smuggled almost 55,000 photos out of Syria to show the world the atrocities of the Syrian regime." Bolduan: "He was sure the photos would be enough for the US to act. It didn't. He's trying again…" (CNN)

-- November's #DemDebate will be co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post... (NBC)

-- Bernie Sanders is sitting down with NBC's Harry Smith for his first interview following his heart attack... Excerpts will air on "NBC Nightly News..."

FIRST LOOK

Ronan on the cover of THR

Expect to hear a lot more about Ronan Farrow's "Catch & Kill" on Wednesday. The Hollywood Reporter's cover story, featuring Farrow's first interview about the book, will be online at 5 a.m. ET...

The cover says "Catch & Kill" reveals "new claims of a broken culture at NBC News" and "secret payouts over Matt Lauer's alleged misconduct..."

Hayes and Goldberg launch new Trump-skeptical outlet

Oliver Darcy emails: Stephen Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, and Toby Stock launched The Dispatch on Tuesday, a media organization "informed by conservative principles" that they say will provide "fact-based reporting and commentary on politics, policy and culture." The Dispatch will also put out newsletters and podcasts. Given the staff, it's safe to say the outlet will be skeptical of Trump. Staffers include David French, Andrew Egger, Rachael Larimore, Declan Garvey, and Valerie Smith.

The Dispatch will be available free of charge, according to the announcement, "for now." But, "early next year, we'll ask you to join our community as a paying member." There is already an option for people to become a "Founding Lifetime Member" for the rate of $1500...

>> Big Picture: The death of The Weekly Standard left a void in the conservative media ecosystem for publications critical of Trump. The Bulwark stepped in to fill that void, and now The Dispatch will add to it...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- Laura Wagner reports on an ESPN internal memo that "forbids discussion of Chinese politics when discussing Daryl Morey's tweet about Chinese politics..." (Deadspin)

-- An ESPN source told me that there was no big memo, but there were a few guidance emails sent to key staffers... The source says the guidance was essentially a reminder to cover this story through the sports lens, in line with what the network has been saying publicly for 18 months, that pure politics is not in our lane, but the INTERSECTION of politics and sports is...

-- "Chinese state-run television network CCTV said it was suspending the current broadcast arrangements for the NBA's preseason games in China. Tencent, which owns the digital streaming rights for NBA in China, said it would also 'temporarily suspend' the preseason broadcast arrangements..." (CNBC)

-- Erik Wemple's latest: "John Solomon foisted a bogus story on Fox News viewers. His punishment? A contract..." (WaPo)

SNEAK PEEK

NYT's partnership with The Wing

The NYT Parenting site is going to be hosting a series of live events in conjunction with The Wing... The first discussion will take place at The Wing's Flatiron space on October 17. "Other events will take place throughout The Wing's NYC locations on a monthly basis, with topics ranging from work-life balance to non-traditional parental arrangements," a spokeswoman tells me. The partnership will be formally announced on Wednesday...

Spinning off Starz?

Lions Gate "is considering splitting off its Starz premium-cable channel into a separate company, as the studio looks to reduce its hefty debt load and allow shareholders to invest directly in either of the businesses," the WSJ's Lillian Rizzo, Ben Mullin and Joe Flint scooped Tuesday evening.

They said the discussions "remain fluid" and involve a variety of options "including a sale, a spinoff or a special-purpose acquisition vehicle." More...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

-- NPR managing editor Sara Kehaulani Goo is joining Axios as executive editor... (BI)

-- Speaking of Axios, HBO has ordered two more seasons of "Axios on HBO..." (AP)

-- Here are this year's National Book Awards Finalists... (VF)

-- "The voices of WBAI-FM employees remained missing from the radio Tuesday — but they were heard in a court ruling." Here's the latest... (NYDN)

-- "TCG, a venture affiliate of The Chernin Group that invests in media, entertainment, and tech businesses, has doubled down on its investment in MeatEater, the hunting brand..." (Axios)

Power cutoffs in Northern California

"In an unprecedented move, Pacific Gas & Electric said it will shut off power to about 800,000 customers across Northern California in a desperate attempt to avoid wildfires caused by winds damaging power equipment," the LAT reports. One of the paper's reporters, Laura Nelson, tweeted: "I try really hard not to say stuff like this, but if 800,000 people lost power in New York, we'd be seeing blaring headlines on every cable channel..."

Is Twitter the worst?

"Rep. Devin Nunes' lawsuit against Twitter is moving forward in Virginia," the Fresno Bee reported Tuesday, "but expect more legal challenges to unfold before the California Republican gets a chance to make his case in a courtroom."

Tucker Carlson talked with Nunes on Tuesday night and celebrated the suit's progress. "It's hard to think of a company that's hurt this country more than Twitter. Maybe there are some. I can't think of one," Carlson said. "If you look at the hate and the division and the cruelty that's now common... It wasn't common ten years ago... Twitter is a huge part of that. And they made a small number of people really rich. They should be ashamed of themselves."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

-- "Twitter 'inadvertently' used phone numbers and email addresses its users provided for account security purposes to target ads," Donie O'Sullivan reports... (CNN)

-- YouTube "is stepping up its efforts to snag more political-ad dollars away from local television and Facebook..." Here's how... (WSJ)

-- "YouTube has surpassed Netflix as the preferred video streaming site for U.S. teens, according to a new survey from Piper Jaffray..." (TheWrap)

-- Tim Goodman says the Amazon Studios series based on the NYT's "Modern Love" column is a "little gem..." It starts streaming on October 18... (THR)

"60 Minutes" in 6 minutes on Quibi

Frank Pallotta writes: "60 Minutes" is the latest big name news brand to partner up with Quibi. A new CBS News show called "60 in 6" is coming the streaming service when it launches next year. Each episode of the weekly series will be six minutes in length, according to the network.

>> Joshua Benton's skepticism: "I'm, shall we say, not sure there's much of an audience for a once-a-week 6-minute version of 60 Minutes targeted at the youngs. But hey, take the money!"

FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN

-- "Michael Bloom, head of unscripted programming at TNT and TBS, is exiting his post for a production deal — though he'll still have ties to the company. Bloom's Bongo Pictures will have a first-look deal with WarnerMedia Entertainment..." (THR)

-- "After decades of stagnation," women film directors are seeing "major gains in Hollywood," Kate Aurthur reports... (Variety)

-- Rob Gronkowski is joining Fox Sports as an analyst... (USA Today)

Fun with ratings

Brian Lowry emails: Ratings have traditionally been confusing for most laypeople, but they're especially confounding now. So it was interesting to read Deadline's breakdown of "The Walking Dead" premiere, which plummeted by a third off last season's debut, to an all-time low. As bad as that sounds, though, it's not the whole story, since the show was available to AMC Premiere subscribers (paying $5 a month) for a week before its linear debut, as opposed to dropping one day early in 2018. How many people watched that way is unknown, but it's reflective of the extent to which networks are potentially undercutting their traditional platforms while offsetting those losses -- or at least seeking to -- via subscription services...

Fun with ratings, Part II

More from Lowry: Although premiere-week ratings for the major networks looked weak across the board, the picture improves with a week of delayed viewing. Based on those figures, the live-plus-seven-day averages for Fox and CBS among adults 18-49, the key sales demo, both rose 50%, while ABC and NBC gained by 75% and 67%, respectively. Not that advertisers should sleep a whole lot easier, given the likelihood that delayed viewers are zapping through ads...

Planned Parenthood's woman in Hollywood

Nora Caplan-Bricker's s tory for WaPo: "For nearly 50 years, it has been legal to have an abortion in America yet stubbornly taboo to show one on television or film. But both those things are now changing: Abortion could soon be outlawed in much of the country, and the impending loss of the right to end a pregnancy in real life seems to be fortifying a new freedom to do so on-screen." With Planned Parenthood's director of arts and entertainment engagement Caren Spruch's "help and encouragement, Hollywood is writing abortion into its story lines, including it as one more possible plot point..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART EIGHT

By Lisa Respers France:

-- Tyler Perry is a history making media mogul but he says "I'm ignored in Hollywood..."

-- Nick Jonas is joining "The Voice" as a coach for Season 18...

-- Hailey Baldwin Bieber showed off her stunning wedding gown on Instagram...

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST...

"Be kind to everyone"

Ellen DeGeneres talked on her show about hanging out with her friend George W. Bush. Lisa Respers France has the highlights here...

Ellen: "Just because I don't agree with someone on everything doesn't mean that I'm not going to be friends with them. When I say, 'be kind to one another,' I don't only mean the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone."

Bush's chef of staff Freddy Ford: "President and Mrs. Bush really enjoyed being with Ellen and Portia, and they appreciated Ellen's comments about respecting one another. They respect her."

Thanks for reading! Email me your feedback, or connect on Twitter. See you tomorrow...