Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there, this is Oliver Darcy. Scroll down for what the Democratic candidates said about impeachment during the MSNBC/WaPo debate, the demand for Fox News from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's lawyer, details on the lawsuit against DHS for allegedly tracking journalists, Google's new ad policies and more. But first...

A day for the history books

Americans will wake up on Thursday to historic -- and powerful -- front pages from the nation's top newspapers. The New York Times banner headline will quote EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland saying, "WE FOLLOWED THE PRESIDENT'S ORDERS." That headline will be paired with stories noting that Sondland implicated top Trump officials in the Ukraine scheme.

The Washington Post's A1 banner will read, "Diplomat acknowledges 'quid pro quo.'" That headline will be accompanied by stories noting that the testimony left Trump allies "scrambling."

"This is a John Dean moment"

"Gordon D. Sondland had not even finished his testimony on Wednesday before it was being called the 'John Dean moment' of the President Trump impeachment drama," NYT's Peter Baker wrote for his piece slated to publish in print on A1 Thursday. "With the presidency on the line, a once-trusted lieutenant pointed the finger at Mr. Trump in a proceeding that could lead to Watergate-style charges of high crimes and misdemeanors."

Baker was right. Throughout the day, Sondland's testimony was compared to Dean's 1973 implication of President Richard Nixon. "Feels like John Dean in 1973," tweeted Princeton University historian and CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer. George Conway commented, "This is a John Dean Moment. It will live forever in American political history." And Fox's Judge Andrew Napolitano said the information provided "makes Gordon Sondland the John Dean of this testimony."

Toobin: Only question now is will GOP care?

Speaking on CNN, Jeffrey Toobin said, "I think you can divide the Trump presidency into two periods, before November 20th, 2019, and after, because now we know. I mean, now we know that every fantasy about how corrupt this administration was is actually true. That this was a corrupt enterprise from the very beginning."

Toobin distilled things down to one remaining question: "Now the only question is does anyone care? Do the Republicans care? Does it matter to them that this corrupt enterprise is now proved clearly."

...probably not

The answer to Toobin's question? Probably not. The headline on Max Boot's latest column for WaPo explains why: "Sondland was devastating. But Republicans don't care about the facts." Boot chronicled how Sondland's testimony dismantled the Republican narrative, piece by piece.

"In a sane world, Sondland's testimony would have ended the Trump presidency," Boot wrote. "But Republicans have made clear that their devotion to Trump is irrational and, like other religious faiths, not subject to rational refutation. Without an actual tape of Trump ordering a shakedown of Ukraine -- and maybe even with one -- Republicans will not be shaken in their cultlike devotion to the president."

In fact, Republicans are "winning' in the alternative universe they have constructed

Over at BuzzFeed, Ryan Broderick hit the nail on the head with this piece: "There Are Two Separate Impeachment Hearings Happening Right Now — And Republicans Are Winning Theirs." Broderick explained, "Nothing Republican Rep. Devin Nunes does during the hearings makes sense if you watch it in the moment. When it's posted on Facebook later, though, it works perfectly."

"Each round of GOP questioning is not meant to interrogate the witnesses, which today included Sondland, but instead to create moments that can be flipped into Fox News segments, shared as bite-size Facebook posts, or dropped into 4chan threads," Broderick wrote. He added, "These exchanges may seem irrelevant, but they create content for the pro-Trump information machine, which is running parallel to the hearings."

>> Related: Ben Collins wrote Wednesday, "As Sondland testified, a misleading Ukraine story spread among conservatives on social media..."

Reminder: This alt-universe is not bound by gravity

Former Republican-turned-independent Justin Amash noted Wednesday that Sondland "eviscerated the Trump/Republican narrative." Which is, of course, accurate. Sondland confirmed a quid pro quo, among many other things. But the thing about the alternative narrative promoted by Trump and his defenders is that new storylines are always being written -- and consistency is not a key feature. When one narrative is shot down, several others quickly pop up to take its place.

One subtle way Fox sidesteps news in its chyrons

If you pay attention to cable news chyrons, you'll have noticed something peculiar as you've watched the impeachment hearings. Networks like CNN and MSNBC will use the space to inform viewers of the substance of the hearings. Fox, on the other hand, tends to opt for general descriptions of what is happening when it is not-so-good for the President.

Take Wednesday's testimony for example. Instead of prominently telling viewers who might be casually glancing at the screen that Sondland had confirmed a quid pro quo, Fox's chyron for much of the morning read, "HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CMTE MEMBERS QUESTION AMBASSADOR SONDLAND IN PULBIC HEARING." This tactic was actually mocked by "The Daily Show" on Wednesday...

>> Of note: This isn't Fox's opinion hosts doing this. These chyrons are a product of the network's "straight news" division that execs like to boast about to advertisers...

Fox's opinion hosts are far more overt

No surprise here. I tuned into Fox's prime time shows to see what talkers like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham had to say. The answer? Nothing new. The hosts continued to deny reality (Ingraham actually claimed the fact-based truth was an alternative reality), and spin for the President. In the Fox world: The sun continued to shine on Trump.

>> Of note: On the damning news day, Trump promoted Fox's prime time talk shows on Twitter Wednesday evening, telling his followers to tune in...

BACK TO REALITY...

"Mountain of evidence tells different story"

Chris Cuomo summarized things neatly at the end of his show. Cuomo noted that Trump and his defenders want to tell a story contrary to fact-based reality, but as the chyron for the segment explained, a "mountain of evidence tells [a] different story." Cuomo closed telling viewers that the GOP "can deny the charges," but "their problem is they cannot disprove them."

NYT editorial board: Don't rush things

The NYT Editorial Board said Wednesday that it believed Sondland had "implicated the President and his top men." The editorial board said, "Americans shouldn't be distracted by Republican smoke bombs." And it noted "All the witnesses whose testimony has been damaging to Mr. Trump have given that testimony under oath. All of those who we are led to believe would exonerate the president have so far refused to testify."

BUT, the NYT editorial board also cautioned Congress not to move too quickly, and to avoid conducting a "truncated" inquiry. "It is essential for the House to conduct a thorough inquiry, including hearing testimony from critical players who have yet to appear. Right now, the House Intelligence Committee has not scheduled testimony from any witnesses after Thursday. That is a mistake. No matter is more urgent, but it should not be rushed — for the protection of the nation's security, and for the integrity of the presidency, and for the future of the Republic."

Democratic candidates weigh in at MSNBC / WaPo debate

"Gordon Sondland's bombshell testimony at the impeachment hearings on Wednesday overshadowed the Democratic debate, as candidates were immediately grilled on the question of removing President Donald Trump from office," Deadline's Ted Johnson wrote Wednesday night. Here's what some of the candidates said about Trump at the debate:

>> Elizabeth Warren questioned how Sondland got his job: "You know, this is not a man who had any qualifications except one. He wrote a check for a million dollars. And that tells us about what's happening in Washington, the corruption."

>> Joe Biden: "I would not direct" my Justice Department to probe Trump: "I don't think it's a good idea that we model ourselves after Trump and say, 'Lock him up.' Look, we have to bring this country together."

>> Bernie Sanders: Trump is "likely the most corrupt President in the modern history of America. But we cannot simply be consumed by Donald Trump. Because if we are, we are going to lose the election."

>> Amy Klobuchar: Evidence so far shows Trump "committed an impeachable offense."

>> Kamala Harris: "We have a criminal living in the White House."

>> Pete Buttigieg pointed to the Trump Foundation settlement: He's "confessed to illegally diverting charitable contributions that were supposed to go to veterans."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Speaking of the debate... The historic all-women moderating panel -- made up of Rachel Maddow, Andrew Mitchell, Ashley Parker, and Kirsten Welker -- was celebrated by viewers... (HuffPost)

-- Maddow credited the "professionalism of the women" who moderated: "You just don't push them around" (MSNBC)

-- Andy Lack dodged questions from Erik Wemple about an outside probe of NBC News: "I don't really have anything to say about it..." (WaPo)

-- Observation from Michael Grynbaum: "That #MeToo question came a day after 4 candidates signed a letter pressing NBC News on its handling of workplace harassment. The question went to a candidate who did not sign the letter..." (Twitter)

-- Trump hosted Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel at the White House for a dinner in October... (NBC News)

-- Joe Pompeo obtained a memo distributed to NYT department heads laying out new guidelines about when to use the word "racist..." (Vanity Fair)

-- ProPublica's Isaac Arnsdorf reports that Fox News host Pete Hegseth is working to defend a "lucrative loophole" which benefits for-profit colleges. When Arnsdorf called Hegseth, the Fox host replied, "I can't give interviews because I work for Fox News." He then hung up... (ProPublica)

THURSDAY PLANNER

-- Fiona Hill, Trump's former top Russia adviser, will testify alongside David Holmes, the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine...

-- Newsgeist continues in St. Petersburg, Florida...

-- CPJ will host its annual International Press Freedom Awards and benefit dinner in NYC...

FIRST LOOK

The New Republic's impeachment cover

This will stand out on the newsstand: Draft articles of impeachment on the cover of The New Republic.

Brian Stelter emails: Brianne Gorod and Elizabeth Wydra "set forth three articles of impeachment that detail how President Trump advanced his own political interest, obstructed justice, and personally received profits in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause," a rep for the mag says... It will be out on Thursday morning...

Lawyer for Lt. Col Vindman demands Fox retract "false and defamatory" segment

A lawyer representing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman sent a letter to Fox News on Wednesday asking the network for a retraction. The request centers around an October 28 segment on Laura Ingraham's show. During that segment, Ingraham seemed to suggest Vindman, a decorated military officer, was perhaps more loyal to Ukraine than the United States. Her guest, the law professor John Yoo, said, "Some people might call that espionage."

Vindman's attorney, David Pressman, characterized the segment in his letter as "false and defamatory" and "deeply flawed and erroneous," noting espionage is punishable by death. "Fox News has a grave responsibility to the truth," Pressman wrote. "The segment was not true. It has now been repeated by some of the most powerful people in the world. We ask you to retract the coverage, correct the record, and publish the truth."

Fox: Guest was "responsible for his own sentiments"

A spokesperson for Fox said in a short statement, "As a guest on Fox News, John Yoo was responsible for his own sentiments and he has subsequently done interviews to clarify what he meant." Yoo has, in fact, tried to clean up his comments. Yoo wrote an op-ed for USA Today that he meant to say Ukraine had engaged in "espionage." Yoo also appeared on CNN and said he did "regret the choice of words."

Homeland Security Department sued for allegedly tracking and interrogating journalists

"The Department of Homeland Security violated the First Amendment when it allegedly tracked and interrogated five journalists between 2018 and 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday," Priscilla Alvarez reported for CNN. "The lawsuit includes accounts by five freelance photojournalists, all of whom are US citizens and were stopped by Customs and Border Protection, an agency within DHS, while traveling to and from Mexico between November 2018 and January 2019."

FIRST LOOK

"The World in 2020"

The Economist's annual look-ahead issue hits newsstands on Friday... Check out the 20/20 imagery of "The World in 2020" cover:

Brian Stelter emails: This issue has twelve themes, including "It's judgment time," for Trump, Boris Johnson and others... Plus "Economies wrestle with negativity... China highlights positivity... Multiple missions head to Mars," and more. It'll be online on Thursday...

Reddit warns Trump supporters against "systematic harassment" of potential whistleblower

"Reddit has warned users of its forum for Trump supporters that 'systematic harassment' of the alleged potential whistleblower whose complaint kicked off the impeachment inquiry 'must stop immediately,'" Donie O'Sullivan reported for CNN Business. "The company cited in part its policy prohibiting 'inviting vigilantism.'"

Reddit staff warned users on "The Donald" subreddit that "posts that do nothing more than attempt to focus mob attention on this alleged individual cross a line." The staff added, "Please note that our rules about harassment and our prohibitions on inviting vigilantism still apply to any discussions speculating about the whistleblower's identity."

IN OTHER TECH NEWS...

Google's updated ad policy will still allow politicians to run false ads

"Google announced updates to its political ad policy on Wednesday, but made no apparent changes to how it will treat lies pushed by candidates," Donie O'Sullivan reported for CNN Business. "The most significant change is that it will restrict how political ads can be targeted on its platforms."

A Google spokesperson confirmed to Donie that the false ad Trump's campaign ran in October about Biden and Ukraine would still be permitted to run on Google's platforms. The reason? "In the policy update, Google focused on misleading ads related to voter suppression and election integrity, not claims targeting candidates," Donie wrote.

>> Meanwhile: Facebook launched new tools for advertisers on Wednesday allowing them to manage where their ads are displayed...

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- "Billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs will assume greater control of the legendary Atlantic magazine as it seeks a new president/CEO and longtime Atlantic Media chairman David Bradley prepares to step away from management duties..." (Politico)

-- Kerry Flynn notes: Thornton McEnery is leaving Dealbreaker to cover the "nitty gritty of Wall Street" for the New York Post... (Twitter)

-- Another item from Kerry: One Herald Guild, the union of El Nuevo Herald and Miami Herald, revealed the final tally (66-24) of their vote to unionize, after declaring their intention on Oct. 2... (Twitter)

Gannett's new leadership

Kerry Flynn writes: Following the closing of the Gannett-GateHouse merger, USA Today publisher Maribel Wadsworth has been named president of news. Here's the full list of the new exec team. At Wednesday's post-merger Q&A for staffers, Gannett Media CEO Paul Bascobert said "yes, there will be" layoffs. "I don't think if I told you anything other than that, you would believe me... It is hard. People are affected by it, but how we do it is what matters..."

Gannett Co. CEO Mike Reed also addressed the tension. "I'm not a private equity guy in here to cut newsroom jobs in order to make new money," he said. "You have to look at individual ownership and what their intentions are. We're owned by individual shareholders and not private equity. I don't view private equity as bad; I view owners with bad intentions as bad for our industry."

SPEAKING OF PRIVATE EQUITY...

Tribune staffers say Alden poses a "very real threat"

Another one from Kerry Flynn: The six newspaper unions of Tribune Publishing, representing hundreds of journalists, released a joint statement Wednesday in response to Alden Global Capital's emergence as the company's biggest shareholder.

"Alden is not a company that invests in newspapers so they succeed. They buy into newspaper businesses with the express purpose of harvesting out huge profits -- well above industry standards -- and slashing staff and burning resources," the unions said. "We know we are faced with the very real threat that Alden is looking to bleed its next chain of newspapers dry. This news about Alden does not deter us, however, in our continuing fight for our members and for the work we do in our communities." Alden did not respond to a request for comment...

>> Ken Doctor has a new column: "By selling to America's worst newspaper owners, Michael Ferro ushers the vultures into Tribune..."

Chicago Reader to pivot to non-profit

The Chicago Reader is the latest local outlet -- and the first free weekly -- to pursue non-profit status. As NiemanLab's Christine Schmidt explained, the alt-weekly will change ownership and operate "under the umbrella of the newly-founded Reader Institute for Community Journalism, set to launch in early 2020." This approach models that of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Schmidt says, owned by the non-profit Lenfest Institute.

>> Schmidt also points out: "Wikipedia offers a list of 150-plus remaining alt-weeklies, but the pace of the sector's decline has been brutal..."

NYT's "1619 Project" will become a series of books

As Stelter scooped last month, lots of publishing houses were wooing the NYT for a book based on "The 1619 Project." Now we know the winner is Random House. Christopher Jackson, the publisher of Random House's One World division, acquired world rights... And it's a multi-book deal...

"The core project will be a boldly expanded version of the special issue, including new and expanded essays, fiction, and poetry from a variety of noted contributors, and published by One World." There will also be a series of books for younger readers that includes "one young adult, one middle-grade, and two picture books." The team behind "The 1619 Project" will edit, including Nikole Hannah-Jones. NYT PR has details here...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- CNET's Ian Sherr reports on Amazon's plans to introduce its own game streaming service next year. Amazon said in a job posting "it plans to integrate its new initiative with Twitch and the company's other services..." (CNET)

-- Spotify will start streaming on Alexa-powered devices, along with Bose and Sonos smart speakers... (TechCrunch)

Hearst execs scrutinize union effort

Kerry Flynn emails: On November 11, Hearst employees announced their intention to unionize, setting off a massive effort across 24 media brands. Over the past week, the effort has faced resistance from management. The Cut's Sarah Jones wrote about intimidation tactics from execs, informed by leaked audio of a meeting last Thursday where Hearst President Troy Young said, "We don't think we need a union to evolve."

An anonymous Hearst employee told Jones, "They told me, verbatim, that if I didn't trust them, I didn't have to work there." NYPost's Keith Kelly reported Young and CCO Kate Lewis were upset other execs didn't know about the plan and instructed them to discourage employees from joining the effort.

>> WWD has the newest statement from the union's organizing committee...

Her Campus growth

Kerry Flynn writes: Two college media outlets, Her Campus Media and Spoon University, are joining forces. For the unfamiliar, Her Campus Media is a media and marketing company aimed at college women. The three cofounders had met as Harvard undergrads and decided to grow their student publication into a national network.

This year, Her Campus has been on an acquisition spree, acquiring College Fashionista in August and Lala (rebranded to Her20s) in May. With this latest acquisition, Her Campus Media now claims to reach more than 38 million monthly unique visitors and 126 million Instagram followers...

Anita Hill spearheading survey on sexual harassment in Hollywood

Katie Pellico writes: Led by Anita Hill, the Hollywood Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality is launching its "long-anticipated" survey of Hollywood industry workers. Deadline's David Robb reported Wednesday, "The commission says its goal in conducting this first-of-its-kind survey ... is to gather data that will be used to develop policies that encourage diversity and inclusion while preventing bias and harassment."

The Hollywood Commission issued a "call to action" for "everyone who has ever worked or sought work in entertainment to participate." The findings are scheduled to be released in early 2020. You can take the survey here...

"Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator" adds another twist to #MeToo movement

Brian Lowry writes: "Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator" is the latest in a series of #MeToo documentaries, this one looking at "hot yoga" mogul Bikram Choudhury, and allegations of sexual misconduct. But the Netflix film does an especially good job of highlighting the cult-like devotion that allowed that behavior to go unchecked, as well as the way the media and celebrity culture swallowed the myth surrounding Choudhury hook, line and sinker. Read on...

Takeaways from the Grammy noms

The Grammy nominees were announced Wednesday morning on CBS... Here's the complete list...

-- Lisa Respers France points out that new artists dominated the noms...

-- Michelle Obama picked up a nomination, Sandra Gonzalez notes...

-- And Nipsey Hussle scored 3 posthumous noms, Marianne Garvey notes...

Media coverage fuels "Mandalorian" enterprise

Brian Lowry writes: It's a function of the way media coverage works that we're seeing a host of "The Mandalorian" stories — including this one from CNN — referring to how "everyone" is talking about "baby Yoda," even though Disney+ is at this point in roughly 10 million homes, a relatively limited distribution base in the broader scheme of things.

But it does reinforce both how media coverage can fuel such an enterprise, as well as the fact that Disney's first live-action "Star Wars" series has knocked it out of the park in terms of bringing attention to the new streaming service, as well as, inevitably, the studio's merchandising apparatus.

>> Meanwhile: Kim Masters looks at where Lucasfilm -- and its chief Kathleen Kennedy -- goes after "The Rise of Skywalker" (opening a month from today), one that asks a whole lot of good questions, without any clear answers...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- Marianne Garvey emails: Celebrities like Amy Schumer and Whitney Cummings are giving out their "phone numbers" on social media. Here's what's really going on...

-- Via Lisa Respers France: Mandy Moore has announced her first concert tour in more than a decade...

SNL to end the year with Eddie and Lizzo

Frank Pallotta writes: "SNL" announced the hosts and musical guests for the final three shows of 2019, and its Christmas show could be must see TV. On December 7, it will be Jennifer Lopez and DaBaby, December 14 will be Scarlett Johansson and Niall Horan, and then on December 21, SNL goes all out with the return of Eddie Murphy and one of the most popular names in music, Lizzo. Happy holidays, indeed.

Thank you for reading! Send me an email with your feedback/tips, or connect with me on Twitter. I'll be back in for Brian tomorrow. See you then...