| | | | | Widespread criticism of Matt Lauer | | NBC won by partnering with the IAVA and getting both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to attend tonight's "Commander-in-Chief Forum." The candidates made a lot of news. But did the network ultimately lose by letting untruths go unchallenged?
I've been scouring the web for positive comments about Matt Lauer's moderating. But the comments are almost universally negative... | | | Missed opportunity for fact-checking | | Dylan Byers just filed this story about what happened. He emails:
Memo to NBC News chief Andy Lack: Don't send Matt Lauer to do Chuck Todd's job. Lauer's handling of the forum was widely panned by journalists and pundits. He was criticized for spending too much time on Clinton's emails; lobbing softball questions to Trump; and neglecting to fact-check the GOP nominee for falsely claiming to have opposed the Iraq War. Read more...
-- About the Iraq falsehood, Paul Krugman tweeted: "Seriously -- everyone, and I mean everyone, knew this would happen. And Matt Lauer didn't have a follow-up planned?"
-- Jonathan Chait: "Lauer's performance was not merely a failure, it was horrifying and shocking."
-- Matthew Yglesias: Trump "says it over and over again. And it's not true. People need to know that. And Lauer totally blew it." | | A PR pro emails: "Lauer's worst day on the air since Ann Curry tearfully signed off?"
On the other hand: Live TV is tough... especially tough when a presidential nominee trots out a lie. Lauer's approach led Trump to say shocking, headline-grabbing things about Putin, American generals, military sexual assault and other subjects... without turning Lauer into an adversary...
On the other, other hand: Journalists have to stand up for the truth. Lauer sat down. | | | NYT's Jonathan Martin wishes this question had been asked: "One last question, Mr. Trump, what's the difference between Sunnis and Shiites?" | | | Dylan and I will talk about all of this on "New Day" at 6:50am ET Thursday... | | | 6 new stories about Fox, Ailes and Trump: | | | The problem with the "key man clause" | | A C-suite newsletter reader called to make this point: The existence of "key man clauses" at Fox News is an "outrage for good corporate governance."
The contractual language allowed Greta Van Susteren to follow Roger Ailes out the door. Other Fox stars may still be contemplating similar moves. These clauses, basically saying "if the boss leaves, I can leave too," are not common at other TV networks. "It puts shareholders at risk," the caller asserted, by tying the hands of the parent company. "So why did the Murdochs allow this?" Either they didn't know, which is a problem, or they knew and deemed it OK, which is perplexing... | | | Just how much is Ailes helping Trump? | | Ailes has effectively been an informal advisor to Donald Trump ever since Trump launched his presidential campaign, but in recent weeks he's taken on a much more active role in debate preparation, Dylan Byers and Dana Bash report in this must-read story.
Just how involved IS Ailes? They answer: "In recent weeks, Ailes has become one of the most influential voices in the room as Trump prepares for his first head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton... Ailes has attended at least two of Trump's Sunday debate prep sessions in person, sources said, and talks with Trump by phone multiple times a week." Read more... | | | Ailes crafting "memorable one-liners" for Trump | | | Dylan and Dana write: "Ailes' main objective is to sharpen Trump's message. He is trying to help the candidate get his message out in a smart, cogent way while also maintaining his air of authenticity, one source familiar with the conversations said. He is also trying to help Trump come up with memorable one-liners that will stay in voters' minds, drive headlines, and perhaps even turn the tide in Trump's favor..." | | | Dylan emails this question: Why is 21st Century Fox allowing Ailes to advise Trump even as he serves as an advisor to Rupert Murdoch? The arrangement creates a glaring conflict of interest that threatens to taint Chris Wallace's role as the first-ever Fox News host to moderate a general election debate... | | | What Conway knows/doesn't know | | | A candid answer from Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway -- asked on "GMA" about whether Ailes is giving advice to Trump: "Well Mr. Trump -- I don't know, because Mr. Trump speaks to many people on the phone during the day when I'm not there. They've known each other probably thirty years." Conway also said she's "never seen Mr. Ailes" at Trump Tower... | | | More changes TK at Fox News | | Taking a step back from the daily headlines about Fox, one thing is clear: This is the most tumultuous time in the history of the network, which turns 20 next month.
Here's my story about the departures, settlements and rumors, noting that several Fox hosts and commentators have left in the past few weeks for various reasons: Anna Kooiman, because her family is moving to Australia; Maria Molina, moving to Michigan to pursue her Ph.D.; Kirsten Powers, joining CNN; Greta Van Susteren, TBD.
And that's not all. Read more here... | | | Keep scrolling for more on Ailes and Fox... | | | Trump ends the "blacklist" | | It feels like news from last week. But it happened this morning: At 9:30am I broke the news that the Trump campaign is ending the "blacklist" that should have never started in the first place.
Come tomorrow morning, outlets like The Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Politico will receive press credentials for Trump rallies. Trump gave me this cheeky statement about the restoration of credentials: "I figure they can't treat me any worse!"
Mike Pence, Kellyanne Conway, Hope Hicks, and Jason Miller, among others, had been lobbying behind the scenes for a loosening of the restrictions. But this was ultimately Trump's call... Finalized yesterday... | | | Politico editor Susan Glasser said she was "glad," but: "Access to a major party's presidential campaign events shouldn't be a favor to be granted or withheld." Huffington Post senior politics editor Sam Stein was "glad" too, but: "It is important to remember that this was an absurd policy to begin with and a dangerous precedent for any campaign to have set." | | Bloomberg this morning: "Snapchat is ending its daily local stories for cities feature..." Instead the company "will focus on so-called live moments -- videos of specific events, like Fourth of July celebrations and the Super Bowl..." This means "about 15 curators who worked on the local stories feature will lose their jobs..."
The Information this afternoon: Snapchat has been "talking to investment bankers about filing for an IPO towards the end of this year or early in 2017..." | | -- Apple introduced new iPhone models, an improved Apple Watch, and wireless ear buds today. Check out Heather Kelly's hands-on reviews... (CNNMoney)
-- William D. Cohan is writing a two-part series about Arianna Huffington and her departure from HuffPost. Part one is about "a capricious management style..." (Vanity Fair)
-- POTUS and FLOTUS are on the cover of October's Essence. And FLOTUS is on the cover of InStyle. "Both issues go on sale Sept. 16..." (WWD)
-- Poppy Harlow interviewed Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at a CNNMoney event in NYC this morning. Schultz previewed "a new series of original videos and stories called 'Upstanders...'" (CNNMoney)
-- Happy birthday, Leslie Jones! | | | John Malone taking the wheel | | We'll be hearing more about this: John Malone's Liberty Media has "acquired Formula One from a group led by CVC Capital Partners, which bought the majority stake in the racing organization in 2006. The total price paid will be $8.5 billion, $4.4 billion being the determined equity value of F1 and $4.1 billion in debt," Darren Rovell reports.
Chase Carey will be F1's new chairman. Bernie Ecclestone will remain CEO. "With American owners, one area of growth for the brand could be the US, which has never embraced F1," Rovell says...
-- Reminder via the WSJ: "For Mr. Malone, the Formula One deal adds to a flurry of recent deal-making..." | | | Romney wants Johnson at the debates | | | Mitt Romney has not endorsed Gary Johnson, but he is endorsing Johnson's attendance at the debates: "I hope voters get to see former GOP Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld on the debate stages this fall," Romney tweeted this afternoon. Johnson has to hit the 15% threshold in national polls by mid-September in order to be invited. He replied on Twitter, "We're working on it, @MittRomney. Thanks!" | | | How many people are really in the "echo chamber?" | | | A must read on the NYT's Upshot blog by Brendan Nyhan, tapping into research by Andy Guess: "The great majority of people learn about political news from mainstream, relatively centrist media sources, not ideological websites or cable channels. However, relatively small numbers of partisans, especially Republicans, are heavy consumers of a highly polarized media diet. This dynamic helps explain why there is so much concern about 'echo chambers,' even though most people don't confine themselves to one..." | | | How news is like... alcohol? | | | A key quote from Nyhan's piece: "In the absence of a major story like the Clinton email controversy, the news audience skews toward a relatively small group of people who engage in very heavy consumption (just like alcohol)..." | | | CNN's Kelly Wallace reports on a new study about how TV ads for alcohol affect kids: "Researchers concluded that the more exposure kids had to these alcohol ads, the greater the amount they consumed of those brands..." | | | No more "Roger Ailes Newsroom?" | | | Jackie Wattles reports: "Roger Ailes' departure from Fox News has roiled the network's newsroom, but it has also upset the newsroom at Ohio University. Students at Ailes' alma mater no longer want his name on their school newsroom." No word on what the university is planning on doing... | | Yes... but not the kind you're thinking. Special correspondent Jamie Stelter a/k/a my wife a/k/a the biggest Kelly Ripa fan emails this:
"Live with Kelly" is giving fans a chance to be co-host for a day. Submit a one minute video, get a chance to sit next to the Queen of Morning Talk? Sounds fun! Also a great stall tactic... fan favorite Anderson Cooper is busy preparing to moderate a presidential town hall and (my) second choice Fred Savage just moved to New York to shoot a Netflix show.
What better way to keep viewers interested than to literally get them involved? Wow. I think my husband's skepticism has officially worn off on me... [[Editor's note: !!!!]] | | -- Introducing The Alice Initiative: "Think of it as the Black List, but for up-and-coming women directors..." (THR)
-- Chloe Melas was at the NYC premiere of "Sully..." and today's Peggy Seigal luncheon for the movie... Check out her interviews here! (CNN)
-- Lisa France asks: What was Calvin Harris doing while the world was freaking out over the breakup of his ex, Taylor Swift, and her new man Tom Hiddleston? Apparently living his best life and hanging out with another ex, singer Ellie Goulding, who first introduced him to Swift... (CNN)
-- More from Lisa: Shia LaBeouf's Variety cover story is as far out as the actor. We learned a great deal, including that he has not one, but two Missy Elliott tattoos and is not a fan of working with Steven Spielberg... (CNN) | | | What do you like about today's newsletter -- and what do you think we should improve? Email your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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