| | | | | Eight different stories could be the lead tonight. New bombshells about Roger Ailes, revealing new Pew research, debate prep intel, an exclusive interview with Seth Meyers... So scroll down for all of that... Because this Facebook story is a doozy. | | | Facebook "vastly overestimated average viewing time" | | WSJ's Suzanne Vranica and Jack Marshall with the scoop: "Big ad buyers and marketers are upset with Facebook after learning the tech giant vastly overestimated average viewing time for video ads on its platform for two years." VASTLY overestimated viewing time.
The metric "for the average time users spent watching videos was artificially inflated because it was only factoring in video views of more than three seconds."
Facebook says this metric is "one of many." Still, the consequences are far-reaching -- for marketers, publishers and Facebook video makers. Read the full story here... | | WHY this matters: Because it adds to the nagging sense that we don't really know how digital video views are being counted...
-- WashPost head of video Micah Gelman: "How many TV nets are screaming right now about all the money agencies shifted to Facebook based on faulty data?"
-- The Wrap's ace reporter Oriana Schwindt: "Imagine Nielsen going 'Oops our bad we've been overestimating your minutes watched by 80%.' Rino Scanzoni would hurl a car into the building" | | | Definitive tick-tock of the Ailes scandal | | | "We are doing it differently this time." Those words, attributed to 21st Century Fox legal eagle Gerson Zweifach, stood out as I read Sarah Ellison's stunning tick-tock of the Roger Ailes scandal. The story, in November's Vanity Fair, is online now. It begins with Gretchen Carlson's July 6 lawsuit and ends with Ailes' July 21 resignation. The News Corp phone hacking debacle was a playbook for "what not to do." So Fox did do it differently this time -- bringing in the outside law firm, conducting the internal investigation, squeezing Ailes out, and eventually deprogramming his badge and disconnecting his phone and email. Read it here... Or, even better, buy VF... | | | How James and Lachlan Murdoch's "decision to investigate Ailes, rather than simply defend him, put the events of the next two weeks on an irreversible path..." Just how many women from Fox were interviewed by Paul, Weiss ("at least 24," including "some of the highest-profile personalities on Fox News")... Just how many lawyers and friends Ailes assembled to support him... How Beth Ailes led the charge... What a horrible bind Irena Briganti was in, torn between Ailes and Fox News... | | | Charles Harder won't confirm that he's working with Ailes | | | Charles Harder says he is "anything but the enemy of a free press." This THR profile by Eriq Gardner is well worth your time. Notably, "Harder won't say whether he has spoken to Donald Trump about the Melania case" against The Daily Mail, "nor will he even admit to representing" Roger Ailes. Remember, Harder sent an ominous letter to NYMag and Gabriel Sherman... | | I'm hitting send on this letter from Slate's 20th anniversary party at One World Observatory. "Age is the new youth," EIC Julia Turner quipped. There's a bulletin board with #SlatePitch submissions, including, "Trump is good for American politics" and "New York is a flyover city."
In attendance: Jacob Weisberg, Michael Kinsley, Nate Silver, Pamela Wasserstein, Ben Smith, Michael Hirschorn, Nick Denton, Donald Graham, Eliot Spitzer, Jim Bankoff, Jonah Peretti, Katie Van Syckle, Jonathan Alter, Adam Moss, Malcolm Gladwell, Gretchen Rubin, many more...
Conversation I wish I'd been in: Peretti, Bankoff and Denton reminiscing... | | | Friction between Fallon and Meyers? | | Is there a rift between NBC's 11:35 host Jimmy Fallon and 12:35 host Seth Meyers? Fallon fusses with Donald Trump's hair while Meyers calls Trump a racist and a liar, so it's a natural thing to wonder. The two shows could not be more different right now. But when I sat down with Meyers this week, he suggested that there are good reasons for the big differences. Some people want "escapism" from late night. Others want "hard takes on politics." NBC is supplying both...
-- When I mentioned Fallon and Matt Lauer's recent Trump interviews, Meyers said nothing critical about either of his colleagues, and pointed out that "an interviewer only controls half of the interaction." Read/watch more here... | | | Repeating himself about Trump | | Meyers hesitated when I asked if Trump is the best thing that's ever happened to late night TV. I thought he would say "yes" right away. "There's certainly days where it seems that way, but then there are also times where it's hard not to feel like you're being redundant," he answered.
We also talked about his IFC series "Documentary Now..." And the concept of "peak TV..." We'll run more of the interview on Sunday's "Reliable Sources..." | | Conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds, a/k/a Instapundit, was suspended from Twitter on Thursday morning after he tweeted "run them down," referring to protesters blocking a road in Charlotte.
His account was reinstated by midday, but in the evening USA Today suspended his twice-a-week column for one month. Here is his apology note... | | | Two must-reads about Trump | | Two very different but equally valuable reads via the WashPost:
Opinion writer Charles Lane says some of the people who blame the media for building up Trump are avoiding a more important issue: "Why do so many Americans support Trump despite months and months of negative, truthful coverage about him?" He argues that "Trump is benefiting from the political equivalent of jury nullification..."
Reporters Drew Harwell and Mary Jordan explore how Trump has "embraced" TV "like no presidential candidate in history." To tell you the truth, I wish I had written this story. "Trump's love of TV goes way back," and it's critical to understanding his success... | | The day's most interesting data: "Only a slim minority" of Americans think "the news media's coverage of Trump and Clinton is too tough, a view the public also held in previous general elections. In fact, more Americans say the media are too easy on Trump than said so of the Republican nominees in both 2012 and 2008. As for Clinton, views of whether she is being treated too easily tend to be more similar to recent election cycles." This is all according to Pew...
In other words: Most readers/viewers WANT assertive, pull-no-punches coverage of the candidates... | | | FBI "continuing to gather facts" about Pitt-Jolie incident | | Chloe Melas emails: Brad Pitt was involved in a "family incident" that occurred on his private plane last Wednesday. Also on board were his six children and Angelina Jolie. The following day Jolie separated from Brad. What we don't know: Is exactly what happened. What we do know: Is that Brad has spoken to authorities who are investigating the matter...
-- In a statement right before I hit "send," the FBI said: "In response to your inquiry regarding allegations within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; specifically, an aircraft carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI is continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued..." | | -- "A New York judge has rejected a media request" from the NYT and Gannett to unseal a Trump divorce file... (Politico)
-- "Univision is moving fast," Ben Mullin says: "Old Gawker Media stories are getting new life in Spanish..." (Poynter)
-- Adam Platt on how "the autocracy of the old print publications was obliterated" by restaurant blogs that "redefined dining forever..." (Grub Street)
-- Bloomberg's Rob Gifford on how he's crafting a newsletter for the "With All Due Respect" TV show team AND for an external audience. I have the same mindset for this letter... (Bloomberg)
-- "The Great British Bake Off" is crumbling, Ivana Kottasova reports... Get caught up on the drama here... (CNNMoney) | | | More Thursday night sightings | | -- Chris Cuomo interviewed Madeleine Albright at CNNPolitics' first NYC "Politics on Tap" event at Harding's. Spotted: Jim Murphy, Margaret Hoover, John Avlon, David Weigel, Chris Ariens, Emily Kuhn, Harry Houck, Rory Cooper...
-- Jenna Wortham, Wesley Morris, Andrea Frazzetta, and Leanne Sharpton all spoke at a special NYT MAG LIVE event at NeueHouse. Jake Silverstein, Kathy Ryan, Sam Dolnick, Bill Wasik, Andy Wright, Doug Latino, Amy Wang, Jordan Cohen worked the room... | | | Viacom "one step away from junk" | | | Want some good news about Viacom? Here's the only thing I could find: "Viacom, hobbled by more than $12 billion in debt and searching for a new CEO, is hanging onto its investment-grade credit rating at Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings even as some of its bonds trade like junk. While Moody's on Thursday cut the media company's ranking, it left it just one step away from junk," Bloomberg's Claire Boston reports... | | | What the Clinton campaign is saying | | | Brian Fallon to Greg Sargent: "Any assessment of Trump's performance should rise or fall on whether he continues to resort back to his long-debunked lies. These types of lies should be treated as disqualifying... That can't be ignored in the grading of his performance..." | | | What the Trump campaign is saying | | | Donald Trump to "Fox & Friends:" Lester Holt "has to be a moderator. I mean, you're debating somebody and if he/she makes a mistake or I make a mistake, we'll take each other on. But I certainly don't think you want Candy Crowley again... A lot of people are watching to see if he succumbs to that pressure..." | | | What the commission is saying | | | Find out on Sunday's "Reliable Sources" ;-) I'll be interviewing the CPD executive director Janet Brown live at Hofstra U... | | Fox News ad sales chief Paul Rittenberg is expecting a "multimillion-dollar revenue night" during the debate. He tells AdWeek that the network is charging "a substantial premium for the break just before the debate, and the most substantial premium for the break just after," he says.
More: Alissa Krinsky says "his bullish sentiments are echoed by cable and broadcast industry colleagues." CNN is "sold out" for the entire debate night... | | | Donahue's debate proposal | | Phil Donahue is still a proponent of the debate format he attempted back in 1992 -- when he arranged a roundtable with Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown. He introduced the two men and didn't say another word. Trump has talked about this idea recently -- "no moderator!" -- and here's why Donahue likes it: "What would they discuss? What issues would they ignore? Would they interrupt? Would they interrupt too much? Would they talk too much? Enough? I think we would see the real person in a less artificial situation."
Here's the rest of what he told Poppy Harlow... It's at the bottom of this transcript... | | | What it's like for two swing state newspapers | | | News and Doc Emmy winners | | Sandra Gonzalez reports: "PBS was a big winner at Wednesday night's News and Documentary Emmy Awards. With 14 wins, including one for Outstanding Long Form Investigative Journalism, PBS topped its closest competition by seven awards. CBS came in second, while ABC and CNN tied for third with four wins apiece." Read more...
-- "Frontline" FTW: It was the most decorated program with seven statues... | | | "Birth of a Nation" premiere in L.A. | | | Sandra Gonzalez emails: Wednesday night was the premiere of "Birth of a Nation" in Los Angeles. Topher Gauk-Roger asked Nate Parker if the attention being paid to his personal history would have an affect on his Oscar chances. He said his mind is on inspiring change, not winning awards. Our report is here... | | Via Lisa France:
-- JonBenet Ramsey's brother is not happy that a recent CBS docuseries about her murder fingered him as the likely killer. He has threatened to sue...
-- "Empire" season three came back with the death of a character which caused much mourning on social media...
-- And finally: "Harry Potter" fans can now discover their Patronus charm... | | Tell us what you think... | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. We appreciate every email. See you tomorrow! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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