| | | | | "Our moment of reckoning" | | In just one day, Donald Trump alleged a massive conspiracy between the Clinton campaign and the news media... One of the world's leading journalism advocacy groups called Trump an "unprecedented" threat to press freedom... The NYT dared Trump to sue the paper... Oh, and Trump cancelled on Sean Hannity!
Trump said "this is our moment of reckoning as a society," and he's right about that. Here's a look at what happened today: | | | "Getting downright scary" | | I think we need to start with what's happening to the Trump press corps. The reporters are routinely booed and criticized during Trump events, but "it seems to have gotten much more intense past couple days," BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins tweeted. Today was especially bad. At the West Palm Beach event, someone left a sign with a swastika and the word MEDIA on a media table. "It is, at times, getting downright scary," CNN's Jim Acosta said.
At Trump's final stop, in Cincinnati, WashPost's Jose A. DelReal tweeted that "the vitriol toward the media here is as bad as I've ever seen it. Boos and cursing and middle fingers as soon as traveling press walked in." Politico's Ben Schreckinger has a detailed account here, noting that "chants of 'CNN sucks' have become commonplace at Trump's rallies..." | | | Breitbart's takeover of the GOP | | Dylan Byers' latest must-read: Throughout the day, Trump railed against a conspiratorial plot by the Democrats, corporations and the mainstream media; renewed calls for the imprisonment of his political opponent; and portrayed himself as a populist hero battling a globalist elite... The worldview he espoused bore the clear mark of Steve Bannon and Breitbart News...
Breitbart EIC Alex Marlow told Dylan: "The core principles that drive Breitbart seem to be gaining popularity. There is a movement." And a source close to the site commented: "Regardless of what happens to Trump on November 8, this movement is not going away. This is the first inning." | | | Trump viewing the world through Breitbart's lens | | | One of Breitbart's conceits is that publishing is a form of warfare. This idea has been embraced by Trump. For the media, "it's a war," he said today. "And for them, nothing at all is out of bounds." | | Here's another example. Trump said Thursday afternoon that the accusers' stories were "thrown at me by the Clinton machine, and the NYT, and other media outlets as part of a concerted, coordinated and vicious attack. It's not a coincidence that these attacks come at the exact same moment..."
As I tried to point out to a Trump aide, there is no evidence of "coordination." But don't take it from me -- take it from Megyn Kelly, who was clear on her air tonight -- "There isn't evidence of collusion."
Yes, the stolen Podesta emails show isolated examples of journalists "behaving badly." Some of the examples trouble me. But contrary to Trump's claims, the examples are not widespread or systemic... | | | What a cable TV moment: Back to back speeches | | Because Trump's noon speech in FL didn't start on time, Michelle Obama's speech aired first on CNN and MSNBC. (Fox skipped most of Obama.) Trump's speech started a few minutes after Obama's ended -- setting up an extraordinary contrast. "Two speeches. Two Americas. A pair of apocalyptic arguments and one call to burn down," WashPost's Dan Balz wrote.
Trump's speech really was paranoid and dangerous, as I said on CNN afterward. CNNPolitics turned the two speeches into a split screen...
-- More: MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on "The 11th Hour" just now: "She is speaking truth in a climate where everyone is sort of afraid to say what they're actually seeing. And she is almost narrating the crisis of our political times." | | Big Q's: Will Trump give an interview? Will he hold a press conference? Will he show up at next week's debate? (I'm guessing no; no; and yes.) On Thursday morning, Trump canceled on his friend Sean Hannity. Politico's Blake Hounshell reacted: "Is there no safe space?" Well, we'll see. Fox says the interview will be rescheduled...
-- On Thursday night Hannity went ahead with his interview of the four Clinton accusers who appeared with Trump at a pre-debate photo op on Sunday...
-- Sopan Deb reminds us: "It's been 78 days since Trump last held a presser..." | | | As I reported here, some TV newscasts had a tough time booking Trump reps to talk about the groping allegations. But Mike Pence is making the rounds on Friday -- doing "CBS This Morning," "Fox & Friends" and possibly other shows... | | | Trump aiming at Carlos Slim | | WSJ's Monica Langley reports in Friday's paper: "Trump will broaden his attack against the media to hit globalism and the Clinton Foundation by charging that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim," a big NYT shareholder, "is part of a biased coalition working in collusion with the Clinton campaign and its supporters to generate news reports of decades-old allegations from several women..."
-- Slim's spokesman responds to the charge: "This is totally false..." | | | That's right -- despite Wednesday night's threats and Trump's own claim that his lawyers are "preparing" a suit against the NYT, nothing has been filed... NYT confirms no updates late Thursday... | | | NYT says "go ahead, sue us" | | Earlier in the day, NYT general counsel David McCraw sent an extraordinary letter to Trump's lawyer Marc E. Kasowitz. First McCraw said the NYT isn't retracting its story about two women accusing Trump of inappropriate touching. Then he said "it would have been a disservice not just to our readers but to democracy itself to silence their voices." And if Trump disagrees, "we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight." Read the letter for yourself here...
There was applause for McCraw when he walked through the newsroom Thursday afternoon, Dylan Byers reports... | | | People editor calls victim shaming "disgusting" | | | One day after People published a firsthand account of Trump assaulting a writer, People EIC Jess Cagle issued this statement: "We are grateful to Natasha Stoynoff for telling her story... She has shared her story of being physically attacked by Donald Trump in 2005 because she felt it was her duty to make the public aware. To assign any other motive is a disgusting, pathetic attempt to victimize her again..." | | | Melania wants a retraction | | | Dylan Byers writes: On Thursday night Melania Trump called on People magazine to retract a portion of its story... But not the part about the alleged assault... The letter only took issue with the part of the story in which Stoynoff says she ran into Melania on 5th Avenue outside of Trump Tower. Read more... | | | "The journalists out there with a history of sexual harassment/assault should probably be keeping a lower profile in this discussion. 😠" | | | Anderson Cooper interviews Jessica Leeds | | | When Trump accuser Jessica Leeds wrote an email to the NYT, a reporter "called me back almost instantaneously," Leeds told Anderson Cooper in an interview on Thursday. She says she has been "amazed" by the reactions to her account. (And she's avoiding the hate mail, not looking at emails from senders she doesn't recognize.) Here's CNN's full story about the riveting interview... | | | CNNMoney's Jill Disis reports: Fox Biz host Lou Dobbs apologized Thursday for tweeting Leeds' phone number and address. Read more... | | | Committee to Protect Journalists speaks out | | The Committee to Protect Journalists issued an unprecedented statement on Thursday: "Donald Trump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values." He "represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history."
Key point: American is viewed around the world as a model for free expression and journalistic freedom. A Trump presidency could erode those rights and have consequences for journalists in other countries. Here's my full story... | | | Take care of yourselves, everybody. The nation's anxiety levels are sky high... | | -- A big welcome to WSJ all-star turned CNN aviation editor, Jon Ostrower, whose first day at CNN was Thursday. He's filing his first scoop right now...
-- "It's not your father's CNN." Check out David Uberti's piece about the company's digital business strategy... (CJR)
-- "Google announced today that it will flag fact-checking articles in Google News..." (Poynter)
-- Sandra Gonzalez reports: "CBS is expanding its casting efforts in hopes of adding more diversity to its ranks." Details here... (CNNMoney)
-- The NYT profiles Boris Epshteyn, "the obscure lawyer who became Trump's TV attack dog..." (NYT)
-- Big plug for Megyn Kelly's "Settle for More" book at the end of "The Kelly File" Thursday night... | | | THR's Matthew Belloni scoops: "Billy Bush's exit from NBC News isn't going to be as amicable as many thought it would be." Bush "has hired a prominent L.A. litigator to help work out his separation from the network. And that lawyer is now going on the attack. Marshall Grossman, one of Los Angeles' fiercest and most well-respected attorneys, has joined Bush's team, suggesting the anchor is ready to litigate against NBC if the network can't reach a deal with its former rising star." Read more... | | | "If Billy had been passive..." | | | Grossman's defense of Bush's role on the #TrumpTape: "If Billy had been passive or responded 'Shut the f— up' to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day..." | | | It's not just one thing hurting the NFL's ratings -- it's everything | | Frank Pallotta reports: Just a year ago, media reporters (including yours truly) were writing that there was no ceiling on the NFL's ratings… Well, don't we look like idiots. NFL ratings are now down 12% across the board and everyone is trying to find the one reason why. And that's the problem. It isn't one reason, it's a perfect storm of many.
The most glaring problem facing the NFL so far this season is the 2016 election -- as shown by the debates eating up some of the NFL's audience. But a dearth of good games and players and the NFL's own success is to blame as well. This is an important story for the entire media business. Networks have shelled out billions for NFL broadcasting rights and TV's future is in many ways tied to America's most popular sport. So will it rebound? I think so, but there's a lot of season left to play.
Frank's piece is a must-read... Check it out here... | | | A big deal for Ken Lerer and David Zaslav: "Discovery Communications is putting $100 million into a deal with Group Nine Media, a new holding company that combines some Discovery assets with Thrillist Media Group, The Dodo and NowThis Media," Recode's Peter Kafka reports. "The deal gives Discovery 35% of Group Nine, with the option to buy a controlling stake in two years. People familiar with the deal say it values the combined company, including Discovery's cash, at around $550 million. Thrillist, Dodo and NowThis are all run by or backed by members of the Lerer family..." | | | 25 days till Election Day | | | | What O'Reilly's audience thinks | | This week Bill O'Reilly's web site asked his fans: "If the presidential election were held this week, who would win?" On Thursday night he showed the results
TRUMP: 86%
CLINTON: 14%
The graphic included a disclosure on the bottom of the screen: "NOT A SCIENTIFIC POLL." Not scientific, but definitely revealing... | | | Futurist Amy Webb tweets: "This is a hell of a year to be without Jon Stewart on air." | | | Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | | We're convening a roundtable of Trump biographers... And talking about the coverage of the stolen emails posted by Wikileaks... Set your DVR for Sunday at 11am ET! | | | The galaxy far, far away is getting closer and closer | | | Frank Pallotta emails: Here's some counter programming for all you "Star Wars" fans out there burnt out by the election: Disney released the final trailer for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" via "GMA" on Thursday, giving viewers another glimpse of the film before it hits theaters in December. It's pretty cool and includes Darth Vader, so put it on for 2 minutes and enjoy some much-needed escapism! | | -- "After an eight-year absence," Chris Rock "has signed a massive pact with Netflix for two stand-up specials... Sources say Rock has secured a whopping $40 million for the specials, which sets a new high mark for a stand-up comic..." (THR)
-- Don't miss Lisa France's latest: "Atlanta." "Queen Sugar." "Insecure." "Luke Cage." Welcome to the golden age of black TV... (CNN)
-- More from Lisa: Take heart "Stranger Things" fans: the show's creators have seen your theories, and they like 'em... (CNN) | | 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... And we'll be back tomorrow night... | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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