| | | | | "Tuesday cannot come fast enough," Bill O'Reilly said on Friday night's "Factor." Every reporter I know seems to agree. The poor embeds are counting down the final hours. I understand why. But am I the only one who sorta wants this campaign to keep going for a few more weeks? I know, I know... That's probably the least popular thing I've ever written... | | | We're approaching Peak Anger (or are we?) | | This week Jorge Ramos celebrated his 30th anniversary as an anchor at Univision News. 30 years! That's a lot to be proud of. But for some reason, I suspect this gentleman doesn't know much about the anchorman's history.
This Trump supporter approached the press pen at Mike Pence's Friday evening rally to "express displeasure with Univision," according to CNN's Elizabeth Landers. "F*ck Jorge Ramos!" the man said. She snapped this photo, capturing a season's worth of anti-media sentiment at Trump/Pence events: | | | Trump still lying about the cameras at his rallies | | CNN's Sara Murray tweets: "Trump's back to heckling the press. Cause it's a day that ends in Y."
Trump at a huge rally in Hershey, PA on Friday night: "Look at the cameras, they don't move folks, they don't move... They don't wanna show it folks, they don't wanna show it."
BuzzFeed's Rosie Gray tweets: "Still not true!" "They" do show "it." As NBC's Katy Tur said earlier in the week, Trump knows full well that the pool camera stays fixed on him for good reasons, while other cameras capture the entire scene... | | | Obama's thought experiment | | President Obama on the stump in NC Friday night: "Imagine if in 2008 I had said anything of things that this man had said. Just imagine that. Imagine if I had behaved in the way this man behaves. Imagine what Republicans would have said. Imagine what the press would have said. But now we act like I guess this is normal. As if it's some parody. You can't tell the difference between Saturday Night Live and what's actually happening on the news."
-- POTUS has been watching TV: He also said he's been frustrated to see "the degree to which Hillary's reality diverges from what you see in the media, on the news, on the blogs and all that. Because this is somebody who has devoted her life to making this country better..." | | | Two-minute ads by Trump and Clinton | | Here's a bit of news I broke on "The Situation Room:" Donald Trump is running a two-minute-long TV ad all weekend long on local stations in nine battleground states. There's also a national ad buy. Trump senior communications advisor Jason Miller tells me the $$$ totals $4 million.
Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon says Clinton also has a two-minute ad in the works. (The air time was reserved on Thursday, BTW, before Trump's plan was announced.) The "closing argument" ad will air on Monday night during NBC's "The Voice" and CBS's "Kevin Can Wait..." | | | Clinton/DNC investing almost twice as much as Trump/RNC on TV ads | | In the TV ad wars, Trump is still being badly outspent by Clinton. According to Kantar Media/CMAG data, the Trump campaign has spent $91 million on TV ads during the general election, while the Clinton campaign has spent $245 million. This week, the spending gap between the two is still vast, but not quite as extreme: the Trump campaign and the RNC have bought $21 million in TV airtime while the Clinton campaign and DNC have bought $39 million. Thanks, CNN's Gregory Wallace, for sending along the data... | | | Special edition of "Reliable Sources" this Sunday | | | Here's our guest list. See you Sunday at 11am ET!
WashPost exec editor Marty Baron...
Chicago Sun-Times DC bureau chief Lynn Sweet...
The Atlantic's new EIC Jeffrey Goldberg...
NPR head of news Michael Oreskes...
WashPost national political correspondent Karen Tumulty...
"Keepin' it 1600" co-hosts Dan Pfeiffer and Jon Favreau...
Ari Berman, author of "Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America..."
The Baltimore Sun media critic David Zurawik...
and CNN's own Dylan Byers... | | | Bret Baier admits "mistake" | | Dylan Byers emails: On Friday morning Fox News anchor Bret Baier finally admitted it was a "mistake" for him to say that an "indictment" is "likely" in an ongoing FBI inquiry into the Clinton Foundation. On Wednesday, he passed along the claim from anonymous sources, provoking a massive reaction in conservative media circles. On Thursday, he walked it back, calling the comment "inartful."
On Friday: "That just wasn't inartful, it was a mistake and for that I'm sorry," Baier said.
Of course, the words "likely" "indictment" have taken on a life of their own by now -- and become a Trump talking point. Did Baier's apology get as much pick-up as his original "mistake"? Of course not. Read more... | | | "Sources?" No, a "single source" | | And what about Baier's related report that his "sources," plural, claimed with 99% confidence that Clinton's private email server had been hacked by "five foreign intelligence agencies?" WashPost's Paul Farhi writes: "Baier said he relied on a single anonymous source within the FBI for his report about an alleged hack of the server..."
-- The key point IMHO: Many Fox viewers WANT these claims to be true. These stories are wish fulfillment. What's the chant? "Lock her up, lock her up..."
-- Gabriel Sherman tweets: "Hearing a lot of anger from inside Fox News over Bret Baier's bogus FBI story..." | | | Obama said this, but Clinton could say the same thing | | | Obama to Bill Maher on "Real Time" Friday night: "Look, if I watched Fox News, I wouldn't vote for me either..." | | | Jury says Rolling Stone is liable | | CNNMoney's Julia Horowitz reports from the courthouse in Charlottesville:
A jury found Rolling Stone magazine liable for defamation on Friday over its discredited "Rape on Campus" story. The magazine's publisher Wenner Media and the reporter, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, were also found liable. Nicole Eramo, the UVA administrator who sued, is seeking $7.5 million... The jury will return Monday to consider damages...
-- Specifically: Erdely was found liable for defamation for two parts of the original story, and for interviews she gave about the piece on the radio, on a Slate podcast and to the WashPost...
--Remember: RS faces another lawsuit brought by Phi Kappa Psi for $25 million. That trial is scheduled to begin next year... | | | This is causing concern... | | More from Julia: The jury found that Wenner and Rolling Stone were liable for defamation for three parts of the story after they republished it several weeks later with an editor's note. The note acknowledged doubts about Jackie's account but did not change or remove any part of the original story. (Remember, RS didn't officially "retract" until April 2015.)
Media ethics/law prof Jane Kirtley says that the "republishing" conclusion is a concern... Because the magazine "was trying to make good and make up for original deficiencies in the article... Read more... | | -- "Nielsen is standing by its latest data suggesting sizable subscriber losses at many cable networks, some of which questioned the accuracy of the findings last week... (Variety)
-- Tronc chair Michael Ferro "says there's room for 'a different type of deal' with Gannett..." (SeekingAlpha)
-- Netflix will roll out on Comcast's X1 boxes next week... (CNNMoney)
-- And speaking of Netflix: the company is not participating in the TCA press tour this winter... (Variety)
-- TheWrap's Brian Flood profiles CNN's "resident insomniac political guru" John Berman... (TheWrap) | | | HBO cancels Bill Simmons' show | | Frank Pallotta reports: It's game over for "Any Given Wednesday." The weekly HBO talk show hosted by Bill Simmons has been canceled... After only five months on the network... He says "we loved making" it "but unfortunately it never resonated with audiences like we hoped. And that's on me..." Frank has more here...
Just how weak were the ratings? Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw says "Fewer than 100,000 people watched Simmons' show live last week..." | | | More to come from Simmons? | | | Simmons said he'll still work with HBO "on other ambitious programming ideas over these next several years -- both for the network and for digital." Peter Nelson, EVP of HBO Sports, issued this statement: "We are excited to bring his unique vision to bear on an array of new programming initiatives under the HBO Sports banner in 2017..." | | | "Police tape" staged by ABC News producer | | | Dylan Byers emails: ABC News pulled one of its producers from the field on Friday for staging a live shot at a crime scene in South Carolina. In the shot, which aired on "GMA," the reporter stands in front of yellow police tape with the words "SHERIFF'S LINE DO NOT CROSS"... But a photo obtained by CNNMoney shows that the police tape was actually tied to ABC News' own equipment just off-camera, and sources confirmed that the ABC News team had set up the tape. Read more... | | | Final countdown to Election Day | | | Kellyanne Conway tweeted a photo with Hope Hicks and Corey Lewandowski on Friday, captioned "#Teamwork." Critics of Lewandowski's commentator role on CNN -- and there are many -- said the photo encapsulated the network's "Corey problem." WashPost's Erik Wemple writes: "Now we know that officially and unequivocally, the Trump campaign regards a paid CNN commentator as part of the team." CNN declined to comment on Friday... -- Related: Variety's Sonia Saraiya poses this Q: "How Do We Hold Our Cable News Organizations Accountable?" | | A highly suspect story about Trump and Gloria Allred "trended" on Facebook on Friday — the latest example of the social network's struggle to weed out fake and misleading subject matter. I wrote about the unreliable sources that were involved...
-- Related: Craig Silverman's latest: "How A Completely False Claim About Hillary Clinton Ended Up All Over Facebook"
-- I'll be talking more about this issue on "New Day" Saturday morning... | | | A trip down Trump memory lane... | | | ICYMi on Thursday: I dug up my notes from June 2015... when Donald Trump was still learning how to campaign. I drove up to N.H. to see Trump in action at a house party two weeks after he entered the race. Every media theme of Trump's mind-bending campaign was foreshadowed that day! Here's what I mean... | | | THIRTY seasons of "The Simpsons" | | Frank Pallotta writes: Ay caramba! Thirty seasons of "The Simpsons." On Friday Fox renewed the series for an unprecedented 29th and 30th season. This means that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie will get to 669 episodes, becoming the largest number of episodes for any scripted television show, breaking the record held by "Gunsmoke," which aired 635 episodes. "Take that 'Gunsmoke!' You lost a race you didn't even know you were running!" a very animated Homer Simpson said in a statement.
Check out Pallotta's interview with Al Jean here... | | Big hopes for "Doctor Strange" | | Brian Lowry emails: Those looking for escapism before the election will likely gravitate toward "Doctor Strange," the latest rabbit Marvel has pulled out of a hat in terms of turning one of its second-tier characters into a huge asset, based on the early returns and positive reviews.
Read Brian's review here... | | Why "Strange" could overachieve | | | Frank Pallotta writes: The film, which has a $165 million budget and is opening in 3,882 theaters, made $9.4 million in Thursday night screenings and is projected to bring in anywhere from $70 million to $80 million at the domestic box office this weekend, according to box office analysts. Disney is being more conservative and putting its estimates closer to $65 million, but some analysts are confident and think the film could fly higher than initial projections. And "Strange" has plenty of reasons why it could overachieve. Read why here... | | Lowry reviews "Loving" and "Hacksaw Ridge" | | | More from Brian Lowry: There are also two fact-based films in the mix this weekend, though, where, in both cases, the underlying story is more compelling than the movie version. Give the edge to "Loving," a likely Oscar contender for its lead actors, made all the more remarkable when one realizes the anti-mescegenation laws featured weren't overturned until America's first biracial president was six years old. "Hacksaw Ridge," Mel Gibson's directorial comeback, warrants a less enthusiastic endorsement... | | -- Drew Barrymore discussed with Chloe Melas why she feels so passionately about everyone getting out to vote this Election Day...
-- More from Chloe: CMA responds to accusations that the association deleted Beyoncé's duet with the Dixie Chicks off their social media pages due to racist backlash from viewers. Check out the statement here...
-- Via Lisa France: Now's the chance for you to cast your vote -- for your favorite political movie... | | | 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.. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
Post a Comment