| | | | | Photographing an assassination | | If you haven't read AP photographer Burhan Ozbilici's essay yet, click here. Ozbilici was in the room when Russia's ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was assassinated in Ankara on Monday. The above photo shows the gunman and the ambassador just before the shooting.
Ozbilici writes: "The gunshots, at least eight of them, were loud in the pristine art gallery. Pandemonium erupted. People screamed, hid behind columns and under tables and lay on the floor. I was afraid and confused, but found partial cover behind a wall and did my job: taking photographs."
This is what he says he was thinking: "I'm here. Even if I get hit and injured, or killed, I'm a journalist. I have to do my work. I could run away without making any photos. ... But I wouldn't have a proper answer if people later ask me: 'Why didn't you take pictures?'" | | | Video of the assassination | | | Ozbilici's photos show the "before" and "after" of the shooting. There was also a video of the actual gunfire -- disturbing but eminently newsworthy. Still, there's a case to be made that broadcasting a person's death is inappropriate. Ex-head of the ABC News foreign desk Jon Williams tweets: "Hard to believe some TV channels showing moment Ambassador #AndreyKarlov shot dead. He may be Russian, but still human & still has family..." | | | At least 48 journalists were killed on the job this year | | The Committee to Protect Journalists' annual report on reporter deaths is out. "Deaths in combat or crossfire ticked to their highest number since 2013 as conflicts in the Middle East dragged on," the group says. "At least 48 journalists were killed in relation to their work between January 1 and December 15, 2016. CPJ is investigating the deaths of at least 27 more journalists during the year to determine whether they were work-related." Details:
-- "Overall, Syria was the most deadly country for journalists for the fifth year in a row..."
-- "Photographer and camera operator were the most dangerous jobs..."
-- "The ravaging of journalistic communities by extremist groups in recent years could be one of several potential reasons for the decline in murders in 2016..."
Read the full report here... | | | "This is what it takes to be a journalist" | | | On Twitter, outgoing AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll recommended reading Ozbilici's essay, then the CPJ report. "This is what it takes to be a journalist," she tweeted. "Courage in the field. Not snark typed at a cozy desk." | | | Electoral College cements Trump's win | | | Most news coverage made it very clear that Monday's electoral college vote was merely a formality. (And sure enough, it was.) But Rush Limbaugh needs an enemy, so he made one up, claiming on the radio that the networks and the NYT reported "that many electors are rethinking their vote." Nope... | | | About Trump's off-the-record chat with the press corps... | | "Trump's off-the-record cocktail party with reporters draws criticism." There was a lot of this on Monday, partly due to the photo Mike Allen tweeted of Trump flashing a thumbs up sign while standing with his traveling press corps. Erik Wemple wrote about the critiques -- PEOTUS hasn't even held a press conference -- and defenses offered up by news outlets.
My two cents: There are lots of kinds of reporters in this world, some who are more like "insiders," some who are "outsiders," etc etc. Big newsrooms should have many kinds of reporters. For "insiders," off the record time with a presidential source is valuable. This was equally true with Bush and Obama.
I think the question for newsrooms is whether Trump is "different" in a way that necessitates different reporter-source dynamics.
If you believe what liberal columnists like Paul Krugman believe, that this is "how Republics end..."
If you believe what political scientists like Yascha Mounk believe, that "Trump may try to undermine liberal democracy in the United States..."
If you believe what Never Trump columnists like Jennifer Rubin believe, that Trump "lacks the moral core and appreciation for American values" that presidents should have...
If you believe what anti-Trump conservatives like David Frum believe, that Trump is "dangerous" to the rule of law...
If you believe what media critics like CJR's Kyle Pope believes, that Trump's war against the media is serious and a "new aggressiveness" is needed...
Then the answer is yes -- that normal newsroom attitudes and assumptions do not apply now. Cannot apply now.
If you think the answer is no, then enjoy the party.
And if you're not sure, well, you're not alone. Here's my prediction: This question about Trump is going to be a dividing line in the coming months/years... | | | Trump press conference watch: 145 days | | | His last press conference was on July 27, 145 days ago, when his general election campaign was just beginning. | | -- CNN's Ali Donaldson in the DC bureau emails: This "incredible investigative reporting by the Charleston Gazette-Mail" is "great proof of why local newspapers and local journalism still matter..." (Gazette-Mail)
-- Charlie Sykes signed off the Wisconsin airwaves on Monday after a "23-year run at WTMJ-AM..." (Wisconsin State Journal)
-- NYT political reporter Michael Barbaro is "moving to a new role on the outlet's audio team..." He will "develop an audio project to debut in early 2017..." (Politico)
-- Rupert Murdoch felt compelled to write a letter to the editor of The Guardian... Here's why... (Guardian) | | | How newsrooms can stop being so white | | CNNMoney's Tanzina Vega following up on Liz Spayd's Sunday NYT: "As an industry, we've made some progress, but not nearly enough to where newsrooms look like the diversity of the places we cover." Vega listed 10 things that can be done:
1. Stop reacting to your lack of diversity in fits and starts and make it a part of your core mission as an organization.
2. Diversity is not a trend, it's an imperative to make sure your coverage is better, more nuanced and more accurate.
3. Develop the people you already have by investing in them, giving them high profile projects and supporting them.
4. Stop thinking there is a certain number of people of color or women you need to hire and thinking you have "enough."
5. Stop telling people you are on a mission to be more diverse so that's why you are reaching out to them. Diverse talent should also be seen as qualified talent.
6. Groom diverse talent to be able to grow into senior management, editors and other leadership roles.
7. Newsroom diversity should be intersectional. Hire outside of obvious silos. A more holistic approach includes making sure your newsroom considers class, gender identity, race and geographic region in its hiring decisions.
8. Don't forget about class diversity.
9. Stop focusing so much on hiring "stars," the one coveted voice. Develop your own stars.
10. Pay attention to how you treat different staff members and confront your own internal biases. Implicit biases are pervasive in many organizations, not just media.
Please read the full column here... | | -- "In the long run, the internet will win," Jonah Peretti says in his year-end message to BuzzFeed staffers... In it, he discloses 65% revenue growth... (Read the full memo at Recode)
-- Ken Doctor is out with Newsonomics' "media year by the numbers, and a look toward 2017..." (NiemanLab)
-- Brian Steinberg has this review of the "Best and Worst Ads of 2016," focusing on commercials that looked like shows... (Variety)
-- And Esquire is out with its list of the best news bloopers of the year... (Esquire) | | | Cowboys still boosting NFL's ratings | | | Frank Pallotta emails: This week's "Sunday Night Football" match-up brought in 24.2 million viewers. So much for the NFL's ratings slump, right? Wait, oh, the incredibly popular 12-2 Cowboys were playing the Buccaneers. Okay, well, what about this stat? NBC says this is the first time since 2010 that "SNF" has "topped 24 million viewers for consecutive December games." One game is a fluke but two gam — Oh, the Cowboys played on "SNF" last week too? Well, I guess the NFL's shining stars continue to be the Boys of Dallas... | | | Fusion's new series on HBO | | Tom Kludt emails: Monday night marked the debut of "Outpost," a 10-episode series from Fusion that "lies in the intersection of investigative journalism and travel reporting." It'll be shown on HBO Latino and HBO Zone, with second airings on Fusion and Unimas.
Every story this season will be set in Latin America and will be told by guest correspondents. Fusion says the regional focus is part of "an effort to bring a more comprehensive look at a particular region as a whole, rather than just covering random stories of places all over the world meshed together with little relation to each other, as most travel shows do." A knock on "Vice" there?
I haven't seen "Outpost" yet, but Variety's Sonia Saraiya has. She calls it "an interesting tonal counterpoint to Vice's work on HBO," which she says "speaks to growing options for bringing information about the world to younger audiences..." | | | Jennifer Rubin's evolution | | Tom Kludt recently interviewed WashPost conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin, whose evolution in the past four years has been... something. Check out his profile here!
Brian Lowry adds this: "I enjoyed Tom's interview, which touches on what figures to be one of the most interesting sub-genre's of columnizing in the year ahead — conservatives who have been staunch critics of Donald Trump. Others worth reading include David Frum, Bret Stephens and Ross Douthat, who have all drawn the ire from Trump supporters in their condemnation of Trump as a candidate..." | | | How Vanity Fair sought to protect its... restaurant reviewer | | Many journalists have been singled out and harassed by people who call themselves Trump supporters, so Vanity Fair's Tina Nguyen was "worried I would be doxxed" when her scathing restaurant review of Trump Grill made national news last week. (Trump, it seemed, tweeted his dislike of VF shortly after Nguyen's review was published.)
So here's what VF did to help her. CJR's Pete Vernon is right that other news outlets should pay attention to this: When Trump tweeted, "the Vanity Fair public relations team quickly contacted Nguyen. 'They kept an eye out for anyone who tried to release my address or my phone number or even tried to call me through the Condé [Nast] switchboard,' she says. 'They were on top of their game, so big credit to them.'" | | | Brian Lowry's Best TV of 2016 list | | | Brian Lowry emails: Like a lot of TV critics, I cheated on my annual "best" list, incorporating almost two dozen projects, across various genres. But it felt important to provide what amounted to a sampling than a rigid list — recognizing some of TV's breadth over the course of the year, from late-night comedy to HBO movies to an assortment of new and continuing series. Read the list here... | | | All in the name of ratings? | | Chloe Melas emails: Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna held their fans in total suspense in the hours leading up to their E! baby special with a very public fight on social media. The couple, who recently welcomed a baby girl, Dream, were hurling horrible accusations at each other up on Instagram up until the premiere. Those have since been deleted and E! has picked up the show for another season. Could this all have been in the name of ratings? We wouldn't put that past a Kardashian...
Chloe and Lisa France have a complete explainer here... | | -- The U.S. box office "looks healthy," but it has "increasingly become a winner-take-all game." Here's an insightful end of the year look by Ryan Faughnder... (LATimes)
-- Lisa France asks: But will they keep the name though? Camila Cabello has exited the popular girl group Fifth Harmony, leaving the ladies a quartet... (CNN)
-- Chloe Melas reports: Alan Thicke was remembered by 300 family members and friends at a memorial Sunday night. His entire "Growing Pains" cast was in attendance, including Leonardo DiCaprio, who said a few words. Bill Maher and Bob Saget also spoke... (CNN) | | | If you missed Sunday's "Reliable Sources..." | | | -- "All we can do is tell the truth:" Jane Hall and Jeffrey Toobin talked about the Trump challenge during the A block...
-- Trump as the "Say Anything" president? This segment highlighted Trump's much-repeated misinformation about the murder rate...
-- Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy told me that "biased news" mattered more than "fake news" during the campaign... Mediaite's Ken Meyer summed up his comments here...
-- Richard Stengel, in his first 1-on-1 interview since leaving the State Department, described Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media efforts as "one of the weapons in the arsenal" of the government to "combat disinformation" from Russia... And he refuted concerns about VOA turning into "Trump TV..." Watch... | | | "Press freedom is your freedom" | | | My short essay at the end of the program: "Don't let government devalue and delegitimize journalism. Because press freedom is your freedom." | | | Facebook's warning label: "So far, so good" | | | PolitiFact is one of the initial partners for Facebook's "fake news" flags. While the test is in its "early days," editor Angie Drobnic Holan told me it's "so far, so good." On Sunday's show, she said: "One of the reports that we did and published, the web site that put out the fake news got back to us and said, 'Oh, we're sorry. We're taking our report down.'" I also asked Holan about criticism of her fact-checking... Watch here... | | | W.H. Correspondents Association wants to meet with Team Trump | | | White House Correspondents Association president Jeff Mason described a "wait-and-see approach" toward the incoming administration, not wanting to presuppose anything. But he also said that the association's requests to talk with Trump aides have been met by phone calls and emails, not in-person meetings. "We haven't had as much contact as we would like, but we are in talks with them and expect to have even more," he said... | | | My exit interview with Obama press secretary Josh Earnest will air on our Christmas show, but in this preview clip, he talked about the "spirit" of the briefing room, the importance of "holding people in power accountable for their actions," and the "symbolic accountability" of the daily briefings... Watch... | | | Hey, thanks for reading. What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. We'll be back tomorrow night... | |  | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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