| | | | Televising the biggest day of Donald J. Trump's life | | Friday is about imagery. The church service. The ride to the Capitol. The processional. The swearing-in. The former president departing via helicopter. The new president walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. The inaugural speech matters, of course, but I'd argue the imagery matters even more. Television networks transmit the peaceful, orderly transfer of power to viewers all around the world.
I asked CNN DC bureau chief Sam Feist: Just how many cameras are scattered across DC? He estimated that CNN has well over 100 cameras in place for inauguration coverage, between all the network "pools" and additional CNN "unilateral" cameras for anchors and reporters.
NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News split up "pool" responsibilities: NBC operates dozens of cameras around Capitol Hill, CBS handles the parade route, and so on... | | "A lot of it is going to look very familiar" | | | Almost everything about Trump's campaign and transition has been unorthodox, but the inaugural ceremony will be... rather... normal. Trump "has shown a respect for the choreography" of Inauguration Day, CBS DC bureau chief Christopher Isham told me. "A lot of it is going to look very familiar," said ABC special events producer Marc Burstein, who prepared for Friday by re-watching the 2001 and 2009 inaugurations... | | | "In some ways it's more complicated than an election night," Feist said, because there are so many locations to cover throughout the city. "The center of gravity moves with the president," he said, starting at Blair House, where Trump will wake up. So Friday will entail "anchor hopscotch," he said, with CNN anchor locations on the National Mall; at the Capitol; on Constitution Ave; at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House; along the parade route at Freedom Plaza; and at two of the three inaugural balls. Here's my full story... | | The first image: Trump flying out of NYC | | | A few minutes before we spoke by phone, Feist watched in his office as Trump boarded a United States Air Force plane en route to DC. The take-off was carried live on all the cablers. "That's the first image that begins the process of him becoming president," Feist said... | | The speech: "Unity" or "us versus them?" | | Now to the speech. On Thursday night Kellyanne Conway said Trump has finished writing.
NYT TV critic James Poniewozik tweets: "Today I watched every Inaugural speech since JFK. One common theme is reaching out/unity after campaign. Will Trump do that? Conciliation, even lip service, would be good p.r. But this all has a rally-like feel & for much of base, us/them rhetoric was the point..." | | Every four years, a new beginning | | | Forgive me if this is too personal, but inaugurations mean a lot to me because of my dad. We grew up in suburban Maryland. I begged dad to take me to D.C. in 2001 for George W. Bush's pre-inauguration concert and the swearing-in ceremony. He did, and it was astonishing. Dad died a couple of weeks later, so I really cherish the inauguration memories. Inaugurations are a rebirth for America -- a new beginning -- because of my dad I always think about how inspiring these days are for young Americans... | | 6: Security gates open on the Mall.
8:30: Trump, Pence, families, and friends attend church.
9:40: The Trumps arrive at the White House.
9:45: The Obamas and the Trumps have tea. No photos.
10:30: Motorcade departs for the U.S. Capitol.
11ish: Swearing-in ceremony begins.
12ish: Trump delivers his inaugural address.
12:45: The Obamas depart the Capitol for Andrews AFB.
1: Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee luncheon.
1:10: Obama gives remarks at a farewell event at Andrews.
1:40: The Obamas fly to California.
3ish: Parade begins.
7: Inaugural balls. | | Politics on pause -- until Friday afternoon | | David Gergen on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront:"
"The day will open as ritual. One of the most important civic rituals we have. I think all of us will show a great deal of respect. Power is passing to Donald Trump. He won it, and he's our president, and we need our presidents to succeed. I think that after the parade ends, and he goes inside, and he gets his team together and starts signing orders, that's when political controversy is going to break out." | | Sub-theme of the day: Democratic resistance | | | On Fox's "Special Report," Charles Krauthammer referenced the Democratic complaints about Republicans who sought to make Obama a one-term president. "Well," he said, "you've got Democrats in the House and the Senate who have essentially declared they want to make Trump a no-term president. It's not going to work..." | | Fox's approval rating poll | | Earlier this week I wrote about how Trump is already casting doubt on his approval rating polls. On Thursday evening Fox News became the fifth and final major network to issue a pre-inauguration poll. It showed that Trump has 37% approval and 54% disapproval. So here's how the various polls stack up:
CBS News: 32%
Fox News: 37%
CNN/ORC: 40%
WashPost/ABC: 40%
WSJ/NBC: 44% | | Chloe Melas dispatch from D.C. | | Trump forgot about all the past Lincoln Memorial concerts? | | ABC's Terry Moran tweets: "Trump says no POTUS ever had inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. But GWB, Obama both did. Why make a claim so easily disproved?"
Later in the evening, Trump told donors, "They never had so many people" at the concert site. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow fact-checked this on her 9pm show, saying Obama's 2009 concert had an estimated 400,000 attendees, and "nothing like 400,000 people turned out today…" | | | At the aforementioned dinner for donors, Trump reminisced about the election, mentioning TV coverage from CNN and other networks. He deviated to praise Fox News: "Fox has treated us very well, I have to say. Very well. Very well. Very well. And when I say well, I mean FAIRLY."
A few minutes later, he said "a couple" of the networks are "starting to get honest." Then he called Conway up to the stage. "There is no den she will not go into," he said, meaning TV studios. "Then she gets on and she just destroys them..."
-- Afterward on "CNN Tonight," David Gergen called Trump's dinner remarks "unhinged..." Douglas Brinkley: "He can't help himself..." | | 360-degree view of the inauguration | | CNN VR guru Jason Farkas emails: "The first ever pool feed of a 360 cam is going out tomorrow at the inauguration. CNN will be showcasing it on our desktop, android app, and Google Daydream headset..."
C-SPAN exec Howard Mortman emails: "The 2017 inauguration is an amazing blend of old and new for us -- matching our nine elections of experience with new technologies like VR..." | | Rain is expected in DC on Friday morning... Temps in the mid-40s... There's a roughly 50% chance of rainfall at the time Trump is speaking. The rain will taper off by the evening.
While this won't affect the coverage, "it will dampen, no pun intended, the size of the crowds," ABC's Marc Burstein said... | | O'Reilly's advice for Trump | | Bill O'Reilly's message on the "Factor:" "There are powerful forces in America committed to destroying him, and the national media is a big part of that. So talking points believes that tomorrow President Trump should not only say what his vision for America is, but why he feel his policies will help the folks. The only way to overcome the hatred arrayed against him is to communicate directly to the people."
That's why O'Reilly said he has changed his mind about Twitter -- he's no longer against Trump's prolific tweeting -- "it's a necessity, because he can expect to be attacked everyday."
>> What will Trump tweet on Friday? I don't mean what his aides will post on his behalf, I mean what the man himself will post...
>> BTW: The NYT says "he has traded in his Android phone for a secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service..." | | "The press is now the new enemy." | | | Chris Hayes' short, important sentence on MSNBC's "All In" Thursday night... | | Jeff Greenfield tweets: "The wrenching irony that the reporter who dug longest and deepest into Trump dies on Inauguration Eve."
"Wayne Barrett, a New York City muckraker who burnished his credentials with unsparing reporting on Donald Trump, died Thursday. He was 71," Tom Kludt writes. "Throughout a career that spanned four decades, Barrett established himself as a tireless investigative journalist with a pugnacious spirit that led to frequent clashes with both his subjects and editors. His dedication to a story was matched by his passion for the craft." Click here for Tom's full obituary...
-- Mark Mooney emails: Thursday's final vigil for Barrett was a testament to his standing. The group included four reporters, Tom Robbins, William Bastone, Eddie Borges and Joe Conason...
-- The New Yorker last November: "There may be no journalist in the nation who knows more about Trump than Barrett..." | | Reporters remember Barrett | | -- Glenn Thrush: "Wayne Barrett, the greatest investigative reporter I've ever known, a guiding, goading inspiration to generations of reporters, has died..."
-- Maggie Haberman: "Trump biographer who understood what made him tick, an amazing journalist and mentor. RIP"
-- McKay Coppins: "One of the first — and best — journalists to drive Trump crazy with tough, dogged, relentless reporting..." | | Barrett's generosity and brilliance | | | Tom Kludt wrote this on Facebook: "It was one of the great privileges of my life to meet Wayne Barrett, who was covering (and tormenting) Trump long before anyone else. When I visited him at his home in Brooklyn last spring, he was everything I expected and more: brilliant, irascible, hilarious and candid. We sat on his back porch talking Trump, gossiping, shooting the shit. Despite cracking a couple jokes about my nose, he could not have been more generous -- both with his time and the wisdom he imparted. That Wayne passed the day before his longtime nemesis will become president is weirdly poetic, even a little spooky. I only wish I could have chatted with him one more time." | | -- The Sundance Film Festival kicked off on Thursday... Dylan Byers is there and will have dispatches from Park City...
-- Via CNBC's Arjun Kharpal: "Advertisers spent $90 million, three times what was expected, on Snapchat last year — and it's a threat to Facebook, says CEO of world's largest ad firm..." (CNBC)
-- "A new collaboration: NPR stations nationwide are working together to spot trends in state governments," Joseph Lichterman writes... (NiemanLab) | | | Here are the finalists for the Ellies | | On Thursday the American Society of Magazine Editors named the finalists for the 2017 National Magazine Awards... a/k/a the Ellies... ahead of the group's February 7 gala.
Min's Greg Dool writes: "The five finalists for Magazine of the Year are The California Sunday Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Mother Jones, New York, and The New Yorker. This is the fifth straight Magazine of the Year nomination for Adam Moss-led New York magazine, which also won the top honor in 2013. It's the second-straight nomination (and third overall) for The New Yorker, which added a pair of Pulitzer Prizes to its trophy case last year..."
More: "This is an awards program that has, in recent years, been dominated by New York magazine, which for the fourth straight year earned more nominations (nine) than any other title..." | | | Scrutinizing the NYT's story about Rick Perry | | "The New York Times faced a backlash Thursday after its only source for a negative story on former Texas governor Rick Perry accused them of taking his remarks out of context," Mediaite's Alex Griswold reports. The NYT responded by saying that it DID have other sources... But the actual story didn't say that.
The paper said in a statement: "We stand by our story, which accurately reflected what multiple, high-level sources told our reporters..." But in terms of sourcing, the story left a lot to be desired... | | | New appointments in Trump's press office | | Tom Kludt reports: Sarah Huckabee Sanders "will serve as deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy press secretary..." She was a top defender of Trump on TV during the campaign...
-- Also joining Sean Spicer and Hope Hicks: Rapid response expert Steven Cheung will be assistant communications director... Helen Aguirre Ferre will be director of media affairs... Stephanie Grisham will be deputy press secretary... | | | Outgoing press secretary Josh Earnest signed off via Twitter on Thursday morning: "It's been a unique privilege and incredible honor to stand at the podium... To the press corps, thanks for what you do. Your passion and dedication to your work is critical to the success of American democracy. You are thorough, critical, and most importantly, you persevere. It's made me a better Press Secretary, and a better public servant." | | | "Obama has picked Eric Schultz, currently the principal deputy press secretary at the White House, as senior adviser for his former president's office," Politico's Edward-Isaac Dovere reports. "Schultz, who's been part of Obama's staff for six years, will develop strategy for Obama's public profile, design strategies for defending his legacy and be the point person to coordinate with Hill Democrats, Obama alumni and outside groups." Schultz is also opening a public affairs shop... | | Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | | Live in DC: Jeff Mason... Lynn Sweet... Michael Oreskes... Karen Tumulty... and many more... | | ICYMI from media editor Alex Koppelman: We're looking for a senior writer to join the CNN media team. This person is going to be covering "fake news" and the people and stories behind it, but more importantly thinking bigger than that and looking at truth -- what happened to it, why so many of us no longer believe it, and where those people are going to get their information instead.
This writer should live on the Internet, and be intimately aware of its darkest corners. They should get angry every time they see any inaccuracy in any story, whether large or small, and whether published by a fake news site or a real one. They should be the kind of person who can't pass by a single rabbit hole without being desperate to jump in to see where it leads. Interested? Check out the full description and apply here... | | | Colbert bringing "Colbert" back? | | | Frank Pallotta emails: Nation, he's back. Stephen Colbert tweeted earlier this afternoon that an "old friend stops by to say goodbye to Obama" on tonight's "Late Show." That old friend appears to be Colbert's old "Colbert Report" persona, "Stephen Colbert." Let the truthiness flow! | | | For the record, part four | | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Send your feedback to reliablesources@cnn.com. See you tomorrow! | |  | | 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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