| | | | | Bannon condemns "corporatist, globalist media" | | "Media bias" has been replaced by the much more sinister "fake news." Pesky beat reporters and investigative journalists have been dubbed "the opposition." That's one of the takeaways from the rhetoric at CPAC this week.
Tom Kludt emails from day two of the conference: Attacks on the media were a predominant theme throughout the day on Thursday. Not surprisingly, it reached a fever pitch with Steve Bannon's early afternoon appearance with Reince Priebus. Bannon seemed to go out of his way to describe the news media as "the opposition party," a term that has practically become the official White House line. And Bannon even channeled Alex Jones at one point...
>> Another Bannon quote: "They're corporatist, globalist media that are adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda..."
>> Katy Tur responded with a basic truth on MSNBC: "The corporate side" doesn't tell us what to say... | | What's different this year | | Of course, bias complaints are perennial at CPAC. But it's more severe this year, owing to President Trump's own media bashing. The Atlantic's McKay Coppins made this observation on Thursday afternoon: "The less attendees have in common, the more they bash their common enemies."
>> VP Mike Pence, speaking on Thursday evening, ID'ed the administration's opponents: "The media ... the elites ... the insiders." (via Jeremy Diamond)
>> Another comment Tom noticed: Earlier in the day, Ted Cruz applauded CPAC attendees for "terrifying the mainstream media." That, the Texas senator said, "really should be done on a daily basis..." | | Philip Rucker tweets: "Bannon relishes mysterious outsider persona. He changed out of his suit & tie into black-on-black for #CPAC..."
Rucker's colleague Chris Cillizza says Bannon seemed to offer "a very clear message to political journalists: You think this is bad? Just wait."
| | After the joint session: "Loved watching Priebus and Bannon at #CPAC2017. Please go on TV more often." | | "Because they didn't trust the press..." | | Vox's Jeff Stein asked CPAC attendees about the report that Trump's travel bills have "cost taxpayers nearly as much in his first month in office as Obama did in a year." "Overwhelmingly," Stein writes, "the most common reason they cited was that they didn't trust the underlying story — because they didn't trust the press to tell the truth..." | | Tom Kludt tries to interview Ed Schultz | | ...And Ed Schultz turned down the email and phone requests. They had a frosty exchange at CPAC on Thursday.
Tom's story is well worth reading anyway! "Gone are the relentless attacks on Republicans and conservatives that summed up his six-year run at MSNBC. Now, as an anchor on RT, Schultz has become a Trump defender -- a surreal turn of events for a commentator who once called the president a 'racist,'" he writes. "It was equally surreal to see him at CPAC, an event he once likened to Nazi Germany." Read Tom's full story here... | | Alan Colmes, a Fox News original, died Thursday morning. He was 66.
I knew Alan for more than a decade. Thinking about him on Thursday, what stood out most was his kindness. Alan was best known for co-hosting "Hannity & Colmes" for over a decade. After "Hannity" became the solo host, he remained a TV contributor and radio host.
In a statement, Sean Hannity called Alan "one of life's most decent, kind and wonderful people you'd ever want to meet."
Alan was the happy man about our 'TV house,'" Shep Smith said Thursday afternoon. "Alan Colmes was one of the good guys." More tributes here... | | -- A Newsweek scoop: Listen to "controversial W.H. terrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka's angry call to a critic..." (Newsweek)
-- Via the WSJ's Ben Fritz: "Disney trimming Maker's YouTube network from 60,000-plus to roughly 300, laying off 80 employees..." (WSJ)
-- "Facebook is starting to put ads in the middle of its videos..." Details from Kurt Wagner here... (Recode) | | What's the mood at J-schools? | | A loyal newsletter reader emails: "I'm on a panel of judges for the annual Scripps Howard Foundation journalism awards, so I've been informally asking some of the nation's top J-school deans and professors: what's the mood these days in the J-schools? They all tell me it's very exciting -- students feel energized. Not in an anti-Trump way, but because journalism is so important now. One top J-prof told me applications are rising. So it's not dour in this crowd, it's quite optimistic for the profession." I'd love to hear more about this... Professors and students, email your POV... | | Sarah Ellison's deep dive into NBC News | | NBC's hiring of Megyn Kelly "represents a literal doubling down on the proposition that, when it comes to a successful news operation, personality is what counts, and everything else must accommodate itself to that reality," VF's Sarah Ellison writes. She says "there used to be only one person at NBC News who was too big to fail" -- Matt Lauer -- and "now there are two." Read on...
-- Vulture's reaction to the story: "If Today Is As Cutthroat As Game of Thrones, Matt Lauer Is Definitely Littlefinger" | | Oscar speeches: the case for seizing the moment | | Sandra Gonzalez emails: Ahead of the Oscars, there's a lot of chatter about how political this year's speeches will be. I asked a few Hollywood figures for their thoughts and chatted with documentary filmmaker Peter Davis, who was part of his own moment that will live in Oscar infamy back in 1975. He revisited that moment in our chat and had some advice for this year's winners: "Say something they're going to be proud of 34 years later." Here's more.. | | Since Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars this year, he is not hosting his traditional post-awards show. In comes "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson, who will host "Live From Hollywood: The After Party special," with co-hosts Lara Spencer, Chris Connelly and Joe Zee... Details via TVLine... | | Frank Pallotta reports: The NYT is running its first television ad in seven years during the Oscars Sunday night. The subject? The truth.
According to The Times' branding exec David Rubin, the ad's mission is to tap into "national dialogue going on right now about facts and the truth." (And gain new subscribers.)
"The idea is to be a part of that discussion about what does it mean to find the truth," he told me. "What does that mean in a world of 'fake news'? And what is the role of journalism and journalists in that process and what is the role of reader in supporting that journalism?" | | Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | NYT executive editor Dean Baquet... | | Underwhelming "CNN Leaks" | | James O'Keefe's "CNN Leaks" received a shrug inside CNN on Thursday. Outside CNN, it seemed that reporters were underwhelmed, and that's putting it mildly. O'Keefe published audio clips from inside CNN meetings circa 2009. No bombshells, just run-of-the-mill discussions about stories.
Politico's Hadas Gold: "'CNN Leaks' fall flat." WashPost's Philip Bump: "Exceptionally lame." NY Daily News's Don Kaplan: "All fizzle, no flash."
Bump is onto something here: O'Keefe dumped 119 hours of audio, and "as with WikiLeaks, the scale of the release itself is presented as somehow convincing... Simply the presence of so much stuff was meant to make the case, all by itself..."
-- Callum Borchers sums it up this way: "Maybe there is a bombshell yet to come. Maybe... But if this is the best it has, CNN haters will be highly disappointed."
| | O'Keefe claims a $10,000 reward... | | Gold writes: "O'Keefe says he isn't done. He's calling on volunteers to comb through the 119 hours of raw tape, and is offering a $10,000 reward of 'content that exposes media malfeasance.' Shortly after the tapes were released, the Drudge Report shifted the focus from the tapes to O'Keefe placing 'a bounty' on the media by offering the reward." Asked for a comment about the tapes, a CNN spokesperson told TVNewser, "I don't think there is anything to comment on." | | | Colbert is playing to his strengths | | Brian Lowry emails: The "Stephen Colbert is beating Jimmy Fallon in total viewers" story picked up considerable traction this week, including an analysis by the NYT's James Poniewozik, and a Huffington Post piece that traces the shift directly to Fallon tousling Trump's hair in September.
In a separate interview, meanwhile, the third player in that late-night race, Jimmy Kimmel, downplayed politics and suggested primetime lead-ins are responsible, maintaining that "The Tonight Show" will get its mojo back when "The Voice" returns. Lead-ins do still matter, even in this age of DVRs. But while the ratings shift is likely attributable to various factors, it's hard to dismiss how Colbert has seized on a cultural moment that plays more to his strengths than Fallon's... | | | McKay Coppins profiles Tucker Carlson | | Tucker Carlson's true talent "is not for political philosophizing, it's for televised partisan combat," the aforementioned McKay Coppins writes in this profile for The Atlantic. "His go-to weapons—the smirky sarcasm, the barbed comebacks, the vicious politeness—seem uniquely designed to drive his sparring partners nuts, frequently making for terrific television..."
In the interview with Coppins, Carlson seems to admit that he went too far in this interview with Teen Vogue's Lauren Duca. "If I find myself wanting to be mean to anyone, it's time to stop," he said, and it happened with Duca... But that's the only time, he said. Read the full piece here... | | Lowry recommends "Get Out" | | Brian Lowry emails: "Get Out" currently boasts a rare 100% score on Rottentomatoes.com, meaning it hasn't received a single negative review. That could translate into a pretty big weekend for this impressive directing debut by "Key & Peele's "Jordan Peele, which mixes horror with social satire, as a young African-American man goes on what turns out to be a very strange trip to meet his white girlfriend's parents... Read Lowry's full review here... | | | Beyoncé bows out of Coachella due to pregnancy | | $50 rentals of films while they're still in theaters? | | An update on the Hollywood studios pursuing ways to sell movies into homes while the movies are still in theaters: "Theater chains and studios are still far apart from agreeing on how it would happen," Variety's Brent Lang reports, but there has been some progress. "Though different studios are exploring different scenarios, the plan that has gathered the most steam would involve offering up movies for $50 a rental some 17 days after their theatrical opening. Those rentals would be available for 48 hours," Lang says.
-- More: "Studios are looking to sign up two or three major exhibition chains, and believe they have the best shot at convincing AMC to come on board. They are also bullish on the prospects for Cineplex, the Canadian theater chain, joining the ranks..." | | By Lisa France:
-- Sinead O'Connor has retracted her comments and apologized for saying Arsenio Hall gave Prince drugs when the legendary singer was alive...
-- Nick Cannon already has 5 year old twins with ex-wife Mariah Carey and now he is a dad again with a different ex...
-- Talk show host Wendy Williams lost 50 lbs and is keeping the weight off... | | | 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... | |  | | 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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