| | | | | So many potential lead stories for this newsletter: Tapper-Conway... Spicer buzz... the travel ban hearing... CNN's Obamacare debate. But I'm guessing you've already watched Tapper-Conway. (If not, click here!) Let's begin with some big media biz news... | | Maybe the next Bob Iger is... Bob Iger? | | C'mon, do you really think Disney CEO Bob Iger is going to retire in 2018? I mean, would you, if you were him?
Frank Pallotta emails: Iger is "open" to sticking around a bit longer... On Tuesday's Q1 earnings call, he said that while he has no specific news to report regarding who will take over for him when his contract ends next year, he would be willing to extend his stay.
The key quote: "If it's in the best interest of the company to expand my tenure, I'm open to that."
-- Context: Iger was basically confirming Monday's WSJ report about his future...
-- Variety has a thorough story about Disney's Q1 here... | | Conde Nast sought to buy The Hollywood Reporter | | Here's Dylan Byers' latest scoop:
The Hollywood Reporter is considering a sale, and Condé Nast is a suitor. Several months ago, Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg and artistic director Anna Wintour entered into negotiations to buy THR and Billboard from Eldridge Industries, according to several sources familiar with the negotiations.
Conde Nast enlisted UBS to oversee the deal, while Eldridge was represented by Moelis & Company and Goldman Sachs. Negotiations came to a standstill in December after Condé Nast balked at Eldridge's asking price -- but sources disagree as to whether or not the negotiations are over... | | Is the deal dead or alive? | | | More from Dylan: Several sources with knowledge of the negotiations say the deal is likely not going to happen and that discussions effectively ended in December. But other sources with knowledge of the negotiations say talks are still very much ongoing. Read more from Dylan here... | | What's up with Time Inc.? | | "Meredith Corp. and an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. have advanced in their pursuit of Time Inc. as the publisher explores a possible sale, according to people familiar with the situation," WSJ's Jeffrey Trachtenberg reports.
Meredith has signed an NDA. So has Bronfman's group. So the negotiating is well underway: "People familiar with the situation said that if Time Inc.'s board eventually does a transaction, it would be at a significantly higher price than what has been offered thus far..." | | An interview for the ages | | Conway contradicts her boss | | | CONWAY: I'm happy to have the platform on CNN and other places to explain and to talk about what we're trying to do inside the White House--
TAPPER: Are we fake news, Kellyanne, is CNN "fake news?"
CONWAY: I don't think CNN is "fake news." I think there are some reports everywhere, in print, on TV, on radio, in conversation that are not well researched and are sometimes based on falsehoods...
Speaking of falsehoods... | | Trump is lying about the murder rate | | Just a few hours before the Conway interview, POTUS uttered a lie while meeting with a group of sheriffs at the White House. It was about the murder rate in America. He pointed his finger at the camera crews in the back of the room and said "the press doesn't tell it like it is" -- then went on to literally not tell it like it is. Trump said that "the murder rate in our country is the highest it's been in 47 years, right? Did you know that? 47 years." As CNN's Jeremy Diamond explained here, the U.S. murder rate "isn't even close to such record highs."
Trump made similar claims on the campaign trail last year. The claims were repeatedly fact-checked and debunked, to the point where they must now be called a lie -- there is simply no way at this point that Trump and his staff do not know that what he is saying is not true, but he keeps saying it anyway. Here's my full story... | | | How close did Conway come to acknowledging the Trump admin's misinformation? Well, she came close, CNNPolitics' Eli Watkins says, flagging this moment in the interview: When Tapper said "I'm talking about the President of the United States saying things that are not true, demonstrably not true. That is important," Conway answered, "Are they more important than the many things that he says that are true that are making a difference in people's lives?" | | Conway reprises "joint custody" line | | Conway has said this before -- but I'm surprised she said it again on Tuesday: "This White House and the media have joint custody of our country." The context: She said everybody should "cool it down a little bit."
Tapper repeatedly made the point that he'd like to spend more time asking about policy issues, but the administration's disregard for the truth is an impediment. "Facts are stubborn things," he said...
Bill Carter and I will be discussing all of this on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday morning... 6:50am... | | | During and after the interview, there was an outpouring of support for Tapper, both from people inside CNN and from many outside. Alyssa Milano of "Who's The Boss" fame sent Tapper this tweet, spurring an amusing back and forth. "Are you saying I'm the boss?" "Yes!" | | Source: Trump "disappointed in Spicer's performance" | | Sean Spicer was back in the briefing room on Tuesday afternoon, and some TV commentators thought he seemed a bit subdued in the wake of last Saturday's "SNL" sketch.
A few hours later, Jim Acosta reported from the White House: "A source familiar with internal communications said President Trump is disappointed in Spicer's performance during the first two weeks of the administration. Spicer has served as both W.H. press secretary and communications director for the new administration. Those roles are typically filled by two staffers."
So now there's a renewed search for a new comms director "in an effort to lighten the load" Spicer has, Acosta reports. He quotes a source as saying the job "needs to be filled more than ever..." | | | This was a good day for President Obama's former comms director to join CNN. Jen Psaki debuted as a CNN contributor during "AC360," and she addressed Spicer's difficult two-sided role. "It's pretty hard to do both jobs," she said... | | -- Deadline's Dominic Patten notes the differences between CNN, MSNBC and Fox's coverage of the travel ban hearing. Fox aired a lot less of the audio-only hearing... (Deadline)
-- BuzzFeed's Adrian Carrasquillo asks: "Can Steve Bannon Survive The Media's Steve Bannon Obsession?" (BuzzFeed)
-- "Michael Kassan's media and advertising consultancy MediaLink is getting acquired by Ascential, the operator of the Cannes Lions ad festival," Claire Atkinson reports... (NYPost)
-- "Three major contributors to the NYT culture section have left the paper. The most recent is Charles Isherwood, the No. 2 theater critic since 2004..." (Deadline) | | Defection from the WSJ to the NYT | | | "Rebecca Blumenstein, the deputy editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, is moving a few blocks to work for the company's archrival," the NYT, Poynter's Ben Mullin writes. "Blumenstein is leaving to become a deputy managing editor..." Read more... | | Mag of the year: Mother Jones | | NYT's Christopher Mele reports: "Mother Jones was named magazine of the year on Tuesday for finding 'new ways to engage audiences and continue its practice of fearless journalism,' the sponsors of the National Magazine Awards announced."
Other big wins: "New York magazine and The New York Times Magazine each won three awards: New York for magazine section, video and single-topic issue, and The Times Magazine for feature writing, essays and criticism, and public interest. California Sunday won for design and photography, and Mother Jones won for reporting as well as for magazine of the year..."
-- Via WWD, here's the full list of winners... | | Did you watch CNN's Obamacare "debate night?" What did you think? Media exec Jason Kint tweeted at me: "Watching health care debate on CNN. Fascinating. I hope it gets bigly audience & turns into weekly debate on critical issues..."
-- Politico's Gabriel Debenedetti wrote during the telecast: "A calculation both Sanders and Cruz almost certainly made in preparing for this debate: there's a decent chance the president is watching..." | | Fact-checking Trump -- and doing him a favor? | | Analysis by media editor Alex Koppelman: "Was President Trump's declaration that the media is deliberately not covering terror attacks in Europe another example of his off-the-cuff, fact-free pronouncements? Or more evidence that he and his team understand how to exploit the press? Maybe it's both."
Click here to read Alex's piece. He writes: "In part because this is not a debate settled by objective fact -- how do you determine objectively whether a terror attack has been covered enough? -- the media and the Trump team have two different objectives. The media is dealing with the truth: We have covered these stories. What the White House is promoting is something else: a feeling, a dark one, and definitely not a fact." | | | Brian Lowry emails: Trump has received perhaps too much credit for his psychological jujitsu skills, but it's hard to see his accusation that the media don't cover terrorism enough any other way. If anything, as Nate Silver noted, the media are generally guilty of over-covering terrorist acts, particularly in the frenzied initial stages when we don't know exactly what¹s happening. While that's unavoidable, it also feeds a sense of chaos and makes the odds of being victimized seem bigger than they are. While it's true that news outlets have been put on the defensive, the charge is such a blatant appeal to fear it should compel more reporting and data that contextualizes -- and quantifies -- terrorism threats... | | ICYMI: Lydia Polgreen's plans for HuffPost | | | Can HuffPost win over millions of Trump voters? Lydia Polgreen believes that it can. Polgreen took over as EIC one month ago. On Monday I published this interview with her about the future of the web site... | | Colbert's big win (by a small margin) | | | "Stephen Colbert beat Jimmy Fallon last week, and he may have Donald Trump to thank for it," Frank Pallotta writes. "Colbert's 'The Late Show' beat Fallon's 'The Tonight Show' in viewership last week for the first time since Colbert's show's premiere week in September of 2015. The victory was by the thinnest of margins," and only in total viewers, but it still has people buzzing... Read more here... | | Sandra Gonzalez reports: "The Insider" is on its way out. The long-running entertainment news show will end after 13 seasons in early September...
More: The decision comes just months after CBS News vet Sharon Hoffman was named E.P. of both "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight." CBS has not said whether hosts Debbie Matenopoulos, Louis Aguirre or "Insider" correspondents and staff will take on roles at sister show "ET." Read more... | | Lowry's review of "Legion" | | | Brian Lowry emails: "Legion," produced by "Fargo's" Noah Hawley, will be an interesting test of Marvel's ability to do a different kind of superhero show. I found the first three episodes of the FX drama interesting, but very, very slow... | | How's this for a smart stunt? | | | Chloe Melas emails: What's better than watching your favorite TV show curled up on your couch? Clearly, a knock on the door from one of the stars of that show. That's exactly what happened when "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia knocked on a fan's door -- while they were watching the show! Chloe wrote about it here... | | By Lisa France:
-- Christie Brinkley has come full circle. The 63 year old is back in the pages of the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, this time with her daughter...
-- Katy Perry is the latest artist announced to perform at Sunday night's Grammys -- along with the now famously pregnant Beyonce...
-- "Jane the Virgin" killed off a major character and they didn't even wait for the season finale to do it... | | | "Reliable Sources" TV highlights | | | Watch/read/listen to Sunday's show | | | 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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