| | | | | Brian Stelter here... gradually coming back from baby leave... eleven-day-old Sunny is snoozing right now, so I'm typing quietly... let's get to the news! | | The "terrorist attack" that wasn't | | National Journal's Josh Kraushaar took the words right out of my mouth: "This would be a lead story for any other president."
The story? President Trump claiming there was a "terrorist attack in Manila" and extending America's thoughts and prayers to the victims. In case you haven't heard yet, it was a robbery, not a terror attack.
In the hour before Trump's event promoting the U.S. withdraw from the climate pact, cable news screens were filled with preliminary info from Manila, where tourists and locals fled a popular resort after a scary incident inside the casino. Images shared on social media showed chaos. The word "terror" was mentioned on CNN/Fox/MSNBC a few times -- as a possibility. But Trump went much further by starting his internationally televised event with remarks about the "terrorist attack." | | Where did the president get this intel? | | | Reporters are clamoring for more info about that. Trump was briefed by H.R. McMaster before the event. Per CNN's Jim Acosta, a senior W.H. official sorta blamed the media for the mistake on Thursday night, saying "the president had been briefed that media reports indicated ISIS had taken credit." Actually, a single ISIS-affiliated social media account claimed credit. Most news outlets were smart enough to refrain from passing that along... | | | When a public figure says something that's so flagrantly wrong, how prominently should news outlets correct the record? | | Climate change suddenly a top story | | | Tom Kludt emails: In making a decision that environmental advocates find abhorrent, Trump also made climate change something it hasn't been in a long, long time: the top story. All the broadcast networks carried his announcement live, as did all the cablers... All this for an issue that got scant attention during last year's campaign... Remember, there wasn't a single climate change question in any of the three presidential debates. Read Tom's full story here... | | Those anonymous sources were right again... | | | Erik Wemple tweets: "Trump announcement is a victory for White House reporting, which said, based on anonymous sources, that POTUS was leaning toward withdrawal..." | | Those fact-checkers were busy... | | | Trump proclaimed "that he has created 'more than 1 million private sector jobs.' That's not true," CNNMoney's Heather Long reports. There were, the WashPost's Steven Ginsberg said, "So many false and misleading statements in Trump's speech today." Here's the Post's full fact-check... | | -- Disney is out: "As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the Paris Agreement withdrawal," Bob Iger tweeted...
-- Weather.com trolled Trump about the decision...
-- A view from the right: "The media dropped "all pretense of objectivity to bemoan US withdrawal..." | | Laura Hazard Owen's question: | | | "Reliable" producer Lee Alexander emails: "Climate change is depressing and horrible. Is there a way to make people read about it?" It's a question Nieman's Laura Hazard Owen asked back in 2015, but her piece is just as relevant today... Read it here... | | I asked CNN Opinion columnist/in-house climate change expert John Sutter for an answer to that Q... here's his reply:
Everyone says climate change is a complicated mess -- too wonky for the public -- but it actually comes down to five simple and comprehensible facts:
1. It's real.
2. It's us.
3. Scientists agree about that.
4. It's bad (really bad).
And:
5. - critically! -- There's hope.
Those come from Ed Maibach at George Mason University. They work. In conversation. In writing. People need the context to understand climate change. They need to know it's us (fossil fuels, etc) in order to care that rising seas could drown entire nations, like the Marshall Islands. And they need to know there's hope -- there is! we have the solutions -- in order not to get bogged down in how bad it is. It is exceedingly rare that journalists make all of these points. We don't give people enough context to care... | | "Trump's press-free press strategy" | | | Tom Kludt emails: Trump teased his climate deal decision as if he was promoting an episode of "The Apprentice." It was similar to how he hyped the unveiling of his Supreme Court nominee earlier this year, and it provides a window into Trump's press-free press strategy... Read Tom's full story here... | | -- These renaming games keep getting more and more glaring: "Did NBC Change 'Nitely News' Spelling in Effort to Goose Ratings? Sure Looks Like It"
-- Megyn Kelly will tape a one-on-one interview with Vladimir Putin on Friday... for the premiere of her Sunday night show "Sunday Night" this weekend...
-- And Alex Jones says Kelly will be interviewing him in Texas next week...
-- Via THR: Fox's corporate cousin National Geographic Channel "has dropped plans" for the latest movie in Bill O'Reilly's Killing franchise, "opting not to move forward with Killing Patton..."
-- Late breaking via Variety: "Sinclair-Tribune Merger Faces Roadblock as Court Puts Hold on FCC Station Ownership Rule" | | Who's in line to oversee Voice of America? | | Who's going to run the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the overseer of VOA, Radio Free Europe, Alhurra, etc? The "leading candidate" is conservative documentarian Michael Pack, Politico's Hadas Gold scooped Thursday morning.
Pack is president and CEO of the Claremont Institute and publisher of its Claremont Review of Books. He used to be a Corporation for Public Broadcasting exec. He and Steve Bannon "are mutual admirers and have worked on two documentaries together..." | | Kathy Griffin speaking out on Friday | | | Lawyer Lisa Bloom tweeted Thursday evening: "Proud to announce that I represent Kathy Griffin. We will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning." It'll be held at 9am PT... Griffin will apparently "respond to the bullying from the Trump family she has endured..." | | Early look at Sunday's "Reliable Sources" | | | I'll be back on your teevee this Sunday morning... joined by Carl Bernstein, Olivia Nuzzi, John Gizzi, and a few surprises... | | -- Jack Marshall's scoop: "Google has told publishers it will give them at least six months to prepare for a new ad-blocking tool the company is planning to introduce in its Chrome web browser next year..." (WSJ)
-- Guardian US saw a 40% spike in contributions following last week's Montana body-slamming... (WashPost)
-- Two BBC foreign correspondents joining ABC News this week: Ian Pannell and James Longman... (TVNewser)
-- Chris Jansing returning to NYC... she "has been named Senior National Correspondent for MSNBC..." (TVNewser)
-- Peter J. Boyer is the Weekly Standard's new national correspondent... (Politico) | | Lawrence re-ups with MSNBC | | | After a contentious and unusually public negotiation, Lawrence O'Donnell has renewed his contract with MSNBC, a few days before it was due to expire. O'Donnell told his audience on Wednesday night, indicating he'll be around for the "next couple of years." MSNBC confirmed the new deal... He'll be staying at 10pm... No further info on the deal... | | | Some stability at Fox News, which needs it right now: "Martha MacCallum has signed on for what Fox News calls 'a long-term contract,'" TVNewser's Chris Ariens reports. "MacCallum will remain anchor of FNC's 7 p.m. ET program The Story..." | | Pew's look at 2016 $$$ for newspapers and cable newsers | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails: Two new "fact sheets" from Pew today: The group's newspaper data shows that even though the 2016 election caused a spike in digital subscriptions for some papers, circulation and revenue are still going down across the board.
Cable news, on the other hand, had a very strong $$$ year with increasing viewership and growing revenue: Fox News, MSNBC and CNN saw a 29% "combined increase" in profits in 2016... | | | Thursday morning we found out that James Comey will testify before the Senate intelligence committee on June 8. 10am ET. Look out for countdown clocks soon. On Thursday's evening news, Anthony Mason said "CBS News will bring that to you live next Thursday morning..." | | Farage eyed by investigators? | | | The Guardian's scoop: "Nigel Farage is a 'person of interest' in the US counter-intelligence investigation that is looking into possible collusion between the Kremlin and Donald Trump's presidential campaign." The media angle: Farage is now on the Fox News payroll as a contributor... | | Now Hannity wants Kim DotCom to fill in for him... | | Oliver Darcy emails: Sean Hannity seems desperate for a day off from his radio show. One day after inviting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to helm his nationally-syndicated show, Hannity extended the offer to Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder currently fighting extradition to the U.S. from New Zealand. Dotcom -- who, like Hannity, has heavily promoted the Seth Rich conspiracy theory -- seemed to accept the offer, tweeting that it would "be an honor."
-- Oliver adds: No word on if Premiere Radio Networks would be OK with Dotcom as a substitute host. A spokesperson for the company did not return my requests for comment. One has to wonder how the Murdochs feel about Hannity's recent behavior, as well. I reached out, but a spokesperson for 21st Century Fox declined to comment... | | | For the record, part three | | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails:
-- The Ida B. Wells Society just got a $150,000 Knight Foundation grant. Co-founded by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the organization wants to mentor and support journalists of color...
-- Also from Nieman, a good read about The Intercept, which is asking readers to become "members..." a three-tiered system...
-- From yesterday, but worth revisiting: Farhad Manjoo on why Twitter "is making the news dumber..." | | | Wolf Blitzer thanked Ted Turner on Thursday's "Situation Room:" "37 years ago today, on June 1st, 1980, Ted Turner launched the first 24 hour cable news network, dedicating the news channel for America. Ted's bold idea changed the world, and the mission of this network has never been more important than it is today." | | Fusion says it will defend journalist from pro-Trump writer's lawsuit | | BuzzFeed's Joseph Bernstein reports that Fusion's Emma Roller is being sued by pro-Trump writer/activist/social media star Cassandra Fairbanks. Fusion EIC Dodai Stewart says the complaint is "clearly frivolous," adding, "We fully support Emma and will defend her."
The backstory: Roller tweeted a picture of Fairbanks at the White House and wrote that Fairbanks was making a "white power hand gesture," which Fairbanks -- and experts like the Anti-Defamation League -- say it was not, but a 4chan hoax. Bernstein calls the suit "the most serious action yet in the emerging conflict between mainstream news outlets and the insurgent conservative media that has set up shop in the nation's capital..." | | ICYMI: Ben Smith on latest "Reliable" pod | | | In the latest edition of the "Reliable Sources" podcast, I talk with BuzzFeed EIC Ben Smith. Listen to it here! And subscribe on iTunes... | | Lowry reviews "Wonder Woman" | | | Brian Lowry emails: While it's premature to ask if "Wonder Woman" can "save" the summer box office after a tepid start, the movie has clearly raised the DC cinematic universe's creative game and eased its Marvel envy after a sluggish start. Click here for Lowry's full review! | | "I'm Dying Up Here" debuts Sunday | | | Brian Lowry emails: Showtime's "I'm Dying Up Here," premiering Sunday, is the show "Vinyl" should have been -- a savvy look at standup comedy as it underwent an evolution during the early 1970s. Read more here... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Jennifer Garner has set the record straight on a People story about her life post-split from Ben Affleck...
-- Geri Halliwell has apologized 19 years later for her Spice Girls exit. Fans have been gracious in their forgiveness...
By Chloe Melas:
-- Gwyneth Paltrow is reflecting on the backlash she received for using the term "consciously uncouple" when she separated from Chris Martin in 2014...
-- Al Franken, in the middle of his book tour, tells Chelsea Handler he'd pick the Senate over "SNL..." | | "Journalists remind themselves daily that healthy democracies depend not just on a free press but also on institutions. Journalists have a duty to hold these institutions to account, just as they do elected politicians. But in times of trouble -- and these are troubling times -- they should take care to defend and respect those institutions. The alternative facts are too awful to contemplate."
--FT editor Lionel Barber in a keynote speech Wednesday night... | | | Email us: reliablesources@cnn.com. Let us know what you like and dislike... what you want more of, what you want less of. We appreciate every email! | |  | | 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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