| | | | THE PRESIDENT'S TRIP TO EUROPE | | "Vastly different accounts" of the Trump-Putin meeting | | John Berman's question on "AC360" Friday night: "Did the President of the United States stand up to Vladimir Putin on election hacking -- or let him off the 'cyber hook?'"
The answer is very much in dispute. After the much-longer-than-expected meeting, "vastly different accounts emerged of what transpired," Berman said...
>> Quoting the AP's account: "As the clicking of photographers' shutters filled the room, the two men leaned in, shared a small laugh and eyed the press, whom both have at times deemed their enemy..." | | Tillerson is heard but not seen | | The U.S. version of events only aired on TV in audio sound-bite form. While Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov "chose to deliver his remarks to reporters on camera," U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson "insisted on an off-camera briefing," The Atlantic's David A. Graham wrote. The administration also prohibited still cameras, but then aides went ahead and tweeted photos from the briefing. Huh. Networks were allowed to air audio clips after the briefing ended.
>> CNN's Sara Murray tweeted: "Seems like it would've been to the Trump administration's benefit to put Tillerson on camera..." | | Skepticism about both sides | | | Critics pounced on the Trump administration's credibility gap. Former Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer tweeted: "The fact that the U.S. account of events is treated with as much skepticism as the Russian account is the consequence of Trump's lies." And Joe Scarborough: "When it comes to anything this White House says about Pres Trump's private meeting with Putin, only a fool would trust without verifying..." | | Frank Rich says Trump's vitriol against the press is "un-American" | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman writes: On this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast, NYMag's Frank Rich says Trump's rants against the media are not so much "un-presidential" as they are "un-American," in that they show "no respect for the Bill of Rights."
Tweets like Sunday's anti-CNN video showcase Trump "playing to his base" in a way that "gins up people," Rich said. He drew parallels to the McCarthy era and Watergate. Read more here... and download/stream the podcast via iTunes... | | "Mike Pence set social media abuzz Thursday with a photo of him touching a piece of NASA space equipment clearly marked 'do not touch' On Friday, the vice president jokingly blamed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for it," CNNPolitics' Jennifer Hansler writes.
"Sorry @NASA...@MarcoRubio dared me to do it!" Pence tweeted. But it was the NEXT photo Pence/his staff posted that really earned him social media cred.
CAPTION: "Okay...so this isn't exactly the first time this has happened." Here's the Photoshopped pic: | | -- The pro-Trump blog Gateway Pundit published another false story on Friday... this time, it was about a "CNN reporter" harassing a "meme maker's father," linking to a video that didn't show a CNN reporter at all. It was visibly, obviously fake, leading folks to wonder how the site could have gotten fooled...
-- A glimpse at Chris Christie's future? Fresh off his time down the shore, the NJ governor will be co-hosting WFAN's coveted afternoon drive time slot all next week...
-- Richard Engel's limited series on MSNBC, "On Assignment," began Friday night... it's taking the place of "The Rachel Maddow Show" for 4 Fridays in a row...
-- Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley summit starts on Tuesday... THR's Paul Bond has a preview here... | | Klobuchar raising Q's about Trump meddling in AT&T-Time Warner deal | | Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wants to know: "Has any employee of the White House or adviser to the President (either official or unofficial) had any contact with any Department of Justice employee regarding the AT&T/Time Warner transaction?"
Klobuchar asked the Q in a letter to Jeff Sessions on Friday... spurred by Michael Grynbaum's report in Thursday's NYT that White House advisers "have discussed" the pending deal as "a potential point of leverage" over CNN, which is owned by Time Warner.
Grynbaum's "leverage" graf was buried in his story, but it's a big deal. "Regardless of whether Trump officials follow through with any plans to disrupt the deal, the notion they've discussed punishing companies over critical coverage, or see the proposed deal as leverage in battling a news organization, is alarming," HuffPost's Michael Calderone wrote on Friday.
The antitrust division of Sessions' Justice Department is currently reviewing the proposed deal. Calderone says the DOJ declined to comment on Klobuchar's letter... | | Source tells Politico that Bannon "pushed the idea of blocking the merger" | | Quoting Politico's Steven Overly and Margaret Harding McGill: "White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has pushed the idea of blocking the merger, a White House official told Politico on Thursday, after months in which the president has accused the news network of airing 'fake' and 'dishonest' coverage of his administration. But the official added that Bannon hasn't mentioned the matter in recent days and that it does not appear to be at the top of his agenda."
The story noted that "AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has met with Trump on multiple occasions since his election, including a June 22 summit with other technology leaders..." | | Repeating my Q's from last night's newsletter:
On June 26 Trump tweeted that "fake News CNN is looking at big management changes." What was his source? Two days later he invoked CNN president Jeff Zucker's name at a private RNC fundraiser, saying that "I hear he's going to resign at some point pretty soon." Where did he hear that? | | Baltimore City Paper shutting down | | Alex Koppelman emails: City Paper, Baltimore's alt-weekly, announced Friday that its owner, the Baltimore Sun Media Group, is shutting it down at some point this year.
From a purely personal perspective, this is heartbreaking. I spent my teen years in Baltimore reading City Paper on a weekly basis, and it had an influence on me that lasts to this day. I may not be living in Baltimore anymore, but I'll still miss it terribly.
And from a broader perspective, this is a local disaster. The Sun is a shadow of itself and — like any city, but even more so — Baltimore desperately needs another paper with another perspective. Beyond that, it's sad to see another alt-weekly going away. When alt-weekly writing was done right, it could be utterly fantastic. There's very little like it anymore, and it's a crying shame. | | -- Erik Wemple took a look at "how Bill O'Reilly's books have fared since his firing from Fox News." Hint: Not well...
-- Happy five-year "Today" show anniversary to Savannah Guthrie! On Friday the show looked back at her "most memorable moments" so far...
-- Via Howard Cohen: Facebook is revealing its plans to build an enormous "mixed use" village across the street from its Menlo Park HQ... | | "There are consequences to our speech" | | CNN analyst Kirsten Powers' latest column for USA Today is about this week's "HanA**holeSolo" debate and anonymity on the web. She says she "initially disagreed with CNN's decision to withhold the identity of this person," who was a "prolific poster of racist content" before publishing a version of the anti-CNN smackdown video that was eventually shared by the president.
"There are consequences to our speech," Powers wrote. "If a person wants to be in good standing in society, then they perhaps should not post racist garbage on the Internet for fun. We are not obligated to protect a person's identity so they can spread and foment racial hatred. They should take the hood off and own their behavior. Their targets do not have the luxury of being anonymous, after all. So why should they?"
She added: "The only defense I can see for protecting his identity is that CNN believed it might jeopardize his physical safety. If this is true, then they made the right decision." | | Sunday's "Reliable Sources" guest list | | | Powers will join me on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," along with Rep. Eric Swalwell, Ben Jacobs, John Avlon, Lynn Sweet, John Gizzi, Kyle Pope, and Robert Leonard, the Iowa radio news director who wrote this NYT op-ed: "Want to Get Rid of Trump? Only Fox News Can Do It." Join us Sunday at 11am ET on CNN... | | Fusion re-launching as Splinter | | Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman emails: Fusion.net is relaunching as "Splinter," and will aim to reach a "justice-minded, inclusive and incisive audience" interested in "the kind of news coverage and commentary that gets under your skin," EIC Dodai Stewart said Friday.
BI's Max Tani says some staffers "don't seem fond of the rebranding." But Stewart defended it in a tweetstorm, saying that "the name didn't come from corporate -- we picked it. Sharp piece, breaking away." That's an important statement for those who paid attention to Fusion/Gizmodo's merger woes...
-- More: Stewart said the team will feature "brilliant people editing and writing piercing stories." One of the new additions is CJR media reporter David Uberti... | | Charles Payne, suspended by Fox, says he'll fight "like a lion armed with truth" | | "I will fight this like a lion armed with truth," Charles Payne tweeted Friday morning, 12 hours after Fox Business Network suspended him amid a sexual harassment allegation. The law firm Paul, Weiss is looking into a former Fox guest's claim of harassment. Earlier in the week the National Enquirer reported that Payne had an extramarital affair with the former guest.
In another tweet, Payne seemed to take a shot at the Enquirer, saying that a reporter contacted him about false allegations but didn't include his response calling it an "ugly lie." He didn't specify what, exactly, is a lie. IJR has details here... | | Checking up on Sheldon Adelson's newspaper | | The latest edition of CNNPolitics' digital magazine STATE features Rem Rieder's examination of the Las Vegas Review-Journal under Sheldon Adelson's ownership.
"Coverage of night cops is not that different," but coverage of issues Adelson cares about "pretty much comes out of public relations," says the paper's former deputy editor Jim Wright. "The idea that the Review-Journal is run as an independent body is laughable." Check out the full story here... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Michael Kinsley says the hubbub over the NYT's $135,000 "cruise around the world" is misplaced: "I name no names, but there are people who would find 10 days floating down the Danube a lot more restful if they come with an assurance that Nicholas Kristof won't be aboard..."
-- Lucia Moses at Digiday writes about NBC News's new strategic shift "from page views to loyalty..."
-- A tip of the hat to Joe Pompeo... Friday was his last day at Politico... He's off to The Hive at Vanity Fair, and Hadas Gold will take over the Morning Media newsletter... | | NOT the type of leaks the NYT wants | | | It was raining on the second floor of the NYT building on Friday. Kevin Roose snapped this picture of Emily Steel venturing under the plastic sheeting to grab one of her notebooks... | | "On one level, the president's tweet is so obviously wrong and so evidently self-serving that the temptation is simply to ignore it. But, because he is the president, his words warrant a response."
--John Podesta responding to Trump's error-filled tweet from the G20 summit claiming that "everyone here is talking about" Podesta, the DNC, and last year's hacking. Podesta wrote a column for the WashPost after posting a series of tweets ridiculing Trump... | | "Spider-Man" and the attack of the acclaimed superhero movie | | Frank Pallotta emails his latest story: This year has seen an unlikely alliance forged between superheroes and one of their longtime foes… movie critics.
Perhaps never before has there been a year like this one, when all the leading superhero movies -- "Wonder Woman," "Logan," "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and this weekend's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" -- have been critical favorites.
"Homecoming" isn't just projected for a $100 million weekend, but also has enjoyed great reviews. This is 👍 because a so-so movie can have a blockbuster opening and be considered a hit, but it's the weeks after that really determine whether the movie is a success. So look out, because here comes the Spider-Man... | | Lisa Bloom puts Rob Kardashian on notice over tirade against Blac Chyna | | Lisa Respers France reports: Attorney Lisa Bloom said on Friday she has filled for a temporary restraining order against Rob Kardashian on behalf of Blac Chyna. Kardashian on Wednesday posted personal information about his relationship with Chyna, who is the mother of his infant daughter. In addition to accusing her of infidelity and claiming he has been footing her bills, he also posted graphic images of her on his Instagram account.
Bloom said: "Mr. Kardashian, you are now on notice: revenge porn is illegal. Cyberbullying your ex is harassment." Read more... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Joan Lee and Marvel icon Stan Lee had a super marriage that lasted almost 70 years. She died Thursday at the age of 95...
-- Eminem loved a rhyme by 50 Cent so much that he said it almost made him quit rapping...
-- Emma Stone says male co-stars have taken pay cuts for her...
-- Jay-Z's "4:44" album is now streaming everywhere but Spotify... | | | Have a great weekend! See you Sunday... | | | What do you like about this newsletter? What do you dislike? Email us... we're at reliablesources@cnn.com... we appreciate every email. | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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