| | | | "History won't be kind to silence" | | "It is absolutely essential that we support the First Amendment and everything that the FCC does," FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told me on "Reliable Sources."
So why, I said to the Democratic rep, hasn't the FCC's GOP chairman Ajit Pai spoken out about Trump's troubling tweets threatening the licenses of TV stations?
"Well, I can't really speak to what he is thinking," Rosenworcel said. "But I do think that history won't be kind to silence. And I think it's important for all of the commissioners to make clear that they support the First Amendment and that the agency will not revoke a broadcast license simply because the president is dissatisfied with the licensee's coverage..." | | Former chairman Tom Wheeler and former commissioner Michael Copps, both Dems, also joined me on Sunday's show. Wheeler called Pai's silence on the matter "shocking:" Pai "is making himself complicit in a coercion that the president was engaging in when he was trying to send a message to broadcasters, saying 'We're watching and we control your right to be alive.'" CNNMoney's Jackie Wattles has a recap here...
-- For the record, we tried to book Pai, and we will continue trying... | | | Trump's recent threats are "toothless," right? Well yes... But... In Monday's WashPost, Margaret Sullivan says that doesn't make them "harmless..." Here's her latest column... | | What journalists do "is as crucial to our democracy as the right to vote" | | | Bob Schieffer was on Sunday's show because he's pitching a timely new book about news "Overload..." He told me he doesn't take Trump's tweeted insults too seriously because "at my age I've been called everything from a 'nattering nabob of negativity' back in the Nixon days to a female hygiene product these days..." But "what I do take seriously is when he tries to destroy the credibility of the media. An independent press that can gather information that people can compare to the government's versions of events. That is what we do. It is as crucial to our democracy as the right to vote. And when people try to undermine that, I think they are undermining the foundations of our democracy." Watch the full segment here... And The Hill and Mediaite have recaps... | | Hollywood says "good riddance" to Harvey | | The Academy's Board of Governors voted on Saturday. Harvey Weinstein's lifetime membership was revoked. Up next: The Producers Guild will reportedly meet on Monday. Deadline's "sources say they expect a near-unanimous vote to expel him." Then he has 15 days to appeal. Then he's officially out. David Robb says it's "the first of many trials to come for the disgraced movie mogul..."
-- Later this week: The TV Academy will discuss Weinstein at a board meeting on Thursday... It's unclear if he is a member... | | Weinstein's legal team is "pivoting" | | Janice Min shared a scoop with me on "Reliable Sources" Sunday morning: Attorney Charles Harder, who she called "media's Darth Vader," is no longer working with Weinstein. Min said this represented a "pivot" in Weinstein's legal strategy -- from challenging news organizations to preparing to defend himself in criminal investigations. (He has at least two criminal defense attorneys, Blair Berk and David Chesnoff, in his camp.)
-- Separately, a source told me that David Boies, who has represented both Weinstein and The Weinstein Co., is not actively working with either entity right now... Read more here... | | This weekend's developments | | -- Even more women are coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault by Weinstein. Police in London are investigating reports by two women...
-- Driving the week: Weinstein is expected to contest his firing when the Weinstein Co. board meets on Tuesday...
-- Woody Allen is chiming in, saying he's "sad" for everyone involved in the scandal... And discouraging a "witch hunt..." Later in the day, he "clarified," according to Variety...
-- The closing quote in Maureen Dowd's column: "I hope it's a witch hunt," said a top Hollywood woman. "I hope it's a purge. There are people we have to get rid of in our business. Everyone knows them..."
-- Monday's NYT has a reconstruction of Weinstein's 2015 "brush with the police..." Ken Sunshine is quoted... | | Weinstein Co. is in corporate limbo | | | That's the best word for it right now -- LIMBO. "My opinion is that The Weinstein Company as it sits today, is done," COO David Glasser told Deadline. But Harvey's brother Bob Weinstein sounded more bullish in an interview with THR -- even while many staffers are pessimistic. The company's bankers are "supporting us," he said, and "there is a plan to come out on the other side." We'll see... | | What it feels like in Hollywood | | | On "Reliable Sources," former THR editor Janice Min told me there's a "huge sense of relief" in Hollywood now that the Weinstein stories are finally public. She said people are "truly mystified that it took this long for all of this to come out, and that includes both media and executives in town." Watch... | | If you missed Bob's interview with Matt Belloni... | | #MeToo is the #1 Twitter trend in the U.S. right now | | | Lisa Respers France emails: More fallout from the Weinstein scandal: On Sunday, two simple words flooded Twitter. Actress Alyssa Milano asked women to respond "Me too" if they had ever been sexually harassed or assaulted. It opened the floodgates and allowed for the sharing of stories... | | My interview with Jodi Kantor | | | What will the NYT's Jodi Kantor tell her 11-year-old daughter about her Weinstein reporting? That the "magic of journalism" is that "you really can confront someone really powerful and ask the hard questions." Here's the video, with highlights from our Q&A... You can listen to the entire conversation through our iTunes podcast... | | What genuine change will require | | | Brian Lowry emails: My former Variety colleague David Cohen tweeted an interesting point about the Academy being an imperfect vehicle for dealing with some of the industry problems that it's been pressured to address -- specifically, diversity (through the #OscarsSoWhite campaign) and now sexual harassment. It's not that the academy shouldn't take action or seek to occupy a leadership role, but its primary function — handing out awards, to people usually at the apex of their careers -- is in this context basically symbolic. Genuine change will require sweeping across employment decisions and behavior at all levels of the industry... | | -- "Jemele Hill's Future at ESPN Remains Unclear After Suspension," Richard Deitsch reports... (SI)
-- There's a fun kicker to Jim Rutenberg's Monday media column about antisocial social media chiefs... (NYT)
-- Michael Isikoff's latest: "Russian trolls were ordered to watch 'House of Cards' to understand U.S. politics and craft messages, ex-worker says..." (Yahoo)
-- "Government lawyers have asked a judge to reject CNN's requests to make public the memos of former FBI Director James Comey in which he details his meetings with President Trump..." (CNN)
-- "Washington City Paper is for sale..." (Washingtonian) | | Media week ahead calendar | | -- Monday: WSJ's D.Live conference in L.A... Through Wednesday...
-- Monday after the bell: NETFLIX EARNINGS...
-- Tuesday: Gretchen Carlson's book "Be Fierce" comes out...
-- Tuesday: NFL owners meet with NFL Players Association re: anthem protests...
-- Wednesday night: CNN holding a town hall debate on taxes with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Ted Cruz...
-- Thursday before the bell: Verizon earnings...
-- Friday night: "Only The Brave" in theaters...
-- Sunday night: "The Walking Dead" returns... | | Gretchen Carlson's book launch week | | | There's no feeling quite like launching a book into the world. Gretchen Carlson has done it before -- but Tuesday will be different -- that's the day she's releasing her book "Be Fierce," reflecting on her exit from Fox News, her lawsuit against Roger Ailes, and broader workplace harassment issues. Carlson will be in DC Monday morning for an event at the Post... then NYC for a raft of interviews on Tuesday... and onward from there... | | "60 Minutes" and the WashPost teamed up for the first time in recent memory for a blockbuster investigation into "how Congress allied with drug company lobbyists to derail the DEA's war on opioids." The double-length segment by Bill Whitaker aired on "60" Sunday night.
The Post's story noted how Rep. Tom Marino, a Republican from PA, dodged an interview -- "Marino's staff called the U.S. Capitol Police when The Post and '60' tried to interview the congressman at his office..."
-- Related: "Meet '60 Minutes' DEA whistleblower..." | | -- Best story of the day: By Roxanne Roberts: "At 81, Diane Rehm is once again a blushing bride..." (WashPost)
-- Ramesh Ponnuru's POV: "The Liberal Media Is Beating Donald Trump" (Bloomberg View)
-- This news broke late Friday: Gustavo Arellano resigned as OC Weekly editor in chief rather than lay off staffers. He said the cuts would have affected half his staff. (OC Register) | | | The ABC host gave a round of interviews in conjunction with his week of shows in Brooklyn. He told Brian Steinberg that "if Johnny Carson had a Donald Trump, then Johnny Carson would have some things to say about it." And he told Dave Itzkoff that some of his detractors "are just trying to get Fox News to hire them as on-air commentators. It's sad." Look out for Frank Pallotta's interview on Monday... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Here's The Guardian's deep dive into how Russia used social media to sow discord in America... and how it's still happening today.... (The Guardian)
-- CJR's Meg Dalton, Karen K. Ho and Pete Vernon assessed how covering Trump changed the careers of a great number of journalism stars... (CJR)
-- Like Dua Lipa, Jack Dorsey's got new rules... His are about cracking down on harassment on Twitter... (TechCrunch)
-- Kurt Wagner thinks everybody should relax about the 280-character tweets. Longer tweets are helpful, he says... (Recode) | | Fox Business celebrates 10th birthday | | | Earlier this month Fox News marked its 21st birthday. Sunday it was Fox Business Network's turn -- the channel turned 10 years old -- time flies, eh? I remember the launch party at the Met like it was just yesterday. USA Today's Mike Snider has a look at how the channel has surpassed CNBC by some measures... | | "I have three certainties in my life: death, taxes and attacks from Breitbart News."
--Paul Ryan in an interview with Kasie Hunt... on the debut of Hunt's new Sunday evening MSNBC show "Kasie DC..." | | Mike Bloomberg speaking in Boston at the HUBweek conference on Friday:
"I said to the New York Times publisher a few weeks ago [that] he helped get Donald Trump elected. Why? Because he had Donald Trump in the righthand column of the front page of the New York Times virtually every single day. And Arthur Sulzberger said, well, we had to explain to the public what he was saying and why he was wrong or right or whatever. And I said, no, Arthur, you didn't have to do it on the front page every day. And number two, just giving somebody that kind of publicity — Donald Trump got elected without barely spending any money of his own at all, or raising any money at all. He got free publicity because the news business today is so focused on, desperate to, whether it's on print or over the internet, to get enough eyeballs and clicks that they can stay in business. And sensationalism press comes out of that." | | A film critic who's "giving up on horror movies" | | | Brian Lowry emails: Another horror movie, "Happy Death Day," topped the weekend box-office standings, but Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan offered a personal explanation in a package about the genre as to why he'll no longer see such films -- one that ponders whether the nature of the movies has changed, or he has. While it sounds dicey for a critic to essentially ignore a portion of his beat, it's a thoughtful look at why at least one said enough's enough... | | Frank Pallotta has a recap of Saturday's "SNL" here. The key comment from Colin Jost during "Weekend Update:"
"He doesn't need sex rehab. He needs a specialized facility where there are no women, no contact with the outside world, metal bars and it's a prison." | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I appreciate every message. The feedback helps us craft the next day's newsletter! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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