| | | | NYT reveals harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein | | Roger Ailes. Bill O'Reilly. Harvey Weinstein?
On Thursday the NYT published its long-rumored story detailing numerous accusations of sexual harassment against the all-powerful movie producer and Democratic donor. Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and several other accusers were identified by name. "Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it's simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly," Judd said, according to the Times.
Two women at the NYT -- Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey -- co-bylined the story. And they indicated that they're still doing more reporting -- they invited people to contact them with tips.
There's so much to say. First and foremost: Recognize the bravery of these women who decided to speak to the NYT. | | Weinstein says he's sorry... | | Per Sandra Gonzalez and Tom Kludt's story, Weinstein says he's taking a leave of absence from The Weinstein Company. (That's a departure from the Ailes/O'Reilly strategy.) Weinstein's lengthy statement is worth reading in full... Because he comes close to admitting he acted inappropriately with staffers... He apologizes... But he also invokes the NRA in an apparent plea for liberals' sympathy. (Google the terms Weinstein and NRA to see how he's being mocked...)
"I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them," Weinstein added... | | ...But he's also threatening to sue the NYT?! | | Attorney Charles Harder (who led the legal take-down of Gawker) says Weinstein *intends* to sue the Times. But there's no lawsuit yet. Harder says the story "is saturated with false and defamatory statements," claims an employee personnel file was "apparently stolen," and says the paper "ignored" the evidence that was provided prior to publication. If true, would the suit pass the "actual malice" standard for defamation? THR's Eriq Gardner has analysis here...
-- Per Sandra and Tom, Harder "did not respond to inquiries asking him to identify specific information he claims is incorrect..."
-- Here's the kicker: Weinstein's camp says any proceeds from this theoretical lawsuit will be donated to "women's organizations." We'll see...
-- NYT remains confident: "Mr. Weinstein was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication. In fact, we published his response in full," a spokesperson said... | | Add Weinstein to media's ignoble club | | | Brian Lowry writes in an excellent column: As the Times story makes clear, there were plenty of people allegedly in a position to be aware of Weinstein's actions, which didn't dissuade many from working with or for him. As clichéd as it sounds, in an industry where approval is so subjective and well-connected relationships are so highly prized, fear lingers about crossing people with a demonstrated ability to advance one's career. Read the rest here... | | "From the outside, it seemed golden -- the Oscars, the success, the remarkable cultural impact. But behind the scenes, it was a mess, and this" -- Weinstein's treatment of women -- "was the biggest mess of all."
--Mark Gill, former president of Miramax Los Angeles... He also told the NYT that "if a female executive was asked to go to a meeting solo, she and a colleague would generally double up..." | | "The story we all tried to get for decades" | | That's what Variety EIC Claudia Eller called the NYT story on Thursday. "Bravo" to the Times, she tweeted. I asked her to elaborate -- decades?! -- and she said: "We knew there were settlements, but there was no paper trail. And unfortunately, alleged victims contacted refused to go on the record. My hat goes off to the New York Times for breaking a great, deeply reported story with people speaking on the record."
-- But the question will linger: Did Weinstein wield so much power that entertainment industry journalists decided not to dig as aggressively as they could have?
-- Flashback: Two years ago Variety reported on Judd's allegations of sexual harassment against a "mogul from a rival studio," no name attached...
-- Jake Tapper shared this blind quote from a Hollywood producer he knows: "Shocked it's taken so long for a Harvey Weinstein behavior expose. One of the most open secrets in Hollywood." | | Lisa Bloom represented some of the women who accused Bill Cosby and Bill O'Reilly of wrongdoing. But she's on the other side of the table in the Weinstein case. Lots of people are surmising that it's because Weinstein's company bought the rights to her book "Suspicion Nation" for a forthcoming TV project.
Bloom spoke with CNNMoney's Richard Quest on Thursday, and said Weinstein has admitted that "he has demons that he needs to slay" and that he is "a dinosaur" who grew up in a generation "with a whole different mentality to women." She criticized the NYT for not giving Weinstein more time to respond to the story before publication... And she said she'll conduct a top-to-bottom review of policies and practices at The Weinstein Company. Bottom line: She says he's a "complex human being." Here's the newsy interview... | | Dems pressured to return donations | | | Weinstein's connections to the Clinton and Obama families are well documented. So are his donations to Dems. Sen. Patrick Leahy was the first politician to say that he'll donate Weinstein's $5,600 contribution to charity. CNN's Sophie Tatum has details here... | | | -- NYT's Alex Burns tweeted: "Curious how many entertainers who spoke out against Trump, post-Access Hollywood tape, will speak up about this..." | | -- Gretchen Carlson's question in her statement: "When will this dynamic end?"
-- Does Weinstein regret his Wednesday statement about the impending NYT story? He said "the story sounds so good I want to buy the movie rights..."
-- Did Weinstein/his company threaten to pull its ad $$$$ from the NYT at any point during the reporting process? Will it do so now?
-- Weinstein says he wants "a second chance in the community but I know I've got work to do to earn it." Will he get it?
-- The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon asks: "Hollywood doesn't like to have its feathers ruffled. This Weinstein news is the equivalent of having them plucked bald. How will the industry react?"
-- Why didn't these allegations come to light before now? | | | Megan Thomas emails this reminder: Next Friday is the Variety Power of Women luncheon in Hollywood, and there will be a lot of talk there. Women have complained about similar treatment for years, but can't think of anyone who has stood up and named a name like Judd... | | What's Ronan Farrow working on? | | | One last Q: Ronan Farrow of NBC News has been pursuing leads about Weinstein for the better part of a year. I made an error in last night's newsletter... he's not doing the reporting for NBC, he's doing it for The New Yorker... and on Thursday evening he confirmed this by mysteriously tweeting out a link to a SecureDrop so that "if you have a story or a piece of evidence you'd like to share with me," you can do it securely... | | I went to the W.H. briefing today | | | I was in DC, and I wanted to see firsthand how Sarah Sanders would address @realDonaldTrump's shocking tweet about "fake news networks," so I went to Thursday's briefing. Sanders mostly dodged the questions, though it was notable that she passed up a couple of chances to distinguish between Trump's "fake news" smears and actually made-up "fake news" propaganda from sources like Russia... | | Trump's tweet: A new low? | | What do you think? I think Trump was just blowing off steam by complaining that the Senate Intel Committee isn't "looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!" He was just venting about news coverage he hates. But at the same time, these are 140 shocking characters -- words that certainly piqued the interest of First Amendment attorneys.
"This is the kind of statement one expects to hear from a despot, not from an American president," Jameel Jaffer, the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told me. "Calling on the intelligence committee to investigate the press is particularly absurd. That committee was established after the national-security abuses of the 1950s, '60s, and early '70s to help ensure that the government's national security policies don't compromise constitutional freedoms -- including the freedom of the press." (What are the chances Trump knows that?) Here's my full story... | | No, Mr. President, the Senate Intel Committee is not going to investigate "fake news networks" | | THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATIONS | | CNN's latest scoop: Mueller's team met with Russia dossier author | | | The Christopher Steele dossier is back in the news: "Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators met this past summer with the former British spy whose dossier on alleged Russian efforts to aid the Trump campaign spawned months of investigations that have hobbled the Trump administration, according to two people familiar with the matter..." | | Stoking Islamophobia and secession in Texas -- from an office in Russia | | -- The News & Documentary Emmy Awards are underway right now in NYC... This Twitter feed has all the results as they come in...
-- This deserves scrutiny: FEMA removed stats "about drinking water access and electricity in Puerto Rico from website," Jenna Johnson reports... (WashPost)
-- On Thursday's "Late Show," Stephen Colbert will announce that his #PuberMe for #PuertoRicoRelief fund-raising effort netted $1 million...
-- Kristin Lemkau, CMO at JPMorgan Chase, says "I think they feel like the first big, emerging advertiser that can be grouped with Facebook and Google." Who's "they?" Amazon... (BI)
-- John Herrman's latest: "What if Platforms Like Facebook Are Too Big to Regulate?" (NYT Mag) | | Netflix doing what it has to do... | | A Netflix price hike took effect for new subscribers on Thursday. The increases will go into effect for existing subscribers in the coming months. "The standard service, which allows customers to stream shows and movies in HD on up to two screens at once, is now priced at $10.99 monthly, up from $9.99. The premium service, which provides viewing on up to four screens (plus ultra HD content access), is $13.99, up from $11.99," Sara Ashley O'Brien reports. But "the basic service, which enables Netflix streaming on one screen and doesn't allow for HD or ultra HD viewing, will remain at $7.99."
I have to admit, I didn't realize I was already paying $10 bucks a month for Netflix til I read this news... Soon it'll be $11 a month... And I just re-upped my Hulu subscription... 🤔 | | BuzzFeed's must-read about Milo | | | Oliver Darcy emails: BuzzFeed's Joe Bernstein dropped a bombshell story Thursday afternoon about Milo Yiannopoulos. Based on an "explosive cache of documents" he obtained, the story contains a number of scoops, and provides great insight into the inner-workings of Breitbart, and the far-right website's relationship with the reclusive Mercer family. It also contains a number of leaked emails Steve Bannon, celebrities, and journalists sent to Yiannopoulos. You should block off 20 minutes in your schedule and read it here... | | Shoutout to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | | | Seconding Politico's Rachael Bade: "Hats off to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette." The paper pursued details about Rep. Tim Murphy, first by filing a court motion to unseal documents... which seemed to prompt Murphy to admit to an extramarital affair last month. Then the paper obtained text messages and other other documents... which suggested that the pro-life congressman urged abortion in the affair. The story hit on Tuesday... and on Thursday Murphy said he was resigning from Congress... | | | -- Yashar Ali tweets: "Gosh, in any other year the Rep Murphy story would be all over the news..." | | -- Dan Abrams' latest: "Hate for Megyn Kelly is Everything That's Wrong With America Today" (Mediaite)
-- Disney and Altice have finalized a new deal, averting an ESPN blackout in the New York metro area...
-- It's official: Tara Palmeri is ABC's newest White House correspondent. "Tara will help make a great team even better," James Goldston wrote in a memo to staff...
-- Oliver Darcy emails: IJR White House reporter Maegan Vazquez is joining CNN Politics as a breaking news reporter...
-- Brian Lowry emails: The LATimes' Stephen Battaglio breaks down premiere-week ratings for the major networks, and how delayed DVR viewing continues to grow... (LAT) | | "The 'why' remains elusive" | | | "The 'how' is becoming clearer, but the 'why' remains elusive," Anthony Mason said on Thursday's "CBS Evening News," summing up the mystery of the gunman's motive in one sentence... | | This week's Billboard mag cover | | --> YouTube changes search to combat Las Vegas conspiracy videos | | | CNN Tech's Heather Kelly writes: YouTube has always had videos with conspiracy theories, hoaxes and misinformation. In the wake of the Las Vegas shootings, the company has decided to address the problem. YouTube updated its search algorithm Thursday to promote authoritative news sources at the top of search results, according to a person familiar with the matter. It's been working on the change for months, but decided to release it early after conspiracy videos surfaced on its site about Vegas... | | Netflix scraps "Punisher" NYC premiere due to shooting | | | Brian Lowry emails: Muddled messages? Yesterday I noted that the Parents Television Council urged Hollywood to curb violent content in response to the Las Vegas shooting. Later, Netflix pulled a premiere of its Marvel series "The Punisher" from New York Comic-Con, citing sensitivity to the mass shooting. But while the show is crazily violent, adding distance between screening it and the tragedy at best seems arbitrary, and doesn't make the parties behind it look more responsible, certainly in the eyes of such critics... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Julia Waldow:
-- MGM has extended Gary Barber's contract as chairman and CEO through December 2022... (Variety)
-- Discovery is launching a 38-episode travel docu-series in VR, with distribution help from Google... It's Discovery's biggest VR project ever... (Variety)
-- Athletes Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, and Kawhi Leonard are among the executive producers for a forthcoming documentary about the first black American to play for the NBA... (THR)
-- BuzzFeed is upping its brand game by throwing real-life events such as parties and haunted houses to promote digital series like "Worth It" and "Unsolved..." (AdWeek)
-- Cross-posting Instagram Stories as Facebook Stories is now a reality... The feature doesn't currently go the other way, though... (TechCrunch) | | Julia Waldow emails: Facebook is testing out an informational button that provides additional context for News Feed articles, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday. This supplementary info, the post says, is "pulled from across Facebook and other sources" and involves details from the publisher's Wikipedia page, a button to follow its Page, trending or related articles on the topic, and data on how the article is being shared on the platform...
-- Reminder: "Of course, whenever Facebook shows more information, it creates potential vectors for misinformation," TechCrunch's Josh Constine writes... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Really interesting: FiveThirtyEight wonders whether the media covers Trump too much, too harshly, too narrowly, and has charts to answer the question... (FiveThirtyEight)
-- ProPublica will be sponsoring an investigative reporter's salary and benefits throughout 2018 in six partner news organizations... in cities with population below one million... (ProPublica)
-- Adam Entous is joining the New Yorker... (Twitter)
-- Margaret Sullivan wonders whether this moment in the history of journalism will inspire the next generation of reporters, like Watergate did back in the day, or not... (CJR)
-- Jay Rosen and Gonzalo Del Peon share takeaways on how successful membership programs for news orgs work... (Membership Puzzle)
-- An inspirational story about a one-man local newsroom in Michigan, and how the community is supporting it through donations... (Bridge) | | Lowry reviews "The Mountain Between Us" | | | Brian Lowry emails: If you had to be stranded in the snow, Idris Elba and Kate Winslet would probably rank high on the list of companions. That's the underlying notion to "The Mountain Between Us," an old-fashioned star vehicle for the two... Read more... | | | For the record, part five | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2018 nominees were announced, and the 19 acts represent different genres. Nine of them are first timers on the list...
-- Peter Kraus is returning to "Bachelor" franchise after coming in as runner-up on the latest "Bachelorette..." | | | 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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