| | | | | Exec summary: Comcast is dropping its bid for 21st Century Fox assets... Ryan Lizza is "dismayed" by The New Yorker's decision... Seth Rogen is set to play Walter Cronkite on the big screen... | | | The banner on "CNN Tonight" right now: "A DAY OF RECKONING IN ALABAMA." Who's going to win? Alabama will decide on Tuesday, but political junkies all across the country will be watching. The polls close at 8pm ET. Here is CNN's election night guide... | | Moore's media bashing: A preview of the midterms? | | At Roy Moore's final campaign rally on Monday night, speaker after speaker attacked "the media." Obviously we're not on the ballot, but Moore has been trying to run against journalists and journalism ever since the first WashPost story came out on November 9. His camp's message seems to be: A vote for Moore is a vote against the no-good media. It echoes President Trump's appeal to his base -- and it could be a preview of a midterm election strategy for the GOP.
For my column about this, I spoke with Michelle Holmes, the VP of content for AL.com, who said Moore's tactic "of actively disparaging the press -- and refusing almost all interviews -- has surely found some success with Alabamians who believe the 'liberal media elite' is seeking to control their lives." But "there is a flip side: as local on-the-ground media, we've seen levels of support for our journalism unprecedented in the modern era from Alabamians aghast at Moore's candidacy." Meanwhile, the Doug Jones campaign has been pointing out Moore's reluctance to be interviewed... | | "Fake news" talk is taking its toll | | | Alabama reporter Anna Claire Vollers told me: "An entire year of 'fake news' accusations has taken its toll here in Alabama, just like it has nationally." But, she added, "I've also seen readers, including Republicans, vehemently defend my work." Read the rest here... | | Special coverage on cable | | | CNN is running a countdown clock... Special coverage starts at 5pm on Tuesday... Fox will have Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchor live updates during the network's usual prime time shows... MSNBC will have special coverage as well... and Fox Biz will have a two-hour Neil Cavuto show from 8 til 10pm... | | Spicer writing a pro-Trump, anti-media book | | | Remember Steven Perlberg's BuzzFeed story last month about Sean Spicer failing to land a TV job? Perlberg said "one open question is whether Spicer will focus on pitching a book." The answer is yes: Regnery will publish Spicer's book "The Briefing" on July 23, 2018. Spicer went on "Hannity" to announce the book deal on Monday. He says he want to "set the record straight," which means this book will celebrate President Trump and criticize the press... | | Morning shows scramble to cover NYC bomb | | | When the first Dataminr email alert came in, I feared the worst. You probably did too. It said "MANHATTAN *EXPLOSION* IN TRANSIT 8TH AV & W 44 ST. POSSIBLE EXPLOSIVE DEVICE." The city's newsrooms scrambled, sending crews and reporters from all directions. The NYT just had to walk downstairs, since it happened below the paper's HQ. Within an hour, it was clear that there were no fatalities. The improvised device "did not fully have the effect that he was hoping for," Andrew Cuomo told Wolf Blitzer later in the day... | | Colbert's message for the suspect | | "Scary morning here in NYC," Stephen Colbert said in his Monday "Late Show" monologue. "A man set off an improvised bomb in the subway near the Port Authority. Luckily none of the bystanders were seriously hurt, and the police got the guy..."
Then the punchline: "I've got something to say to this guy: SERIOUSLY? You tried to terrorize New York subway commuters? Nice try. Nice try. New York commuters don't even flinch when the subway break-dancers kick two inches away from their face. They have to battle rats for the seat, which, for the record, you should only give up if the rat is pregnant..." | | Comcast drops bid for 21st Century Fox assets | | Hadas Gold writes: Comcast is dropping out of the running to buy a majority of 21st Century Fox, clearing the path for Disney to complete an acquisition should it choose to do so.
Comcast's statement to Reuters: "When a set of assets like Fox's becomes available, it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders. That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer." Read Gold's full story here... | | | Brian Lowry emails: Ben Fritz makes a good point in the WSJ: While it seemed possible, even likely, that one of the major studios might get swallowed, Fox wasn't perceived as the likely target, with both Viacom and Sony seen as acquisition candidates... | | | LAT's Meg James points out that the Disney-Fox deal "could prompt a brain drain of high-level Fox executives in the coming months." Amazon "has had individual discussions" with 20th Century Fox Chair Stacey Snider and Fox Television Group Chair Dana Walden about replacing Roy Price atop Amazon Studios... | | -- WashPost's must-read on Fusion GPS... And its use of "investigative reporting techniques and media connections to advance the interests of an eclectic range of clients..." (WashPost)
-- Verizon's new multi-year agreement with the NFL to carry football games on mobile phones means that "anyone with a smartphone will be able to watch games airing in their local market..." (CNNMoney)
-- Amy Chozick is back from book leave... She has joined the NYT business section as a "writer at large," writing features on a variety of topics... (NYT) | | The New Yorker fires Ryan Lizza | | The New Yorker said it "severed ties" with Ryan Lizza on Monday following a review of what it called "improper sexual conduct." Here's Tom Kludt's full story.
Lizza served as the mag's Washington correspondent for the past decade. He is also a CNN contributor. A CNN spokesperson said the network had just learned of the New Yorker's decision. "Ryan Lizza will not appear on CNN while we look into this matter," the spokesperson said... | | | Lizza urged people not to jump to conclusions. Tom Kludt emails: In a statement, Lizza insisted that he did nothing untoward. "I am dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate." He said the mag "was unable to cite any company policy that was violated." His last line: "This decision, which was made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts, was a terrible mistake." | | Mario Batali steps away from businesses and TV show | | Eater's investigation into alleged misconduct by Mario Batali prompted ABC to take action. Batali has been a host on "The Chew" for the past several years, as CNNMoney's Jill Disis notes here. "We have asked Mario Batali to step away from 'The Chew' while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention," ABC said.
-- More from Disis's story: "Food Network, which aired Batali's show 'Molto Mario' from 1996 to 2004, said it is shelving plans to bring back the program..." | | Monday's other developments | | -- WashPost's Steven Zeitchik tweeted: "Outside of John Lasseter, no top-tier conglomerate entertainment exec has been caught up in a sexual harassment scandal. Suspect it won't remain that way for long..."
-- Details of the allegations against public radio host Tom Ashbrook are now public...
-- Now that Lorin Stein has resigned from the Paris Review, managing editor Nicole Rudick will serve as acting editor...
-- When the news broke about Charlie Rose last month, Norah O'Donnell and producer Jennifer Janisch "were in the midst of a six-month investigation into sexual assault cases at the U.S. Air Force Academy," the AP's David Bauder reports. "Their first report, saying that more than a dozen current and former Air Force cadets believe their cases had been mishandled and that they faced retaliation, aired Monday on 'CBS This Morning.'" Part two airs on Tuesday... | | "Trump's #MeToo moment is here" | | | That's the main headline on CNN.com right now. Chris Cillizza's story describes how three of the women accusing Trump of sexual misconduct appeared on "Megyn Kelly Today" and spoke at a press conference on Monday morning. Later in the day, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called on POTUS to resign... | | Kelly says some Trump accusers are "just too afraid to talk about it again" | | | Some newsletter readers have asked me why Trump's accusers haven't been more visible across TV. Megyn Kelly talked about that on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show on Monday. "A lot of the women who we talked to about coming on to the program -- you know, open Trump accusers -- were too scared to do it," Kelly said. "They talked to me privately about the amount of retribution that had been unleashed against them and their families just for saying, 'You know, me too,' right? And they didn't want to unleash that can of worms in their own lives again. There are many more women who have gone on the record who are just too afraid to talk about it again." (Via Mediaite) | | -- Jeff Glor's first trip abroad as anchor of the "CBS Evening News:" He interviewed French president Emmanuel Macron for Monday's broadcast... (CBS)
-- Jennifer Ildiko Szalai is the NYT's new nonfiction book critic... (NYT)
-- Just in time for "The Post," the NYT and Skyhorse are republishing "The Pentagon Papers..." (Skyhorse)
-- You all know I have a soft spot for traffic reporters... But I missed this great story the other day by Sarah Maslin Nir... "Where There's Smoke, There Are the Traffic Reporters of Los Angeles" (NYT) | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Ben Smith announced in an internal staff memo on Monday some organizational changes to BuzzFeed that place more of a focus on producing shows. Smith said that with broadcast projects BuzzFeed has "started to figure out a central pillar of what we used to call a video strategy" and said the outlet will "be focusing on premium broadcasts that combine our understanding of our audience with a respect for some traditional production values and forms." To do this BuzzFeed has hired Cindy Vanegas-Gesuale as head of programming and promoted Shani Hilton to VP of news and programming. Read Smith's full memo to staff here... | | CNN to Trump: "Leaders should lead by example" | | Trump's only tweet on Monday wasn't about the NYC blast or the Alabama race, it was about the NYT's Sunday story that described his TV habit. The story was published online on Saturday afternoon, but he didn't comment on it til Monday morning, leading to speculation that he heard about the story from morning TV shows.
Via Twitter, Trump denied watching four to eight hours of TV a day and said he "seldom, if ever," watches CNN or MSNBC. And: "I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the 'dumbest man on television!'" CNN responded with a statement: "In a world where bullies torment kids on social media to devastating effect on a regular basis with insults and name calling, it is sad to see our president engaging in the very same behavior himself. Leaders should lead by example." | | Oliver Darcy emails: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Monday that news outlets "purposely" put out false information about the Trump administration to mislead the American people, but, when pressed by CNN's Jim Acosta, was unable to cite any relevant examples of this occurring. "There's a very big difference between making honest mistakes and purposefully misleading the American people," Sanders said at the daily briefing. "Something that happens regularly."
Asked to provide an example, Sanders pointed to the botched ABC News report on Michael Flynn that led to the suspension of Brian Ross. But ABC wasn't intentionally trying to mislead people with that report. It was an error and the network took disciplinary action as a result of it. I reached out to the White House again after the briefing and, pressed for evidence, a spokesperson was still unable to cite a specific story where a media outlet knowingly peddled false information to mislead its audience. Principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah would only tell me via email, "In the past 10 days, ABC News, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters and CNN have reported blatant falsehoods on the President or his family about the Russia investigation, with little to no accountability. When a retraction or correction is given as much visibility as the initial story it is far more plausible that there was not an intent to mislead." | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Gawker might be coming back as a reader-funded newsroom operated through a nonprofit foundation. A Kickstarter campaign was launched today with a goal of $500,000... (WSJ)
-- Charlie Warzel and Remy Smidt say the owner of a YouTube channel producing disturbing, exploitative videos featuring children was netting over $500,000 a month from ad revenue... (BuzzFeed News)
-- CJR takes a look at the role of NDAs in media... (CJR) | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Bustle hosted a media salon at the home of Bryan Goldberg on Monday evening with catering from La Esquina... Spotted: Lindsey Green, Troy Young, Matt Minoff, Joe and Christie Marchese, Jeremy Barr, Erin Griffith, Emma Gray, Kayvan Salmanpour, Jessica Tarlov, Alyson Shontell, Maggie Coughlan, Max Tani, David Finocchio, Taylor Lorenz, Chris Altchek, Cale Weissman, Kerry Flynn, Jason Wagenheim... | | "Last Jedi" reviews coming Tuesday | | | Brian Lowry emails: "Star Wars" is such a rare cultural commodity in its sweep and heft -- and the web traffic that will generate -- that news outlets surely feel like they can't cover "The Last Jedi" enough. Reviews will hit on Tuesday, but expect a deluge of coverage throughout the week and weekend, including spoiler-filled analysis once the movie debuts. While that's understandable, and nobody operating under these rules can really occupy a high horse about it, the pressure to keep feeding perceived demand is the sort of prescription that suggests this won't to be a banner week for entertainment journalism... | | Megan Thomas emails: In a year that saw "Mudbound" from Dee Rees, the global phenomenon "Wonder Woman" from Patty Jenkins, and the debut hit "Lady Bird" from Greta Gerwig, the 90 or so members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association still managed to shut women out of competition for best director.
More than a few insiders were curious how Jordan Peele missed a directing or writing nomination for "Get Out," and the romantic comedy "The Big Sick" was shut out of the nominations all together. The film's star, Kumail Nanjiani, who co-wrote the autobiographical film with his wife, Emily Gordon, tweeted a hilarious response to the snub – the retweets are equally funny:
"Hey gang. This is Steven Spielberg tweeting from Kumail's phone. My fave movie this yr was The Big Sick. It's avail on Amazon Prime & iTunes & all that. Great movie to watch w the fam. I watched it w my family (the Spielbergs) & we all loved it. Handing phone back to Kumail now." | | Brian Lowry emails: The Golden Globes haven't been a particularly reliable Oscar bellwether the last few years, and this year's nominations in particular -- as they scatter the wealth among multiple contenders -- haven't done much to add clarity to what's perceived to be a wide-open race. Nor, it should be noted, do they include "The Last Jedi," which wasn't screened in time for consideration...
Read the rest of Lowry's analysis here... | | Meryl Streep tops her own record | | | Megan Thomas emails: Meryl Streep earned her record 31st Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of publisher Katharine Graham in "The Post." (The late Jack Lemmon ranks second with 22 nominations.) The actress has won nine Globes, including the 2017 Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award... | | Seth Rogen to play Walter Cronkite | | | Yes, you read that right. "Seth Rogen is attached to play iconic CBS newsman Walter Cronkite in 'Newsflash,' a Ben Jacoby-scripted drama that 'Stronger' director David Gordon Green will direct next year," Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. reports. The film is about CBS and its coverage of the the JFK assassination... | | | "Reliable Sources" highlights | | | 3 ways to catch up on the show | | -- Carl Bernstein said pro-Trump TV and radio hosts are "abetting a cover-up" by attacking Robert Mueller's investigation...
-- I asked Senator Ben Cardin about the tit for tat between Russia and the U.S. over news outlets registering as "foreign agents..."
-- David Axelrod and I talked about a milestone for his "Axe Files" podcast: episode #200... | | | 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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