| | | | | Exec summary: Scroll down for details about Omarosa's "Big Brother" debut, Tronc's sale of the LA Times, Vice's miss, Golf mag's sale, and "Our Cartoon President..." | | Hadas Gold emails: On Thursday in DC, execs from Facebook, Google and Twitter will be questioned by British politicians about "fake news" and its effects on the political system. "It will be the first ever live broadcast and public hearing of a House of Commons select committee outside the UK," The Guardian notes. The hearing will also involve academics and journalists, including Major Garrett, Tony Maddox, Amy Mitchell, Frank Sesno, David Chavern, and Claire Wardle...
--> Gold will be covering it all day, so follow her on Twitter for updates... | | Here's what I told the committee | | The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has been conducting this inquiry into "fake news" for several months. I met with the MPs on Tuesday in NYC, and came away impressed... I felt like they were asking the right questions, albeit some very hard questions that don't have clear answers...
--> What I tried to convey: There are many types of "fake news," so it's helpful to use more specific terms, like "that's a hoax" or "that's an attempt at voter suppression." There will be even more types of "fake" content in the near future. This is a problem that's going to get worse before it gets better, so all stakeholders need to plan accordingly... | | The MPs should read this story! 👇 | | Jack Nicas is joining the NYT... And his final story for the WSJ is a must-read... It's about how YouTube's recommendations "often lead users to channels that feature conspiracy theories, partisan viewpoints and misleading videos, even when those users haven't shown interest in such content." Read the rest here...
--> Former WSJer Shira Ovide tweeted about the piece: "The key revelation from the last year in technology is how little the internet giants understand their own algorithms compared with outsiders who are intent on manipulating them..." | | Daily Mail investigation leads to Rob Porter's resignation | | Where to begin? Let's begin here: "Senior White House officials were aware for months of the allegations made against Trump's staff secretary," two sources told CNN on Wednesday. The allegations against Rob Porter involved domestic abuse.
"By early fall, it was widely known among Trump's top aides -- including chief of staff John Kelly -- both that Porter was facing troubles in obtaining the clearance and that his ex-wives claimed he had abused them" according to CNN's story by Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak and Dan Merica. "No action was taken to remove him from the staff."
So who knew what when?
I don't know when the Daily Mail knew. But the UK-based tabloid site, which has been expanding in the US, published a story last week about Porter and W.H. communications director Hope Hicks getting cozy in the back of a cab. (Other outlets have confirmed that they are romantically involved.) That item was a precursor to Tuesday afternoon, when the Mail posted its first story about the allegations against Porter, citing accounts from his two ex-wives. Per CNN's reporting, Hicks was involved in crafting the response. In the story, Kelly and Sarah Sanders were both quoted supporting him. They praised his "integrity."
The stories kept coming. The ex-wives also spoke with The Intercept, and one of the women provided photos, which came out overnight. Other journalists started calling. Some outlets obtained and published the emergency protective order his second wife filed in 2010. The Daily Mail posted a second story on Wednesday morning. And Porter's exit was announced Wednesday afternoon. He paired his resignation with a denial of the allegations...
--> Daily Mail PR says the Porter stories are a testament to its investigative reporting team... | | W.H. statements made a bad situation much worse | | | Tuesday's supportive statements were embarrassing by Wednesday. And some of Wednesday's statements were, shall we say, "inoperative" by the end of the day. At the afternoon press briefing, Sanders said Porter's departure "won't be immediately." But as the news coverage went from bad to worse, W.H. sources said he would be out of the West Wing as soon as Thursday... | | "Our national standards are being degraded" | | On "The Lead" at 4pm, Jake Tapper cited the White House's support for Porter and the fact that he resigned "over the objections of the W.H."
Tapper said: "I just wanted to once again note a further erosion of standards for what I thought we had all agreed was not OK, not acceptable, not moral. White supremacist rallies, child molesters, domestic abusers. Another moment where the White House is sadly no longer considered a place of the highest standards in the land, but rather a place where our national standards are being degraded..." | | | That was the banner on "AC360" Wednesday night, as Anderson Cooper explained this next story... | | Pro-Trump media obsesses over FBI text message story; hours later, it's debunked | | Oliver Darcy emails: When I started my morning scan of the news, it quickly became clear that the right-wing media was in a tizzy. Led by Fox News, which said it had "exclusively obtained" these text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, pro-Trump outlets thought they had hit the goldmine. The messages, supplied by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, were sold to viewers as evidence that President Obama wanted to "know everything" the FBI was doing in the Hillary Clinton email probe last fall. This, of course, would have not only cast Clinton and Obama in a negative light, but simultaneously have helped vindicate Trump's claims that the investigation into Clinton's server was "rigged." A two-fer!
We reviewed the texts, read Johnson's report, spoke to people familiar with the exchange, and examined the timeline. And it became clear that the "bombshell" texts weren't referencing the Clinton email probe at all. Everything indicated the texts were, in fact, alluding to Obama's desire to be kept abreast on the FBI's investigation into Russian election meddling. Read more... | | This is the second time Fox has hyped a bogus Johnson claim | | | More from Oliver Darcy: It's important to remember that this isn't the first time Fox News has hyped a story based on out-of-context messages between Stezok and Page. In late January, Johnson backed off his conspiratorial claim that there was a "secret society" at the FBI. One can only hope Fox News will be more responsible next time... In this case the Murdoch-owned WSJ played a key role in debunking Fox's talking points... | | | Darcy asked Fox if any of its reporters even reached out to Obama's office prior to publishing the story early Wednesday morning. The story led "Fox & Friends" at 6am. Maybe Obama's office presented another possible explanation for the text? But Fox made no mention of any request for comment. And a Fox spox declined to answer that question... Instead, she accused him of parroting a liberal site's talking points, which is inane... | | -- Q4 earnings: "Robust ad sales and higher affiliate fees at 21st Century Fox's cable networks helped revenues climb..." (Variety)
-- Edmund Lee tweeted: "Hulu lost $360 million in Q4 2017, per $FOXA quarterly results. Altogether, about a $920 million loss for 2017..."
-- My wife flagged this one... We both love the Newseum... Everybody does, right? Well maybe not. The museum's "financial woes" are getting worse, the WashPost's Peggy McGlone and Manuel Roig-Franzia report. This week Newseum execs will meet "with a top real estate firm to explore options that include selling their building or moving to another location..." (WashPost)
-- By VF's Erin Vanderhoof: "Meet the First Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue of the #MeToo Era..." (VF) | | WSJ's Keach Hagey with the media biz story of the day: "Vice Media fell far short of its revenue target last year." How short? Vice "missed its 2017 revenue goal of $805 million by more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter."
--> What went wrong: Other digital media firms missed targets due to tough ad biz economics, but Vice's setback is "largely due to the struggling Viceland cable TV channel..."
--> The big picture: Vice, valued at $5.7 BILLION, "has struggled to meet the expectations of its investors... Those investors, which include private-equity firms TPG and TCV, Walt Disney Co., Hearst and 21st Century Fox, are now pushing for the company to turn a profit this year, which would require cost-cutting, the people said..." | | Shane Smith "has been increasingly delegating his responsibilities" | | I was intrigued by these two lines in Hagey's story: "Vice has been working to fill out its top executive ranks to give more support to co-founder and CEO Shane Smith, who is focusing on long-term strategy and content creation... Mr. Smith has been increasingly delegating his responsibilities, in an attempt to professionalize" the company... I mean, this leaves people wondering, is he trying to extricate himself?
--> Per the WSJ, "daily operations" at Vice had been run by co-president Andrew Creighton, but now he's on leave due to harassment allegations against him... Hagey says he "is unlikely to return to his post," but might get a new job within Vice... | | What will the Patrick Soon-Shiong era mean for the Los Angeles Times? On Wednesday morning Tronc confirmed that PSS, one of the richest men in L.A., is buying the Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune. This means the LAT is "back under local control for the first time in nearly two decades," Dylan Byers' story notes.
Lots of insiders think that's good news, but they're skeptical about the plan going forward. How much does PSS really know about owning papers? (Then again, how much did Jeff Bezos know?) | | His message to the newsrooms | | | In a Wednesday evening email to his newsrooms, PSS said the return to local ownership will give the papers "a better chance to preserve their mission and independence." He said he shares their ambitions and "will work to ensure that you have the tools and resources" they need. LAT reporter/union organizer Matt Pearce has shared the email here... | | It's an eye-popping price tag... | | $500 million in cash, plus the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities. Bezos only paid $250 million for the Post. So what's this about? Well PSS invested in Tronc in 2016, became the company's second-biggest shareholder, and "attempted to buy The Times several times, but he was consistently rebuffed," the LAT's own story about the deal notes. So he waited.
Fast forward to January. The LAT newsroom was at war with management. Michael Ferro "began to reassess." Ferro "came up with a number -- $500 million -- and decided that if he could fetch that price for The Times and the Union-Tribune, then it was the right time to sell." The talks "began less than a week ago and reached a fever pitch over the weekend..."
--> The LAT story quotes L.A. investment banker Lloyd Greif: "Game, set, match — Patrick played it beautifully. And it happened faster than I'm sure he imagined it would. He got it done in less than two years..." | | | *But not back at the LA Times. At the same time Tronc announced the sale, it announced that Ross Levinsohn, the LAT publisher who was suspended last month, will be reinstated "as CEO of a new division called Tronc Interactive," Byers writes. He will "oversee digital activities for Tronc's remaining papers," including the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and NYDN... | | Must-read from Ken Doctor | | | Here is Ken Doctor's deep dive into what the LA Times sale means -- or really, what it could mean... | | -- James Comey's book is now coming out sooner: Flatiron Book says "A Higher Loyalty" will come out April 17, two weeks earlier than planned...
-- Speaking of best sellers: The NYT's weekly best selling books list came out Wednesday, and Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" is #1 for a fifth week in a row...
-- Congrats to CNN's Poppy Harlow and her husband Sinisa! The couple's second child, son Luca James Babcic, "was born in the early morning hours on Tuesday..." (People) | | More resignations from Newsweek | | | Hadas Gold emails: Two more resignations from Newsweek on Wednesday: Rachel Brody, the opinion editor, and Jason Silverstein, deputy breaking news editor. "I have decided to leave Newsweek this week for reasons that should be obvious to anyone following the news about it. Thank you to all great editors & reporters who did the best work in the worst circumstances," Silverstein wrote on Twitter... | | A reminder: Nobody knows... | | Monday the Dow closed down 1,175 points. Tuesday? Up 567. Wednesday? Down 19. I liked this Barrons headline: "The Market Battles for a Narrative."
Brian Lowry emails: It's always fascinating when the stock market experiences a major swing to hear some financial experts throw up their hands and confess that nobody really knows for sure how to explain -- or certainly, predict -- such stark fluctuations. Given the cottage industry that exists around covering the market, being reminded analysts are often no more accurate than the proverbial monkey throwing darts doesn't inspire much faith, even during less-tumultuous times...
This subject also came up on this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast... | | Jacob Weisberg on the "Reliable" pod | | | Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group, is my guest on this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast... We talked about market coverage, Trump's reaction to the stock market volatility, "false equivalence," the space between news and opinion, and the influence of "bad faith actors" who tinker with the truth. Check it out on Apple Podcasts or TuneIn... | | | The site is holding a wrap-up event for the first season of its popular podcast "Slow Burn" (topic: Watergate) at the Watergate Hotel on Thursday night... Season two of the series will be about Bill Clinton's impeachment... | | -- Richard Deitsch interviewed five of the reporters who have helped lead coverage of the Larry Nassar case...
-- Via Mother Jones: "New research shows suicides spiked following Robin Williams' death." And "sensationalist media coverage might have played a role..." | | Meredith (formerly Time Inc.) sells Golf | | Banker Howard P. Milstein and Emigrant Capital are buying GOLF magazine and Golf.com from Meredith... GOLF was one of the Time Inc. titles that Meredith gained through last month's acquisition of Time... No purchase price is being disclosed.
--> Of note: Milstein is a partner with Jack Nicklaus and owns several golf-related investments... --> Time Inc. Sunset last November and Essence last month... | | Former students say "this is Medill's #MeToo moment" | | | An Phung emails: Alec Klein, the professor who runs the wrongful conviction project at Medill School of Journalism, is being accused of workplace abuses. Ten former Northwestern University students wrote a letter to Medill School dean Bradley J. Hamm saying "this is Medill's #MeToo moment" and calling for Klein's ouster, citing "discriminatory, emotionally and verbally abusive behavior." The Chicago Reader has details... Klein has "categorically" denied the allegations... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Julia Waldow:
-- BF's latest scoop: "Overseas fake news publishers use Facebook's Instant Articles to bring in more cash..." (BuzzFeed)
-- What happened to a Danish broadcaster's traffic once it stopped posting to Facebook? Digiday has the answer... (Digiday)
-- Facebook Messenger is testing out a new feature called "Your Emoji" that lets you signal what you're doing or how you're feeling, "AIM" style... (TechCrunch) | | Launch event for "Our Cartoon President" | | Showtime held a screening and reception for Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht and R.J. Fried's animated series "Our Cartoon President" on Wednesday night in NYC... Right down the street from Trump Tower, actually...
Episodes 2 and 3 were screened. Episode 1 is already up on the web. David Nevins said that "in the ten days it's been on YouTube, it's been seen by well over a million viewers." He told attendees that animators were working "as recently as this morning" on 2 and 3, and it showed, with cartoon versions of Eagles and Patriots fans, among other timely details... Nevins called it "topical animation..." After the screening, Licht told me each episode will have a newsy intro that will be written just a few days ahead of time...
Spotted: Matthew Blank, Tom Christie, Ryan Kadro, Alisyn Camerota, John Dickerson, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Dana McClintock, Chris Ender, David Stapf, Olivia Metzger, John Heilemann, Toby Leonard Moore, Randi Kaye, Johanna Fuentes, Brian Steinberg, Gary Levin... | | | Colbert spoke before the screening and said: "People ask me all the time do you get tired of mocking the president? It's a complicated answer. Uhhh, no and hell no!" | | | For the record, part four | | | -- Lisa Respers France's latest: "What Not to Wear" star Stacy London has penned an emotional essay about almost going broke... (CNN)
-- An Phung emails: As the #MeToo movement rages on in Hollywood, studios are racing to insert "morality clauses" into talent contracts... (THR)
-- "Heading into negotiations for a new TV licensing deal," the WWE is looking strong... Check out Nathaniel Meyersohn's piece on the company's performance... (CNNMoney)
-- Angela Watercutter looks at NBC's social media strategy for the Winter Olympics... (Wired) | | "Law & Order: SVU" star running for Congress | | | "Diane Neal knows her way around a fictitious courtroom and now she wants to be a lawmaker," Lisa Respers France writes. "Neal, who played Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' has announced that she is making an independent run for New York's 19th Congressional District seat..." | | What Oprah told Lin-Manuel | | New on CNN.com: "Oprah -- again -- says she's not running for president."
Her comment came while taping a "Super Soul Conversation" with Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Apollo Theatre. I got ahold of the transcript:
LIN-MANUEL: And have to pick, all right, what can I be effective at? And what can I do -- you know, the success of Hamilton has offered me a really big megaphone. That's it. I don't -- I'm not running for public office. I'm not doing anything like that.
OPRAH: I'm not either.
LIN-MANUEL: I heard that.
{Laughter and cheers from the crowd}
OPRAH: Because--
LIN-MANUEL: You divided the Apollo audience.
OPRAH: You and I both know that there's so much -- you can do so much --
LIN-MANUEL: I would argue that Oprah is a more powerful position than President.
{More cheers from the crowd}
OPRAH: Thank you for that.
{Applause}
OPRAH: But, no, I think each person should use their platform, use your platform, how you most see fit. And what is the most authentic for you... | | Omarosa's debut on "Big Bro" | | Chloe Melas emails: Omarosa made her "Celebrity Big Brother" debut Wednesday night on CBS. Here are a few gems from the ex-White House staffer:
-- "There's a lot of people that want to stab me in the back, kind of similar to the White House..."
-- "After the very interesting year I've had, I'm actually looking to be away from cable news, from Twitter, from newspapers, from the press..."
I hear she talks more about Trump on Thursday night's episode... | | "Black Panther" has a 99% fresh score | | | "Blank Panther" is at the top of Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer right now... With 77 reviews in, only one is a splat... That means the site says it's 99% "fresh..." Movies hardly ever get above 90%... | | Bryan Fuller no longer producing Apple's "Amazing Stories" | | Brian Lowry emails: Bryan Fuller has pulled out of a planned Apple reboot of the anthology "Amazing Stories," according to THR, due to creative differences. The split is the writer-producer's third recent exit from a high-profile premium series, following his departure from Starz's "American Gods" after one season and CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Discovery" prior to its premiere
THR's Lesley Goldberg reports: "Fuller, who originally developed Amazing Stories for NBC before it moved to Apple with a series pickup, is said to have wanted to do a Black Mirror-type show, which sources say was not something the iPhone maker had in mind..." | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I love the feedback, corrections, suggestions, and tips. Thank you... | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
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