| | | | | Exec summary: A huge broadcasting bankruptcy, a new start date for DOJ v. AT&T, a bald BW cover, and a new Twitch record... | | ProPublica, one of the country's most respected news organizations, issued a massive correction on Thursday. EIC Stephen Engelberg retracted two of the main assertions in a February 2017 story about deputy CIA director Gina Haspel's role in the Bush-era interrogation and detention program.
WHY NOW: The 2017 story was revived earlier this week when President Trump picked Haspel to head the CIA. Q's about torture have surrounded Haspel's nomination.
WHAT WAS WRONG: The story said she ran the secret base where Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded, and that she "mocked the prisoner's suffering in a private conversation." Engelberg: "Neither of these assertions is correct and we retract them. It is now clear that Haspel did not take charge of the base until after the interrogation of Zubaydah ended..."
WHAT WAS RIGHT: The story "did accurately report that Haspel later rose to a senior position at CIA headquarters, where she pushed her bosses to destroy the tapes of Zubaydah's waterboarding." And she WAS in charge when another detainee was waterboarded... | | Without a doubt, this is deeply embarrassing for ProPublica. But it should also be said that Engelberg's 975-word editor's note is a model for transparency. He tried to explain what went wrong and admitted that "this error was particularly unfortunate because it muddied an important national debate about Haspel and the CIA's recent history."
At the end of the note, Engelberg apologized to Haspel and to the site's readers. A ProPublica rep declined further comment when I asked on Thursday night... | | Yep, there's already a hashtag proposed for it... As Philip Bump tweeted Thursday evening, "It feels like the next 24 hours have a high probability of being bonkers..."
Later in the evening, the WashPost reported that POTUS has decided to remove H.R. McMaster and hire a new national security adviser... CNN's headline right now is "Trump ready to replace McMaster..."
--> BUT: Sarah Sanders issued a denial via Twitter: "Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster -- contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC." | | Where Trump is getting his ideas | | Trump treats peoples' TV appearances like audition tapes.
I mean, look no further than Heather Nauert, Mercedes Schlapp, and Larry Kudlow... Plus people who have already come and gone, like Seb Gorka and Anthony Scaramucci... Now there's talk about John Bolton as a potential successor for McMaster, and... | | WaPo: Hegseth is in the running for VA Secretary | | Fox's Pete Hegseth "has emerged as a leading candidate to replace embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin," the WashPost's Lisa Rein reported Thursday, echoing what Fox contributor Katie Pavlich said on Wednesday.
Rein notes that "Hegseth's views on reforming the troubled agency are considered extreme even by some Republicans in Congress, and it is unclear if he could win Senate confirmation." But Trump is a fan... | | "There will always be change" | | Oliver Darcy emails: Did Trump subtly throw a stone at Fox News today? In the Oval Office Thursday morning, when asked about possibility for more staff changes, the president said, "The story was very false. They wrote a story about staff changes and it was very false." Who was the "they?" Well it seems like Trump could have been referring to his favorite news network. Fox News published a story on Wednesday that said Trump "could be making more changes to his Cabinet this week," detailing the potential swaps and calling it a "bloodbath." Hmmm... 🤔
--> At the same time, Trump said there WILL be more changes... "There will always be change..." And tonight's reports reiterate that...
--> WashPost: "The mood inside the White House in recent days has verged on mania." My Q: Is this any way to run an executive branch? | | "No, Mr. President. The US doesn't have a trade deficit with Canada" | | Mueller subpoenas Trump Org in Russia probe | | | The NYT broke this news in the early afternoon... On "AC360," Jim Sciutto said "this is the hardest signal so far that Mueller is taking a serious look at Trump's business dealings..." | | -- When will "60 Minutes" air its Stormy Daniels interview? In yesterday's newsletter I said the best bet is March 25... Now the WashPost has two sources saying that's the "planned date..." (WashPost)
-- On "AC360" Thursday night, Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti said that "as of tonight, we've been approached by six separate women with similar stories to my client..." He said the accounts have not been fully vetted yet...
-- In an extraordinary interview with Jim Miller, John Skipper reveals why he resigned from ESPN: "In December, someone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me..." (THR) | | | The two biggest owners of radio stations in America have both filed for bankruptcy. iHeartMedia submitted the paperwork on Thursday. (You'll recall that its rival Cumulus did the same thing a few months ago.) Of course, iHeart's Chapter 11 has been a decade in the making. The company's "heavy debt burden became unsustainable during the persistent long-term secular decline of the radio broadcasting business," analyst Sharon Bonelli of Fitch Ratings said. Here's my latest story, co-bylined with Sherisse Pham... | | Meredith moves closer to selling Time and SI | | We've reached this step of Meredith's "portfolio review" of its Time Inc titles: Meredith "has hired advisers to explore a sale of its Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines," Jessica Toonkel and Liana Baker of Reuters report. Citigroup and Houlihan Lokey are involved in the sales process...
So who might buy? "While it's possible that media, telecommunications or technology companies could express an interest in the magazines, a sale to wealthy individuals, such as philanthropists or billionaires, is viewed by Meredith as more likely, according to one of the sources..." | | TheSkimm raises $12 million | | | TheSkimm co-founders Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg have "raised a $12 million round led by Google Ventures, along with Spanx founder Sara Blakely," Recode's Peter Kafka reports. "Earlier investors, including 21st Century Fox, RRE and Homebrew, are in this round as well..." | | "More layoffs hit Chicago Tribune newsroom" | | That's Robert Feder's headline. Tronc won't say exactly how many staffers are leaving. But this is "the second round of layoffs in five months..."
-- Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas tweeted: "Everyone who walks out of the newsroom with their things gets a round of applause. Nobody has communicated to the newsroom about what's going on..." | | -- Disturbing new HuffPost investigation: "For Women Behind The Camera, Sexual Harassment Is Part Of The Job" (HuffPost)
-- CNN's Elise Labott landed the first interview with Ambassador Joseph Yun since he stepped down as US special representative for North Korea policy... (CNN)
-- Via Slate's Will Oremus: "We asked Facebook's news feed chief about claims that Facebook helped to fuel hatred and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. His response was remarkably candid..." (Slate) | | Shep Smith is staying at Fox | | | Shep Smith "mused about walking away" from Fox News "over the course of two interviews" with Time mag's Daniel D'Addario this winter. But on Thursday, at the same time the profile came out, Fox confirmed that Smith has signed a multi-year contract extension. D'Addario: This means "Smith is going to have many more chances to tell viewers what they don't want to hear." Sure enough, many Fox fans on social media loudly bemoaned Smith's renewal on Thursday... | | Shep says "they don't really have rules" on the opinion side | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Shep Smith seemed to underscore the Trump-era divide between Fox News opinion programming and the network's news division while speaking with Time. In fact, he repeatedly threw shade on his opinion counterparts. Smith said "they don't really have rules on the [Fox News] opinion side" and "can say whatever they want." He said some of the opinion programming "is there strictly to be entertaining." (True!) And Smith even suggested he doesn't trust "Fox & Friends," the network's flagship morning show, to report the news accurately: "I try to find out what's happening, as opposed to just listening to what they're saying." Ouch... | | | Lemme just reiterate Darcy's point. This profile is really remarkable. Smith is so candid about working for Fox and navigating the partisan jungle. He even wonders aloud what Fox would put in his 3pm time slot if he "stopped delivering the facts" and left the network. Definitely read the full profile here... | | Reuters gets ahold of Amazon Studios info | | Brian Lowry emails: There are some eye-opening numbers in this Reuters exclusive on what Amazon spends on its original series, and how it measures success. The piece should be both a cautionary one for other deep-pocketed streamers and traditional networks, given the amount spent versus the return on investment...
Speaking of Amazon Studios... | | 🎧 This week's "Reliable" podcast guest: Ben Fritz | | | On this week's pod, I talked with WSJ reporter Ben Fritz, author of the new book "The Big Picture," about how Amazon, Netflix, MoviePass, and other disruptors are changing the movie biz. Fritz said he's never seen studio executives so "scared and uncertain" about the future. Here's our page on Apple Podcasts... You can also find us through TuneIn and other apps... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Daniella Emanuel:
-- Variety's Brian Steinberg's latest on late-night TV: Staffs are under "growing pressure to churn out even more to stay competitive..." (Variety)
-- Rihanna criticized a Snapchat advertisement that asked users "whether they would rather 'slap Rihanna' or 'punch Chris Brown.'" The company's stock closed down 3.6% on Thursday... (CNN)
-- Speaking of Snap: The company picked up "its first fully animated series," which will premiere March 17th... (Deadline) | | Remembering Michael Getler | | He was a model ombudsman and a good man. "Michael Getler, a Washington Post foreign correspondent and editor who later led the Paris-based International Herald Tribune and served as an incisive in-house media critic at The Post and PBS, died March 15 at a hospice center in Washington. He was 82," the Post reports.
Our deepest condolences to Sandra, his wife of 59 years, and to the rest of his family... | | "I don't understand the business plan. How does cutting off a leg help you keep running?"
--Denver Post reporter Jesse Aaron Paul, to Margaret Sullivan, one day after layoffs were announced at the paper... | | The trial has a new start date... | | Hadas Gold emails: Judge Richard Leon announced on Thursday that opening arguments in the DOJ vs. AT&T trial will now begin on Wednesday, March 21, two days later than initially expected. Monday and Tuesday will be for evidentiary arguments.
Leon got very hot at Thursday's pre-trial hearing, admonishing leaks and a Reuters story which said the trial was going to be delayed two days due to scheduling issues. Leon said the story was "what some people would call fake news" and that the reporter needed to be educated in trial procedure. It was a rather unusual statement from a judge considering the case involves Time Warner, which owns CNN, which the president has called "fake news" over and over again. Leon also expressed displeasure at the 200 or so evidentiary objections... | | More from Hadas Gold: The trial will now also last much longer than previously expected. Instead of three weeks -- which always seemed like an ambitious timetable -- Leon said he expects the trial to last six to eight weeks. Trial days will be Monday through Thursday, with four, one hour and a quarter sessions. Leon reminded both sides to "try this case in the court room only" and that he does not "think a fair case could be had if you try the case in the court and the press."
Leon also criticized the media for requesting reserved seats -- though he acknowledged the intense public interest in the case. He said there will be two rows reserved for media in the court room and a separate line for credentialed press to enter...
-- PLUS: Check out the WSJ's curtain-raiser: "How the DOJ's Face-Off With AT&T Could Alter American Business" | | | For the record, part four | | | -- Sam Nunberg is on Mark Preston's SiriusXM radio show this weekend... In this clip, he agrees with Preston that his TV tour was "very Donald Trump, very Roger Stone:" "We're all very similar like that... We love media..." (SoundCloud)
-- John Carreyrou, who exposed the Theranos scandal, has written "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup..." He tweeted out the "just-finalized cover" on Thursday and said the publisher "may move up its publication..." (Twitter)
-- Carreyrou's latest WSJ story notes that his boss Rupert Murdoch's investment in Theranos is a tremendous loss, totaling "more than $100 million..." (WSJ) | | Lowry's take on Fox's walkout talk | | | Brian Lowry emails: In this column, Yahoo's Ken Tucker broke down how Fox News' primetime hosts ridiculed Wednesday's student walkout, "stomping on young idealism." But that's a tried-and-true tactic for Fox, which sees little downside in mocking those generally young enough to be the grandchildren of its older-skewing audience. Sean Hannity, after all, regularly rolls out segments showing college students behaving like imbeciles on spring break, under the heading "Spring Break Exposed." This isn't a novel move; it's an ongoing strategy... | | | Here's the cover story about Goldman Sachs and a lack of gender diversity atop Wall Street... | | About the viewers of "Bachelor" nation... | | Brian Lowry emails: In his review of "Bachelor Nation," LAT reporter Amy Kaufman's behind-the-scenes look at "The Bachelor" franchise, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar noted that it contained "all the dirty secrets about how the sausage is made." But the truth is reality TV's history of manipulation and excesses aren't really all that secret; they're just ignored or overlooked by fans, as well as media outlets that enjoy piggybacking on the traffic...
>> Read Lowry's full column about how viewers "choose to suspend disbelief..." | | DuVernay to direct "The New Gods" | | | "After making history as the first woman of color to helm a $100 million-plus live-action film in A Wrinkle In Time, Ava DuVernay will continue to play in the event film sandbox," Deadline's Dominic Patten and Mike Fleming Jr report. "She's closing a deal with Warner Bros and DC to direct a big-budget screen adaptation of The New Gods, the creation of revered comic book impresario Jack Kirby. The studio has set Kario Salem (Chasing Mavericks) as the writer; he'll craft the narrative and work closely with DuVernay..." | | Lowry reviews "Tomb Raider" | | | Brian Lowry emails: Alicia Vikander is easily the best thing about Warner Bros.' attempt to revive the "Tomb Raider" franchise, which makes the fanboy debate over whether she measures up to the role look even sillier... Read the full story here... | | | For the record, part five | | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Kendall Jenner addressed gay rumors in a Vogue interview, saying she is straight, but "I'm not like all my other sisters, who are like, 'Here's me and my boyfriend!'"
-- One of the child stars from "Willy Wonka" competed on "Jeopardy!" this week, and it was a delicious treat for some fans...
-- Drake and pro gamer Ninja's "Fortnite" battle reportedly set a new Twitch record, as more than 600,000 people tuned in to watch them play... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... the feedback helps us improve this newsletter every day... Thanks! | | | | | | |
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