| | | | Happy Independence Day. Barring huge breaking news, we're going to take the rest of the week off... We'll be back Sunday on TV and in your inbox.
Scroll down for the latest from the Capital Gazette's temporary newsroom... Plus, President Trump and his fictions, Bill Shine and his opponents, the admin's secrecy about border separations, and the July 4 cover of the Daily News... | | Facts v. Trump's fictions | | It can be tempting to look away from President Trump's kookiest tweets. It can be tempting to shrug and say "Trump's just being Trump." But then his tweets are the only word, with no facts to correct his fictions. And the fictions are getting more and more fanciful.
I know I say it a lot, but Trump's deceptions and denial of reality are a daily story. A story with international consequences. Most days, "here's what the president said" is the wrong frame. The right frame is "Why isn't he telling the truth about X, Y, Z? Is he misinformed, or lying, or worse?" | | DOJ debunks a conspiracy theory | | Fact-checking can't -- and shouldn't -- be solely the province of journalists. Case in point: In the span of a few hours, "Trump's Justice Department and the GOP-run Senate intel committee have issued official findings at-odds with his Russia-related conspiracy theories," the WashPost's Aaron Blake wrote Tuesday afternoon.
This news might be buried because of the holiday. But it's important. As Blake wrote here, Tuesday's plea deal for former Democratic House staffer Imran Awan doubled as a "subtle but stinging rebuke of Trump and his cohorts who pushed conspiracy theories about Awan."
Trump and his MAGA-phone spun wild and wicked tales about Awan, but the DOJ's "thorough investigation" debunked all of it. Don't hold your breath for corrections or apologies... | | -- Trump tweeted that the admin is "working with other Motor Cycle companies who want to move into the U.S." Bloomberg contacted multiple companies and couldn't figure out which ones Trump was talking about...
-- Trump's repeated exaggerations about ICE have left David A. Graham asking: "Does Trump Know What ICE Does?"
-- Per Daniel Dale: At a Tuesday night speech in WV, Trump again falsely claimed "that this year's military spending is 'a record.' Obama signed a larger version of the same bill for 2011."
-- 🔌: I'll be talking about all of this on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday morning... Around 6:50am... | | I found myself agreeing with NBC's Andrea Mitchell when the two of us spoke on a panel last week. Saying the president lied again, saying he's peddling false info, "is uncomfortable," she said, for journalists who've been trained to report "both sides." She's right. This has been going on for a while, but it's still uncomfortable... Yet necessary...
>> The conundrum: As CNN's Jim Acosta recently said, fact-checking consumes "a lot of the coverage," and leaves many people with the impression that "all we're doing all day long is bashing the president, when, in fact, we have to be fact-checkers."
Here's another example: | | From an Iranian cleric to a paper to Fox News to Trump's Twitter feed | | | Oliver Darcy emails: Trump seems to have relied on a dubious Fox News story Tuesday morning to unleash a Twitter attack on Obama. Without any real evidence, Trump accused Obama of granting citizenship to 2,500 Iranians as part of nuclear deal negotiations. The unsubstantiated claim first gained widespread attention when Fox News wrote a story that cited an Iranian news agency that cited an Iranian newspaper that quoted a single Iranian cleric who made the assertion. Read more... | | More from Darcy: Former Obama officials said the cleric's claim was false. They also skewered Trump for getting his intelligence from Fox News. "It shouldn't be lost on anyone that this is a case of Donald Trump parroting Fox News, which is peddling the claims of an Iranian hardliner," said Jeff Prescott, former NSC director under Obama. Jake Sullivan, another former Obama official, added: "The scary thing is that he's increasingly relying on sources like Fox News to get his intelligence rather than the professionals in his own government."
>> Of note: One of Fox's own commentators, former Obama State Department spox Marie Harf, told the network that the cleric's claim "sounds like totally made up BS." Fox News included her comment toward the end of its story, but chose to publish the article anyway... | | He's back to attacking the press | | The White House came under pressure on Monday for declining the Annapolis mayor's request to lower American flags to half-staff to honor the five slain Capital Gazette employees. The mayor says he submitted the request on Saturday... But the W.H. says Trump didn't hear about it until Monday night... And agreed right away.
Trump issued a proclamation honoring the victims. But he also resumed his anti-media rhetoric. On Twitter, he called the "fake news" part of the "opposition party;" chastised journalists for pointing out his Twitter typos; accused the WashPost of making up sources again; and called the Post "a disgrace to journalism," adding, "but then again, so are many others!" | | -- Barnes & Noble CEO Demos Parneros "has been fired for unspecified violations of company policy..." (CNNMoney)
-- Foreign Policy exec editor Sharon Weinberger is jumping to Yahoo News as DC bureau chief...
-- Oliver Darcy flagged this one: Splinter published a story by Alex Pareene calling the chairman of Univision -- which owns Gizmodo Media Group, which publishes Splinter -- a "Fox News-watching crank" and someone who is "bad for democracy..." (Splinter) | | -- Before the shooting, the suspect sent a letter claiming his objective was "killing every person present..."
-- ASNE is planning a moment of silence on Thursday at 2:33pm, the one-week anniversary of the attack...
-- A memorial service for Wendi Winters will take place on Saturday...
-- Memorial services for Gerald Fischman and Rebecca Smith will be held on Sunday...
-- Chase Cook tweeted Tuesday: "Back at work today. Feels good to be with my co-workers and smile when we can. Stories coming soon..."
| | Inside the Capital Gazette's temporary newsroom | | On Tuesday evening I spoke with Trif Alatzas, the publisher and EIC of the Baltimore Sun Media Group, the parent division of the Capital Gazette. He's been spending some time at the paper's temporary office in Annapolis. Here are the takeaways from the interview...
-- The temp space is "tight," but "it was inspiring to see everybody together."
-- Different staffers are coping differently: "Many of them are working through, and some of them need time. We're encouraging them to take whatever time they need."
-- Reinforcements are arriving: "We had journalists fly in from the Chicago Tribune yesterday. We had somebody here from the Allentown Morning Call. Somebody from the Virginian Pilot." Reporters from the Sun are also working in Annapolis.
-- "We've gotten offers from the entire journalism community, saying 'Hey, whatever you need, we'll send support.'"
-- "We are committed to rebuilding... We're looking for permanent space. We are committed to that community."
-- "'If we don't cover it, who else will?' That's what I've heard from a lot of people."
For more: I'll have a full story on CNNMoney.com on Wednesday...
| | Serious security concerns persist... | | | It pains me to even say this, but it's true: Terrible people have been sending hateful messages to some of the surviving staff members. There are understandable security concerns on the ground in Annapolis. Journalists can help by not getting into too much detail about the Capital Gazette's relocation, for the time being... | | -- On the limits of approval #'s: "Polls can't capture the way gut-churning revulsion toward Trump is changing some women's whole way of being in the world," Michelle Goldberg writes... (NYT)
-- It's been one week since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's primary win. "With blunt talk and compelling stories, viral videos are turning unknown women candidates into political sensations..." (WashPost)
-- Rob Rogers created a cartoon about his odd dismissal from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette... (The Nib)
-- "Creators are making longer videos to cater to the YouTube algorithm..." (Digiday) | | NYT reassigns Ali Watkins | | Ali Watkins "will move out of the Times' Washington bureau and begin a new beat in NYC after it was revealed that she had been romantically involved with James Wolfe over a three-year period," Tom Kludt reports. Wolfe was arrested last month and charged with lying to the FBI about his interactions with a trio of reporters, including Watkins.
There's a lot of regret to go around here. Many press advocates are disturbed by the seizure of Watkins' records. BuzzFeed, where she used to work, calls it "highly inappropriate." But editors at the NYT are also troubled by the Watkins-Wolfe relationship... | | "We are troubled by Ali's conduct, particularly while she was employed by other news organizations," Dean Baquet wrote in a memo. "For a reporter to have an intimate relationship with someone he or she covers is unacceptable. It violates our written standards and the norms of journalism."
So she is essentially being demoted... And the NYT says she'll be "closely supervised and have a senior mentor."
Watkins says she regrets "putting The Times in a difficult position." Key line in her statement: "I also appreciate the review's conclusion that my reporting has been fact-based and accurate." Read Kludt's full story here... | | "The clown who plays king" | | | "Happy birthday, America," say the NY Daily News, with his anti-Trump cover... | | Is the border separation story fading away? | | "The news cycle is more ADD than ever," Yahoo's W.H. correspondent Hunter Walker wrote Tuesday, "and the situation with child separation strikes me as the most blatant instance where we've largely moved on before the story was even remotely over."
Walker's story pointed out that officials STILL aren't answering "basic questions about the issue, including how many separated children are currently in custody. Officials also aren't saying whether the government has stopped taking immigrant children from their parents after illegal border crossings." Read more... | | When's the next cabinet meeting? | | Kaitlan Collins' latest scoop for CNN: "Scott Pruitt directly appealed to President Trump this spring to fire Jeff Sessions and let him run the Justice Department instead, offering to temporarily replace him and return to Oklahoma afterward to run for office."
A few hours later, Pruitt said "this report is simply false..." | | | For the record, part three | | | -- Stories that make you go hmmmm: "Pruitt ally decides which of his records see the light of day..." (Politico)
-- Daniel Funke's latest: "Misinformation on WeChat is a growing problem worldwide. Here's how small groups of part-time debunkers are trying to fight it..." (Poynter)
-- "Major U.S. news sites including the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune are still blocking European visitors more than a month after the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation," Lucia Moses reports... (Digiday)
-- "Facebook is shutting down three apps, including a teen app called tbh, which it bought about eight months ago." The other two apps are Hello and Moves... (CNNMoney) | | Bill Shine and his opponents | | Two people in the West Wing told CNN's Jeff Zeleny on Tuesday that former Fox News co-president Bill Shine has reported for duty in his role overseeing White House comms. Shine apparently told reporters that he's there as a private individual, not an employee, because he's still being vetted.
Something to watch: Shine has some vocal opponents in the right-wing media. Newsmax published a very critical story over the weekend. And conservative activist Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch, spoke up on Tuesday, telling Lloyd Grove, "I don't want so see the ghost of Roger Ailes running the White House communications operation."
Grove says Klayman "called on federal and local prosecutors in New York to investigate Shine for potential crimes related to his role at Fox News." In the past, Shine has denied all wrongdoing... | | More on the "Civic Info Bill" in NJ | | In last night's newsletter, I wrote about the "Civic Info Bill" in New Jersey. In this story for CNNMoney, I went into more detail. The state is poised to invest $5 million into local journalism... Just as soon as the state's governor signs the bill...
Two reactions from newsletter readers:
-- Jennifer, a former writer for the Asbury Park Press: "Covering all these municipalities is expensive and it doesn't generate a large enough profit to lure in competition. If publicly-funded journalism is going to restore oversight to these towns that now operate in virtual darkness, I'm all for it. It's hard to complain that people aren't making informed votes when there is no information flowing."
-- Craig: "I don't think it's a great idea... As we have seen most acutely at the federal level, politicians want to control their coverage. If they're actually writing the check too, the temptation to meddle will be even higher, despite the mechanism to fund via universities." Plus: If there's a market for local news "then there's a capitalistic opportunity..." | | 💦 "Water in a news desert" | | That's the headline on this NiemanLab story about the initiative. "The dollar amount isn't huge, and it will barely put a dent in the crisis of local news. But it's also an official statement that communities' information voids are a problem worthy of government attention," Marlee Baldridge wrote...
--> Erick Erickson's rebuttal: "Terrible idea. Absolutely terrible. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to prop up the press that covers the use and abuse of taxpayer dollars..." | | Holiday weekend viewing guide | | Brian Lowry emails: This weekend's movie lineup includes Marvel's third likely hit of the year -- the light-hearted sequel "Ant-Man and the Wasp," which isn't as much fun as its predecessor -- and the second full-length Whitney Houston documentary of the past year, "Whitney," this one produced with the blessing and participation of her estate.
--> HBO, meanwhile, offers its latest star-driven limited series – "Sharp Objects," starring Amy Adams – on Sunday night. It's directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, who also directed "Big Little Lies..." | | "The 2000s" premieres Sunday | | CNN's next decade-spanning series, "The 2000s," debuts on Sunday evening. The first episode is all about TV.
In anticipation, Brian Lowry looked at two HBO shows from that decade, "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," and how the shows helped pave the path toward "peak TV" -- the first because it was a huge hit, and the latter because it wasn't. Read on... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Megan Thomas:
-- Interesting column from THR's Stephen Galloway on how Harvey Weinstein will fight back in his criminal case. "Watch Out Hollywood: Harvey's Coming For You..."
-- Truth in Advertising is raising questions about a new set of disclaimers on wellness content from Goop...
-- Nice Vanity Fair follow-up with the star of the Netflix stand-up special everyone is tweeting about, Hannah Gadsby... | | LeBron is "becoming a media mogul" | | | Brian Lowry emails: As the greatest basketball player ever and now an author and columnist, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is uniquely positioned to evaluate LeBron James' move to Los Angeles. His verdict: "LeBron is also becoming a media mogul. His move to Hollywood allows him to grow his movie and TV interests, which will be just as entertaining and enlightening as his substantial athletic prowess." | | | We'll be back on Sunday. Email your likes, dislikes, thoughts straight to me: brian.stelter@turner.com. Thank you! | | | | | | |
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