EXEC SUMMARY: Scroll down for the news ABOUT the news: Kamala Harris and her handling of Fox, Condé's latest sale, Michael Wolff's next book, and much more...
The morning show playbook
How do you announce you're running for president in this twittery media environment? Usually with an online video followed by a first TV interview -- often times in the morning to dominate a news cycle or two.
ABC's "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning" have landed half a dozen of these interviews in the past few months. ABC will do it again on Thursday when NYC mayor Bill de Blasio appears on the morning show in the 8 a.m. hour.
When de Blasio announces his 2020 bid, he will bring "the total number of candidates to 23 with nearly nine months before the first votes are cast," CNN's story notes.
The coveted "first TV interview"
Some, like Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, have gravitated toward "The View" or Stephen Colbert's couch or Rachel Maddow's studio for their first interview. But others have opted for morning TV rollouts. Kamala Harris entered the race on MLK Day on "GMA." Bernie Sanders launched his campaign by giving interviews to Vermont Public Radio and "CBS This Morning." Seth Moulton posted a video and then announced on "GMA" with George Stephanopoulos. John Hickenlooper did the same thing. And Michael Bennet announced on CBS in a sit-down with John Dickerson.
"GMA" has had another A.M. exclusives. And CNN's "New Day" and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" have had numerous candidate interviews.
Reminder...
This year's first Dem primary debate, on NBC, and the second debate, on CNN, are capped at 20 candidates -- up to 10 each for two nights. FiveThirtyEight has details about the criteria here...
A "toxic relationship with the press corps"
Getting back to Thursday's impending news... On the plus side, de Blasio is a product of the New York media market. Many key national and local reporters know him very well.
Wait. Did I say on the PLUS side? Maybe it's a plus for the press corps, but it's a MINUS for de Blasio, who is facing a critical-bordering-on-hostile media. "I think Bill de Blasio has a toxic relationship with the press corps that covers him. It goes both ways," former aide Rebecca Katz, who is not involved in his new campaign, told CNN. "And that's going to make it very hard for this run because wherever he will be, whatever small town in Iowa or New Hampshire, he will have NY1 and the New York Post front and center. Whether he likes it or not." | | -- And on a personal note, my wife is getting up even earlier than usual: Jamie's morning show on NY1 will start at 5 a.m. instead of 6 on Thursday, owing to the fact that it's so rare for a sitting NYC mayor to run for prez...
Warren is rejecting Fox News, but most of her rivals aren't
Elizabeth Warren made a bold statement by publicly rejecting an invitation to participate in a town hall on Fox News. The anti-Fox stance impressed Warren's fans and progressives online, but so far there hasn't been a rush to join her. Most of the 20-plus other candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for president are either welcoming the chance to talk on Fox or are keeping their misgivings to themselves. The only exception is Kamala Harris, who has -- for now -- ruled out a town hall with the network, according to two campaign aides. "They've reached out but we haven't entertained it," a campaign spokesperson told me.
Fox, for its part, hasn't responded to Warren's Tuesday announcement. But a couple of her rivals have. "If you're not using your town hall, I will," John Delaney tweeted at Warren. "Democratic candidates have to campaign everywhere and talk to voters." John Hickenlooper said he agreed with Warren "that our media is too polarized, but I don't believe we should stop talking to people who don't agree with us." He went on Fox Biz on Wednesday night. And Steve Bullock is booked on Dana Perino's show on Thursday.
Oliver Darcy and I wrote a story all about this... Check it out...
Warren's argument is about Fox's business model
I think this point got lost a little bit on Tuesday: Warren was talking about Fox's ad $$$. She was implicitly criticizing her rivals who agree to town halls on Fox when she said "a Democratic town hall gives the Fox News sales team a way to tell potential sponsors it's safe to buy ads on Fox -- no harm to their brand or reputation (spoiler: It's not)." Already, two Democratic hopefuls have participated in televised Fox town halls: Bernie Sanders in April and Amy Klobuchar earlier this month. Pete Buttigieg is up next on Sunday, and Kirsten Gillibrand has one scheduled for June...
What about Swalwell?
Eric Swalwell told Darcy that he would like to do a town hall with Fox, but said the network turned him down last week. He said the network did not provide criteria it was using to determine which candidates it offered town halls to, adding, "I can only conclude that they are afraid to give me the opportunity." A Fox spokeswoman disputed this and said the network left the door open for a future opportunity. Swalwell hasn't been on a CNN town hall yet, either...
--> CJR's Jon Allsop wrote in his morning newsletter: "The question 'should Democrats appear on Fox?' probably doesn't have a one-size-fits-all answer. If Democrats do choose to appear, we should encourage them to ram home an essential point: that Fox has an abnormal, corrosive relationship to democracy."
--> I wonder if de Blasio will back up Warren. You might recall that he leveled blistering criticism at the Murdochs on "Reliable Sources" last year...
THURSDAY PLANNER
-- TV upfronts in NYC: The CW's presentation is in the morning...
-- Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, will testify at a 2 p.m. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the dangers of reporting on human rights...
-- Chelsea Manning is due back before a federal grand jury in Virginia...
-- "The Big Bang Theory" series finale premieres at 8 p.m. on CBS...
Condé sells Brides mag
This sale is part of Condé Nast's ongoing "cost-cutting campaign," the NYT's Tiffany Hsu writes. IAC's Dotdash is the buyer. "Dotdash plans to scrap the 85-year-old print magazine and redesign Brides.com..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- This just in: "Gannett Co. is poised to retain control of its entire board in a proxy fight with a hedge-fund-backed rival that made a hostile bid for the USA Today owner," Cara Lombardo reports... (WSJ)
-- Another round of layoffs "are taking place across both Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox..." (Variety)
-- This "deep linguistic analysis" is very interesting: "U.S. journalism really has become more subjective and personal — at least some of it..." (NiemanLab)
| | BREAKING
Trump pardons Conrad Black
"President Trump granted full pardons to a conservative advocate and a former newspaper publisher who recently wrote a book praising the President," CNN's Eli Watkins and Allie Malloy wrote. The publisher is Lord Conrad M. Black, who wrote the promotional book "Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other" and regularly writes pro-Trump columns. His National Review piece earlier this week was titled "Smooth Sailing Ahead for Trump." Details here...
WaPo summed it up this way in a headline: "Trump pardons billionaire friend Conrad Black who wrote book about him." And former Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer tweeted in response: "A Democrat would be impeached by Republicans and the media would be in a massive feeding frenzy. This will [be] forgotten by morning."
Trump admin launches tool for reporting alleged social media bias
Oliver Darcy emails: The White House on Wednesday launched a tool for people to report instances of perceived social media bias, signaling that Trump and top Republicans plan to continue their efforts to vilify technology companies. "The Trump Administration is fighting for free speech online," the White House tweeted. "No matter your views, if you suspect political bias has caused you to be censored or silenced online, we want to hear about it!"
The White House directed people to a form which first asked users for personal info, such as their name and whether they are an American citizen. The form then asked for a description of the alleged bias that occurred, which platform it occurred on, etc. Toward the end, the form also requested permission to add the person to an email newsletter -- which seemed to suggest that part of this might be an attempt at using the issue of perceived social media bias to harvest the emails and contact info of supporters.
...but declines to join Christchurch Call for Action
Darcy adds: Meanwhile, the Trump admin on Wednesday announced that the United States will not be joining the Christchurch Call for Action. The effort encouraged technology companies to collaborate with governments to stymie the use of social media in acts of terrorism.
>> Casey Newton's take: Social networks have an important role to play in reducing the spread of terrorism. But they need help from the countries in which they operate. It's heartening that 18 governments today committed to working with them on the project — and beyond dispiriting that the United States, for the most craven of reasons, opted out..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Fox's Steve Hilton has snagged his first interview with Trump – it was taped on Wednesday and it will air Sunday night on "The Next Revolution" – Fox says topics will include China, trade, the economy, immigration, 2020...
-- Elaina Plott's latest must-read is exactly the kind of followup journalism we need more of: "Slow-walking or flat-out disobeying Trump's fleeting obsessions has become common practice across various sectors of government..." (The Atlantic)
Another Michael Wolff book is coming...
We knew Michael Wolff was working on another Trump book... But until Wednesday we didn't know it was coming out so soon. Mike Allen broke the news that Wolff's followup to "Fire and Fury," titled "Siege," will be out on June 4.
Most books are promoted months ahead of time, but the publisher, Henry Holt, kept this project hush-hush and chose to announce it just 20 days before release for maximum impact. In a press release, Henry Holt described the sequel as an "equally essential and explosive book about a presidency that is under fire from almost every side." I'm expecting leaks from the book to hit soon after Memorial Day...
Will the publisher be able to keep up with demand?
Demand for "Fire and Fury" far outweighed supply back in January 2018. Henry Holt eventually caught up, and more than four million copies have been sold to date, despite ample scrutiny of Wolff's sourcing and methods. So what about this time? How many copies are being printed? "Initial print run will be set soon. We are fully on target to meet demand," a spokeswoman told me...
Mueller report still No. 1 in paperback | | "The Pioneers" has displaced The Mueller Report atop the NYT's nonfiction bestseller list. But the newest edition of the paperback nonfiction list still has Mueller at No's. 1, 2 AND 3.
There are three big versions of the report available in paperback. The WaPo-branded edition from Scribner is holding steady at No. 1, the Melville House version is No. 2 and the Skyhorse version with an intro by Alan Dershowitz is No. 3...
The W.H. podium is collecting dust
Literally: CNN's Maegan Vazquez tweeted this out on Wednesday: "The White House hasn't held press briefing in so long that the lectern in the briefing room is quite literally gathering dust." Here's the picture: | | Earlier this week the USA Today editorial board weighed in on the unprecedented W.H. briefing drought. (Wednesday was day 65.) Having "access to Donald Trump is not the same as transparency," the board rightly wrote. The "opposing view" piece was written by Raj Shah...
About that Beto cover...
Tom Kludt writes: "Beto O'Rourke has some regrets about his presidential campaign rollout, lamenting a quote that appeared on a cover of Vanity Fair announcing his run. But the magazine's top editor has no second thoughts. 'I'm really proud of it, I'm proud that we got it, and I'm proud that it's still driving conversation,' Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones said of the March issue that launched O'Rourke's 2020 bid." Here's more from Jones' sit-down with Christiane Amanpour, airing Friday...
>> Peter Hamby's latest for VF: "How the media fell out of love with Beto O'Rourke..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Vanity Fair has "opened its vaults and made its complete archive available for the first time in the magazine's 106-year history..." (VF)
-- "Bloomberg LP is expanding its parental leave policy from 18 weeks of fully-paid leave to 26 weeks" for "primary caregivers." That's far above the norm at media companies... (Bloomberg)
Wednesday's lead story: Alabama's restrictive abortion bill is now law
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all led with the news out of Alabama. Here is CNN's live story chronicling a full day's worth of developments and reactions.
Televangelist Pat Robertson made news by saying on "The 700 Club" that he thinks Alabama went "too far" -- he said "they want to challenge Roe v. Wade... but my humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one will lose."
Meanwhile, here's what the home page of Glamour.com looks like right now: | | Glamour reworked the home page to feature the photos of the 25 Alabama state senators who voted for the bill. "In other words," senior editor Mattie Kahn wrote, "25 men who will never need this procedure (but who can, of course, put a woman in a position where she might need one) have limited the medical options available to 51 percent of the population."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Shirley Henry is NPR's new chief Washington editor (NPR)
-- PBS has a new ombudsman: Ricardo Sandoval-Palos (B&C)
NYT's party for "The Weekly"
Spotted at Wednesday night's premiere of "The Weekly," the NYT's new program for FX and Hulu, premiering on June 2: A.G. Sulzberger, Dean Baquet, Sam Dolnick, Meredith Levien, Jake Silverstein, Caitlin Dickerson, Maggie Haberman, John Landgraf, Pat Kiernan, Gay Talese, Dan Abrams, Michael Calderone, Michael Barbaro, Lloyd Grove, Wesley Morris, Matt Purdy, Cliff Levy, Ken Druckerman, many more...
"Quibi Seeks Up to $1 Billion in New Funding"
That's the latest scoop from The Information's Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel:
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's mobile video service already announced $1 billion in funding. "Now, with the service's launch still many months away, Quibi is gearing up to raise even more," they reported Wednesday. "The company is currently planning to raise up to an additional $1 billion to help fund the streaming service, according to four people familiar with the matter..."
| |
TV UPFRONTS 2019
What CBS is selling: "Strength and stability"
Brian Lowry emails: CBS' first upfront stage show in more than 20 years without former CEO Leslie Moonves made several references to a new day at the network, but it fell to Stephen Colbert to address the past year's scandals directly, saying that he had read a summary of the presentation by Attorney General William Barr that concluded Moonves was "totally exonerated." Other than that, it looked like the same-old CBS, with a trio of new shows on Thursday night as the network seeks to fill the sizable void left by "The Big Bang Theory," whose cast took one final upfront bow before Thursday's series finale.
Stelter adds: Kelly Kahl and others spoke of "strength and stability." And both words were on display at the network's traditional post-show party, an all-you-can-eat extravaganza buying out The Plaza hotel's public spaces. The rooms full of affiliate execs from stations across the country were a reminder of the durability of local TV despite all the madness...
The mood music
"The board of the CBS Corporation and Viacom have been separately conducting reviews" of a possible merger, the NYT's Edmund Lee and John Koblin wrote, with details about how it might work...
At WarnerMedia...
Brian Lowry emails: Earlier in the day on Wednesday, WarnerMedia's message to advertisers -- aside from pitching its various cable networks -- appeared to be "We come in peace." CEO John Stankey sought to assure media buyers that the studio's new streaming service is being built "with your needs and input in mind." For his part Kevin Reilly coined what appeared to be a new term, upgrading the multi-channel media environment to an "omni-channel universe."
-- WarnerMedia's unnamed streaming service "will have an ad-supported component," Stankey said...
-- WarnerMedia is going to air the drama "Snowpiercer" on TBS, known for its comedies... And TruTV "is going to launch its first animated series..." Variety's Brian Steinberg says "worlds, such as they are in the TV business, seem to be colliding..."
-- Conan O'Brien's jokes on stage at the parent company's expense: "Because this is AT&T, after the show today will be a terrible reception..." And, he said, "the after-party will only have two bars..."
| | FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- In the latest turn of what is proving to be some epic drama in the world of YouTube stars, Nikita Dragun tried to defend James Charles in his feud with Tati Westbrook. Let's just say it didn't help.
-- The "Black Mirror" Season 5 first look has arrived and it's got some major star power.
-- Taylor Swift says her biggest teenage rebellion involved her ex, Joe Jonas.
-- James Corden took on a troll who wished cancer on his kid.
-- "Maleficent 2" features Angelina Jolie vs. Michelle Pfeiffer.
ITV cancels 'Jeremy Kyle Show' after guest's death; UK launches related 'inquiry into reality TV'
Katie Pellico writes: ITV permanently canceled "The Jeremy Kyle Show" on Wednesday after a guest was found dead one week after appearing in an episode. The network pulled the "Jerry Springer"-style tabloid talk show Monday, in its 17th season, confirming its cancellation "for good" on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, British lawmakers have opened an "inquiry into reality TV," to examine "whether enough support is offered both during and after filming, and whether there is a need for further regulatory oversight in this area." This works as an answer to the growing outcry for ITV to also address "Love Island," its reality TV cash cow from which two contestants have died in the last year. Its biggest season yet is set to premiere in June. (A "Love Island" source told The Mirror that the show will go on, despite the Parliamentary inquiry.)
>> An apparently notorious guest on "The Jeremy Kyle Show" interviewed with the Guardian, admitting "he tried to kill himself after sustained public shaming."
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- Here's Lucas Shaw on a new trend in media: "Instead of hiding how much they spend, studios are now bragging about how much they spend..." (Medium)
-- Via Chloe Melas: BTS performed a mega concert in Central Park for ABC's "GMA" after fans camped out in the rain for days... (CNN)
-- Joe Flint writes: "Big Bang Theory has never been sold to a streamer. Here's why and what might happen next..." (WSJ)
LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST...
"Big Bang" was so, so big
CBS will never be quite the same after "The Big Bang Theory" ends on Thursday night.
Brian Lowry emails: At times it has felt like Chuck Lorre is almost single-handedly keeping the sitcom alive. But as "Big Bang" signs off, the producer/co-creator of the show says it would be "foolish" to predict the form's demise, even as he migrates into single-camera comedies with "Young Sheldon" and Netflix's "The Kominsky Method," which has earned Lorre some of the acclaim (beginning with a Golden Globe) that has generally eluded him.
>> By happenstance, Lorre also had the kicker quote, saying as much, in a 1998 article I wrote on the end of "Seinfeld." While the piece wondered whether there would be more hits of that magnitude, Lorre suggested that the so-called water-cooler show would simply lie dormant "till somebody does something remarkable. The medium fools you. It still has the capacity to bring people together."
| | | Thank you for reading. Email me anytime. See you tomorrow... | | | |
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