IN THIS EDITION: Everyone from Carpe Donktum to Shari Redstone, David Beckham to Savannah Guthrie, Taylor Swift to Tucker Carlson. Plus my new look at the Florida Climate Reporting Network, and the premiere episode of CNN's movies podcast...
| | Trump's validation of the fringe
Oliver Darcy emails: Some of the right-wing media universe's biggest stars are set to descend on the White House on Thursday. Trump has invited far-right internet personalities and trolls, many of whom push conspiracy theories, lies, and misinformation, for a "social media summit." It will likely become a forum for airing claims -- often unfounded -- of social media bias. Trump is scheduled to speak at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Newsrooms will likely be skeptical of covering the summit, as it does not appear a serious discussion about issues facing Big Tech will take place. But I think the summit is worth covering for a different reason. I'd even argue it's being under covered right now. The invitations extended to extremist figures are perhaps the clearest example yet of Trump working to legitimize fringe political allies. It's irresponsible and even perhaps dangerous for the White House to validate some of these people. And it's all happening ahead of the 2020 campaign. THAT deserves coverage, and should be conveyed to readers and viewers on Thursday...
Expected attendees include...
Darcy emails: Jim Hoft, the publisher of the right-wing Gateway Pundit blog; Bill Mitchell, a radio host who has promoted the extremist QAnon conspiracy theory on Twitter; Carpe Donktum, an anonymous troll who won a contest put on by InfoWars for an anti-media meme; Ali Alexander, an activist who attempted to smear Kamala Harris by saying she is not an "American black" following the first Democratic debates; James O'Keefe, the guerrilla journalist; Charlie Kirk, the founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point USA; and Benny Johnson, the journalist-turned-activist who was fired for plagiarism by BuzzFeed and demoted at the Independent Journal Review for violating company standards...
--> As Jason Farkas said on Twitter, "RTs are not endorsements. Inviting trolls to the White House, however, is..."
Artist who drew anti-Semitic cartoon disinvited
Darcy emails: At least one of the individuals invited proved to be too far off in the fringe even for the White House. An administration official told Jake Tapper on Wednesday that the White House had rescinded its invitation to artist Ben Garrison, who had drawn a cartoon widely condemned as anti-Semitic.
Garrison said in a statement that he had spoken to the White House on Tuesday and they had concluded his "presence at the social media summit would be a media distraction." Garrison said he was "asked to remain silent about the whole thing," but then the White House informed media about his invitation being rescinded, which he said "disappointed" him and prompted him to speak out about the allegations of anti-Semitism, which he strongly denied.
White House mum
Darcy adds: The White House has repeatedly declined to release information about the summit to the public. I asked a spokesperson on Wednesday for basic info, such as a list of expected attendees or an agenda. The spokesperson declined to provide such information. The latest information we have came Tuesday from spokesman Judd Deere who said Trump wanted to engage with "digital leaders" on the issue of alleged social media bias...
"We're not sure what to expect"
Darcy continues: It's not just the press and public being left in the dark. Those invited to attend have also been provided zero information. They haven't even received guidance on what is expected of them.
I spoke to one person who plans to attend. That person told me, "We're not sure what to expect. We're not sure if it's going to even be about policy." The person added, "All I know is there is going to be a bunch of people in a room talking about social media...You know the president will be there so it could go in a number of different directions."
Roose's column
Darcy emails one more: Kevin Roose had an excellent piece on Trump's Thursday event. He noted that "for today's right-wing trolls" there is a "bigger prize" than simply scoring some "retweets and Reddit upvotes." Today, being a troll with a pro-Trump political bent might earn you a "red-carpet visit to the White House." Roose, noted that, "It is ironic, of course, to complain about being persecuted from the cushy perch of a White House summit."
Stelter taking over here... Oliver, thank you for getting this edition of the newsletter started...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- A story that should be getting more attention IMHO: A State Department intelligence analyst "has resigned in protest after the White House blocked portions of his written testimony to a congressional panel to exclude data and evidence on climate change and its threat to national security, State Department officials said..." (WSJ)
-- Robert Foster, a Republican running for governor in Mississippi who "denied a female reporter's request to accompany him on a campaign trip unless she brought along a male colleague" is defending his "moral stance" and "Christian beliefs" on Twitter, using the controversy to rally support for his campaign... (CNN, Twitter)
-- No. 1 on Forbes' new list of "the world's highest-paid celebrities:" Taylor Swift with $185 million in earnings. Kylie Jenner comes in at No. 2 with $170 million. Two other notable names on the top 100 list: Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity... (Forbes)
New Jeffrey Epstein accuser comes forward
NBC's Savannah Guthrie landed an emotional interview with a new Epstein accuser, Jennifer Araoz, who said Epstein raped her when she was a teenager. Her account was sickening and, as CNN's Alanne Orjoux noted, "similar to the stories of other women who have come forward." Epstein's attorney has not responded to multiple calls requesting comment...
Multiple projects in the works...
"There's already a whole new crop of Jeffrey Epstein media in the pipeline," VF's Joe Pompeo reported Wednesday.
James Patterson and John Connolly's 2016 book "Filthy Rich" is "being adapted into a documentary series for Netflix. That's in addition to an Epstein documentary by filmmaker Barry Avrich that was already reported to be in the works. NBC's Dateline has recently been exploring an Epstein story as well, someone familiar with the reporting told me. Surely there will be additional Epstein books, and maybe even a podcast or two..."
Trump satisfied with Acosta's presser?
CNN.com's headline: "Alex Acosta defends role in Epstein sexual abuse scandal."
"For an hour on Wednesday afternoon," the NYT's James Poniewozik wrote, "cable news became the White House human resources office." The Labor Secretary "parried and deflected questions from journalists, in the process making the meta-argument that the Viewer-in-Chief should not cancel him."
The presser was panned on social media, but maybe it did the trick with Trump: Per CNN's Jim Acosta and Pamela Brown, the White House believes Acosta handled himself well at the news conference... A W.H. official said Trump remains supportive of Acosta and the posture in the W.H. is to fight the controversy...
Fox's framing
While prime time programs on CNN and MSNBC focused on Acosta, Sean Hannity went with his usual "media mob" framing. His show went with banners such as these: "Liberal media makes desperate attempt to link President Trump with Jeffrey Epstein" and "Liberal media on defense over Epstein charges."
Hannity praised Trump for kicking Epstein out of Mar a Lago and strongly hinted that Bill Clinton committed Epstein-like crimes, at one point noting that Monica Lewinsky was "young..." A little while later, when the 10pm shows on CNN and MSNBC led with Acosta's presser and Epstein's alleged actions, Laura Ingraham's show was all about "LIBERALS ENABLING LAWLESSNESS."
Ilhan Omar wants advertisers to shun Tucker's show
On Twitter and in a Q&A with reporters on Wednesday, Ilhan Omar said Fox is giving a "nightly platform" to white supremacist rhetoric in the form of "Tucker Carlson Tonight." She repeated her assertion that Carlson is a "racist fool" -- reacting to his claims that she hates America and that immigrants like her "undermine" the country.
"Advertisers should not be underwriting hate speech," she tweeted.
One of her colleagues in Congress, Katie Hill, said Omar "deserves an apology" and "Tucker deserves to be fired." Fox delivered on neither of those things (of course)...
"Omar is trying to take this show off the air"
Omar's advertiser call-out gave Carlson an opening to say, on his Wednesday show, that she "is trying to take this show off the air. Shut us up. Silence us. We want to reassure you that's not going to happen. Why? Because we work at Fox News, and they've got our back, and we're thankful for that."
Carlson opened his show with a long anti-Omar commentary, summarizing his original point this way: "Americans like immigrants. But immigrants have got to like us back. That is essential. Otherwise, the country falls apart." He denied the charges of racism and said "we're against racism, adamantly..."
🔌 I'll have more about this on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" in the 11pm hour... | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "An immigration appeals panel has reopened the case of a detained Spanish-language reporter facing deportation after he was arrested while covering an immigration rally in Tennessee." Manuel Duran is from El Salvador... ICE "has said Duran was taken into custody because he had a pending deportation order from 2007 after failing to appear for a court hearing..." (AP)
-- "Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney accused world leaders Wednesday of failing to protect journalists and decried their 'collective shrug' over the slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi..." (AP)
-- WaPo is out with a new "follow the money" story titled "in the aftermath of Khashoggi's killing, Saudi influence machine whirs on in Washington..." (WaPo)
New global media defense fund
Hadas Gold with some news from the Global Media Freedom Conference in London: "The United Kingdom and Canada are together giving more than $4 million to a new global media defense fund. The fund, which will be administered by UNESCO, will be used to support, train and provide legal help for journalists around the world." Details here...
Judge orders power company to respond to WSJ report "paragraph by paragraph"
Did you see the WSJ's big report on Wednesday morning? "PG&E Knew for Years Its Lines Could Spark Wildfires, and Didn't Fix Them."
Now the fallout: Later in the day a federal judge with oversight of the matter "ordered PG&E Corp. to respond, 'on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis,'" to the WSJ reporting, Katherine Blunt writes. Blunt co-bylined the original scoop. The judge says he wants a "fresh, forthright statement owning up to the true extent of the Wall Street Journal report" by July 31...
>> PG&E's main statement right now: "Although we don't agree with or support the Journal's conclusions, we have acknowledged that the devastation of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires made clear that we must do more to combat the threat of wildfires and extreme weather while hardening our systems."
CBS/Viacom merger talks are "active"
"I never talk," CBS and Viacom vice chair Shari Redstone told FOX Business' Lydia Moynihan on the sidelines of this week's Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley.
"Now, as Shari is hobnobbing with the moguls in Sun Valley, the new CBS acting chief Joe Ianniello and Viacom CEO Robert Bakish are actively engaged in merger negotiations back in New York," Moynihan and Charlie Gasparino wrote Wednesday. "No announcements are expected this week on the deal, but the progress in the talks is said to be real: Management is engaged in discussions on deal price and the management structure of the new company."
--> Don Day writes about the local impact of the Allen & Co conference: Annual spotlight on Sun Valley helps Idaho's economy in ways large and small..." (Boise Dev)
NYT Sports' Special section
Print readers will notice a special Sports section in the Times on Thursday morning... Normally Sports only has its own section on Sundays and Mondays... But this edition is a keepsake-worthy look at the Women's World Cup victory and Wednesday's parade in NYC... | |
Watching VidCon
Kaya Yurieff emails from L.A.: VidCon is officially underway. Now in its tenth year, this is the largest gathering for online video creators, bringing together Internet celebrities like YouTube stars, their fans, and industry execs from all the top social media platforms. This year is TikTok's first time in attendance, and a few of their top creators will be here too.
I'm on the ground searching for screaming teen fans, internet famous animals such as Nala the Cat (4.1 million Instagram followers), and people taking photos in front of social media friendly backdrops (Invisalign, yes as in the teeth brand, has a big rainbow slide, and Giphy has a station at which you can turn yourself into a custom GIF). I'm expecting lots of presentations about monetization and how creators can earn money beyond YouTube ads. YouTube's Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan is giving the keynote on Thursday afternoon...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- "Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry and his sister, Colleen, are making good progress in their recoveries after liver donation surgeries, their family said Wednesday..." (Fox)
-- A day in the life of "Nightly News" exec producer Jenn Suozzo, via her alma mater's magazine... "The former dancer says she directs each episode as if it were a ballet..." (UConn)
-- And speaking of the "Nightly News," Lester Holt will receive the 2019 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from ASU this fall... (AP)
On this week's "Reliable" podcast: The Florida Climate Reporting Network
Some of Florida's biggest news outlets are banding together to form the Florida Climate Reporting Network. Have you heard about it yet? On Wednesday I spoke with two of the editors spearheading the new collaboration: Mark Katches, executive editor of the Tampa Bay Times, and Julie Anderson, EIC of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel.
Alex Harris of the Miami Herald also joined us and spoke about her experience as the only full-time climate change reporter among the six participating newsrooms in the network. "People keep saying we're ground zero down here" in Florida, she said, so "we should kind of act like it right?"
Katches and Anderson said other newsrooms are inquiring about joining, and they're working on making the network more formalized. Details to come. 🎧 Listen to our conversation via Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher, or your preferred app...
NatGeo Society to "add its network" of journalists to local newsrooms covering climate
Katie Pellico writes: Two new reporting collaborations were announced Wednesday that will bring National Geographic Society's illustrious resources to more than 10 local newsrooms covering the Delaware River Watershed and the Ohio Watershed, according to this report from Poynter's Kristen Hare. Hare explains that the two projects, "part of a $650,000 project from The Lenfest Institute, The National Geographic Society and the William Penn Foundation," will link NatGeo's "network of visual journalists, technologists and scientific experts" with ongoing local reporting...
>> The Philadelphia Inquirer published the first installment from the Delaware River Watershed project Wednesday, though it officially launches in the fall...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- NiemanLab's Christine Schmidt checked in on CALmatters. Four years after its launch as a "policy-focused reporting machine for California," Schmidt says it is "growing out of its startup stage..." (NiemanLab)
-- Related: "The News Project's publishing platform goes live with its first customer, CALmatters..." (TechCrunch)
-- As first reported by The Information, WarnerMedia ad sales chief Donna Speciale is leaving the company... Two of her top deputies, Dan Riess and Frank Sgrizzi, are also exiting... (AdWeek)
-- Gerhard Zeiler says he will "lead ad sales as interim president, working with a three-person operational team" -- Amit Chaturvedi, Katrina Cukaj and Joe Hogan... (Variety)
-- "Disney Television Studios has named Jonnie Davis president of ABC Studios, amid a restructuring in the wake of the Disney-Fox merger that has resulted in the displacement of current head Patrick Moran and ABC Studios EVP Howard Davine..." (Variety)
David Beckham sets up a content studio
"David Beckham, one of the world's most famous soccer players, is now making a run at Hollywood," Todd Spangler reported Wednesday. "Beckham's newly formed Studio 99 content studio will develop documentaries, TV shows and other formats, and also will undertake commercial work as a creative agency for brand partners." Some of the documentaries are already in the works. One of them will be co-produced with Uninterrupted, the company co-founded by LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter. WME is representing Beckham... "The agency, along with Beckham and his business team, have held conversations with global streaming platforms and media partners about Studio 99's initial development slate and potential co-productions..."
Holzhauer will be back in November...
"James Holzhauer, whose lucrative two-month run as Jeopardy! champion goosed the veteran game show's ratings in the spring, will face off against Emma Boettcher — the woman who ended his streak — and 13 others in its annual Tournament of Champions," Deadline's Erik Pedersen writes. The 10-day event "airs November 4-15 in syndication..."
| | New CNN podcast: "Lisa, Sandra and Kristen Go to the Movies"
 Episode one is out now! Lisa France, Sandra Gonzalez and Kristen Meinzer are sitting down with actors, directors, screenwriters, costume designers for discussions about movie moments from throughout the decades. The podcast is pegged to CNN's new TV series "The Movies," which is airing Sundays at 9pm this summer...
>> On episode one, the trio speaks with Ruth Carter about dressing Wakanda's royal family...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Aziz Ansari addressed the misconduct allegation against him in his new Netflix special...
-- Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul kind of played us about 'Breaking Bad,' yo...
-- Supporters are demanding rapper A$AP Rocky's release...
Low ratings for "Love Island" premiere
Brian Lowry emails: "Love Island" didn't get much love Nielsen-wise, premiering to a let's-just-be-friends 2.7 million viewers. CBS notes the show generated buzz on Twitter, but unless that translates to a bigger audience, with the show (based on a UK format) scheduled to play five nights a week, it could be a long month...
The power of "Friends"
Megan Thomas emails: This, by Michael Schulman for the New Yorker, is one of the best stories I've read about the ongoing fascination with "Friends." Title: "The revealing reasons people visit the 'Friends' building."
Key quote: "Loneliness is a massive problem in big cities. So, I mean, maybe you feel like they are your friends, as well, which is really sad to say..."
| | | Thank you for reading! Email me feedback anytime. See you tomorrow... | | | |
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