EXEC SUMMARY: Welcome to the Reliable Sources newsletter! This is Oliver Darcy. Send your feedback -- and tips -- to me via email. I'm also on Twitter, so do connect with me on there as well. Now, let's get to the news...
Dems take aim at media | | It's no secret that Republicans often excite their base by taking shots at the media, leveling accusations of bias against newspapers, cable news channels, and Hollywood. But Democrats have ~generally~ avoided this. That appears to no longer be the case.
"For the first time in my career, making the press a foil is good politics in a Democratic primary, and that is going to have long-standing consequences for the business of journalism," Dan Pfeiffer told Politico last week.
That quote has stuck with me -- and the tactic was certainly on full display Monday. Campaigns for two of the top Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, took aim at the press. So let's dive into what they said...
Sanders launches Trump-like attack on WaPo
Bernie Sanders sounded eerily similar to Trump on Monday when he took a swipe at WaPo. While delivering a stump speech in New Hampshire, Sanders suggested there was a link between the coverage he receives in WaPo and his rhetoric toward Amazon.
"I talk about [Amazon's taxes] all of the time," Sanders said, "And then I wonder why the Washington Post which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, doesn't write particularly good articles about me. I don't know why."
Marty Baron responds: Your "conspiracy theory" is wrong
I reached out to a WaPo spokesperson on Monday evening to see if the newspaper had any response to Sanders' criticism. Shortly after, I received a statement from WaPo executive editor Marty Baron.
Baron said, "Sen. Sanders is a member of a large club of politicians -- of every ideology -- who complain about their coverage. Contrary to the conspiracy theory the senator seems to favor, Jeff Bezos allows our newsroom to operate with full independence, as our reporters and editors can attest." Here's my full story with Annie Grayer and Greg Krieg...
"Not one time was there even a hint of Bezos influence in our coverage"
One person who came to WaPo's defense on Monday night was Chris Cillizza, who formerly worked at the newspaper. Cillizza tweeted, "I worked for several years at the Post under Marty — and when Bezos owned the company. Not one time was there even a hint of Bezos influence in our coverage. Marty wouldn't have stood for it."
The Sanders camp keeps doing this
Before the CNN Democratic debates, Faiz Shakir appeared on "Reliable Sources" and criticized the media writ large. At one point, Shakir suggested -- with no evidence -- that advertising by pharmaceutical companies ends up incentivizing journalists to be "driving the conversation in certain areas, and not in certain areas." Brian Stelter pushed back, asking what evidence Shakir had of that. Shakir didn't quite answer the question, just saying that he was happy to talk with the heads of cable news channels about coverage...
Meanwhile, Biden camp also zings press...
Appearing on "CNN Right Now" with Brianna Keilar, Joe Biden advisor Symone Sanders criticized the national media, suggesting stories about Biden's recent gaffes were a "press narrative, not a voter narrative." Keiler pressed Sanders, asking her about another recent gaffe. Sanders dismissed that, saying it was a "false narrative" because Biden "corrected himself."
Separately, on Twitter, Biden's national press secretary TJ Ducklo also zinged the national press. Ducklo noted Biden's recent speech about the threat of white nationalism. "Iowa press: The stakes of this election couldn't be higher. National press: 'But his gaffes!'"
>> One note about this comparison: Local press generally does treat the candidates in a less-confrontational way than the national press. Reporters from local communities are covering the story through a totally different lens than reporters who follow the candidates on a daily basis. Comparing the two is not exactly fair...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- The Post's newest count: "President Trump has made 12,019 false or misleading claims over 928 days..." (WaPo)
-- Journalists in Kashmir are still getting the news out, despite the Indian government having shut off Internet connections amid a lockdown. One editor has been carrying a hard drive with the news to a printing press and "operates the hulking machines himself, something he's never had to do before," Sameer Yasir reports... (NYT)
-- Monday marked the two-year anniversary of the Charlottesville violence. CNN's Mallory Simon and Sara Sidner published a story noting that Heather Heyer's name is not on the FBI's hate crimes report, and why that is... (CNN)
-- Rush Limbaugh on Monday dismissed the big NYT piece noting the "striking degree of overlap" between right-wing media stars and the suspected El Paso shooter... (Mediaite)
IN OTHER NEWS...
CBS-Viacom announcement seems imminent
Brian Stelter writes: The reunion of CBS and Viacom could be announced Tuesday morning, per an exec involved in the deal.
The companies are "in the final stages of negotiating," the WSJ's Ben Mullin and Dana Cimilluca wrote Monday... "The two sides are still working out details, including the stock exchange ratio for the transaction but have narrowed it down to a range of between 0.59 and 0.60 CBS share for each Viacom share, according to people familiar with the matter. That ratio would value Viacom slightly below its market value as of Friday, which was about $12 billion." On Monday Viacom shares slipped 4.9%. CBS traded down about 1.8%.
--> Bloomberg reports that the lawyers doing the deal are using the code names Comet and Venus for the companies...
What's next?
Stelter adds: These two companies are like runners at the start of a marathon already thinking about doing a triathlon.
Steven Zeitchik captures this sentiment in a headline for WaPo: "A CBS-Viacom merger is a logical step, but probably only a first one." He quotes investment banker Lloyd Greif saying "To me, a combination is just a first step. If there isn't a next step, they're toast."
Peter Kafka also wrote about this in a new Recode story. "The next step for Redstone, according to people who work for her: trying to find other companies to merge with her newly merged company. The idea: CBS and Viacom, which used to be the same company but got split apart years ago, need to combine to compete with the likes of Apple, AT&T, and Disney, who are all trying to compete with Netflix," he wrote...
--> A bullish argument for a would-be buyer: "CBS and Viacom streaming assets offer potent blend of subscriptions and advertising," Deadline's Dade Hayes wrote Monday...
AND AMID ALL OF THIS...
Jim Gianopulos signs new deal at Paramount
Frank Pallotta writes: Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos has signed a new, multi-year contract. "In addition, Paramount's current production president Elizabeth Raposo has extended her contract," Deadline reports...
Chris Cuomo captured on video in heated altercation
In a profanity-laced video posted online Monday night, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was captured on camera in a heated altercation with an unidentified person. The clip was posted online by a YouTube channel called "THAT'S THE POINT with Brandon." In the description, it said the video was sent in by a "fan." The altercation appeared to have occurred when the person called Cuomo "Fredo," a reference from "The Godfather" used to describe the least successful sibling in the movie's Mafia family.
Cuomo compared the word to the n-word for Italians and asked, "Is that a cool f***ing thing?" The person responded, "You're a much more reasonable guy in person than you seem to be on television." The person said that he didn't want any problems, and Cuomo responded, "You called me Fredo. It's like I called you a punk b***h. You like that?"
The altercation continued to heat up. Cuomo warned the person that he was going to have a "f***ing problem." Someone shouted, "What are you going to do about it?" Cuomo responded, "I'll f***ing ruin your s**t. I'll f***ing throw you down these stairs like a f***ing punk." Eventually, the altercation was broken up.
CNN spokesperson: We "completely support" Cuomo
I asked CNN for comment on the incident. A CNN spokesperson told me, "Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him."
Hannity and Scaramucci defend
Cuomo was also defended by his cable news rival: Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hannity tweeted, "I say good for @ChrisCuomo. He's out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family. Imho Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology."
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who had been on CNN earlier in the day discussing how he no longer supports Trump's reelection, also came to Cuomo's defense. Scaramucci tweeted that he's "very proud" of Cuomo, adding that he has been called "Fredo" as well. "This happens all the time," Scaramucci tweeted. "It's quite racist." | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Max Fisher and Amanda Taub's latest must-read is simply titled: "How YouTube Radicalized Brazil" (NYT)
-- Michael Calderone tweeted: "Adam Moss is heading to the Shorenstein Center this fall as a fellow to 'lead a group project that focuses on building a better political media landscape.'" (Twitter)
-- Darren Samuelsohn's latest on the Mueller media complex reveals that Bob Woodward "is eyeing a second book on the Trump era..." (Politico)
-- The most powerful moment on CNN on Monday: Kate Bolduan choked up when a mother held up the ashes of her daughter killed by gun violence... (Beast) | |
NYT columnist writes about visit to Epstein's mansion
NYT columnist James Stewart wrote on Monday about the time, "almost exactly a year ago," that he visited Jeffrey Epstein at his Manhattan mansion. Stewart said Epstein agreed to an interview, with the condition being that it would be on background. Stewart explained that he considered "that condition to have lapsed with his death," and penned a tell-all of sorts based on their 90 minute conversation. There is a lot in the column, so I've broken it down:
-- Epstein told Stewart he was doing some work on behalf of Tesla, a claim that Elon Musk and Tesla denied to NYT...
-- Epstein told Stewart he knew a lot of powerful people and had potentially damaging information on them...
-- Epstein told Stewart that criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural anomaly and that it was in other points in history acceptable...
-- Epstein told Stewart that he'd witnessed prominent figures in Silicon Valley arranging sex and taking drugs...
-- Epstein invited Stewart to dinner with him and Woody Allen. Epstein later invited Stewart to dinner with Michael Wolff and Steve Bannon. (Bannon told NYT he didn't attend, while Wolff and a spokesperson for Allen did not respond to NYT's request for comment.)
Inside Monday's meeting at the NYT
Dean Baquet "admitted" that the NYT "can and should do a better job covering race" in the Trump era "during a hastily arranged meeting, lasting well over an hour," The Daily Beast's Lachlan Cartwright, Maxwell Tani and Lloyd Grove report. Key details:
-- "Much of the meeting focused on outrage over" last week's "Trump Urges Unity Against Racism" headline... Baquet said the headline writer "feels terrible..."
-- At the same time, "Baquet said the paper shouldn't allow itself to be edited by Twitter outrage..."
-- "The executive editor also said the Times' standards editor is working on producing a written standard for when the paper should use the word 'racist...'"
>> Related: The latest from Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo who reports on how Trump "aggravates the Times' long-running identity crisis..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Donie O'Sullivan obtained video of the deep fake the DNC asked experts to make of its own chairman, Tom Perez... (CNN)
-- "Hong Kong isn't just battling on the streets: There is also a war on misinformation online," Jessie Yeung reports... (CNN)
-- Alexandra Alter reports: This week, for the first time, J.D. Salinger's publisher Little, Brown "is publishing digital editions of his four books, making him perhaps the last 20th-century literary icon to surrender to the digital revolution..." (NYT)
-- Virginia Hughes, who has been the science editor at BuzzFeed News, is taking a new role at the company. She's been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief. In a note to the newsroom, Ben Smith called her "eminently qualified..."
-- Missed this last week: Telemundo launched #LatinoStrong, Unidos Contra el Odio, "an initiative dedicated to supporting the Hispanic community in the U.S. following the recent tragedies that occurred" in El Paso and Dayton... (NBC Universal)
Scaramucci hits Trump during day on cable news
Anthony Scaramucci was all over cable news on Monday. After trading barbs with Trump on Twitter over the weekend, Scaramucci started Monday with an appearance on "New Day," telling John Berman that he no longer supported Trump's reelection bid.
Scaramucci then headed over to MSNBC. He told Stephanie Ruhle that Trump was like a starting pitcher who was lobbing baseballs out of the strike zone, and that it was time for a relief pitcher to enter the game.
Scaramucci closed out the day back on CNN. He told Anderson Cooper that people need to "look out" if Trump wins reelection. "The yellow light is on. It's gonna go red," Scaramucci said. "If he wins the next presidential election, look out. He hasn't listened to anybody in the first four years, what do you think's gonna happen in the next four years?"
>> Meanwhile... Trump responded to Scaramucci on Twitter, saying the former White House comms director was "only upset" that he didn't let him "back in the Administration." Trump added that he believes Scaramucci "just wanted to be on TV" and that he had "seldom" returned his "many calls" to him...
Verizon sells Tumblr
Tumblr has yet another new owner. "Verizon said Monday it has agreed to sell Tumblr to Automattic, the parent company of Wordpress.com. Terms of the deal were not disclosed," Seth Fiegerman reported for CNN Business. "The move will make Automattic the third company to own Tumblr in just six years."
As Fiegerman noted, "Yahoo acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion in 2013, making it the largest acquisition of former CEO Marissa Mayer's tenure. It was an ambitious bet to revive Yahoo's fortunes by attracting a younger generation of hyper-engaged users." That did not pan out, and in 2016 Yahoo "was forced to write down most of Tumblr's acquisition value." More details from Fiegerman here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By An Phung:
-- "The editorial staff of The Ringer announced this morning that they have formed a union with the WGA East," Tom Ley reports…(Deadspin)
-- Sean Craig spoke to more than 30 staffers at Postmedia and learned that the Canadian newspaper company "has given a directive for all of its papers to shift to the political right, in an unprecedented, centralized fashion…" (Canadaland)
-- War correspondents aren't the only journalists who need mental health care due to job stressors…(CJR)
Whitney Cummings shuts down efforts to extort her over photo
Sandra Gonzalez reports: "Whitney Cummings is taking a public approach to dealing with internet scum and making it clear she won't be bullied. The comedian on Monday told her social media followers that there have been recent attempts to extort her over an image she accidentally and briefly posted to Instagram earlier this year in which part of her breast was visible."
So she's speaking out. "When a woman in the public eye is extorted, we have to spend time, money and energy dealing with it, hiring lawyers and security experts, and living with a pit in our stomach about when and how we will be humiliated," Cummings wrote on Twitter. "Y'all can have my nipple, but not my time or money anymore."
| | First look at Apple's "Morning Show"
Frank Pallotta emails: On Monday Apple gave us the first look at its highly anticipated Apple TV+ original series "The Morning Show." The series, starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell, is set to debut on Apple's new service sometime in the fall.
The video is just a teaser, not a full-blown trailer... It takes viewers through the halls and sets of "The Morning Show" while the voices of the stars can be heard... So we don't actually *see* the stars in action, but we sure do hear some dramatic conversations about journalism! Check out the trailer here...
--> Reminder/disclosure: Brian Stelter is a consulting producer on the show. His book "Top of the Morning" was used as background material.
"The Crown" returns
Pallotta emails: The shortest trailer released Monday (clocking in at roughly 20 seconds) may have been my favorite. Netflix debuted a short teaser for the upcoming third season of "The Crown," which will premiere on November 17.
The new season will have Olivia Coleman take over as Queen Elizabeth II, and that should be quite interesting since Coleman's already won an Oscar for playing a different Queen of England in last year's "The Favourite..."
Eddie Murphy comes to Netflix in "Dolemite Is My Name" | | Pallotta emails one more: Netflix's "Dolemite Is My Name" has a big star and his name is Eddie Murphy. Netflix released a three minute long trailer on Monday that has Murphy starring as the blaxploitation star Rudy Ray Moore. The film also stars Wesley Snipes and Keegan-Michael Key and tells the story of Moore's rise as the character Dolemite in 1970s cinema.
"The film will hit Netflix and select theaters sometime this fall, which puts the film in the thick of awards season," IndieWire noted...
HBO closes summer strong
Brian Lowry emails: HBO is closing out the summer with a pair of first-rate dramas -- "Succession," which feels even more Murdoch-Ian in season 2; and "Our Boys," a powerful import based on a real episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
>> Related: Speaking of "Succession," Slate's Felix Salmon will be doing a podcast on the show, dropping recap episodes with Emily Peck and Anna Szymanski every Monday...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Frank Pallotta and Lisa Respers France:
-- Vulture's Bilge Ebiri presents the case for a "Best Stunts" Oscar... (Vulture)
-- Sarah Silverman says she was fired from a movie for an old blackface sketch... (CNN)
-- John Legend held a surprise concert in Dayton a week after mass shooting... (CNN)
-- Episodes of "Friends" are coming to theaters for the show's 25th anniversary... (EW)
-- Olivia Wilde's thriller "Don't Worry Darling" sells to New Line... (Variety)
-- A Janet Jackson superfan got the surprise of his life... (CNN)
-- Drake makes it nine No. 1 albums with "Care Package"... (CNN)
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
The most popular road in Wellesley
People keep stealing "Old Town Road" signs in Wellesley, Massachusetts, CNN's David Williams reports. "Currently the street sign posts are empty," the city said. "The Department of Public Works is waiting for the song's popularity to fade before replacing the signs again." They'll be waiting a while! | | Thank you for reading. I always enjoy your feedback, so send me a note via email or find me on Twitter... See you tomorrow!
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