EXEC SUMMARY: Scroll down for the latest on Disney's earnings, Twitter's 2020 problem, Jemele Hill's book deal, Tammy Filler's changes to "E! News," and more...
White supremacy is a problem.
"White supremacy is the ideology that has killed more Americans than any other terroristic ideology in the history of America," Wesley Lowery said on Sunday's "Reliable Sources."
On Monday John Avlon wrote about the feedback loop of "hate and extremism, cascading copy-cat violence and a pattern of white supremacists citing each other -- and the President -- in online forums like 8chan, where hate and conspiracy theories proliferate."
Jelani Cobb came out Tuesday with a new column about "how the trail of American white supremacy led to El Paso."
And the Los Angeles Times has an editorial in Wednesday's paper titled, "As the El Paso massacre showed once again, white supremacy is the poison in our well."
I'm mentioning all of this because Tucker Carlson says the country's white supremacy problem "is a hoax. Just like the Russia hoax. It's a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power." | | This nonsensical claim came after several days of scrutiny of the El Paso suspect's racist views. Somehow Carlson asserted that "the whole thing is a lie." He downplayed the threat by saying it's "actually not a real problem in America. The combined membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium."
The point, of course, is that men like the suspect in El Paso aren't "members" of an "organization."
Jonah Goldberg, knowing President Trump is a fan of Carlson's show, responded by saying this on Twitter: "If Trump apes these talking points, it'll be awful for the country and devastating for Trump's presidency."
The Fox factor
At the same time, over on MSNBC, "host Chris Hayes suggested there is 'no distance' between the anti-immigration rhetoric published in the El Paso shooter's racist manifesto and commentary uttered by Fox News opinion hosts like Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Brian Kilmeade," Mediaite's Caleb Ecarma wrote.
We made a similar point on "CNN Tonight" on Monday, and I said there's no evidence that the suspect watched Fox's "invasion" and "illegals" coverage, but millions of viewers DO watch it every day...
A false equivalence
Oliver Darcy emails: Since the Dayton shooter's extreme left-wing Twitter account came to light, there have been many comparisons between him and the suspected El Paso terrorist. A lot of Q's have been asked about why news organizations are highlighting the alt-right politics of the suspected El Paso gunman, while spending relatively little time talking about the left-wing views of the Dayton killer.
But it's not as cut and dried as some people are making it seem. There is a key difference between the two cases: The El Paso shooter left behind an online post explaining that he was committing his act of terror because of his racist politics. In the Dayton case, police say there's no indication so far that the shooter's politics were a factor. That is a crucial distinction...
Gilroy is now being investigated as domestic terror
"The 19-year-old gunman who used an assault-style rifle to shoot people at the Gilroy Garlic Festival last week had a 'target list' made up of religious institutions and political groups of both parties, as well as federal buildings and courthouses," authorities said Tuesday, per CNN's latest story. "Given the threats to nationwide organizations, the FBI is opening a domestic terrorist investigation into the shooting..."
"It's always going to be too soon"
Comedy Central host Arturo Castro wrote and filmed a sketch last year about gun violence. Castro plays a Central American immigrant who came to the United States and is stunned to find out about the country's mass shooting culture. "If he is not in a cartel," his character asks, "then where is he getting his guns?" His teacher tells him, "You can get guns anywhere. It's America. I can get you a gun." The character ultimately decides to return to Central America.
This sketch, titled "Welcome to America," was "originally set to air on last week's 'Alternatino' but was pushed to this week out of sensitivity for the Gilroy, Calif. mass shooting," THR's Katie Kilkenny wrote.
Then Castro and the producers thought about delaying it AGAIN due to last weekend's attacks. But "after a lot of soul-searching, I realized that it's always going to be too soon as long as we keep allowing this to happen and don't come together to make things change," Castro said. So the sketch aired on Tuesday night...
Universal's "The Hunt" is bound to be controversial
"In the aftermath of mass shootings within days of one another that shocked and traumatized the nation, Universal is re-evaluating its strategy" for a "certain-to-be-controversial satire" film called "The Hunt." It is set for release on September 27, THR's Kim Masters and Tatiana Siegel report. "The violent, R-rated film from producer Jason Blum's Blumhouse follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals."
Per THR, "ESPN pulled an ad for the film" over the weekend, and "an ESPN source says no spots for the film will appear on the network in the coming weeks." Details here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- The Washington Post's main homepage headline on Tuesday night, looking ahead to Wednesday's visits: "Trump to face skepticism, protests in El Paso, Dayton" (WaPo)
-- After "Deadline: White House" on Tuesday, host Nicolle Wallace said she misspoke "about Trump calling for an extermination of Latinos." She tweeted: "My mistake was unintentional and I'm sorry. Trump's constant assault on people of color and his use of the word 'invasion' to describe the flow of immigrants is intentional and constant." (Twitter)
-- About the NYT's Monday night headline headache: The Times admitted that "TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM" was a bad headline... (Beast)
-- Gabriel Snyder spoke with NYT exec editor Dean Baquet, who "doesn't see himself as the vanguard of the resistance," although that's what some (many?) Times readers want him to be. Very interesting quotes from Baquet here... (CJR)
Toni Morrison, 1931-2019
Film critic Gene Seymour writes: "Toni Morrison's death this week at 88 comes at a fraught moment, when the country feels trapped in a hornets' nest of racist rage and violence. America is being summoned, yet again, to atone for its original sin, white supremacy. But the horrors of recent days remind us that Morrison made art that was urgently political. Her work signifies the social and cultural transfigurations dominating the American landscape at the hinge binding two centuries."
Writing for CNN.com, Seymour says it's sad "that Morrison won't be here to guide us out of our current catastrophe. But if more and greater books from the countless authors she inspired follow in her wake -- and they have -- it will be because she lighted the way for them."
"A magician with language"
"In the beginning was the Word. Toni Morrison took the word and turned it into a Song...of Solomon, of Sula, Beloved, Mercy, Paradise Love, and more," Oprah Winfrey wrote on Tuesday.
"She was our conscience. Our seer. Our truth-teller," Winfrey continued. "She was a magician with language, who understood the Power of words. She used them to roil us, to wake us, to educate us and help us grapple with our deepest wounds and try to comprehend them."
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Reactions from her editor and publisher
Knopf, Morrison's publisher, confirmed her death. Her longtime editor Robert Gottlieb said "she was a great woman and a great writer, and I don't know which I will miss more." And Sonny Mehta, the chairman of Knopf, said she left an indelible mark on the culture. "Her novels command and demand our attention," he said. "They are canonical works, and more importantly, they are books that remain beloved by readers."
--> The Trump White House did not release a statement. But Barack Obama did. You can read it here...
Lisa's reflections
Lisa Respers France writes: "As a little black girl who didn't always want to be black, Toni Morrison at once understood me and shamed me. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, forced me at a young age to rethink beauty standards and what it truly meant to love and be loved. Morrison, who died this week at the age of 88, not only made me confront my blackness, she made me love it. Her works spoke to a generation of us."
Read Lisa's heartfelt remembrance here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- The Markup is back in business, with editor in chief Julia Angwin back in charge; Nabiha Syed as president; and Evelyn Larrubia as managing editor... (NYT)
-- Google and Amazon "have been offering for sale and profiting from listings of firearm and gun accessories, an apparent violation of their own stated policies that shows the pitfalls of software-driven retail," Greg Bensinger reported Tuesday... (WaPo)
-- Brian Fung's followup story: "Both companies said they removed the listings when they were alerted to their existence..." (CNN)
Disney's earnings drama
Clare Duffy has the recap for CNN Business: "Disney's crucial direct-to-consumer business posted major growth in the three months ending in June, a sign that its acquisition of a majority stake in Hulu is paying off. Growth in that sector helped lift Disney's overall revenue 33% from the prior year, up to $20.2 billion, it announced Tuesday evening. That number was, however, lower than the $21.4 billion Wall Street had expected after the company's busy quarter. Net income was also down 51% in the quarter, a result of ongoing investments in streaming." The result: Shares fell around 3% in after hours trading...
--> Another big factor: A $170 million loss at another newly acquired division, Fox's film business, which made a bad bet on "Dark Phoenix." TheWrap's headline: "Disney Blindsided by Fox Box Office Struggles."
--> Sarah Whitten summing it all up for CNBC: "Fox deal to drag on earnings, but Disney says the future payoff will be worth the pain..."
"The most important product..."
During Tuesday's investor call Bob Iger announced the company's bundling plan: "A new bundle that includes ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu for $12.99 per month will also be available to subscribers in November," at the same time Disney+ comes out, Duffy wrote.
Re: Disney+, Iger said, "It's going to be the most important product our company has launched in a long time, certainly in my tenure."
"Vice may be looking for an exit strategy with CBS-Viacom"
That's the word from VF's William D. Cohan... He reports that Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc "has made a deal with CBS-Viacom a strategic imperative, according to insiders."
He quotes a source saying she has been "cozying up" to Shari Redstone and David Nevins. "Dubuc's problem is that she may not be able to get the attention of CBS and Viacom at the moment," Cohan writes. "The biggest open secret on Wall Street these days is the soon-to-be-announced merger between CBS and Viacom; the latest speculation is that their merger will be announced on August 8 when both companies report second-quarter earnings. And that internal preoccupation has chilled whatever interest there might have been for a deal with Vice, CBS-Viacom insiders say." Read on...
Fox buys "Bob's Burgers" animators
"Fox Entertainment has agreed to buy Bento Box Entertainment, a prolific producer of animated content including several shows for Fox Corp.'s broadcast network," the WSJ's Joe Flint reports. "Bento Box is the animation house behind Fox's long-running Sunday night show 'Bob's Burgers.' It also has two new shows in the works for Fox: 'Duncanville' and 'The Great North,' which are scheduled to debut in the 2019-2020 TV season..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Tencent "is negotiating to buy 10% of Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, from Vivendi" for $3.36 billion... (WSJ)
-- Snap is raising $1 billion in debt... (CNBC)
-- "Ninja hits 1 million subscribers on Mixer five days after leaving Twitch..." (The Verge)
"It is time"
 The Washington Post's Press Freedom Partnership is running a full-page ad reminding readers about Austin Tice on Wednesday. The ad will run again on August 14, the seventh anniversary of Tice's capture in Syria.
Tice has been missing for seven years. "We call on the governments of the United States and Syria to make his safe return an urgent priority," the ad says. "It is time to bring him HOME."
--> ICYMI, here's the open letter from Tice's parents that came out last Thursday, also pegged to the August 14 anniversary...
Laying off and leaning in at NPR
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reports: "NPR's newsroom is eliminating some jobs as part of a restructuring effort that adds positions in other areas to 'more fully lean into our role as a public service organization,' NPR's chief news executive announced Tuesday."
SVP Nancy Barnes said fewer than ten people are being laid off. The changes "are not about saving money," she wrote. She intends to hire investigative reporters and devote more resources to beats like climate change and pharmaceuticals.
National security desk correspondent David Welna, who joined NPR in 1982, said in a note to colleagues that his position was eliminated. He wrote, "I hope none of you will ever be treated this way."
Jemele Hill writing a memoir
Henry Holt has acquired the rights to Jemele Hill's first book in what the publisher called a "highly competitive auction. "As 'SportsCenter' viewers realized years ago, Jemele has a lot to say. As Atlantic readers know, her journalism is as swiftly exacting as it is wise. What everyone will discover when we publish Jemele's memoir is her significant literary talent," Barbara Jones, executive editor at Holt, said...
Appeals court revives Palin's defamation lawsuit against NYT
Oliver Darcy emails: A federal appeals court resuscitated Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, reversing the district court's previous dismissal and sending it back to the district court for further proceedings. The appeals court said the district court had "erred in relying on acts outside the pleadings to dismiss the case" and said Palin "plausibly states a claim for defamation" in her amended complaint which "may proceed to full discovery."
NYT spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha told me in a statement that the newspaper was "disappointed in the decision" and intends to "defend the action vigorously." Meanwhile, Libby Locke and Ken Turkel, lawyers for Palin, said in their own statement that they were "pleased" and looking forward "to starting discovery and ultimately proceeding to trial." Stay tuned...
Twitter's 2020 problem
Donie O'Sullivan emails: Twitter is telling some new congressional 2020 candidates that they won't get verified on the platform until they win their primary. Why is that a potential problem? Well, Russian and pro-Iranian accounts have created fake American political accounts in the past, including some that have posed as candidates. The head of the New Hampshire Democrats is voicing concern.
Here's the full story from O'Sullivan and Maegan Vazquez...
"Indescribable:"
How a harassment campaign affected the lives of Seth Rich's family & friends
Oliver Darcy emails: The final part of Michael Isikoff's special series into the Seth Rich conspiracy theory was published on Tuesday, and it focused on how a campaign of harassment has impacted the slain DNC staffer's friends and family. Aaron Rich, the brother of Seth Rich, told Isikoff that it's "infuriating" to watch conspiracy theorists "profit off lies about you and your family." Aaron Rich added, "It is indescribable. You want to punch a wall."
A neighbor of Seth Rich, Mark Mueller, said that he also became a target of conspiracy theorists who started contacting him via email, calling him on his cell phone, and more. Mueller told Isikoff that things became so "intense" that he had to move out of his house on the weekends to avoid conspiracy theorists badgering him at his residence...
| | FX orders "Impeachment" edition of "American Crime Story"
Monica Lewinsky will be a producer of "Impeachment: American Crime Story," the third season of the FX anthology series. It is "set to debut September 27, 2020, a little more than one month before the next presidential election," Sandra Gonzalez noted.
--> Casting: "Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp will be main characters in the story. Annaleigh Ashford has been cast as Jones, while Beanie Feldstein and "American Crime Story" vet Sarah Paulson will play Lewinsky and Tripp, respectively..."
--> Per FX, "the limited series is based on Jeffrey Toobin's bestselling book 'A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.'" The first "American Crime Story," about OJ Simpson, also relied on a Toobin book...
FX's annual tally of scripted TV series
Brian Lowry writes: FX chief John Landgraf remains one of those rare executives who actually seems to relish making news out of his TCA Press Tour visits -- or at least exploring the bigger TV picture -- and the new ownership of Disney apparently hasn't dampened that impulse. On Tuesday Landgraf said FX's annual tally places the number of scripted series so far this year currently at 335 -- up 5% from the same point last year -- and that the curatorial filter of something like the FX brand becomes increasingly important in helping viewers find shows.
"How are you guys feeling about trying to keep up with the volume of scripted television these days?" Landgraf said to the TV critics and other media types in the room, comparing the branding that top networks provide to the way he seeks out stories from premiere news organizations that he knows diligently report and fact-check stories.
--> As for the Disney deal closing, Landgraf said "our future is finally here," saying it was reassuring to be part of "the best and largest story-driven company." The network announced a number of docu-series as part of a ramped-up slate of programming...
FIRST LOOK
"The State of Netflix" special report by THR
Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Platt are on the cover of this week's THR... The magazine has a sneak peek at Ryan Murphy's first Netflix show, "The Politician," which comes out next month... The cover calls it a "scathing takedown of Trump-era entitlement." | | The features will be up on THR.com on Wednesday morning...
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez on David Geffen's yacht
On Tuesday Bloomberg wrote about some of David Geffen's recent guests... Karlie Kloss, Josh Kushner and Lloyd Blankfein were pictured on board along with Bezos and Sanchez...
"Oprah Winfrey was also on board last week," and "last month's crew" included Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry... 👀 | | "E! News" moving from L.A. to N.Y., from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The E! channel's flagship news program, "which has aired at 7 p.m. ET/PT from Los Angeles for most of its life, will transition to a morning show in 2020. It also will switch coasts and originate from NBC's 30 Rockefeller Center studios in New York," THR's Rick Porter wrote Tuesday.
"Today" show producer turned E! News EVP and EIC Tammy Filler is leading the changes. "Nightly Pop" is expanding to four nights a week. And E! is going to try an NY-based show called "Pop of the Morning" as well. Details here...
E! layoffs in L.A.
First came the announcement about the move to NYC, then came this: "The entertainment news outlet is laying off around 20-25 staff who worked on the nightly broadcast in Los Angeles," Variety's Elaine Low and Audrey Cleo Yap reported. E! is "offering affected employees the opportunity to apply for positions" with new shows in both L.A. and NYC. It sounds like E! can save some $$ by sharing "studio space and production services" with "Access Hollywood" in NYC...
"Authoritarianism disguised as fandom"
Brian Lowry writes: Critic Matt Zoller Seitz issued a Twitter thread lamenting what he described as "authoritarianism disguised as fandom," where people who love a certain movie or TV show demand absolute fealty to it. Whether this is a growing phenomenon (as he suggests), it's hardly a new one, and has only been exacerbated by online communities that allow fans to virtually assemble in a way that creates a kind of shared delusion about how popular certain properties are...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- As she undergoes battling cancer for a third time, beloved singer and actress Olivia Newton-John says she doesn't want to know how much time she might have left to live.
-- Gigi Hadid may be killing Tyler Cameron's "Bachelor" chances because some folks believe the latest "Bachelorette" runner up may not be free to do the show.
Garfield has a new owner: Nickelodeon
"Viacom is purr-chasing Garfield," CNN's Jordan Valinsky wrote Tuesday. It's "buying Paws Inc., the company that owns the rights to Garfield. Viacom has big plans for the lasagna-loving cat, including new merchandise and an animated television show for its children's cable network Nickelodeon."
So I've gotta sign off here with a Garfield GIF! | | Thank you for reading. Send me your feedback anytime...
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