| | | | | Exec summary: Roberts v. Iger... Fox v. Fox News... new game shows on Facebook... new "Star Trek" projects in the works... Plus, Instagram is making announcements on Wednesday... And the president is holding a rally... But first... | | Two moments on Tuesday night convey the country's divide over border separations and the broader debate about immigration. On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow broke down in tears while trying to read a breaking news story about how some of the youngest migrant children are being treated.
A couple hours earlier, on Fox News, Corey Lewandowski said "WOMP WOMP" when another guest, Zac Petkanas, shared the story of a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was allegedly separated from her mom. "How dare you. How absolutely dare you," Petkanas said in response.
Lewandowski's dismissive, despicable remark quickly went viral. Here's CNN's story about it.
How much lower can the discourse go?!
As for Maddow, well, she said sorry to her viewers via Twitter. "I apologize for losing it there for a moment. Not the way I intended that to go, not by a mile."
Lewandowski has not apologized. | | This is the story Maddow was trying to read. It was an AP story... published late in the 9pm hour... which is why Maddow tried to share it at the end of her hour.
"Trump administration officials have been sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border to at least three 'tender age' shelters in South Texas," The AP reported. "Lawyers and medical providers who have visited the Rio Grande Valley shelters described play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis."
Toddlers. Detained.
I understand if you're dreading clicking on this link. But here it is... | | People are turning their pained feelings about the border separations into forms of protest.
Folks are donating money, diapers, toys. And they're inundating the phone lines on Capitol Hill. Marches are being planned... including nationwide protests on June 30... but some are already taking place in border areas and big cities like NYC. CEOs like Tim Cook, Susan Wojcicki and Mark Zuckerberg are speaking out. And in Hollywood, something fascinating is happening: One half of the House of Murdoch is condemning the other half.
Seth MacFarlane and Steve Levitan are leading the charge against Fox News... As Frank Pallotta explained here, Levitan tweeted that he's planning on "setting up shop elsewhere" because of Fox News's "23-hour-a-day support of the NRA, conspiracy theories and Trump's lies..." | | "Embarrassed" to work for Fox | | I inadvertently had a hand in this story. Last week I shared a quote from Tucker Carlson's show -- pointing out that Carlson told his viewers not to believe ANYTHING they learn from Fox's rivals.
Fox Broadcast superstar Seth MacFarlane saw my tweet, and he was disgusted by Carlson's comment. "It's business like this that makes me embarrassed to work for this company," he tweeted.
On Monday, while prime time hosts on Fox News were defending Trump's policy, Levitan said he was joining MacFarlane "in saying I'm disgusted to work at a company that has anything whatsoever to do with @FoxNews." Levitan took a step further on Tuesday, indicating that he'd leave the studio... but then taking a half step back... Pallotta has all the details here...
--> Money where his mouth is: MacFarlane announced a $2 million donation to NPR... | | I've been trying to contact Fox corp comm about this... But so far, there's been no response or comment...
--> On the front of Wednesday's NYT biz section: "Criticism of Fox News Comes From Within Murdoch Empire"
--> Deadline explained the stakes: "MacFarlane and Levitan are the two biggest comedy creators/showrunners on 20th Century Fox TV roster." And Levitan's deal is up soon... | | | He's been a key voice in this anti-Fox News battle... On Tuesday night, he tweeted, "You can't just boycott Fox News. You have to boycott Fox everything. Movies, TV, sports, business, books. Shut it all off. Stop buying. They support the kidnapping of children and babies..." | | Brian Lowry emails: The criticism directed at Fox News from talent aligned with its sister entertainment assets isn't new... "The Simpsons" has been doing this for years... but it does reflect the soft underbelly of media conglomeration.
The WashPost's Steven Zeitchik made a good point about this possible pitfall -- namely, that it exposes far-flung units of a company to criticism and fallout from what unrelated corporate siblings are doing and saying. A company like Disney has dealt with a lot of this -- see the "Roseanne" and ESPN controversies -- and new owners like AT&T will have to learn to grapple with the same sort of headaches... | | "The confusion of the Trump media" | | Oliver Darcy emails: Trump's allies in the media are struggling to formulate a coherent defense of the president's immigration crackdown, oscillating between various talking points that have ranged widely. The shifting defenses seem to reflect the White House's inability to crystalize an effective explanation to blunt the mounting outrage.
--> Charlie Sykes quoted in the story: "The confusion of the Trump media mirrors the confusion in the Trump White House and I think really reveals how dependent they are on having a coherent spin out of the Trump White House..." | | Will the W.H. and its media megaphones coalesce around a specific message later this week?
Darcy's guess: "Trump's media allies will attempt to reframe the debate in the days ahead, working to make this less about child separation at the border and more about the immigration system as a whole..." | | Paul Farhi's latest for the Post >> "Propaganda or news: Should media publish government's child-detention photos?"
My two cents: There are real privacy concerns re: photos of migrant children. But the press and public should be seeing more of what's going on at these shelters. The govt's handout pics are not sufficient... | | -- Here's what I tried to point out on CNN earlier today: Actions speak louder than words, but President Trump's words are getting more extreme. For example, he'd never talked about PEOPLE as an infestation until Tuesday, when he said Dems want illegal immigrants to "infest our country, like MS-13..."
-- CNN legal analyst Ross Garber tweeted: "In fairness to POTUS, much of the news coverage looks like advocacy. Hard to be neutral when children are suffering..."
-- Univision issued a statement calling on elected officials "in both parties to work to resolve this situation immediately..."
-- I'll be talking about all this on CNN's "New Day" in the 6am hour on Wednesday... | | 21CF board meeting on Wednesday | | Jill Disis emails: We may get some news on the battle for the 21st Century Fox assets soon. The Fox board of directors will be discussing Comcast's $65 billion all-cash bid at a board meeting on Wednesday.
Don't expect there to be a winner just yet. The board members will first need to determine whether Comcast's offer is reasonably likely to be better than Disney's. If they do, they will start negotiating with Comcast. Should the board decide Comcast has offered the better deal, Disney would have five days to come up with a counter.
If Disney does counter -- and many expect that it will -- it's not yet clear exactly what its bid would look like. CNBC reported Monday that the company is expected to add cash to its current all-stock offer. Some analysts on Wall Street have expected as much, too... | | Roberts v. Iger on the cover of Variety | | | Variety mag commissioned a painting of the two men for this week's cover... It was created by Tim O'Brien... | | | Cynthia Littleton's cover story will be online on Wednesday... | | -- This is World Refugee Day...
-- In NYC, Instagram is holding a press event at noon, likely announcing a long-form video hub...
-- On Capitol Hill, Senator Maggie Hassan is hosting a panel on the state of the media... 1:30pm in the Kennedy Caucus Room (Russell 325)... Details here...
-- In Minnesota, POTUS is holding a rally... | | Fox News says ad boycott efforts have had "zero impact" | | Remember the ad boycott against Laura Ingraham's show? And Media Matters' campaign against Sean Hannity's show? Fox News addressed it in this new Stephen Battaglio story about TV advertisers being "caught in the crossfire of the country's political battles."
Key graf: "Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales for Fox News, acknowledged some sponsors avoided the cable news network's opinion programs when they came under fire but said others have come in to pick up the slack. 'There has been zero impact on our business,' Gambelli said in a statement. 'Many advertisers have returned to our programming, with new advertisers opting in for our powerful lineup.'" | | Here's the latest on the James Wolfe case... | | Hadas Gold reports from the courthouse in DC: "James Wolfe, former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee charged with lying to FBI agents, filed a motion on Tuesday to prevent anyone involved with his case -- up to and including President Donald Trump -- from speaking publicly about the case." You'll recall that Trump called Wolfe a "very important leaker," even though he hasn't been charged with that.
--> Also important: "Justice Department attorney Tejpal Chawla said the administration does not plan to subpoena journalists, members of Congress or Senate committee staff..." | | Is it okay for reporters to sleep with their sources? | | | Jack Shafer's column about this is a must-read. His conclusion: Ali Watkins, who was romantically involved with James Wolfe, "deserves a good scolding and professional reprimands if she crossed that line. But based on what we know about her case, she deserves a second chance. Given all the male reporters over the years who've escaped punishment for their sins of the flesh, it's only fair." Here's what he means... | | Spotted at Emily Jane Fox's book party | | | VF reporter Emily Jane Fox's book "Born Trump: Inside America's First Family" came out Tuesday. The book climbed up the Amazon chart after her appearances on "Today" and "Morning Joe." On Wednesday she'll be on CNN's "New Day" and "CNN Tonight." Spotted at Radhika Jones' party for Fox on the LES: Sam Nunberg, Don Lemon, Maureen Dowd, Ann Coulter, John Heilemann, Matthew Hiltzik, Lauren Santo Domingo, Donny Deutsch, John Homans, David Friend, Bradley Singer, Tara Palmeri, Hadas Gold, Dylan Byers, Bradley Singer, Joe Pompeo, Michael Calderone, more... | | -- Reality check: "With U.S. midterm elections approaching, Russian trolls found ways to remain active on Twitter well into 2018, trying to rile up the American electorate with tweets on everything from Roseanne Barr's firing to Donald Trump Jr.'s divorce..." (WSJ)
-- Sara Ashley O'Brien reports: "In a small victory for your privacy, the nation's four largest telecom companies announced Tuesday that they will stop providing customer location information to companies that aggregate data on their customers..." (CNNMoney)
-- New WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey held his first of three town hall meetings with staffers on Tuesday... It was at HBO HQ in NYC... (THR) | | The wireless company (CNN's new parent company) is "looking to buy one of the largest independent ad exchanges," AppNexus, Cheddar's Alex Heath reported Tuesday.
AppNexus "facilitates buying and selling digital ads." AT&T has been vocal about wanting to build up its ad business, under Brian Lesser, to compete with Google and Facebook. The company declined to comment on the report...
--> BTW: AT&T is planning to announce a name for Lesser's ad division soon... | | New interactive shows on Facebook | | I'm really interested in seeing how this pans out: "Facebook Watch will launch a slate of new shows boasting interactive features like polls and quizzes," Variety's Andrew Wallenstein reports.
One of the shows is "Outside Your Bubble," by BuzzFeed News, "that lets contestants guess what their opponents from the other side of the cultural divide are thinking."
Facebook is sure to promote these new features at Vidcon later this week... | | -- "How Oprah's Network Finally Found Its Voice:" Check out Jason Parham's deep dive... (WIRED)
-- GQ named two new correspondents on Tuesday: Julia Ioffe and Alice Gregory...
-- "How to end misogyny in the news industry: An open letter to the international journalism community..." (NiemanLab) | | The Radio Television Digital News Association named this year's Murrow Awards winners on Tuesday. CBS News won the "overall excellence" award for the second straight year... CBS's radio division, too...
ABC's "World News Tonight" won for best TV newscast... NPR earned five awards... CNN earned three... Netflix won for "Icarus..." More here... | | The TCA Award noms are here | | Brian Lowry emails: The TV Critics Assn. gave a lot of love to "The Handmaid's Tale," "Killing Eve," "This is Us" and the final season of "The Americans," all nominees for both drama and program of the year in the group's annual awards.
FX's "Atlanta" was a double nominee in those categories on the comedy side, while Anthony Bourdain's CNN program, "Parts Unknown," was among the news/info contenders. The awards will be presented during the upcoming summer press tour on Aug. 4... | | Pete Docter taking over Pixar, Jennifer Lee taking over Disney Animation | | | "Disney Animation and Pixar have found its replacements for John Lasseter," Frank Pallotta writes. "Jennifer Lee and Pete Docter are the new chief creative officers for the House of Mouse's animation studios. Lee will lead Walt Disney Animation Studios and Docter will take the reins of Pixar Animation Studios, Disney announced Tuesday." More... | | Kurtzman's big $$$ new deal = more "Star Trek" shows | | "Alex Kurtzman is staying in business with CBS Television Studios," THR's Lesley Goldberg reports. "The exec producer behind CBS All Access' 'Star Trek: Discovery' has renewed his overall deal with CBS Television Studios, signing a massive five-year extension with the studio behind the latest entry in the long-running sci-fi franchise."
More "Star Trek" shows are coming: Kurtzman will be the lone showrunner of "Discovery" and he will "also expand the Star Trek franchise for the small screen, developing new series, miniseries and other content, including animation..." | | New "Trek" project with Patrick Stewart? | | | Sure sounds like it: Goldberg says "the new deal comes as rumblings about another Star Trek series, featuring Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Star Trek: The Next Generation's Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, have been getting louder. Sources say Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman, who left Discovery after season one, are attached to the Stewart-led reboot. CBS TV Studios declined to confirm the Stewart project as sources say a deal is far from completed and may not happen despite the fact that the actor recently teased his potential return to the franchise..." | | Lowry reviews "Yellowstone" | | | Brian Lowry emails: The makeover of the Paramount Network (formerly known as Spike TV) continues to plod more than gallop with "Yellowstone," a modern-day western that largely squanders the value of featuring Kevin Costner in his first TV series. The misstep, moreover, follows the decision to scuttle "Heathers" (a series remake of the movie) and a relatively tepid response to the recent period satire "American Woman." Read more... | | Will moviegoers be able to see past Spacey? | | | Chloe Melas emails: Despite accusations of sexual harassment and assault against Kevin Spacey, Vertical Entertainment announced Tuesday that the company still plans to distribute the film "Billionaire Boys Club." Spacey has a supporting role... It was filmed a couple of years ago... And it'll have a limited theatrical release starting in August... | | Rapper XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, "was gunned down in an apparent robbery in Broward County, Florida," Lisa Respers France reports.
He "foreshadowed his own death in an eerie Instagram Live video fans have been sharing..." Details here...
-- And: Minutes after XXXTentacion was killed, rapper Jimmy Wopo was gunned down in the Pittsburgh neighborhood he helped make famous through his music... | | Feedback welcome...
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