| | | | | I hope everyone had a splendid Wednesday. This is Oliver Darcy, in for Brian Stelter, who is out and about somewhere in New York City this evening... | | | Exec summary: Matt Drudge fires a brutal warning shot at Trump ... Bill O'Reilly sees decline in book sales ... Is Breitbart inflating its own influence? ... and Hannity beats Maddow for second straight night in 9pm ratings race... | | Has the Zuckerberg v. Trump war arrived? | | President Donald Trump stayed in character on Wednesday morning, starting his day by firing off a series of tweets. Two in particular grabbed significant attention. The president claimed -- citing virtually no evidence -- that Facebook was "always anti-Trump." Trump, who also reiterated his claims that the media was biased against him, then wrote that the "people were pro-Trump!"
Trump's serious claim prompted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to issue a stern response late in the day. Writing on Facebook (where else?), Zuckerberg said, "Trump says Facebook is against him. Liberals say we helped Trump. Both sides are upset about ideas and content they don't like. That's what running a platform for all ideas looks like." Read CNNMoney's full story on this here...
>> Zuckerberg highlighted what he portrayed as the positive role Facebook played in the 2016 election, saying the platform resulted in more people having "a voice in this election than ever before." He added that Facebook helped register as many as 2 million people to vote, and called that a "big deal."
>> Zuckerberg also said he was wrong when, after the election, he dismissed the idea that misinformation spread on Facebook could have had an effect on the election. "Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it," he wrote. "This is too important an issue to be dismissive." He added that Facebook will "do our part to defend against nation states attempting to spread misinformation and subvert elections. We'll keep working to ensure the integrity of free and fair elections around the world, and to ensure our community is a platform for all ideas and force for good in democracy." | | Russians bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook | | Dylan Byers scoops: "At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore... The decision to target the ad in those two cities offers the first look at how accounts linked to the Russian government-affiliated troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency used geographically targeted advertising to sow political chaos in the United States, the sources said." Read Dylan's full story here...
More from Dylan's story: "Facebook has previously said that roughly one-quarter of the 3,000 ads bought by the agency were geographically targeted, but it has not revealed any specific locations. Facebook has also not revealed which demographic groups and interest groups were targeted by the ads. The Black Lives Matter ad appeared on Facebook at some point in late 2015 or early 2016, the sources said." | | Facebook sought exception from political ad disclaimer rules
| | | Donie O'Sullivan emails his latest: Zuckerberg says he wants to make political ads on Facebook more transparent -- one way to do this, he said, was to introduce ad disclaimers. But Facebook sought to avoid federal rules on that very practice back in 2011. Read Donie's full story here... | | Is Breitbart inflating its own influence? | | The Washingtonian's Elaina Plott certainly thinks so. In a Wednesday story, she questioned whether Breitbart and its executive chairman, Steve Bannon, had been painted by the media as far more influential than they really were in Tuesday's Alabama Senate race. "The Alabama primary wasn't really about Trump vs. 'the swamp.' It was about an unpopular governor—and which candidate loved the Lord more," Plott wrote. Here's her full story...
Key paragraph in this story: "There is, yes, something much sexier to the idea that Bannon and his team swooped into Montgomery and sparked the defining surge for Moore. It sets up some fun dynamics….It's also just plain easier to write: by this point, every political reporter knows how to punch out a story on the so-called GOP civil war….But in our perpetuation of that narrative, especially after elections that prove it's not even half the story, reporters continue to give folks like Bannon ample, if undefined, evidence of Breitbart's clout. The result is that Breitbart, a site that touts its extra-Beltway bona fides, owes Washington for its ever-growing mythos." | | ...speaking of Breitbart and Alabama | | Breitbart ran a story on Wednesday that blamed Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner for giving the president "awful advice" and convincing him to endorse Luther Strange in the Alabama Senate race. This piece echoed the argument Breitbart and Bannon have been making for the last several days: It's not Trump's fault that he endorsed the "swamp" candidate in the race, it's simply that he was getting bad advice. Speaking with Sean Hannity earlier this week, Bannon said that after the race there needed to be a "real review" of how Trump came to endorsing Strange.
But what strikes me as odd about this argument is that it involves Trump supporters sort of suggesting that Trump is not smart enough to draw his own conclusions. It also involves them suggesting Trump did not select the "best people" to surround himself with -- as he claimed he would during the campaign -- and isn't wise enough to recognize when he is being duped with bad advice. Is that really what Breitbart wants to suggest? This most likely isn't the last time Breitbart's going to have to try to thread this needle... | | DOJ and reporters to discuss leaks | | Politico's Michael Calderone first reported Wednesday morning in Morning Media that "advocates for the news media will meet on Oct. 2 with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to discuss how the Justice Department deals with journalists in leak investigations."
>> According to CNN's David Shortell, the advocates for the press will be assembled by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. A previous iteration of the group included top media executives and the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. | | What's next for the protests? | | That seems to be the question on everyone's mind. CNN has a full roundup of what players and coaches said on Wednesday about the topic and the possibility for more protests this weekend. Take a look here...
USA Today's Lindsay Jones has an in-depth story on the subject: "As Trump has continued to speak out against players taking a knee during the national anthem and overall well-being of the NFL, tweeting each day this week on the topic, the message outside of the 32 teams has not been as unified. Fans, public employees and politicians have taken sides, many joining Trump in attacking the league, and in some cases using profane and racist language. That has put players, coaches and owners in a difficult spot. How long should the displays continue, and in what form?" | | Eye on 9pm: Hannity beats Maddow for a second night | | | On night two of Sean Hannity v. Rachel Maddow at 9pm, Hannity + Bill O'Reilly scored huge #'s... Hannity topped Maddow for the second straight night in the 9pm hour, averaging 3.9 million total viewers and 781,000 in the key 25-54 demo. Maddow raked in 2.7 million total viewers and 643,000 in the demo... | | -- Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo looks at whether the Trump dossier is about to get its "moment of truth" as BuzzFeed tries to compel testimony from James Comey or James Clapper.
-- Doreen St. Félix reviews Megyn Kelly's new show in The New Yorker and makes an interesting point: "Kelly is, naturally, a combatant. She is at her nauseating best when devastating an opponent: talking over them, rolling her eyes, or flipping menacingly through her notes. But on this talk show there will be no tension, no opinion, and, Kelly claims, no politics, whatever that means."
-- Bloomberg's forthcoming news division has signed its first advertisers. The business-focused news outlet's introduction of a 24/7 Twitter channel is approaching.
-- Trump doesn't have access to Twitter's new 280-character limit.
-- CNBC's Michelle Castillo takes a look at The Dodo which is among Facebook's top video publishers, proving animals rule the Internet.
-- Erin Gloria Ryan of The Daily Beast has signed a CNN/HLN contract.
-- BuzzFeed hires Teresa Tamkins, former editor-in-chief- of health.com, to lead its seven-person health desk.
-- Brian emails a correction: Yesterday I said Dana Perino's new 2pm show will be called "The Briefing." It's actually "The Daily Briefing." | | Media hit by logistical headaches as they descend on Puerto Rico
| | Hadas Gold emails her latest: For those journalists reporting out of Puerto Rico the situation is not easy. I spoke to members of the media both on the ground and supervising from the mainland, who said communications and lack of basic necessity are real challenges to telling Puerto Rico's story right now. Still, they're pushing through, doing things like filing stories by dictation through satellite phones -- at times the only mode of communication that's working on the island, which has seen its cell service and electricity almost entirely wiped out.
Reuters' managing editor for news strategy and operations Don Durfee told me that it's been one of the most difficult hurricanes to cover in terms of logistics, even at times eclipsing the challenges he faced when covering some of the worst hurricanes in Asia. CNN's Leyla Santiago, who is from Puerto Rico, said she and her crew have at times found themselves the first outsiders to reach some areas, leading them to be the lifeline for people in those areas to communicate with their families via their satellite phones. For Leyla, who has been running into people who know her family, the last few days have been the "most important stories of my life," she said. "When I get told it's time to go home — well, this is my home." Read Gold's full story here... | | "No agenda other than to report the news fairly" | | Brian Stelter emails: Jeff Zucker, Andrea Mitchell, Jeff Fager, Barbara Eden, and Bill Koenigsberg were among the honorees at the annual International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation luncheon.
Political coverage came up in several of the acceptance speeches -- Mitchell said, "We are not the enemies of the people, we are the eyes and ears of the people."
And Zucker commented on the administration officials who have "called us names just for doing our job."
"But that has only emboldened us and made us stronger," he said, adding, "It has not hurt the CNN brand in any way. And frankly it's only enhanced it."
"We're going to continue to do" the work, Zucker said. "We have no agenda other than to report the news fairly." | | "I think he just wanted people to just think for themselves and be credible for their actions... Read more; get more involved instead of just blindly sharing things."
-- J.J. Horner, brother of Paul Horner, a leading fake news writer who was found dead last week at 38. | | 🚨 Drudge fires another warning shot at Trump | | Matt Drudge has been expressing his displeasure with Republican leadership for some time. And, as we've reported, he's fired a number of warning shots at Trump's White House.
Today, however, things seemed to escalate to a new level. Drudge ran a blistering headline skewering the Republican tax plan, accompanied by a photo of Paul Ryan and Trump. As I pointed out on Twitter, Drudge selects his photos very carefully. It's likely no accident he chose a photo that included Trump to place next to his "BETRAYAL" headline.
>> This should worry Trump. A number of outlets that were once very friendly to them are slowly changing their tune. Breitbart fought against his preferred candidate in the Alabama Senate race. Ann Coulter has been attacking him on immigration. And now Drudge is showing more signs of cracking. If Trump loses support from his allies in media, it could result in him losing support with his base, something he can't afford... | | What in the world is the Scaramucci Post? | | Anthony Scaramucci has kept journalists wondering for weeks about his new project called the Scaramucci Post. On Wednesday, he posted a video which aimed to explain what it's all about. But the video seemed to prompt more questions than anything...
Scaramucci didn't say exactly what the "Scaramucci Post" would be, but insisted it would be a "world class experience." He described it as the "center lane in a two-lane highway" and that it'd focus on what is "right and wrong." You can watch his video here and try to figure out what it all means for yourself.. | | Meghan McCain joins "The View" | | | Variety's Elizabeth Wagmeister reported on Wednesday afternoon that Meghan McCain has officially joined ABC's "The View" as a co-host... Dylan Byers and I first reported last week that McCain was in late-stage talks to join the show... | | Spotted at Tina Brown's apartment | | | More from Brian Stelter: Tina Brown toasted Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at a Wednesday night book party... Sightings: Harry Evans, Barry Diller, Frank X. Shaw, Joanna Coles, Steven Brill, Fareed Zakaria, Carly Zakin, Ajaypal Singh Banga, Lloyd Grove, Robert Zimmerman, Danielle Weisberg, Ken Auletta, Steve Schwartzman... | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Jemele Hill wrote a piece for The Undefeated today, going over the recent controversy in which she was the protagonist. "This is not a time for retreating comfortably to a corner," Hill wrote. "Still, Twitter wasn't the place to vent my frustrations," she added. (The Undefeated)
-- NowThis is launching "NowThis Newsroom," a new real-time reporting project based on social content. (NiemanLab, CJR)
-- The latest Quinnipiac poll shows most Americans think Trump is not level headed (67%), he's not fit to serve as president (56%) and he should stop tweeting from his personal account (69%). Philip Bump analyzes the data. (WashPost)
-- Are you consumed by FOMO because you're not part of the exclusive Twitter 280 club? Here's a solution: a simple bookmark developed by Juliette Pretot will get you those extra 140 characters. (Juliette Pretot)
-- Gizmodo Media Group is launching a new site focused on environment reporting called Earther. (GMG)
-- Alex Hern looks at how sites are using visitors' computers and phones to mine cryptocurrency instead of relying on ads. (The Guardian) | | Bill O'Reilly's 'Killing England' sees sales drop from last 'Killing' book
| | | From Frank Pallotta's story: "Bill O'Reilly's book...saw a sharp decline in sales from the former Fox News host's last 'Killing' debut. 'Killing England,' a text that he co-authored with Martin Dugard that covers the Revolutionary War, sold roughly 65,000 hardcover copies since being released last week, according to NPD Bookscan, which tracks book sales. O'Reilly's last 'Killing' book, 'The Killing of the Rising Sun,' sold 146,000 hardcover copies in its first week last year." Read Frank's full story here... | | | For the record, part three | | | -- Three new featured performers at "SNL:" "Chris Redd, Heidi Gardner and Luke Null will help fill the voids created by the departures of Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamata..." (THR)
-- Vice's Eve Peyser tells Joe Scarborough that his music is "objectively enjoyable..." (Vice)
-- Interesting Tim Goodman column: "Waiting for Television to Catch Up to Anti-Trump Outrage" (THR) | | By Lisa Respers France:
-- I interviewed the cast of Fox's new show "The Gifted" which is the latest in "The X-Men" canon. The stars talked to me about being a part of the Marvel franchise and what it's like to be on one of the most "woke" TV shows of the new fall season. "The Gifted" premieres on Oct. 2.
-- Leave it to the Kardashians to be extra. There are reports that three of the Kardashian-Jenner daughters are all expecting (one reportedly via surrogate). We help you in the quest of keeping up with the Kardashian baby news.
-- Take note haters: even Taylor Swift is happy for Cardi B. The singer sent flowers to the rapper to congratulate Cardi on bumping her from the no. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100.
-- Celebs are all over #TakeAKnee.
-- Is a winter wedding coming? "Game of Thrones" stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are engaged. | | "This Is Us" scores record ratings | | From Frank's story: "The season two premiere of the hit drama starring Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown brought in a 3.9 rating among adults 18 to 49 years old -- the key demographic favored by advertisers -- and 12.9 million viewers overall. Those are series records in both overall viewership and the demo making Tuesday night's episode the most watched in series history." Read Frank's full story here...
Brian Lowry emails: It's early, obviously, but expect some stories about how the epitaphs for network television are premature, with quotes from executives that the pipes still work. The evidence thus far in primetime's traditional "premiere week" includes big numbers for "The Big Bang Theory" and its spinoff "Young Sheldon," and Tuesday's strong return by NBC's "This is Us." Throw in ABC's debut with "The Good Doctor," and it supports the argument that networks can still break through the clutter and launch shows, which has become an increasing challenge. | | | Brian Lowry emails: CBS announced an instant full-season pickup for "Young Sheldon," following NBC's decision to green-light a second season of "Will & Grace" prior to its premiere. Speaking of "Will & Grace," the revival generally delivers, sliding back into the characters and chemistry after more than a decade. | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... I appreciate every message. The feedback helps us craft the next day's newsletter! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
