| | | | | This is an unprecedented moment in morning television. There are two empty chairs on two network broadcasts -- "CBS This Morning" and NBC's "Today" show -- due to sexual harassment allegations against anchormen. Viewers feel personal connections to these shows, especially to "Today," so Wednesday's firing of Matt Lauer is going to have reverberations for days to come. I'm told that Hoda Kotb will fill in on Thursday, just as she did on Wednesday, sitting with Savannah Guthrie at the top of the 7am hour... | | -- Will Lauer issue a statement? So far, he's been silent...
-- NBC received two new complaints about Lauer after he was fired on Wednesday. Will more women come forward?
-- Why did he have a button at his desk that operated his office door? Did anyone at NBC have concerns about that?
-- Who will take over for Lauer? And while we're at it, who's going to take over for Charlie Rose on CBS?
-- Who's next? | | Here are the morning headlines | | | NYT: "Matt Lauer Firing Caps a Difficult Time at NBC News." WSJ: "Matt Lauer's Firing Leaves NBC's $500 Million Franchise in Crisis." NYPost: "DIRTY ROCK." Daily News: "TODAY'S PERV." Variety: "Lauer's Firing Is Latest Challenge for NBC News Chief Andy Lack..." | | NYT and Variety's stories | | ICYMI, here's our recap of what happened and why. When Andy Lack fired Lauer on Tuesday night, the proximate reason was Monday night's complaint filed by a female NBC employee. But he also knew that Variety and the NYT were working on in-depth investigations. Variety published first on Wednesday... The story contained allegations of harassment by three unnamed women, plus other info from inside NBC.
The NYT published later in the day... Among other disturbing details, it described a complaint "from a former employee who said Mr. Lauer had summoned her to his office in 2001, locked the door and sexually assaulted her. She provided her account to The New York Times but declined to let her name be used." Read the whole thing... | | This is not an "everybody knew" situation | | "We've all heard these rumors for years, have we not?" Jane Hanson asked on "Erin Burnett OutFront."
Well, Jamie Gangel, who spent decades at NBC, said on "OutFront" and on Ashleigh Banfield's HLN show that "I never heard or saw anything" that pointed toward a pattern of misconduct. Banfield, another former NBCer, agreed: "He was the consummate professional," an "all-around good guy."
But some people clearly had heard rumors. Banfield said she called some of her former colleagues, and "50% of them said, 'Oh please, we've all known.' The other 50% said, 'I still can't believe it's Matt.' " | | | I asked Lauer's P.R. rep for comment all day long. But so far Lauer has decided not to issue a statement... | | The "Access" tape, the Weinstein reporting, and now this | | In Wednesday's special midday newsletter, I said I keep getting asked: Is there a connection between Lauer and NBC's decision to give up on Ronan Farrow's explosive reporting about Harvey Weinstein?
This issue came up when I was on stage with veteran TV agents Richard Leibner and Carole Cooper Wednesday night. On the subject of NBC, Leibner (who is, full disclosure, my agent) said, "In the last 18 months, they blew two of the biggest stories that have ever come down the pike." First, the Donald Trump-Billy Bush tape. "Somehow, it got to the Washington Post," he said. Then Farrow's investigation into Weinstein, which NBC let Farrow take to The New Yorker. "They passed that one up for whatever reason as well..." | | "Sitting in a glass house..." | | | VF's Sarah Ellison writes: "The question of Lauer's improprieties looms large over NBC's editorial decision to pass on Ronan Farrow's reporting on Harvey Weinstein." She quotes a source saying "They were sitting in a glass house and they knew it..." | | "The arrival of hard consequences for these men may have come too late in the news industry, but media organizations are unquestionably leading the national reckoning now underway. For the news business, this is the way it has to be: Its main product, after all, is integrity, which, in the case of the networks, is personified by those who sit behind the desk. Once the audience's trust is lost, the entire enterprise falls apart..."
--Jim Rutenberg in this column in Thursday's NYT... | | | Via Lisa Respers France's latest story: Ann Curry is "still really processing" the Lauer news. That's what she told People mag during an unrelated interview about her new PBS project on Wednesday. She declined to comment directly on Lauer's termination... However, she said "the women's movement got us into the workplace, but it didn't make us safe once we got there..." | | | A newsletter reader named Erin emails: "While certainly not the priority right now, I can't stop thinking about what this all means for Today's legacy as a broadcast. Removing Matt's image from their website and social media was easy. But he can't be removed from twenty years of Today's history. How will the show look back at that time? At those stories? It all feels tainted now, which is so unfair to Matt's colleagues at Today and, to a lesser extent, Today's viewers over that time..." | | -- Gretchen Carlson to Jake Tapper on "The Lead:" "There is a lot of covering up that is going on across America," especially when it involves "rich and powerful men..."
-- Karen Tumulty wrote: "The conversation around sexual abuse has both elevated the issue and muddied the question of how to deal with it..."
-- BuzzFeed's Matt Mittenhal tweeted: "The difference in how NBC News and its personalities have covered allegations against Lauer (nonstop) vs. how Fox News and its personalities covered similar allegations against O'Reilly/Ailes etc (barely) is striking..."`
-- Fox's Harris Faulkner during a segment on Wednesday: "We work at Fox, let's not ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room..." | | Fox "troubled" by Geraldo's tweets | | | Geraldo Rivera's strange tweets about the news industry being a "flirty business" prompted a public rebuke from Fox News on Wednesday evening, and then an apology from Rivera. "Geraldo's tweets do not reflect the views of Fox News or its management. We were troubled by his comments and are addressing them with him," the network said. Here's his Twitter feed... And Mediaite has a recap here... | | Charlie Rose staffers, in limbo, will be paid through the end of December | | | Hadas Gold's scoop: Charlie Rose has been notifying the staff of his "Charlie Rose Show" that they will be out of their jobs, and their pay checks, at the end of next month. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Rose has been calling staff members one by one, thanking them for their work and letting them know they'll be paid through December 31. Read more... | | Some of the day's other huge media stories:
-- "Cumulus Media has filed to reorganize in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with $2.4 billion in debt..." (Variety)
-- ESPN is laying off approximately 150 people... (CNNMoney)
-- BuzzFeed is laying off about 100 employees after its revenue miss. The cuts will be on the business and sales side, but also affect some editorial staffers in the U.K... (CNNMoney)
-- The Project Veritas effort to "infiltrate" The Washington Post "dates back months." The paper's latest story is full of shocking details... (WashPost) | | Were it not for Lauer, I think this would have been a bigger story today. Minnesota Public Radio fired Garrison Keillor over "allegations of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him." Here's Danielle Wiener-Bronner's full story...
--> Keillor issued a statement to the Star Tribune and admitted that he put his hand "on a woman's bare back." He said lots of women have touched him over the years... | | "Supergirl" E.P. Andrew Kreisberg fired | | | Sandra Gonzalez emails: Warner Bros. TV has fired executive producer Andrew Kreisberg following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations made against him earlier this month. As an EP, Kreisberg had his hand in the creation of four CW superhero TV series -- "The Flash," "Arrow," "Legends of Tomorrow," and "Supergirl." Warner Bros. TV said Greg Berlanti, whose company Berlanti Productions oversees the series, is expected to assume "additional responsibilities" on both "The Flash" and "Supergirl" in light of Kreisberg's firing... | | CNN producer Teddy Davis dismissed | | | CNN said Wednesday that "State of the Union" producer Teddy Davis had been dismissed due to unspecified complaints about his behavior. "A comprehensive investigation was conducted as soon as this matter was brought to our attention," CNN said in a statement. "The behavior attributed to Mr. Davis does not align with the standards and values of CNN and Mr. Davis is no longer with the company." A source with knowledge of the matter said that CNN's investigation had found that Davis had at times made colleagues uncomfortable. The WashPost's Paul Farhi broke the news. Davis did not respond to my request to comment. Here's my full story... | | Andy Rubin's "leave of absence" | | | Via the NYT: Andy Rubin, the "former Google executive who is widely credited with creating Android smartphone software," has "taken a leave of absence from the start-up he now runs, the company said on Wednesday -- a day after a report that he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate while he was at Google..." | | What the late night comics said | | Frank Pallotta emails: Jimmy Fallon opened "The Tonight Show" with Lauer jokes... "If you're wondering where in the world is Matt Lauer, he's probably at a bar with Charlie Rose..."
-- Over at "The Daily Show," Trevor Noah tried to keep count of all the allegations against men in media. "Soon they'll have enough guys to start their own perv network..."
-- Jimmy Kimmel said he really didn't know what would come next for Lauer. "What happens now? I mean, does he have to do an emotional sit-down interview with himself?" | | By Julia Waldow:
-- Wired mag is planning to introduce a paywall in January... (WSJ)
-- YouTube is rolling out a Snapchat-like "stories" feature called "Reels" that lets users publish videos that span half a minute... Unlike Snapchat Stories, though, "Reels won't necessarily disappear after 24 hours..." (Variety)
-- "Nine of 13 editorial staffers" have been laid off at LA Weekly... (THR) | | | "Today the President of the United States once again embraced the message of racist, bigoted bullies," Anderson Cooper said on "AC360." More: "It is easy to become numb to this sort of behavior, but we must not. Presidents of the United States are not supposed to stoke fear and hatred of Muslims..." | | -- A top headline on CNN.com: "Trump's behavior raises questions of competency..."
-- Maggie Haberman on CNN: "Something is unleashed with him lately. I don't know what is causing it, I don't know how to describe it."
-- Later in the day, Brooke Baldwin listed off the recent reports about Trump privately questioning Barack Obama's birthplace and doubting the authenticity of the "Access" tape. She bluntly asked: "Is there something seriously wrong about him?"
-- David Axelrod tweeted: "Even by Trumpian standards, today has been a remarkable day, filled with despicable Tweets and reports of delusional behavior. What has pushed him over the edge? Is it Flynn?"
-- WashPost's Aaron Blake: "The debate over whether to call Trump's falsehoods 'lies' misses a key point: The alternate explanation is probably worse..." | | "News outlets split on whether to attend Trump's party" | | | "In the wake of CNN's decision to boycott the annual White House Christmas party for media, opinion on the event was split among other reporters," Politico's Jason Schwartz and Genevieve Glatsky reported Wednesday. Some of the invited journos are attending, "while others expressed reservations." So far, "no major news outlets plan to join CNN in keeping their reporters and editors from attending, based on an informal survey." Lots of details here... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Dean Baquet interviewed Jay Z... (NYT)
-- TechCrunch landed an interview with the Twitter contractor who turned off Trump's Twitter account for a hot second earlier this month... (TechCrunch)
-- Evan Spiegel wrote an opinion piece for Axios to discuss Snap's upcoming redesign, saying that Snapchat is "separating social from media" to benefit both its users and publishers... (Axios)
-- And here's Bloomberg with more analysis about Snap... (Bloomberg) | | Congressional press office yanks RT's credentials | | | "The Russian state-funded television network RT had its U.S. Capitol credentials revoked on Wednesday," Hadas Gold reports... | | | For the record, part four | | | By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman:
-- Recommended read: Derek Thompson has suggestions on "how to survive the media apocalypse." His message: "Pivot to readers..." (The Atlantic)
-- A new Tow report looking at the use of push alerts by newsrooms finds that they have shifted from pure notifications of breaking events to branding tools... (CJR)
-- The Trace is championing collaborations with local newsrooms to report complex stories on gun violence... (NiemanLab) | | Colbert wins November (sweeps) vote | | Brian Lowry emails: Finding another benchmark to plug Stephen Colbert's ratings resurgence, CBS is touting that "The Late Show" topped the November sweeps in total viewers, with its 3.7 million average up 23% over the previous year. The network also cited Colbert's competitive performance relative to "The Tonight Show," although that comes with a bit of an asterisk, since host Jimmy Fallon took some time off because of the death of his mother. (CBS' averages excluded the Fallon repeat shows.)
Excluding the repeats, "Tonight" averaged 2.6 million viewers, and perhaps most significantly from a sales standpoint, Colbert also notched gains in the key demographics in which the NBC show has continued to dominate. "Late Show" trailed by just 57,000 viewers among adults age 18-49 (820,000 to 763,000, per Nielsen data), compared to a gap of more than 360,000 a year ago. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" also moved up relative to late-night's other Jimmy, averaging 2.3 million viewers and 615,000 in the 18-49 demo. There was some good news for NBC, as "The Tonight Show" posted its best week in eight months for Nov. 20-24, with nearly 3 million viewers, while besting the competition in demos by the widest margin since January... | | | Megan Thomas emails: The feature film lineup for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival was revealed Wednesday. Of note: Netflix's documentary about attorney Gloria Allred made the cut. "Seeing Allred" includes her recent work representing clients with sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, Weinstein and more. Idris Elba's directorial debut, "Yardie," is also part of the lineup. Here's a link to the full rundown... | | Lowry reviews "The Disaster Artist" | | | Brian Lowry emails: Movies about movies risk being too inside baseball, but James Franco's "The Disaster Artist" -- about the making of "The Room," which was so bad it became a midnight-movie cult hit -- is a lot of fun, in the tradition of "Ed Wood..." Read Lowry's full review here... | | Marvel's "Infinity War" is here | | | Frank Pallotta emails: Marvel fans got their first glimpse of a movie event a decade in the making. The first teaser for "Avengers: Infinity War" debuted on ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning... | | | Brian Lowry emails: Bah. Humbug. Bleecker Street, the film distribution company, sent lumps of coal to critics who gave negative reviews to its movie about Charles Dickens and "A Christmas Carol," "The Man Who Invented Christmas" (including this one), while notifying them that a donation would be made to a charitable organization on their behalf, "in the spirit of the season and Dickens himself..." | | | 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. | | | | | |
