| | | | | Exec summary: Tavis Smiley sues PBS, Rupert Murdoch makes another concession, "Black Panther" breaks more records. Plus, progress in the Weinstein Co. dispute? Scroll down for details... | | What's the antidote for this poison? | | In the real world, there were four funerals for victims of the Florida school shooting on Tuesday. In the virtual world, there were sickening attacks that tried to discredit the survivors of the shooting.
Criticism of policy positions is one thing. That's to be expected. These student activists are trying to shame politicians, shake the country's conscience and change laws, so there will be criticism. But the conspiracy theories and smear campaigns are out of bounds. Some of the memes and YouTube videos allege that some of the students are "actors" who are just props for a globalist gun grab. Other posts accuse the students of being insincere "anti-Trump" shills.
Throughout the day on Tuesday, I tried to reason with a few of the people who sent me this nastiness. I think I just made them angrier. I kept wondering: If so many people are being poisoned by these lies that are spread via social media, what's the antidote? | | I don't think "ignore it" is the answer | | One common response is "ignore the crazies." I heard this a lot on Tuesday: "Don't give it any oxygen." But when newsrooms ignore these alternative narratives, aren't we failing the public? I'm thinking about the casual Facebook user who barely knows who Alex Jones is, but who sees a conspiratorial post pop up in her news feed, because it was shared by a family member. Then she sees another post. The basic message is "The media is lying to you, these kids are George Soros plants, they're taking away your rights." She's not inclined to believe it, but she has suspicions about the press already, and she's not seeing any rebuttal from any of her media-savvy friends. There's no link that explains how and why these people are spreading lies. There are just more lies...
>> This is all connected to the "fake news" plague of mis- and disinformation, of course. These problems are continuing to get worse. Conversations about solutions often come up with long-term answers: More news literacy. Better algorithms. Fine, we can talk about long-term solutions -- but what about tomorrow? What's the antidote to this poison? Email me if you have ideas in mind... | | | That was the banner on "AC360." While talking about these anti-student-activist smears from the far right, Anderson Cooper rightly blamed "extremist web sites" like The Gateway Pundit and True Pundit. Then he interviewed David Hogg, the student who's been the target of the most disturbing attacks. "I'm just so sorry that these people have lost their faith in America," Hogg said... Here's the video... | | This is Sandy Hook all over again. Some of the same people who claimed Sandy Hook was a "hoax" are at work again this time. Will Sommer, in the latest edition of his Right Richter newsletter, described how bloggers have "used footage of Hogg being interviewed months ago in California about a dispute with a lifeguard over a boogie board (!) to insinuate that Hogg is a 'crisis actor' hired to mislead the public -- a conspiracy theory concept that regularly crops up after mass shootings."
--> Related: "Florida lawmaker fires aide who accused Parkland teens of being paid actors..."
--> Senator Marco Rubio showed leadership by denouncing these lies on Tuesday evening. He tweeted, "Claiming some of the students on tv after #Parkland are actors is the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency."
--> More examples of the poison: NBC's Micah Grimes and BF's Chris Geidner posted some...
🔌: I'll be talking about all of this on CNN's "New Day" Wednesday at 6:45am... | | We have to be able to separate the "crazy" from the respectful criticism. For example: Many conservatives have been criticizing news outlets like CNN for airing so many interviews with survivors. They say these students are being exploited to advance an agenda. Here's Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night's "Tonight:"
"They," meaning the amorphous "media," are "using these kids in a kind of moral blackmail where you're not allowed to disagree or you're 'attacking a child,' which is of course -- I can speak for myself, the last thing I would ever do, as a father of four, I would never attack the kid -- you can disagree with other people's opinions without attacking them. But the press is conflating that and making it like, 'You're not allowed to disagree or you're a bad person.'" | | The problem is that some of the criticism has veered into conspiratorial territory, which brings me back to the point about poison. For instance, on "New Day" Tuesday morning, CNN contributor Jack Kingston suggested that the students are being coached by "left-wing" advocates. He was back on CNN Tuesday night, and he emphasized that he respects the students...
--> "Conspiracies, wild and raw online, are often pasteurized on their way into the mainstream," NYT's Michael Grynbaum noted...
--> I think NYPost op-ed editor Seth Mandel said it best on Twitter: "If you're going to say the teens in Parkland are being dragged in front of cameras, or paraded, or anything that clearly claims they are not doing this of their own agency, please show your work." Prove it! | | How these digital natives see the world | | | These student activists have grown up with cell phones and other tools. So when they hear adults implying they should "SHUT UP," they have a myriad of ways to respond. But there's something else. NPR's Susan Davis tweeted, "It strikes me how unique their generation is: Born & raised in the 9/11 era, into a nation at war their entire lives, and already witnessed 19 of 33 deadliest shootings in America since WWII. Must shape/be shaping worldviews in ways we don't fully grasp yet..." | | CNN town hall on Wednesday | | | Students, politicians and Parkland community members will join Jake Tapper at a CNN town hall Wednesday at 9pm ET... | | Fox correspondent challenges Sanders | | At Tuesday's W.H. press briefing -- the first one since the massacre -- Fox News W.H. correspondent John Roberts pointedly asked Sarah Sanders if President Trump has any ideas to reduce gun deaths. She didn't really answer. Afterward, Roberts explained his Q to Shep Smith: "The White House is saying the president is going to listen to a bunch of ideas. Well that's fine," that's what he should do. "But if you're president, you should also have some of your own."
--> BTW: Roberts ended up on the receiving end of a barrage of angry tweets from Trump fans...
--> For the record: Trump says he wants to ban bump stocks and strengthen background checks... | | Show what the bullets do to bodies? | | "It's time to show the carnage of mass shootings," Slate's Jamelle Bouie wrote a few days ago.
Anderson Cooper made a similar point on Tuesday night. "We don't focus on the reality of what an AR-15 does to a child," he said. "If people actually saw this, saw the reality of this, it would open peoples' eyes. We all say, 'Oh, these children lost their lives.' They didn't 'lose their lives.' Their lives were ripped out of their bodies. Their brains were splattered on the floor. Their intestines are hanging out. I mean, sickening. We're all talking about it in this antiseptic way, and we're shocked these kids are angry..." | | Blaming games and movies again | | Brian Lowry emails: The fact that gun-rights activists, pundits and politicians would begin attempting to shift the focus to video games and Hollywood (see Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and CNN's Jack Kingston, among others) fits a predictable pattern. Not only does it point fingers at perceived liberal hypocrisy, but it's especially useful when the perpetrator is a teenager who is seen as being more susceptible to violent pop culture. What might work against it this time around are the articulate youths currently carrying the gun-control banner, who thus far look unfazed by efforts to dismiss them...
--> On "AC360," Kirsten Powers had enough with this argument: "We've always had violent movies. Now we're going to say this is happening cuz of violence? This is happening for one reason. It's the guns. It's the guns." | | Clooneys, Winfrey, Spielberg donating to March For Our Lives | | | First came George and Amal Clooney's announcement that they will be attending the March 24 rally in DC and donating $500,000 to the cause. Later in the day, other Hollywood A-listers joined them in donating. "George and Amal, I couldn't agree with you more," Oprah Winfrey tweeted. "I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to 'March For Our Lives.' These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we've had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard." Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw are also donating... So are Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn... | | -- Stephen Colbert's serious Tuesday night monologue: "I hope these kids don't give up..." Here's the three-minute video... (YouTube)
-- While the NRA's Twitter account went quiet for almost a week after the Parkland attack, NRA TV "continued producing content." Among the talking points: "Reporters were eager for another shooting to push a gun control agenda..." (The Daily Beast)
-- This is a very interesting piece: "How to Inoculate the Public Against Fake News" (Defense One)
-- What if every account on Twitter, Facebook, etc was verified to belong to a real person? "On Social Media, Lax Enforcement Lets Impostor Accounts Thrive..." (NYT) | | The investors who want to buy Weinstein Co. assets will meet with the NY A.G. on Wednesday | | | Variety's Gene Maddaus reports: "Ron Burkle and Maria Contreras-Sweet are expected to meet on Wednesday with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, sources told Variety, as they seek a way forward on the purchase of the faltering Weinstein Co. The meeting is a signal that the bidders are still interested in pulling off a deal if possible..." | | Judge blocks AT&T's request to see W.H. comms | | Hadas Gold emails: The judge overseeing the Justice Department's lawsuit to block AT&T's purchase of Time Warner (CNN's parent company) has rejected the telecom company's request for any records of communications between the White House and the Attorney General and between the Attorney General and the antitrust division regarding the deal.
AT&T sought the information because, it said, it could have helped the company's "selective enforcement" defense -- i.e. the argument that the deal is being unfairly targeted because POTUS detests CNN. On Tuesday the judge in the case said that AT&T and Time Warner fell short of proving that the antitrust case brought by the DOJ singled them out. Read more... | | "Politics will still color the trial, but the companies' search for a smoking gun suffered a setback," the WSJ's Drew FitzGerald wrote.
--> In a note to investors, Cowen analyst Paul Gallant called it just a "very mild setback" for the companies, which shouldn't be "over-read..."
--> "AT&T could still move forward with arguments of selective enforcement,"
THR's Eriq Gardner notes...
--> AT&T/TWX lawyer Dan Petrocelli (who yes, represented Trump in the Trump University cases) said "we respect the judge's decision and look forward to the upcoming trial." It is slated to start March 19... | | The WashPost's Paul Farhi had the scoop on Tuesday afternoon: Tavis Smiley is suing PBS, "alleging that the network breached its contract and damaged his production company" when his show was pulled from the airwaves amid harassment allegations. "Litigation seems to be the only way to get at the truth," Smiley says.
PBS spokeswoman Jennifer Rankin Byrne says the suit is "meritless." She asserts that Smiley is trying to "distract the public from his pattern of sexual misconduct in the workplace." Here's CNNMoney's full story... | | | "An outside legal review" of NPR's handling of allegations against former head of news Michael Oreskes was released on Tuesday... Despite the revelations, the board still has faith in NPR CEO Jarl Mohn and his management team... David Folkenflik has the details here... | | -- Congrats to this year's Polk Award winners! Here's the full list... (Polk Awards)
-- Richard Deitsch tweeted: "ESPN made it official today: Cari Champion is the new host of 'SportsNation.' Co-hosts are Marcellus Wiley and LZ Granderson, beginning March 12..." (Twitter)
-- National Review is launching a membership program called NRPlus... (NRO)
-- Hey, another evening newsletter: Crooked Media says it will launch a nightly email called "What A Day" on March 5... (Twitter)
-- Vox's new podcast "Today, Explained" is up and running... The first episode came out Monday... The pod is timed for evening commutes and positioned as a complement to the NYT's "The Daily..." (Vox) | | | Mueller biographer Garrett Graff tweeted: "Another sign of how little we know about where Mueller is heading: Today's guilty plea actually signed last week. *Third* plea reached before anyone publicly knew subject was even involved..." | | The W.H. says it's clear that Russian meddling had no impact on the election (no, it's not clear) | | | Several CNN programs called the W.H. out for this claim. So did Fox's Shep Smith: "The White House is trying to say it's incontrovertible the Russian meddling had no impact on the election, that is not true, it's an open matter..." | | Meet the "unwitting Americans" | | Donie O'Sullivan emails: After the indictment was handed up on Friday, we headed to Florida to meet some of the Trump supporters who were duped by Russian trolls. We tracked down one guy who was paid to build a "prison cell" that a person dressed as Hillary Clinton climbed into at a West Palm Beach Trump event. And we spoke to a woman elsewhere in Broward County who unwittingly helped promote a Russian-coordinated event. Drew Griffin's interview with the woman is a must-watch. Here's the full story...
--> Donie adds: It's important to note that it wasn't just Trump supporters who were duped. The Russians targeted people across the political spectrum -- check out this story from last fall... | | | As the WashPost's Carlos Lozada said, "Mistweet is the new gaffe." ABC's Jon Karl asked Sarah Sanders, "The president doesn't really think that the FBI failed to stop the Parkland shooter because it was too involved with the Russia investigation, does he?" Sanders dodged, so he followed up, "Did he mistweet when he said that?" She dodged again... | | Communicating with the boss through the TV. Seriously:
"Knowing the President's fondness for Fox, the White House booked spokesmen to try to direct Trump toward a little less fanciful readings of the indictments. They didn't entirely succeed..."
--Philip Elliott's must-read new Time mag story about President Trump and his aides... | | | "First ladies are usually a popular choice for magazine editors." But Melania Trump has been noticeably absent from covers, NBC's Claire Atkinson points out in this new story. It's even more notable because she "appeared on many magazine covers as a professional model." Atkinson says "there's a clear reluctance among editors to put themselves in the cross-hairs of the culture wars..." | | | For the record, part three | | | -- The Sacramento Bee's Christopher Cadelago is joining Politico's W.H. team...
-- Ryan Knutson says he's "leaving the WSJ newsroom and going to our parent company, Dow Jones, to work on strategic media partnerships with tech cos like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc..." (Twitter)
-- Philip Bump's reality check: "The U.S. political conversation is not and probably never was driven by Russian social-media bots..." (WashPost)
-- Mediaite's Joseph A. Wulfsohn writes: "Why doesn't the media care that Rep. Keith Ellison still has a relationship with Louis Farrakhan?" (Mediaite)
-- From CJR's "Threats" issue: "Being a newspaper carrier in America can be dangerous work. CJR was able to identify at least 44 deaths on the job since 1970..." (CJR) | | Milo drops his suit against S&S | | | Via the AP's Hillel Italie: "Milo Yiannopoulos is dropping his lawsuit against his former publisher. In papers filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court, Yiannopoulos and Simon & Schuster asked that the case be dismissed 'without costs or fees to either party.'" So much for that widely touted $10 million suit... | | Fox announces "Fox Nation" streaming service | | | A followup to last night's news: Fox formally announced its streaming service on Tuesday. "Fox Nation" will launch in the fourth quarter of the year. Fox will start staffing up for it in the spring... Here's my full story... | | Murdoch getting closer to a solution for Sky deal? | | | What will it take for Rupert Murdoch to win approval of his bid to buy the rest of Sky? Here's Hadas Gold with the latest development: "Earlier this month, 21st Century Fox offered some remedies to alleviate the CMA's fears of the Murdochs' influence, including appointing a board to oversee Sky News and a commitment to fund the news service for five years. 21st Century Fox on Monday upped that commitment to ten years instead of five..." | | | For the record, part four | | | -- ICYMI: I wrote about Tom Friedman's unusually blunt NYT column warning that "our democracy is in serious danger..." Here's how his column came about... (CNNMoney)
-- Natalie Portman tells Kate Aurthur that "I very much regret" signing a petition in support of Roman Polanski... (BuzzFeed) | | "Jim Gaffigan to Release Next Stand-Up Special Direct to Digital" | | | "Jim Gaffigan is bypassing Netflix and TV networks with his upcoming 'Noble Ape' stand-up special -- planning a broad initial release this summer on rental and digital sell-through services," Variety's Todd Spangler scoops. He has five specials up on Netflix. For this buy-or-rent release, "pricing has yet to be determined..." | | Here are all the records "Black Panther" has broken so far | | "Black Panther" continued its roaring start at the box office on Monday, Frank Pallotta reports: "Disney's Marvel Studios film brought in $40.16 million on Presidents' Day, edging out 2016's 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' for the biggest Monday in box office history. Monday's haul pushed 'Black Panther's' four-day holiday total to a staggering $241.9 million in North America."
More from the story: "Black Panther" now holds the record "for the biggest Presidents' Day opening, surpassing 'Deadpool,' which opened at $152 million over the same weekend in 2016. It is the second biggest four-day total in history only behind 'The Force Awakens.'" The film also "holds the record for the biggest three-day opening for February and for an African-American director..." | | Kendrick Lamar's 'Black Panther' album is a hit | | "Black Panther: The Album" debuted "atop the Billboard 200 this weekend after selling 154,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Music," Jill Disis writes. Keep in mind, "that number understates the success of the album, a collection of songs curated by Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar. Billboard hasn't yet factored in the additional 61,300 copies sold over the weekend after the film came out..."
--> Key stat: "Nielsen's data shows that the songs combined have been streamed nearly 190 million times since the album was released February 9. About 50 million of those streams were this weekend alone..." | | | "Please stop clapping, we only have five minutes," Jimmy Fallon said on Monday's "Fallon Five," a shortened edition of "The Tonight Show" that's airing for the rest of the week in between NBC's Olympics coverage. It's a pretty smart format actually! Deadline recapped the episode here... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... the feedback helps us improve this newsletter every day... Thanks! | | | Get Reliable Sources, a comprehensive summary of the most important media news, delivered to your inbox every afternoon. | | | | | |
