| | | | | Good Friday evening! This is Oliver Darcy filling in for Brian Stelter, ready to guide you through today's stories. I appreciate your feedback, so email me or find me on Twitter... | | | Exec summary: Time mag's new cover is the subject of controversy... BuzzFeed France employees are on strike... Netflix needs a new comms chief... And more... | | There's no doubt that a single news story commanded the news this week. But, looking ahead, how much longer will the families separated at the border yield above-the-fold headlines and blanket coverage on cable news?
With questions still remaining about what happens in the weeks that will follow President Trump's executive order, and confusion about where some of the children separated from their parents might be, the story continues to warrant attention from the national press.
But short of a major development to propel the story forward, it's also possible that news audiences might become fatigued. Blended with the likelihood that Trump will tweet or say something unexpected and unrelated to the crisis in the next few days, it's possible -- if not likely -- that news organizations will begin to shift attention away from immigration and onto something else, moving away from a problem still unsolved. Think Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria... | | Backlash over Time magazine cover | | Time mag said on Friday that it was standing by its cover as critics accused the publication of being misleading -- since the girl on the cover was not one of the children who had been separated from her parents at the border. Hadas Gold has the details here...
>> EIC Edward Felsenthal said in a statement that the photo of the 2-year-old Honduran girl "became the most visible symbol of the ongoing immigration debate" and that the magazine's "cover and reporting capture the stakes of the moment."
>> That said, Time did issue a correction to one of its articles: "The original version of this story misstated what happened to the girl in the photo after she taken from the scene. The girl was not carried away screaming by U.S. Border Patrol agents; her mother picked her up and the two were taken away together." | | How the pro-Trump media weaponized the mistake | | The mistake was immediately seized upon by W.H. aides and Trump's allies in the media, who unfairly used it as a weapon to attack the media as a whole. Time did make a mistake, to be sure, but it in no way means that the rest of the reporting on the immigration issue is false or that journalists should not be trusted to accurately report the story. But that did not stop the flood of criticism from pundits and outlets on the right, who exploited the mistake to attack the press and cast doubt on the larger story of what is happening at the border...
>> Related tweet from Eliana Johnson: "Like Melania's jacket, the cover controversy is now the story, distracting from story itself." | | 👂 Listen to our podcast with Getty photog John Moore | | Brian Stelter taped a podcast with John Moore, who took the iconic photo last week. He said it's "a very honest picture," depicting real pain, even though it was taken out of context by some media outlets. He also defended the Time cover, saying, "This cover is still very valuable for illustrating the zero-tolerance policy of the Trump admin." After all, the policy "goes far beyond the separation of parents and children." Listen to the conversation via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn...
>> Plus: Read Julia Waldow's recap of the podcast here... | | "Fox & Friends" co-host clarifies comments | | Brian Kilmeade, co-host of "Fox & Friends," sparked controversy Friday morning with comments he made about the immigration crisis. "Like it or not, these aren't our kids," Kilmeade said. "Show them compassion, but it's not like [Trump] is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas."
In a pair of tweets, Kilmeade said he "didn't mean to make it seem like children coming into the U.S. illegally are less important because they live in another country." He said he has "compassion for all children, especially for all the kids separated from their parents right now." Kilmeade expanded on his tweets on his radio show, saying "all kids are special" and that what he was "trying to say" is that "you can only do so much for so many" and that's why the US gives aid to other countries. | | News-packed week -- but only one W.H briefing | | Brian Stelter emails: So many questions... so few answers. Sarah Sanders last briefed the press on Monday. CNN's Jim Acosta called out the briefing drought in a tweet on Friday:
"For the fourth straight day there was no WH briefing. No officials to explain how the admin plans to return the separated kids to their parents. This is how the briefing room looks.. a few reporters waiting for answers that aren't coming yet." | | This Sunday on "Reliable Sources" | | More from Stelter: Set your alarm clock or DVR, because we have a full hour of newsmakers on Sunday's show. Brand new LA Times editor Norm Pearlstine will join me... along with USA Today EIC Rebecca Carroll... and Sarah Ellison, the author of that WashPost scoop about Trump and the Enquirer...
Plus, a trio of exclusives: TheBlaze founder Glenn Beck, "The Art of the Deal" ghostwriter Tony Schwartz, and actor/activist George Takei. See you Sunday at 11am ET on CNN... | | -- Facebook has hired "a team of ex-intel officers, media buyers and researchers to pressure test its systems..." (BuzzFeed)
-- The NYT opinion section reimagined Trump's "zero tolerance" policy as a 1940s government propaganda film... (NYT)
-- A study to be published in the International Journal of Press/Politics found that male political journalists retweet other male journalists 3 times more than their female colleagues... (Vox) | | Netflix comms chief dismissed | | Shocking news in Silicon Valley and Hollywood: Jonathan Friedland, Netflix's top communications exec, is out. In a memo, CEO Reed Hastings said Friedland had used the N-word "on at least two occasions at work," saying it was behavior that "showed unacceptably low racial awareness and sensitivity." THR broke the news and published Hastings' detailed memo about the incidents.
For his part, Friedland said he "fell short" of the standard required of leaders "when I was insensitive in speaking to my team about words that offend in comedy..." | | BuzzFeed France employees to go on strike | | BuzzFeed France employees are going on strike on Monday after employees were told that the office would be closed and staff laid off earlier this month, BuzzFeed France's Jules Darmanin tweeted on Friday. Also on Monday, according to Darmanin, a judge "will rule on our demand to suspend the BuzzFeed France projected closure and collective layoff process."
>> I spoke to a BuzzFeed spokesperson over the phone who declined to provide an on-the-record comment. The spokesperson would only say that BuzzFeed is "definitely in conversation with our employees" in France. | | -- Alex Jones condemns his old friend Joe Rogan for allying with "globalists," says to him, "If you turn over to Palpatine and become Darth Vader, I'm going to be Obi Wan Kenobi. I'm coming for you." Maybe he just never saw the original "Star Wars"... (Mediaite)
-- On Friday Asia Argento tweeted a photo of herself with the late Anthony Bourdain: "Two weeks without you..." (Twitter)
-- New info: Bourdain "did not have narcotics in his body when he died this month, a French judicial official said..." (NYT)
-- Haley Hinds, a reporter/anchor for FOX 13 in Tampa Bay, wrote about being falsely accused of being in a "viral video of a woman going on a racist tirade" at a nail salon... (Facebook) | | WarnerMedia chief: Trump's CNN attacks 'not good for our society' | | | AT&T has now owned WarnerMedia for a full week... John Stankey held the third of three town halls for employees in Atlanta on Friday... At the event, for the Turner division, Stankey was asked about Trump's sustained attacks on CNN. Stankey said of Trump's attacks on CNN, "I don't think they are constructive." He added that attacks on the media, in his view, are "not good for our society," and reiterated that he does not believe it's a "constructive approach to things." | | Tom Arnold, Michael Cohen and "tapes" | | Brian Stelter emails: What was Michael Cohen doing hanging out with outspoken Trump critic Tom Arnold? We know that Arnold is searching for "incriminating" tapes of Trump for a forthcoming Viceland show. Arnold tweeted a picture saying Cohen "has all the tapes," then walked it back a bit... Cohen didn't give him an on-camera interview...
Later in the day, Arnold told CNN's Poppy Harlow that Cohen is "working with America, he's on the good side." Arnold added: "He's not working with Trump, let's put it that way." Later, Harlow asked, "Do you have any tapes of the president that the public is not already aware of?" Yes, he said, "we have a lot of tapes." We'll see if he's bluffing when his show airs in September... | | The Enquirer strikes back | | Brian Stelter emails: Sarah Ellison's story about Trump getting previews of National Enquirer covers and articles is still garnering attention 24+ hours later. She reported that Michael Cohen was the main go-between, and that Trump would sometimes send requests for changes. American Media Inc. provided Hadas Gold with this statement... And it's delicious, since it casts shade on anonymous sources. Uh, doesn't the Enquirer live and die by anonymous sources!?
The statement: "It is unfortunate and disconcerting that disgruntled and terminated ex-employees who had no access to how editorial decisions are made and without any access to the company's top executives have been given a platform -- hiding behind the protection of being an 'anonymous source' -- to grind their axe on the back of their former employer."
As we pointed out on CNN today, this statement is NOT a denial of the story. But AMI exec Dylan Howard did deny the assertions to Ellison... | | | For the record, part three | | | By Daniella Emanuel:
-- Keach Hagey's book about Sumner Redstone is out next week... In this adaptation for the WSJ, she tells the story of how Shari Redstone rose to power... (WSJ)
-- The cost of the Weinstein Co. has been reduced by $23 million…(Variety)
-- Reddit is beta testing a "news" tab. "It could be that Reddit is hoping to attract some attention to its app in the wake of Facebook pulling Trending Topics – its news discovery feature – from its social network..." (TechCrunch) | | Will "The Conners" retain "Roseanne" ratings magic? | | | What do you think? How well will the new show do this fall? As Lisa Respers France wrote here, "Roseanne" minus Roseanne Barr sparked debate on social media... | | | Brian Lowry writes about the "Roseanne" spinoff in his latest column: "It's a bad idea, one that risks undercutting ABC's previous action, and despite Barr's blessing in a statement, could open a Pandora's box of new headaches." Read more... | | What we still don't know... | | | ...is how much Barr was paid. Brian Stelter emails: ABC, understandably, isn't answering questions about the terms of the deal. THR noted that "the last key hurdle" in the talks "was over what, if any, one-time payment Barr was to receive as 'go-away money,' as one source put it..." | | More competition for MoviePass? | | | Jill Disis emails: Yet another company is trying to lure customers away from the popular movie subscription service. Two days after AMC Theatres announced a monthly movie ticket plan, Sinemia revealed its own new family plan model for up to six people. The service has never been shy about taking shots at MoviePass. In an emailed announcement, Sinemia said subscribers can, among other things, "see the same film more than once, features that MoviePass can't match." | | -- Lisa Respers France emails: Johnny Depp sat down with Rolling Stone and addressed his pricey wine tab and that acting earpiece you've heard about.... (CNN)
-- NBC announced on Friday that it has canceled the sci-fi drama "Timeless..." (CNN)
-- ABC has shelved an episode of "The Proposal" after a woman accused a contestant of sexual assault... (BuzzFeed) | | Welcome back to "Jurassic World" | | | Frank Pallotta emails: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," Universal Pictures' creature feature and sequel to 2015's mega-hit "Jurassic World," stomps into theaters this weekend. Analysts are projecting it will rake in around $130 million in its opening weekend, following a $15.3 million opening night on Thursday. That would add to the more than $400 million the film has already made internationally since opening overseas earlier this month. | | The box office is roaring | | | Another one from Pallotta: The year's box office is up 6% from last year, thanks in part to the record-smashing hits "Avengers: Infinity War," "Black Panther" and "Incredibles 2." All superheroes. Now it's the dinosaurs' turn, and they have a good shot to really boost the box office's lead over last year. If "Fallen Kingdom" brings in more than $141 million this weekend, it will make more than the combined total of the 105 films that were in theaters on the same weekend last year, according to comScore data. | | The 'Westworld' season 2 finale and 'Believer' | | Brian Lowry emails: HBO will air the "Westworld" season 2 finale on Sunday, but here's a stronger recommendation for the documentary that airs the next night: "Believer," a moving and emotional film about Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds, and his campaign to reform the LGBTQ policies of the Mormon Church in which he was raised.
Read Lowry's full column here... | | Feedback welcome...
Email your likes, dislikes, thoughts to brian.stelter@turner.com... the feedback helps us improve this newsletter every day... Thank you! | | | | | | |
