Hiya! This is Oliver Darcy in for Brian Stelter, who was busy moving apartments today. Please send your feedback to me via email or find me on Twitter. Now, onward to the news...
Too much caravan coverage? | | | It's a provocative question, but step back and ask yourself: Why is a caravan of migrants 1,000 miles away from the US border saturating American news coverage? I'm not diminishing the humanitarian element to the story, which does warrant attention, but the truth is that it's unlikely the story would be covered so thoroughly on the airwaves, in the newspapers and on various websites if President Trump were not talking about it. It's news because Trump has made it news. This is an issue that, with just two weeks to go until the midterm election, Trump wants to discuss. And it's working.
"What started out as one of Fox News' pet issues has become a major media narrative thanks to the feedback loop between the network and President Donald Trump," writes Lis Power, the director of media intelligence for the liberal watchdog group Media Matters. Power notes that CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC have devoted hours of coverage in the last several days to the caravan.
>> Media Matters president Angelo Carusone asks in a tweet: "For perspective: It'll take this group what..another 20-30 days to get to the border. Other than a prez election, what impending issue gets this much coverage this far out?"
The conundrum for newsrooms Now, to be fair, much of the coverage news organizations are dedicating to the caravan situation has been good. Network correspondents like CNN's Bill Weir, ABC's Matt Gutman, CBS' Adriana Diaz and others have been telling the stories of the people in the caravan, putting a face on this humanitarian crisis.
In addition, a significant chunk of the coverage is focused on debunking conspiracy theories floated by the president and his allies in right-wing media. But that still raises a question newsrooms have repeatedly had to face in the Trump era: Do you ignore the issue and let Trump and his media allies peddle falsehoods, or do you spend time fact-checking the disinformation, potentially at the cost of giving the issue oxygen and legitimizing it as a news story?
Speaking of fact-checking Fox News' chief news anchor Shepard Smith spent a portion of his program fact-checking some of the fear-mongering that has been peddled by his own colleagues on his own network. In a segment, Smith stressed that the caravan is near 1,000 miles away from the southern US border. "It's nowhere near the US border. The group today is at the southern tip of Mexico. ... Google says that is a 1,082-mile walk to McAllen, Texas, on the US border. A 353-hour walk, says Google. At 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, they are at least 44 days away at minimum."
Meanwhile, also on Fox... | | Fox News has been down in Texas at the border all week as the network covers the caravan -- and on Tuesday the channel aired a report from correspondent Griff Jenkins. In the report, Jenkins is seen hiding in the bushes -- he says in the package that he "laid in the bushes in wait" -- waiting for a family to cross the border illegally. As a handful of immigrants attempted to cross, Jenkins emerges and the group heads back across the river. "GRIFF FOILS ILLEGALS' ATTEMPT TO CROSS BORDER," the chyron read.
Eventually, Jenkins finds the group that attempted to cross and peppers them with questions. When Jenkins asks a woman in the group if she was attempting to knowingly cross illegally, the woman answers that she was fleeing Honduras for lack of economic opportunity. The chyron on Fox? "ILLEGAL ADMITS TO KNOWINGLY BREAKING THE LAW." I checked in with a Fox News spokesperson to see if the network had any comment on the segment, but didn't receive a reply...
"An unethical excuse for journalism"
Someone who did want to discuss the Fox News segment was Columbia Journalism School professor Todd Gitlin who told me by email he found the segment to be "an unethical excuse for journalism, presented sensationally in order to stir up hostility to immigrants and to rally Trump's base." Gitlin, who said the segment amounted to a "propaganda exercise masquerading as journalism," told me that Jenkins "violates one of the canons of serious journalism -- that the reporter does not intervene in the action described in the news report."
>> Gitlin also noted: "What the relation is between the 'caravan' and these river-crossers is by no means clear."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Matthew Yglesias examines what he calls the "hack gap" and how it allows conservatives to place a "huge constant thumb on the scale" in terms of news coverage... (Vox)
-- Refinery29 lays off more than 40 full time employees (about 10% of its staff) as the publisher misses its revenue target for the year... (WSJ)
-- Media law professor Jonathan Peters writes about how "libel law is having a moment..." (CJR)
-- Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was scolded on Tuesday by a sitting judge during proceedings involving a lawsuit filed by DeRay McKesson. The sitting judge said of Pirro, "She's a judge, a former DA. You'd think she'd understand what we are dealing with. ... You'd think she could be clear and accurate. You think she would know better..." (THR)
-- Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has laid off all 12 journalists from his new media website... (The Verge)
Megyn Kelly defends Halloween blackface
Tom Kludt emails: Megyn Kelly has an awkward history talking about race. There was her fearmongering over the New Black Panther Party back in 2010, and her infamous assertion in 2013 that Santa and Jesus are white. And now comes the latest chapter: on her designated block of the "Today" show on Tuesday, Kelly stuck her neck out for those who don blackface on Halloween. Addressing last year's controversy surrounding "Real Housewives" star Luann de Lesseps, who dressed up as Diana Ross, Kelly said, "And I don't know, I felt like who doesn't love Diana Ross? She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day." The backlash was swift and immediate, and I -- like many media observers -- found myself reflecting on Kelly's tendency to make a mess of things when wading into the topic of race. Read Tom's full story here...
... and then apologizes
Tom adds: Kelly did apologize to colleagues in an internal note that was circulated by NBC's PR apparatus. "I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry," Kelly said. "The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep." The note closed with what struck me as an allusion to her Fox days: "I've never been a 'pc' kind of person -- but I understand that we do need to be more sensitive in this day and age. Particularly on race and ethnicity issues which, far from being healed, have been exacerbated in our politics over the past year. This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that. I look forward to continuing that discussion."
"This isn't the first time that Kelly has come under fire for comments about race"
"NBC Nightly News" did not shy away from the controversy on Tuesday. In fact, the network devoted an entire segment to the backlash Kelly received throughout the day for remarks anchor Lester Holt said "many viewed as racially tone-deaf." NBC News correspondent Morgan Radford, who covered the controversy for "Nightly News" with an on-air package, noted that "this isn't the first time that Kelly has come under fire for comments about race." You can watch video of that package here...
THE JAMAL KHASHOGGI CASE | | The Saudi Foreign Ministry released this striking photo on Tuesday of Saudi King Salman shaking hands with Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, the eldest son of Jamal Khashoggi -- and the reaction was swift on social media. Saudi women's rights activist Manal al-Sharif tweeted, "The look on his face. This photo makes me want to scream and throw up." Yashar added on Twitter, "Today, #JamalKhashoggi's son Salah was forced to give the Crown Prince a photo op at the Royal Court. Look at his face. It's important to note that Salah has been banned for over a year from leaving the Kingdom, he has not been able to mourn with his siblings who are US citizens."
Trump's most "stinging indictment yet"
Trump called out the Saudis on Tuesday in what CNN's digital story described as the President's "most stinging indictment yet of a Saudi effort to silence a dissident journalist." Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said, "The cover up was one of the worst in the history of cover ups." And later in the day Trump called the situation a "total fiasco." Per CNN's sources, Trump has "become increasingly irritated by the fallout from Khashoggi's death..."
Visas revoked
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Tuesday that the US would revoke the bias of the individuals who murdered Khashoggi, and that the administration had "identified at least some of the individuals responsible." Shortly after, State Department spox Heather Nauert announced that "21 Saudi suspects in the death of Jamal Khashoggi will have their visas revoked or be ineligible for a visa to enter the United States."
"We have got to keep our moral credibility in the world"
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal spoke to Anderson Cooper on Tuesday about the situation with Saudi Arabia. McChrystal's primary message: "We have got to keep our moral credibility in the world." McChrystal noted that the United States will have to work with Saudi Arabia on various geopolitical issues, but said the murder of Khashoggi is "entirely unacceptable" and that the United States must "have a moral compass that's legitimate in the world or we're going to pay a big price elsewhere."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Spencer Ackerman writes about how "there's been a George Soros for every era of anti-Semitic panic..." (Daily Beast)
-- Business Insider executive producer Tony Manfred announces the media organization will change how it counts video views. BI will now only count a view if the video has been viewed for at least 30 seconds... (BI)
-- Conservative website TownHall unpublished an op-ed criticizing Andrew Kaczynski after Kaczynski pointed out the "serious factual errors" in the article... (Twitter)
-- Wolf Blitzer spends time fact-checking Trump's statements: "Trump's penchant for storytelling is more evident than ever out on the campaign trail right now with exactly two weeks to go until the critical midterm election..." (CNN)
British Government to stop using the term "fake news"
Hadas Gold emails: The British Government has decided to no longer use the term "fake news." Though members of Parliament will say whatever they want, government ministers will be urged to use the terms "misinformation" or "disinformation." The decision comes out of a report by a parliamentary committee that's been investigating "fake news," Cambridge Analytica and foreign attempts to influence the 2016 Brexit vote, among other issues. Imagine if the American government banned that phrase….
>> Gold adds: Despite accepting the "fake news" recommendation, the government largely dismissed most of the committee's suggestions, including a new tax on social media companies...
"The public have a right to know when the powerful seek to gag the vulnerable"
Gold emails another item: Also in the UK: The Telegraph claims a court placed an interim injunction to keep the paper from publishing an eight-month long #MeToo investigation into a "UK businessman," accused of "sexual harassment and racial abuse." They've devoted their front page to the story, with a silhouette of a man. The paper says the businessman used NDAs to silence people and that the paper has been fighting the businessman in court since July.
In an editorial, the paper said, "The public have a right to know when the powerful seek to gag the vulnerable." The editorial added, "This is, therefore, not just a story about the misuse of NDAs, whose original purpose has been bent and skewed to silence allegations of wrong-doing. It is about the freedom of the press to disclose this information and identify the individual concerned."
FLOTUS spox pushing back against critics more online
Stephanie Grisham, the spokeswoman for Melania Trump, appears to be growing more aggressive in responding to the first lady's critics. On Tuesday, Grisham sparred on Twitter with "Ellen Show" exec producer Andy Lassner. Insider has details here...
>> CNN's Kate Bennet asked Grisham why she's doing "more pushing back via her Twitter account lately." Grisham responded, "The people who consistently attack her -- the left-wing media and Hollywood elites -- could be so effective in helping to spread her message of kindness, but instead they choose to attack her because of politics. It does nothing but spread bias and hate, and it needs to end."
Facebook's new feature
| | Donie O'Sullivan emails: Facebook released a new feature today that lets you see total political campaign ad spend, as well as how much has been spent on ads about "issues of national importance." Beto O'Rourk has spent $5 million on Facebook ads since May... and Trump has run 100,000 ads on Facebook in the same period!
>> O'Sullivan adds: Perhaps most strikingly, Facebook says in total since May, more than $250 million dollars have been spent on political and issue ads in the United States. That's a number some news execs might wonder how much is cutting into their bottom line…
WSJ: Weinstein in talks with accusers and insurers to settle civil claims
Harvey Weinstein is working to reach what WSJ characterized in a Tuesday article as a "sweeping settlement of all civil suits pending" against him. The newspaper, citing sources, reported that Weinstein and the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct are working with insurance companies and the NY AG's office to arrive at an agreement. Per WSJ, mediation sessions have been scheduled for two days in November.
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Sarah Silverman apologizes to comedian Rebecca Corry for her comments on Louis C.K. ... (Mediaite)
-- Dodal Stewart, who was formerly a founding editor of Jezebel, senior editor at Fusion Media Group and EIC of Splinter, joins NYT as deputy editor in Metro... (NYT)
-- WaPo's Seung Min Kim has joined CNN as a political analyst and ShareBlue's Jess McIntosh has joined the network as a political commentator...
Why one photojournalist left the profession
This entire blog post by former KNBC photojournalist Lori Bentley Law is worth your time. In it, she explains why she recently made "the hardest decision" of her life and left the journalism industry. Law explains that "several factors" led to her decision, including issues with her shoulder. But she wrote that another factor was that she did not want to be "immersed in sadness every day."
"I don't want to hear 'Fake News' shouted at me anymore," Law wrote. "Or to be flipped off while driving my news van. Or worse yet, to have the passenger in the vehicle pacing me hang their naked butt out the window and defecate. Yes. That happened." Law said that lately "the negatives outweigh the positives" and she detailed three recent incidents that amounted to the "final straw." Read the whole post here...
RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala held Monday
The RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala was held Monday night at Gotham Hall in NYC. More than 500 journalists attended the annual black tie event. The evening paid a tribute to Jamal Kashoggi. You can view the 2018 winners of awards here...
| | -- The dates have been announced for the 2020 and 2021 Grammy Awards. The show will air on January 26 in 2020 and January 31 in 2021... (Variety)
-- "Terminator" will face off with "Charlie's Angels" in November 2019 after "Wonder Woman 1984" opening was moved to 2020... (Deadline)
-- Chloe Melas emails: Mariah Carey is headed to NBC's "The Voice..." (CNN)
-- Another one from Melas: Taylor Swift donates money to fan's mother who is in a coma... (CNN)
Apple to launch TV subscriptions globally
It appears Apple has big plans for its forthcoming subscription product. According to a report in The Information, Apple will launch the service in more than 100 countries. "That would quickly make Apple a competitor with both Amazon and Netflix, both of whose video services are widely available internationally," the story notes.
On the topic of Apple...
Apple's untitled morning show drama has a new cast member: Steve Carell. It was announced on Tuesday that Carell will be playing the male lead in the forthcoming series, which is based in part on Brian Stelter's book "Top of the Morning." THR has the details...
>> Stelter, who is a consultant on the show, noted in a tweet that it's Carell's "first regular TV role" since he left "The Office." Stelter added, "Much more to come..."
"Tonight Show" to bring on veteran exec?
Brian Lowry emails: Variety's Brian Steinberg reports that Jim Bell -- who is in charge of NBC's Olympics coverage -- is being discussed to take on a senior role overseeing "The Tonight Show." That would be the most tangible admission thus far that NBC is concerned about the show handing over its latenight crown -- in total viewers, if not always key demographics -- to "Late Show With Stephen Colbert," and signs of an attempted tweak, if not outright fix, to Jimmy Fallon's approach, which has seemed especially tepid as his rivals wade deeper and deeper into the political fray. As the Variety piece notes, the bottom line is catching up with the shifting audience, with more money flowing into Colbert's show while "Tonight" has seen revenue decline.
Pixar's Ed Catmull to retire
Brian Lowry sends one more: Not a surprise, but flagging: Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull is retiring. This had been expected, but is still noteworthy especially with the announcement in June that John Lasseter would exit at the end of the year.
That's a wrap on today's newsletter... Brian will be back tomorrow! | | | |
