Exec summary: Scroll down for Michelle Obama's seismic book sales, Taylor Swift's big deal, BuzzFeed's membership model, plus Brian Lowry's review of "Ralph Breaks the Internet" and much more...
White House backs down
I've been updating this CNN.com story for the past 12 hours. The first headline was "CNN asks for emergency hearing after Trump threatens to revoke Jim Acosta's credentials again." But now the headline is "White House backs down from legal fight, restores Acosta's press pass."
Yes, things are back to normal now, to the extent anything is normal in the Trump White House. The lawsuit is over...
Here's what happened today | | -- Sarah Sanders and Bill Shine sent a letter to Acosta around 3 p.m. and said his hard pass had been "restored." They called this a "final determination."
-- "As a result," CNN said, "our lawsuit is no longer necessary." A couple hours later the network's lawyers filed papers to drop the lawsuit.
-- This resolution avoided a long and costly legal battle, and also avoided establishing any new case law...
-- David Gergen on "AC360:" "I think this has been a significant victory for CNN and for the country..."
-- Sanders and Shine notified Acosta and the rest of the press corps of new "rules" governing presidential pressers...
What are these "rules?"
The letter asserted that reporters may only ask "a single question" at a press conference. Follow-ups will only be permitted "at the discretion of the President or other White House officials." And reporters must "physically surrender" the mic when directed. Violations of "any" of these rules "may result in suspension or revocation." Sounds serious! But is it?
Reporters have not agreed to the "rules"
To be clear: The press corps has not agreed to any new set of "rules." The correspondents' association said it had "no role" in crafting what the White House sent out. Key point from the association's statement: "For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions. We fully expect this tradition will continue."
Indeed. But the obvious concern is that the "rules" could have a chilling effect on the press. Or... Is it irrelevant? Maybe the W.H. is just trying to save face after an embarrassing loss to CNN...
I asked three of the smartest people I know. Three people who have been dealing with the president and the press for years. And they gave me three different answers. Are these rules "real?" Will they be enforced? No, the first person said. "Ain't ever going to happen." This person told me not to fall for it. Trump lost, it's over.
The second person said yes: "Only a matter of time." They predicted that Trump would try to expel another reporter, citing the "rules" as a pretext. It all depends on his mood swings.
And the third smart person? "I don't know." They said no one knows. They lamented the fact that Trump's aides are trying to impose order on pressers when 1) Trump is the most disorderly person at pressers and 2) the events hardly ever take place, anyway...
The "rules" make Hannity feel powerful
I could hear it in his voice Monday night. Shadow press secretary Sean Hannity celebrated the "rules" and read all four bullet points aloud. This dust-up "may have ultimately made it easier to kick out people," Hannity said, excitedly. Reporters will have to abide "if they want to stay in the White House." He also played a montage of Acosta's so-called "lowlights." You see, Acosta being back at work means Acosta is back to being a hate object on "Hannity." And on Lou Dobbs' show too... Dobbs and "Diamond & Silk" heralded the "rules" on Monday night...
I wonder how Fox's W.H. reporters feel about this anti-journalism bluster from Hannity and Dobbs...
What insiders are saying
-- WaPo's Erik Wemple worried about the chilling effect: "Will reporters run afoul of these new rules? Will they ask two questions when they're allotted only one? Such technicalities may be beside the point: Reporters will be THINKING about those rules and the hassles that come along with violating them."
-- I'm thinking the same thing the LAT's Matt Pearce tweeted: "This looks like they're creating rules that are very easy to break and are likely to go unenforced until the government decides they want to make an example of somebody..."
-- The Atlantic's Scott Nover spoke with several First Amendment advocates who are concerned about the "rule" talk...
-- WaPo's Glenn Kessler tweeted: "It would require WH reporters to cooperate, but every time the president fails to answer a question, or dodges it, the next reporter should note that he did not answer the question and restate it. Only way to beat the WH at its silly game."
My four takeaways
1. Trump almost never holds full-fledged pressers. So these "rules" almost never apply anyway. Will he start holding frequent pressers?
2. Most of the reporters at the Nov. 7 presser asked followups. Some of them asked several followups. And Trump reveled in all of it. (Which takes me back to #1!)
3. Trump and co. want to provoke fights with the media, but they don't want to lose in court again. Will they really risk another loss by banning another reporter?
4. Something much, much bigger is going on. Trump's assault on truth. Trying to blacklist Acosta is just one small part of that. Trump calls real news "fake," he calls fake news "real," he insists on being the only reliable source for his fans. This is happening every day. This is the real overarching challenge of the Trump years... | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Margaret Sullivan's newest column: "Embattled and in over his head, Mark Zuckerberg should — at least — step down as Facebook chairman..." (WaPo)
-- Another day, another crackdown. Instagram is taking new action against fake likes and comments, "part of a greater effort to maintain an 'authentic' platform," Kaya Yurieff reports... (CNN)
BuzzFeedViceVoxRefinery?
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti is talking up the benefits of digital media consolidation. Or as the NYT's Edmund Lee calls it, "a series of mergers with five or six top internet publishers." Peretti used this interview with Lee to float the idea publicly.
"You have Vice and Vox Media and Group Nine and Refinery. There's tons of them that are doing interesting work," Peretti said. He said a rollup could give the sites more power to both compete and collaborate with Facebook and Google...
"Though initial discussions involving a few companies have taken place, they were all very preliminary," Lee reports, citing five sources...
What the others are saying
Note these two quotes in the NYT story: Vox CEO Jim Bankoff says "we'll always consider" deals, and Refinery29 co-CEO Philippe von Borries says that in the next year or so there might be "an opportunity" for top brands to "come together..."
--> Peter Kafka's take: "Roll-up talk is another way of saying that the would-be buyers for big digital media guys -- the TV guys -- aren't buying..."
--> Matt Garrahan tweeted this prediction: "BuzzFeed and Vox will merge in digital scale hunt..."
Will you be a member of BuzzFeed?
Meanwhile, BF is getting serious about a membership model... something it quietly started trying a few months ago. The website is offering member-only emails for $5 a month or the emails plus a tote bag for $100 a year. Details here...
B&N says Michelle Obama had "the biggest first-week sales of any book this year"
The "Becoming" book tour continues... Over the weekend Barack made a surprise appearance at Michelle Obama's event in DC...
And on Monday Barnes & Noble said the book "had the best first-week sales of an adult book since 'Go Set a Watchman' published in July, 2015." As for all of 2018's books, Bob Woodward's "Fear" had been the hottest seller, but now "Becoming" has overtaken it...
-- The book remains #1 on Amazon and BN.com...
-- Next Friday, November 30, she'll be on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert...
-- So is she going to run for president? Any chance? "Let me be very clear, it will never happen," Valerie Jarrett told Alisyn Camerota on "New Day..." | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Former Trump aide Cliff Sims has written a book titled "Team of Vipers." It'll be out in January. St. Martin's Press has high hopes for the book: Sims received a "seven-figure advance," a source tells Maggie Haberman... (NYT)
-- Sad findings from a new study: "If you hate the media, you're more likely to be fooled by a fake headline." AND you're more likely "to confuse news and opinion." But you're ALSO more likely to think you never need any help finding accurate info. Read Joshua Benton's recap here... (NiemanLab)
Big news everywhere BUT Fox News
Her emails! Hundreds of them. Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey's WaPo scoop was titled "Ivanka Trump used a personal account to send emails about government business."
This was a big story on CNN and MSNBC Monday evening... But on Fox, I couldn't find any mention of it. Fox's website came up with a funny framing for the scandal: "Ivanka Trump's lawyer slams 'misinformation being peddled' after report that she used private email for government business." See, the real problem is that people are inaccurately criticizing her...
$200,000+: Pirro profiting from GOP speeches
When Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro went up on stage with President Trump on the eve of the midterms, Fox chastised them by saying it "does not condone any talent participating in campaign events." At the time I pointed out that Pirro is a regular host of GOP campaign events, regardless of whether Fox condones it.
Now the liberal group Media Matters has crunched the #'s: "Pirro has received more than $200,000 in speaking fees from 13 Republican organizations in the past two years."
Nice work if you can get it, by cashing in on your Fox News day job? I asked Fox for comment, but did not hear back...
👀 These sites are getting the most interactions on FB 👀
Next time someone tells you about Facebook's anti-conservative bias, refer them to Kevin Roose's tweets. Roose keeps sharing CrowdTangle data that shows the sources of the top stories on Facebook, as measured by # of interactions, and the top 10 list typically skews conservative. On Monday's list: Ben Shapiro, The Daily Caller, Fox News, TMZ, Franklin Graham.
Day after day of CrowdTangle data contradicts the frequent assertion that FB penalizes right-wing sites...
| | The Trump effect on the WHCA Dinner
With President Trump likely to skip the White House Correspondents' Dinner for a third straight year, the association is shaking things up. Comedian: Out. Author: In. Ron Chernow will be the featured speaker.
WHY: The meaning of "nerd prom" has changed amid constant attacks on the media and increasing political polarization. When the president isn't there, jokes about the president sound different. I understand the decision. But there was a lot of criticism on Monday... Including from this year's performer Michelle Wolf... Here's my full story...
Lowry's take
Brian Lowry emails: The optics aren't necessarily great for the WHCA, but they've made the right and probably long-overdue call in dropping the comedy act from their annual dinner, given the long history of headaches associated with the thread-the-needle balancing act required of those performances, which comics have described as the toughest room imaginable. It also reflects a fundamental shift in certain events -- the Kennedy Center Honors and White House visits by sports champions among them -- that has become the new reality under the current admin...
The Trump effect on voter turnout
"Turnout in the 2018 midterms was 49.3% of the voting eligible population, according to projections made by the United States Election Project," Chris Cillizza writes in his latest newsletter. "If it holds, that's remarkable -- and record-breaking. In fact, according to stats maintained by Fair Vote, the 2018 turnout would be the highest midterms turnout in more than 100 years. The only close competitor was 1966, when 48.7% of the voting eligible population actually voted..."
| | "May I say something you're not going to like? I think the press loves him. All day on TV — and I don't even watch TV, except sports. But he says somebody had a horse face — all day we hear about that. We hear about Kanye West, all day. You just give him all day! So I don't want you to think I'm making an analogy" -- she laughed -- "but Mussolini, he didn't care what they said about him, as long as they were talking about him."
--Nancy Pelosi talking about you-know-who in this interview with Robert Draper...
"Trump's Lies Are a Virus, and News Organizations Are the Host"
That's the title of Derek Thompson's latest for The Atlantic. More and more people are rethinking how the president is covered -- specifically, how his malarkey is spread through media megaphones.
On Sunday's "Reliable Sources," Carl Bernstein said this about TV networks showing Trump's events live: "I don't think we should be taking them live all the time and just pasting them up on the air, because they're basically just propagandist exercises."
Thompson has a lot to say about this. Don't miss his piece...
>> It pairs well with: Sean Illing's interview with George Lakoff: "How the media should respond to Trump's lies"
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Andrew Goldman's Town & Country profile of Fox's Chris Wallace is superb... Check it out here... Among many other details, it reveals that "Wallace was approached about taking over 'CBS Evening News' last year, but a network newscast didn't appeal to him..." (T&C)
-- An example of ESPN losing journalism talent: Kate Fagan says she was offered a contract extension, but she declined, and she's leaving... (WaPo)
-- Kelli Raftery has been promoted to EVP of comms for CBS Corporation, reporting to Dana McClintock...
Taylor Swift + Universal
"Less than one month after becoming a free agent, Taylor Swift announced on Monday that she's signed a new worldwide record deal with Universal Music Group, with UMG's Republic as her U.S. partner," Billboard reports. "The move means Swift is departing Big Machine, her label home since 2006..."
Why it matters: Swift will own all of the master recordings she makes from now on, and Universal will license them "for many years..."
Streaming strategy: "She also advocated for her fellow artists, making it a negotiating point that any share of UMG's Spotify shares result in distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable..."
Key quote: "I feel so motivated by new opportunities created by the streaming world and the ever changing landscape of our industry," Swift said...
Report: Goop in talks with Netflix
Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop "is in talks with Netflix to shoot and stream a series based on the brand's core theme of 'wellness' — a focus that has put both Goop and Paltrow, the company's chief executive officer, under the microscope," WWD's Kali Hays reports. "A Netflix spokeswoman declined to comment on talks or an impending deal, as did a spokeswoman for Goop..."
| | -- Chloe Melas emails: Mandy Moore married Taylor Goldsmith over the weekend! (CNN)
-- Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne have signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios... (THR)
-- Ashley Greene will play Abby Huntsman in Jay Roach's forthcoming Roger Ailes film... (Deadline)
| | Lowry recommends "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Brian Lowry emails: The "Wreck-It Ralph" sequel "Ralph Breaks the Internet" surpasses its predecessor in most every way, and figures to help break the bank for Disney this holiday season...
The synergy machine
Lowry adds: And just to show the synergy-minded studio doesn't like leaving such things to chance, it announced a "special" edition of "20/20" will air Thanksgiving night promoting the December release of "Mary Poppins Returns," in another one of those now not-uncommon situations where the news division appears more than willing to be a good team player...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Hailey Baldwin is now Hailey Bieber... on Instagram. The model changed both her handle and her name on the social media site and Justin Bieber referred to her as his "wife." Some fans are taking it as confirmation that the pair did indeed quietly marry a few months ago...
-- Jaden Smith has doubled down on his claim that fellow rapper Tyler, the Creator is his "boyfriend." But is the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith trolling us?
-- Pregnant Amy Schumer returns to the stage this weekend after being hospitalized for pregnancy complications...
-- According to its creator, don't look for a "Scrubs" revival series to happen anytime soon... | |
📺 SUNDAY'S "RELIABLE SOURCES" HIGHLIGHTS
Catch up on Sunday's show
Listen to the show via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn... Watch the video clips on CNN.com... Watch the full program through CNNgo or VOD... Or read the transcript here...
How local reporters are covering the Camp Fire
"We've had 10 people who work at the newspaper lose their homes. One who doesn't know. Three others who are still evacuated and can't go home," Chico Enterprise-Record editor David Little told me on Sunday's show.
Little said the staff feels "really helpless," but they are helping by informing the community. Papers are being delivered to evacuation centers and other locations. His account was incredible to hear... You can watch the segment here...
Philippine government threatening Rappler
Also on Sunday's show, Rappler founder and editor Maria Ressa joined me to respond to the Philippine government's new threat to indict her. "The end goal of all of these cases is political harassment," Ressa said. "They want to intimidate us into stopping the stories we're doing."
Ressa will be accepting an award at the Committee to Protect Journalists' dinner on Tuesday... Then she plans to fly home to Manila, and she's not sure what will happen next... Watch our conversation here, and please note the part about FB's role in amplifying the awful smears about her website... | |
Thanks for reading. Email me feedback anytime! See you Tuesday...
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