TGIF: I "time-shifted" Valentine's Day this year... Jamie and I are going to see "Network" on Broadway... so that's the reason for the early edition 😃Thank you to Katie Pellico and Frank Pallotta for doing the heavy lifting today.
Trump versus his own government, episode number...
...To be honest, I've lost track of the episode number. President Trump challenges or completely contradicts his own government's statistics and assessments all the time. But I continue to be shocked by it. Are you?
As Trump declared a state of emergency on Friday, he dismissed reams of Customs and Border Patrol data showing that most illegal drugs from Mexico come into the US through legal ports of entry. As he called the facts a "lie," my mind wandered to the government officials who work so hard to compile the facts in the first place. Is it demoralizing for those federal employees, hearing the boss blow off their work? I bet it is.
My impression: The weaker Trump's political standing is, the looser he gets with the truth. That's why Friday's speech was especially full of falsehoods...
Does live TV coverage help or hurt Trump's cause?
All of the big broadcast networks carried the start of his speech live. But CBS cut away after 20 minutes, allowing East Coast viewers to watch "The Price Is Right" instead.
CNN's David Gergen said viewers saw that Trump is "unable to speak effectively and convince the public that there really is a crisis at the border — even with his lies about immigrants and drugs."
--> But what about the vast majority of the country that only hears the sound bites later? Let me second what Daniel Dale tweeted:
"One thing many articles and TV segments rarely convey, in my view, is how deeply bizarre some Trump appearances are. Lots of people will just hear a short clip of him saying he's calling an emergency because there's an invasion..." | | The speech turned into a presser...
Friday in the Rose Garden, "everything fell into place" to keep Trump on task: The president opened the floor to reporters and stayed predictably on topic, trotting out "the same frequently disproved data," Philip Bump wrote Friday. Still, we saw why real-time fact-checking of Trump "is often an unrewarding enterprise."
Bump: "The combination of the power imbalance between the president and reporters, his willingness to ignore the decorum that has usually guided such interactions, and his aggressive lack of interest in engaging in legitimate debate all made the day's incursions broadly unsuccessful."
CNN's scoop: Sarah Sanders spoke with Mueller's team
CNN's Pamela Brown and Alex Rogers write: Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has interviewed White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. Details here... | |
This Sunday on "Reliable Sources"
On Sunday's show we'll be talking about how bogus information spreads and sows confusion... lots of other topics too... with Liz Plank, Philip Bump, Caitlin Dickerson, Susan Hennessey, and Julia Ioffe. I'll also speak live with Rappler's Maria Ressa about her recent arrest. See you Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on CNN...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Rush Limbaugh is making his "annual visit" to "Fox News Sunday" this weekend, Chris Wallace said Friday...
-- Some radio stations are purging Ryan Adams from their playlists after the NYT published an investigation about his alleged behavior... (Billboard)
-- Twitter has been storing your DMs, "even years later" after you have deleted them.. (TechCrunch)
-- CNN is launching a new newsletter on Saturday, "The Good Stuff," described as a letter "for the good in life." Sign up here... (CNN)
Roll Call: Capitol Police crackdown on press turned physical
Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus reports that Capitol Police officers "physically shoved reporters away from senators" in the Senate basement on Thursday, "even when lawmakers were willingly engaging" with questions. Reporter Matt Laslo even provided an audio recording, in which another reporter is heard saying, "I am a pregnant woman and you just pushed me." Laslo said this was the first time -- in twelve years on the Hill -- that "any officer put their hands on me or my coworkers in front of me, so it was really disheartening."
--> The Radio and Television Correspondents Association Executive Board is looking into what happened and why...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette guild files grievance over publisher's behavior
Roll the tape! Tom Kludt emails: First, we had detailed eyewitness accounts. Now, we have video evidence of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publisher John Robinson Block's bizarre tirade last weekend. The recording dropped late Thursday night, via local Pittsburgh reporter Beau Berman. It's only 40 seconds, but that's long enough to back up what the paper's staffers said they saw: an increasingly belligerent Block reacting angrily to a pro-union sign protesting the paper's owners.
Block apparently still hasn't addressed the matter -- no email, no remarks to staff. But I'm told by Michael Fuoco, a reporter at the Post-Gazette and the president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, that unlike the day before, nobody saw Block in the newsroom on Friday.
The Guild officially filed a grievance with the Post-Gazette's HR manager on Friday, alleging that the company violated its contract "by allowing John Block onto the premises following his out-of-control tirade and manhandling of his daughter..." | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
By Katie Pellico:
-- The private-equity firm Great Hill Partners is in exclusive talks with Univision to buy Gizmodo Media Group, Benjamin Mullin and Dana Mattioli reported in this scoop on Friday... (WSJ)
-- "Apollo Global Management affiliates will buy a majority stake in Cox Media Group's broadcast TV stations, Cox announced Friday..." (CNBC)
-- Spotify shelled out $340 million for Gimlet Media and Anchor combined last week... (Variety)
-- Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, two former 49ers who took a stand when they took a knee, have settled their collusion cases with the NFL... (CNN)
SOME RECOMMENDED READS FOR THE WEEKEND...
CJE announces Anthony Shadid Award finalists
The Center for Journalism Ethics' Anthony Shadid Award acknowledges reporters and the difficult "ethical decisions" they must make in order to honor their sources and their audience. This year's five finalists are...
-- Julie K. Brown and Emily Michot with the Miami Herald, for their three-part investigation into Jeffrey Epstein...
-- The AP's Garance Burke and Martha Mendoza, for the year they spent covering the fallout from Trump's family separation policy. Here's one story of theirs about the adoption of children of deported parents...
-- ProPublica immigration reporter Hannah Dreier for "A Betrayal..."
-- David Jackson, Jennifer Smith Richards, Gary Marx and Juan Perez, Jr. with the Chicago Tribune for "Betrayed..."
-- Maggie Michael, Nariman El-Mofty and Maad al-Zikry with the AP for a series of investigations into the atrocities of the war in Yemen, including this one by Michael...
Col Allan is back to "figure out the Post's Trump coverage"
Katie Pellico emails: VF's Joe Pompeo reports that former EIC Col Allan is back at the New York Post, on Rupert Murdoch's request, to help the paper ride the fine line in pleasing owner and audience in its coverage of the president. Beyond that, though, his exact role is TBD. Among staffers, "there's immense curiosity — and a dash of fear."
One source told Pompeo of Allan: "On one hand, he's a Trumper. But on the other hand, he understands that, look, if you're talking to a New York audience, you can't go full MAGA." Read on...
"Abramson story needs one more chapter"
That's what Bill Mitchell writes here. He says the case of Jill Abramson and plagiarism in "Merchants of Truth" "should be less about blame and more about understanding what happened and how the rest of us can spare ourselves what Abramson is dealing with now."
He says she "is right to acknowledge that she bears responsibility for what's between the covers of her book. But unless she reveals the particulars of what went wrong, she'll miss an opportunity to write a final chapter every bit as important as the ones already published." Here are his Q's...
>> Per the AP, fewer than 3,000 copies of "Merchants" were sold in the book's first week. As Mike Allen noted in Axios AM, "Controversy doesn't always sell."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
By Katie Pellico:
-- The Verge's James Vincent on OpenAI, the "step forward in AI text-generation that also spells trouble..." (The Verge)
-- A new ad campaign for Hulu's live TV service "spells out that its influencers get paid," while using "humor to turn consumers' cynicism about influencers to Hulu's advantage..." (WSJ)
Two men arrested in Jussie Smollett case
Lisa Respers France emails: It's been two weeks since Jussie Smollett says he was attacked in a Chicago neighborhood. Here's what we know so far. Friday's updates:
-- Two persons of interest in the case have been arrested.
-- Before the arrests were confirmed, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the two Nigerian brothers were being treated as "potential suspects" and that detectives had "probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime."
-- Police did not say precisely what the brothers were accused of or what the alleged crime might have been.
"Handmaid's Tale" on the National Mall
| | A season three episode of "The Handmaid's Tale" was filmed in Washington D.C. on Friday. Dozens of the cast wearing the show's signature red dress and white bonnets were gathered by the Lincoln Memorial, as shown in this photo by Nancy Kuhn, mom of CNN PR's Emily Kuhn. (Moms are the most reliable sources!)
Nancy says "they were doing take after take of the women standing there for awhile and then commanded to 'kneel' and so they all wordlessly knelt..."
>> Some in D.C. couldn't tell if the show was filming or if a protest was taking place, according to Insider...
| | FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- Dan Primack and Ina Fried's Friday scoop: Apple has acquired the voice app startup Pullstring... (Axios)
-- Mattle (yes the toy company) is launching 22 multi-platform TV shows... (THR)
| | What happened to 'A Star Is Born'?
Frank Pallotta emails: When awards season started in the Fall, it was pretty clear that the frontrunner to take home Best Picture was Warner Bros.' "A Star is Born." It made $417 million worldwide, it was widely acclaimed, it had a popular soundtrack, starred a global pop star and was directed and performed beautifully by one of Hollywood's most popular actors. It was the type of Hollywood story that's catnip for the Academy, but voters are now seemingly allergic to it passing it over for multiple awards. So what happened?
Scott Feinberg, the Hollywood Reporter's awards breaks down how the film became such a long shot. Feinberg explains it was a mixture of how its two biggest stars campaigned and the film status as a remake of a remake of a remake. "A Star Is Born" can still maybe come out on top next Sunday, but its fall from its perch may be more interesting than the film itself.
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- The New York Times' Carpetbagger, Kyle Buchanan explains why the short-film Oscars should be cut from the telecast. (NYT)
-- Meg Ryan reflects on her career, rom-coms and leaving Hollywood behind. (New York Times Magazine)
-- Speaking of looking back, Sam Elliott reflects on his 50-year career and his career renaissance as his potentially big Oscar night approaches. (Vanity Fair)
-- Ben Affleck's reign as Batman has come to an end. Jimmy Kimmel retired the star's cowl and cape in the rafters on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
A slow start at the 2019 box office
Frank Pallotta emails: Let's play a game. I'll give any of you a dollar if you can tell me the name of the big film opening this weekend. No Googling! Okay, time's up. What do you got? Yeah, see, it's not that easy, is it? That's because the 2019 box office has been a real bore six weeks into the new year. Where are all the hits?!
"The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" could've given some life to the sleepy box office last weekend, but it opened to a disappointing $34 million. This weekend's offering could maybe move the needle a bit with Fox's "Alita: Battle Angel" hitting theaters (James Cameron did write the screenplay!), but with a 60% Rotten Tomatoes score, I wouldn't hold your breath.
As The Ringer's Miles Surrey wrote earlier this week the box office should awaken fairly soon with next month's slate including "Captain Marvel," Jordan Peele's "Us" and Disney's live action "Dumbo." And, hey, it's only February! This month isn't really known for blockbusters. It just seems that way because we were spoiled by "Black Panther" last year. So be patient, folks, the blockbusters are coming.
Speaking of that... | | That's a wrap on a galaxy far, far away...
Frank Pallotta emails: Director J.J. Abrams tweeted a photo on Friday to mark the conclusion of "Star Wars: Episode IX" (which is opening in December and it still doesn't have a name!). We don't get many looks into the galaxy far, far away, but this one looked extra emotional, with stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac hugging it out.
"It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX. There is no adequate way to thanks this truly magical crew and cast," Abrams tweeted. "I'm forever indebted to you all." | |
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
'Carlton Dance' refused copyright registration
Lisa Respers France emails: Former "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Alfonso Ribeiro has been involved in a lawsuit with the publishers of "NBA 2K" and "Fortnite" over avatars in the games being able to do the dance that his character popularized on the hit '90s sitcom. But the US Copyright Office apparently doesn't think it's all that special. The office says the dance "is not registrable as a choreographic work..." | | | |
