Hello, Reliable Sources family. This is Oliver Darcy, filling in on this Friday for Brian Stelter, who is down in Texas attending SXSW. Do send feedback/tips my direction. You can contact me via email or find me on Twitter. Now, let's dive on in to the headlines...
SXSW underway in Austin
It's that time of the year again. SXSW kicked off in Austin on Friday. And, like every year, it is jam-packed. As Frank Pallotta wrote on CNN earlier, the conference has brought together "the worlds of film, media and technology" since 1987. Here's what you need to know...
Fighting for a "better internet"
"The internet is at a crossroads," BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote in a strategy memo to staff on Friday. "In one direction," he said, "there is a flaming dumpster fire, pushing people apart. In the other, the internet is a source of joy and truth, connecting people together."
Peretti shared this view at a SXSW keynote and in a "Reliable" podcast interview with Brian Stelter. "There's a lot more focus" on the internet's ugly underbelly right now, he said, partly thanks to reporters who have raised awareness about hoaxes, scams and privacy scares. "But I think it's important to remember what is GOOD about the Internet," he said. "And it's important to fight for that -- and to realize that we have a choice in the matter and we can actually work together to build a better internet."
That's what he encouraged his SXSW audience to do. More "joy and truth!" The Austin Chronicle's headline: "Peretti Wants to Save the Internet From Itself."
Headlines from Brian's interview with Peretti
-- Of BF's roughly $300 million in overall revenue last year, $84 million came from "the four big platforms:" Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Netflix. "Five years ago, that was only $7 million in revenue."
-- On the subject of BuzzFeed's recent layoffs: Digital media cos are shifting from "can you outrun everyone" to "can you outlast everyone?" They're "starting to be run like real businesses."
-- "In the last couple months, we're feeling more like a startup than we did a year ago. I think that we got a little bit complacent..."
-- "News is expensive" but "we're 100% committed" to it. Despite occasional speculation about a sale or spinoff, "I don't want to sell BuzzFeed News."
Peretti also talked about the BuzzFeed News unionization drive, Facebook's privacy "pivot," and more... Hear the podcast via Apple, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite app...
2020 primary, Austin edition
While folks are scootering around Austin, they're liable to run right into a Democratic presidential candidate. At least half a dozen of them are in town... Making appearances at various SXSW venues... And three of the candidates (Rep. John Delaney, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg) will be at CNN's night of town halls on Sunday...
"Game of Thrones" wants your blood | | Frank Pallotta emails: HBO has partnered with the American Red Cross at SXSW for an incredibly bloody "Game of Thrones" event. The activation called "Bleed For The Throne" is the "largest blood donation promotional effort by an entertainment company in American Red Cross history," according to HBO.
Streaming wars aren't 'a zero-sum game,' says DreamWorks co-founder Jeff Katzenberg
Pallotta emails another one: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman had a really interesting conversation about the changing world of storytelling, streaming and Hollywood on Friday, specifically as it pertains to their new short-form video company, Quibi. Their most interesting points...
-- Katzenberg told NBCNews' Dylan Byers that five years from now he wants Quibi to be synonymous with short form video in the way that "Kleenex is with tissues and Google is with search." He then asked the audience, "big enough?"
-- Katzenberg said that competitors are coming for Netflix in the streaming world, but he believes Disney can be a winner *in addition to* Netflix. "It's not a zero-sum game," he said.
-- Katzenberg pointed out that people pay $120 per household for cable now, so there's likely room for many of these services.
This weekend at SXSW
-- Sara Fischer, Jean Ellen Cowgill, Kasia Cieplak-Mayr Von Baldegg, and Nick Quah discuss "the intersections of new formats in media" at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday...
-- Jake Tapper will interview the cast of "The Daily Show" at 12.30 p.m. on Saturday...
-- Joe Pompeo sits down with Jeff Zucker at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday...
-- Andrew Morse, Sara Fischer, Meredith Kopit Levien, and Ben Smith discuss "what's next for news" at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday...
-- Craig Newmark, R.L. Nave, Steven Waldman, and Vivian Schiller discuss "the battle of local news vs. disinformation" at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday...
-- Meredith Artley interviews EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at 11 a.m. on Sunday...
-- Ben Collins, Charlie Warzel, Kelly Weill, and Brandy Zadrozny chat about conspiracy theorists and their growth on social media at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday...
DEVELOPING FRIDAY EVENING...
Smollett indicted on 16 counts
The big three evening newscasts all led with the breaking news about Jussie Smollett... The actor is facing 16 felony counts for allegedly staging a hate crime... He could face up to four years in prison on each count. He's due back in court next Thursday...
No new comment from Fox
I checked in with a spokesperson for 20th Century Fox after the news broke. The spokesperson said neither the studio or network had a comment on the development. The last time the studio commented is when they cut Smollett's character from the final two episode of this season's "Empire."
"Prosecutorial overkill"
Smollett's lawyer Mark Geragos, however, released a lengthy statement in which he alleged "prosecutorial overkill" against his client. "This redundant and vindictive indictment is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal investigation launched to investigate the outrageous leaking of false information by the Chicago Police Department and the shameless and illegal invasion of Jussie's privacy in tampering with his medical records," he said.
Manning back in jail
Chelsea Manning has been jailed for contempt of court "after refusing to testify about her disclosure of military and diplomatic secrets to WikiLeaks in 2010, her lawyer says," per David Shortell's story.
She "objected to the questioning in a grand jury appearance Wednesday in Virginia..." It appears "to be part of a continued effort by federal prosecutors investigating the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange..." | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- NY Mag photo director Jody Quon chats about her job and some of the legendary covers she's worked on... (It's Nice That)
-- Joe Lockhart and Ken Starr met for the first time in decades on CNN's "New Day" on Friday. The two debated how the Mueller probe relates to the Clinton investigations in the 1990s... (CNN)
-- Politico's Tim Alberta fires back at Ilhan Omar after she accused him of distorting her words... (Mediaite)
-- NBC News and MSNBC are expanding their podcasting team... (Digiday)
Bill Shine leaves the White House | | | The news first crossed my computer screen at 11:46 a.m. via a tweet from CNN's Kevin Liptak. "BILL SHINE RESIGNS," it blared. Soon after, it was everywhere. After nine months on the job, Shine was leaving.
In a statement, Shine -- who was the de facto comms director as deputy chief of staff -- said that "serving President Trump and this country has been the most rewarding experience" of his life. Shine said in his statement that he will continue to work for Trump in the capacity of a senior advisor for the 2020 reelection campaign. CNN's Betsy Klein, Kaitlan Collins, and Jim Acosta have all the details here... A "cursed position"?
Discussing the news after it broke, Kaitlan Collins characterized the position of White House communications director as a "cursed position." That's because, as she noted, Shine was the sixth person to have been selected to lead White House communications. Before him? Jason Miller, Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci and Hope Hicks.
>> Maggie Haberman tweets: "Everyone's best day with Donald Trump is their first one, and then the countdown clock immediately begins on their tenure with him. Bill Shine is latest example."
What did he do anyway?
Shine's role inside the White House remained unclear until his exit. According to CNN's reporting, Shine's role was diminished to someone "who adjusted the lighting and focused the cameras" and booked White House officials on Fox News. Outside of that, Shine "showed no ability to shape a narrative or communications strategy," CNN reported...
Shine's real legacy
As I mentioned on air earlier this afternoon, if Shine has any real legacy, it will be that he decreased press access to the White House. One source told CNN that he was a key force behind the elimination of the daily press briefing. Under his tenure, the White House also battled with CNN over press access. Recall Collins was barred from covering an event in the Rose Garden and Acosta's press credentials were revoked and only reinstated after CNN filed a lawsuit.
Trump soured on him
Shine had been scheduled to attend the North Korea summit in Vietnam, an administration official told CNN, but he dropped out only days before. Instead, Shine wandered the halls of CPAC. When I saw Shine at CPAC, I actually asked why he wasn't with other top White House officials overseas at the summit. Shine declined to answer my question.
Perhaps now we know why. One source told CNN that Trump had begun to sour on Shine, questioning his communications strategy, and was very disappointed in him. "There's been no improvement in press coverage," the source close to the White House said.
An impossible job
There is something to be said about how difficult the position of comms chief inside the Trump White House is. I thought what Paul Begala said on "Situation Room" was quite apt. Begala noted that "the Titanic did not have a communications problem, it had an iceberg problem." Begala then continued, "The Trump presidency has an iceberg problem," saying Trump "has to do a better job" if he wants better headlines in the press.
Outside of just doing "a better job," Trump could probably help his communications team by simply avoiding live-tweeting his thoughts on Twitter every morning. What's the point of having a team create a messaging strategy if the President isn't going to stick with it?
Did the Jane Meyer story play any role?
Keep in mind, this news comes just days after Jane Meyer's lengthy piece in The New Yorker detailing the coziness between the Trump White House and Fox News. A source close to the White house told Acosta that there were growing concerns inside the White House about this. The source said, "It's really dangerous having him over there." Hmm...
This Sunday on "Reliable Sources"
Brian will be joined by Mayer, whose reporting drove much of the week's media news... Plus Rep. David Cicilline, Sarah Ellison, Jeff Greenfield, Connie Schultz, and more... Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on CNN!
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
By Katie Pellico:
-- CNN's John Avlon will host the National Magazine Awards next Thursday... Adam Moss will be inducted into the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame at the ceremony...
-- NPR's "Morning Edition" is updating its iconic theme music. Along with member stations, NPR will debut the "suite of music" on May 6...
Sarah Isgur's CNN role changes from politics editor to commentator
Brian Stelter emails: Former DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur, whose hiring by CNN stirred controversy last month, is no longer taking a job as a political editor in the Washington bureau. Instead Isgur will be a political analyst at the network, sharing her insights through television segments. She tweeted about the change on Friday and said "will start next month on air and on line. See y'all soon!" Read the rest here...
Warner Bros. CEO apologizes
Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara responded on Friday to a THR report which accused him of trying to advance the career of an actress after attempting to have a romantic relationship with her. "I deeply regret that I have made mistakes in my personal life that have caused pain and embarrassment to the people I love the most. I also deeply regret that these personal actions have caused embarrassment to the company and to all of you," he wrote.
Tsujihara added that WarnerMedia, which CNN is a unit of, will work with a third-party law firm to "review the situation." Tsujihara said he "will cooperate fully" with the probe...
Endeavor returns Saudi cash
The media conglomerate Endeavor has returned an approximately $400 million investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, a person with knowledge of the matter confirmed to me Friday evening.
The news, first reported by the NYT, came after Endeavor explored pulling out of the deal back in October, following the murder of WaPo columnist Jamal Khashoggi. NYT noted in its story that, "It is one of the few instances of a major company halting business with the wealthy kingdom to protest its agents' assassination of a journalist..."
Tweet of the day
The NYT's Jonathan Martin wrote: "The 7,568th example of how the line that the press is too tough on Trump is laughable: sitting president expresses sympathy for, says nothing about crimes of, a convicted felon the day after guy was sentenced to three years in the joint. Barely a ripple." | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
- CNBC's Alex Sherman explores how the "Lord of the Rings" deal "explains Amazon's slow-burning media strategy..." (CNBC)
-- Former Google comms executive Jessica Powell talks with Wired about "how to quit your tech job..." (Wired)
-- Alex Pareene examines the "recent trend" in "behind-the-scenes stories" and the different variations of them... (CJR)
| | Examining Trump's relationship with the press
If you're curious about Trump's relationship with the White House press, read this story from Politico Editor-in-Chief John Harris. Harris writes that Trump has "arguably has the most frequent, most informal, and most sustained personal interactions with reporters and commentators of any president since the days of" John F. Kennedy and the late WaPo editor Benjamin Bradlee.
Reporters who spoke to Politico described receiving phone calls from Trump while at bars or in cable news studios. Politico even reported that Trump has "quizzed some reporters on their romantic lives." Which is all to say, as Harris does write, that Trump has "a keen awareness by Trump of individual personalities in the sea of beat reporters covering him, and a fixation on key figures at powerful news organizations."
Warren wants to break up Big Tech
There is little doubt that the role Big Tech plays in society will be a major issue in the 2020 election -- and Sen. Elizabeth Warren is jumping right in. On Friday, Warren released a plan to break up major tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Additionally, Warren proposed reversing some of the big mergers in the industry (think Amazon and Whole Foods, Facebook and Instagram, etc.). More details here via CNN's MJ Lee, Lydia DePillis, and Gregory Krieg...
>> Warren: "Today's big tech companies have too much power -- too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They've bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation."
Speaking of Facebook...
Donie O'Sullivan emails: Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee could pose (another) major headache for Facebook. Jeremy Herb and I report that the committee is exploring multiple lines of inquiry when it comes to the company.
They've asked Facebook for information about how its platform can be used to facilitate or encourage hate crimes and voter suppression efforts, among other things. Facebook says it's cooperating...
Baier wants DNC to reconsider Fox for debate
In an interview published on Friday in the Orlando Sentinel, Bret Baier urged the DNC to reconsider Fox News for a primary debate. Baier, who is the network's chief political anchor, said, "We've proven over the years that we are fair. We're tough but fair. We've proven ourselves in Republican primary debates." The interview came one day after Chris Wallace made a similar appeal in NYT.
Referencing Fox's bombastic pro-Trump hosts, Baier said, "We're one company, but we have two different jobs. One is an opinion side that advocates. There are many advocates on that side for Trump." He added, "It took me 600 days to get an interview with President Trump. It's a news operation. We have reporters breaking stories every day. …We're still trying to get another Trump interview." | |
What a week for Gayle King and co.
"It's been quite a week at CBS," Gayle King said in this promo for her Friday night special about R. Kelly. She thanked the "producers, editors, writers, reporters, directors" who crashed the hour-long special: "It really does take a village," she wrote.
--> Related: Via Lisa Respers France: Here's what Gayle was thinking during the R. Kelly interview
Whoopi: "I came very, very close to leaving Earth"
Whoopi Goldberg, who has been absent from "The View," in recent weeks, shared a health update on Friday's episode of the show. In it, she revealed she had pneumonia and was septic. "I came very, very close to leaving the Earth," Goldberg said. "Good news, I didn't."
Goldberg thanked fans for their "good wishes" and said she has been recovering. "I am up and moving around," she said. "Not as fast as I'd like to be, but I am OK. I'm not dead." Goldberg said she can't wait to be back on the show, and suggested she will be back soon...
"Humbling and overwhelming"
"Jeopardy!" released a short statement on Friday after it was announced on Wednesday that host Alex Trebek was diagnosed with stage four cancer. "The outpouring of good wishes and support in response to Alex's recent health news has been humbling and overwhelming," the official Twitter account for the show tweeted. "Please know that your messages are being conveyed to him and are deeply appreciated. From everyone at Jeopardy! – thank you."
| | By Lisa Respers France:
-- Paris Jackson doesn't seem very worried about the "Leaving Neverland" documentary which paints her father as an alleged predatory pedophile. She tweeted "Chillax, my dudes" about the controversy...
-- Some of the alleged victims and their parents have reacted to R. Kelly's CBS News interview...
Marvel's test
Brian Lowry emails: Marvel is on an enviable hot streak, with another huge opening for "Captain Marvel" – and "Avengers: Endgame" in the wings – following its Oscar breakthroughs with "Black Panther" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." But the studio will also explore the limits of its cinematic universe, as it seeks to expand its interlocking output to meet Disney's needs, which include originals for its upcoming streaming service and Hulu. Those demands should put even Marvel's powers to the test.
Sid Sheinberg dies at 84
Lowry emails: Sid Sheinberg was a giant figure in the entertainment industry, serving as president of MCA/Universal alongside Lew Wasserman. But the executive, who died Thursday at the age of 84, is perhaps best remembered for having championed the career of a (very) young Steven Spielberg, a unique relationship in terms of the bond between a studio chief and talent that spanned a quarter-century – and rewarded the studio with hits like "Jaws" and "E.T."
Spielberg noted as much in a deeply personal statement, saying, "He gave me 'Jaws,' I gave him 'E.T.,' and he gave me 'Schindler's List.' We were a team for 25 years and he was my dear friend for 50. I have no concept about how to accept that Sid is gone. For the rest of my life I will owe him more than I can express."
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