EXEC SUMMARY: Scroll down for Webby Awards winners, Fox's "startup" message, Tuesday's big events, Time's two covers, and details about three new books...
Foxier than Fox
Does President Trump think he can play Fox News and One America News Network off each other?
OANN, for those who don't know, is a right-wing cable news channel that wants to take on Fox. In the past two months, Trump has tweeted about OANN seven times — after going two years without tagging the channel once. OANN has some fans, but it is not a widely known brand -- which is all the more reason why the president's plugs are notable. When he's not assailing "enemy" news organizations, he is promoting outlets he approves of, and OANN is clearly in the latter camp. | | On Monday Trump thanked both Fox and OANN in back-to-back tweets. First he sent kudos to "Fox & Friends" for its ratings, then he said "congratulations to @OANN on the great job you are doing and the big ratings jump."
The power of the presidency
CREW, a/k/a Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Monday that Trump's message is clear: "Dedicate your broadcast to supporting the president and he'll use the power of the presidency to increase your ratings and hurt your competitors (or so he claims)."
Lest we forget, past presidents did not do this!
OANN's audience
OANN launched in 2013. It airs a mix of newscasts and conservative talk shows. It is still relatively obscure, partly because it does not have full cable and satellite distribution. Verizon and AT&T-owned platforms carry OANN, for example, but Comcast and Charter do not.
OANN does not subscribe to Nielsen ratings, which is usually a sign that a channel's audience is quite small. Nielsen is the industry standard for ad buying and selling. But OANN president Charles Herring told me that "we refuse to PAY for Nielsen data based on the excessive price." Instead, he relies on ComScore set-top-box viewership data to say that OANN was the "fourth rated cable news network" in March, behind Fox, MSNBC and CNN.
To be clear: That assertion is not backed up by Nielsen -- the agreed-upon currency for the TV industry -- since OANN is not rated by Nielsen. The channel's viewership IS rather small. But the ComScore data may explain how Trump heard about a "big ratings jump" at OANN. Herring told me that he shared his data directly with Trump in late 2018, and also had "recent conversations with key White House officials."
Why this matters
"Trump's recent promotion of OANN hasn't come at Fox News's expense," Vox's Aaron Rupar wrote on Monday. "But it does indicate that Trump is looking these days to amplify other outlets that cover him favorably, and reliably reinforce his talking points." In this piece, Rupar cited evidence that OANN has repeatedly promoted "right-wing conspiracy theories." Evidently that's a plus for Trump, who wants to prop up multiple alternatives to the mainstream media he derides...
BREAKING
WhatsApp says an "advanced cyber actor" has been caught in the act...
Donie O'Sullivan emails: WhatsApp announced Monday evening that it had discovered a vulnerability that could enable hackers to put malicious code on a user's phone by calling a user using through WhatsApp. "We believe a select number of users were targeted through this vulnerability by an advanced cyber actor. The attack has all the hallmarks of a private company reportedly that works with governments to deliver spyware that takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems," a WhatsApp spokesperson said. The Facebook-owned company says it has since fixed the vulnerability but is also encouraging users to update to the latest version of the WhatsApp app "out of an abundance of caution."
AND: WhatsApp said it had provided info to U.S. law enforcement. Donie's full story will be up on CNN.com overnight...
TUESDAY PLANNER
-- Eurovision is starting...
-- TV upfronts in NYC: Xandr presentation is in the morning... Disney's upfront is in the afternoon...
-- Steve Bullock is signaling that he'll join the 2020 field of Dems...
-- Beto O'Rourke is booked on "The View..."
-- CNN anchor Jim Sciutto's new book "The Shadow War" is out... And so is Fox anchor Shannon Bream's book "Finding the Bright Side..."
"Howard Stern Comes Again"
Howard Stern has been talking to THR and the NYT and "CBS Sunday Morning" and "GMA" -- and most importantly he's been talking on his own show -- and the result is predictable and profitable: "Howard Stern Comes Again" is No. 1 on the Amazon chart. It is his first new book in 20 years. It comes out on Tuesday. "I'm not proud of my first two books. Do me a favor, and burn them," Stern writes... | | >> "Incredible as it may seem, Stern is a new man, and with 'Howard Stern Comes Again,' he wants you to know it," Michael Lindgren writes in this review for WaPo...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- I don't even know what to say at this point. Joseph Bernstein's latest: "YouTube's newest far-right, foul-mouthed, red-pilling star is a 14-year-old girl..." (BuzzFeed News)
-- Bernstein shared his story and added: "I don't think you can watch this stuff without concluding there is a moral crisis at YouTube." (Twitter)
-- Here's Eriq Gardner on how Apple's loss at the Supreme Court "could impact entertainment..." (THR)
Discovery buys Golf Digest
The NYPost's Keith Kelly broke this news on Sunday night: Discovery is buying Golf Digest from Condé Nast. Discovery confirmed it in the morning. Kelly says David Zaslav "prevailed over the Comcast-owned NBC Sports Group, the owner of the Golf Channel and several others potential suitors."
Per the NYT's Marc Tracy, "the sale price was $35 million," according to two sources. "Discovery said that it would retain Golf Digest's editorial staff, including its top editor, Jerry Tarde, and would continue to publish the monthly print magazine."
The big picture idea: Discovery wants to build "golf's largest digital network," The AP's Doug Ferguson wrote...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Politico's Laura Nahmias is joining the New York Daily News editorial board, filling the spot vacated when Alyssa Katz went to The City... (Twitter)
-- Cheddar's Alex Heath is joining The Information to cover Facebook and Alphabet... (Talking Biz News)
-- A recommended read: "In China, a podcast inspired by 'This American Life' gives voice to the real," by Amy Qin... (NYT)
Chelsea Manning is writing a book
Farrar, Straus and Giroux has acquired the rights to Chelsea Manning's memoir, due out in the winter. Manning spoke with the NYT's Charlie Savage about it... She said "I'm not trying to relitigate the case, just tell my personal story... You're probably going to learn more about my love life than about the disclosures."
Per Manning, NYMag's Noreen Malone worked with her on research, and it was "a collaborative effort." More here...
>> ICYMI: Here's my interview with Manning from Sunday's "Reliable Sources" program...
The importance of Quartz's paywall plan
NiemanLab's Christine Schmidt wrote Monday: "In a move that got little attention last week," Quartz announced "that for the first time it would be putting all its articles behind a metered paywall. Read more than 10 or so and you'll get a pitch for the Quartz Membership, which runs $100 a year or $15 a month."
What's so significant about another paywall? Well, Quartz was proudly wall-free when it launched in 2012. It talked about "reader revenue" down the road, but it excelled at digital advertising. So, Schmidt's colleague Joshua Benton tweeted, this is a "kinda sad" moment: "There's obviously nothing wrong with putting up a paywall! But Quartz has (a) plenty of digital smarts, including on ad side (b) an appealing demographic (c) a quality product. If they have to put up a paywall, there just aren't gonna be many good unpaywalled news sites left." At least there's no paywall on Schmidt's NiemanLab story...
Apple upgrades its TV app
Frank Pallotta writes: Apple is out with its newly redesigned TV app, which was first announced at the company's star-studded event back in March. It allows consumers to subscribe to a wide assortment of streaming services, including HBO, Showtime and Starz. Details here...
>> TV guru Joe Adalian says he really likes it: "Definitely builds on last version, with more thematic curation and Netflix-like features..."
>> And Apple TV Channels subscribers can download shows for offline viewing, per Variety's Todd Spangler...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Back in February, Casey Newton wrote this: "The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America." On Monday came this news: "Facebook to raise pay for thousands of contract workers, including content moderators..." (Bloomberg)
-- Newton's reaction: "Huge. I am so happy for the moderators whose lives will be improved by this. And I hope that $18/hour minimum keeps going up..." (Twitter)
-- Gavin Polone's latest: He says the Writers Guild is "currently winning" its fight against the talent agencies... Here's why... (THR)
A tale of two TIME covers
 CNN's S. Mitra Kalita writes: The current TIME magazine covers are notable. Everyone outside the United States got Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, who is now seeking a second term. The United States got Elizabeth Warren. The decision, while understandable, underscores an ever-inward-looking American media and politics. In doing so, we miss broader global trends and the chance to connect dots. Some lines from the Modi piece:
-- "The nation's most basic norms... its founding fathers, the place of minorities and its institutions, from universities to corporate houses to the media, were shown to be severely distrusted."
-- "It was easy to feel that being left-wing was the province of a privileged few..."
-- "Modi, without offering an alternative moral compass ... made all moral judgment seem subject to conditions of class and culture warfare..."
My guess is the excellent article by novelist/journalist Aatish Taseer will resonate among Americans. Oh, and there are references to tweets and dogwhistles, too. According to a source at the magazine, the Modi piece outperformed the Warren cover story on TIME.com... And it has been one of May's most-read stories so far...
| | The NYT's Monday evening scoop
It's always revealing when Sean Hannity, one of the most vociferous mainstream media haters out there, starts his show by crediting the NYT. That's what happened on Monday after The Times broke this story shortly after 8 p.m. ET: "Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry."
>> Right after the story came out, MSNBC's Chris Hayes tweeted this during a break in his live show: "The Justice Department is being turned into a political weapon for the President before our eyes, day by day..."
The name-calling problem...
In his Monday morning newsletter for CJR, Jon Allsop said it's odd that some news outlets treat Trump's derogatory nicknames "as an amusing distraction, not the subtle, dangerous manipulation of political discourse they actually represent."
My two cents: Whenever and wherever possible, journalists should drag the conversation from insults to issues... That's what the audience wants...
Two stories about Biden and Facebook
#1: In an interview with The AP's Hunter Woodall, Joe Biden said that dismantling Big Tech companies including Facebook is "something we should take a really hard look at..."
#2: CNN's David Wright tweeted: "Joe Biden's presidential campaign spent nearly $240,000 on Facebook ads just last week. Next closest 2020 campaign was Elizabeth Warren, w/ about $88,000 worth of FB ads last week."
TV UPFRONTS 2019
Fox starts over
"What would you do if you had a chance to start all over again?"
That's the question Charlie Collier, Fox Entertainment's CEO, asked the crowd at the network's upfront presentation on Monday.
Collier was talking up the virtues of the newly slimmed-down Fox. He called the company a "startup." And he wasn't the only one trying to turn back time on Monday...
NBC's message | | With some help from "SNL" (above) and Jimmy Fallon and the Kardashians, NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino kicked off upfront week on Monday morning. She set the stage this way: "Rapid globalization. The dizzying pace of technological innovation. A Fourth Industrial Revolution. An all out assault on trust. We're living through tectonic shifts in our industry, our economy, and our society." In this environment, she said, what marketers need is "meaningful, smart, safe scale -- safe for brands and safe for consumers." That could be read as a knock at Netflix, which doesn't run ads, and YouTube, which is battling a perception that it's not brand-safe...
--> Variety's Cynthia Littleton tweeted: "Over and over, NBCU pushed the concept of its networks as a safe haven for advertisers compared to the wild and wooly world of digital advertising."
Notable bits of news...
-- Stephen Battaglio's headline: "NBC is expected to take Netflix favorite 'The Office' to its new streaming service"
-- Brian Williams appeared on stage during the NBC News portion of NBCU's presentation. Why is this notable? Because it was his first time on an upfront stage since his 2015 suspension and 2016 return as an MSNBC anchor...
-- Via Michael Grynbaum, the most cringe-inducing moment of the day: At Fox's show, "Terry Bradshaw says he was kicked off The Masked Singer by 'Alan Thicke,' who....is dead. It was his son, Robin Thicke."
Seth's best joke
From Seth Meyers' set at the NBCU upfront: "Kathie Lee Gifford left the Today show after 11 years. A round of applause for Kathie Lee, everybody. Fun fact: She's the first person ever to leave the Today show willingly. The motto of the Today show used to be: 'The Today show: Security will show you out.'"
Lowry's take
Brian Lowry emails: Fox came into the upfronts with an overarching task -- to convince ad buyers that the smaller size of the new company really is an asset. "We're the right size for this marketplace," Collier said, pushing the merits of building a network from scratch. What Fox looks like, though, is a modified basic cable channel, with a big returning music competition in "The Masked Singer" as the de facto centerpiece -- hence the quickie version of it within the presentation -- and a heavier reliance on animation, sports (including next year's Super Bowl) and Friday-night wrestling...
--> How THR's Daniel Fienberg put it: "Fox needed to prove that it's still a real TV network and that message went across well..."
Fox is home to the World Series for the next decade
Frank Pallotta writes: The NBC and Fox upfronts both emphasized live sports for obvious reasons. At Fox's event, Joe Buck announced that the network will be the home to the World Series for next 10 years. "The World Series delivers live audiences like few things can," Buck said, saying it would beat "Big Bang," "This Is Us" and "Game of Thrones" head to head. "It would also have fewer continuity errors than Game of Thrones," he quipped...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- On Tuesday, per Eriq Gardner, a trial is scheduled to begin to examine Michael Jackson's "final, strange days, and in particular, his relationship with Tohme Tohme, a mysterious man who came into Jackson's life in 2008 boasting of connections throughout the Arab world..." (THR)
-- I'm a few days late to this, but it's awesome: "How the Hell Has Danielle Steel Managed to Write 179 Books?" (Glamour)
-- The Cannes Film Festival is underway... THR has a "hot list" of 16 titles to watch... (THR)
And the Webby winners are...
This year's Webby Awards were handed out at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday evening. Here are a few of the stand-out five word speeches:
-- Issa Rae: "Stop believing stupid people, s***!"
-- Hasan Minhaj while clutching his award statuette: "This is going on eBay."
-- Deray Mckesson: "We will win one day."
-- Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris: "Moisturize, hydrate, thank your servers"
-- The CNN-owned Great Big Story: "Tell your story. It matters."
-- Glossier's Emily Weiss: "Look Mom, art school worked!"
-- Levan Gvenetadze's on-stage proposal to Meli Bagdavadze: "Mellie, will you marry me?"
| | Rave reviews for the "Veep" finale
The final episode of "Veep" received practically universal raves, according to Metacritic. I haven't watched it yet... But Brian Lowry has... And he filed this spoiler-filled review here.
Once I'm caught up, I'm also planning on reading this Vulture piece by Jen Chaney, who spent two and a half weeks with the writers and stars...
Comparing "Veep" and "Thrones"
Megan Thomas emails: Speaking of HBO's Sunday night lineup, this is a great read from VF's Sonia Soraiya: "How Veep Did What Game of Thrones Couldn't." This graf stood out: "Veep's final season is not a sudden left turn. It's a sharp referendum that refuses to assuage our anxieties by assuring us that Trump is a one-off—as, for example, candidate Joe Biden has insisted. The show makes a staggering case for how this competitive, insular environment breeds monsters..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Kate Gosselin is returning to TV in a dating show for TLC...
-- Aaron Rodgers is the latest celeb to make a "Game of Thrones" cameo...
-- Chris Evans was so Chris Evans at his 20th high school reunion...
| |
RELIABLE SOURCES HIGHLIGHTS
If you missed Sunday's show...
Catch up by listening to the podcast, watching the video clips or watching the full program via CNNgo or VOD...
Facebook's response to Chris Hughes
In his first US TV interview since joining Facebook last fall, Nick Clegg spoke with me about all the reasons why he disagrees with Chris Hughes' proposal to break up the company. Clegg started by conceding a big point: That Facebook has big problems on its hands.
"I don't think dismantling companies is the way to deal with some of the complex issues which he quite rightly highlighted -- data use, privacy, the attempt by folks from elsewhere to try and interfere in our elections," Clegg said. FB has a "heavy responsibility," but "chopping a great American success story into bits is not something that's going to make those problems go away," he argued. Here's the full interview in video form... Plus a recap by Nathaniel Meyersohn...
Top quotes and notes
-- The Intercept's EIC Betsy Reed spoke with me about the government's leak hunts, the significance of source protection, and why she thinks it's "preposterous" to call a whistleblower a "traitor..."
-- Carl Bernstein said "we are in the midst of a continuing cover-up by the president, aided and abetted by the attorney general..."
-- Catherine Rampell said the temperature keeps rising and the proverbial frog "has been boiled..."
-- Jess McIntosh discussed what she shared with House Democrats at last week's "Winning on Fox News" training session... | | | Thank you for reading. Email me anytime. See you tomorrow... | | | |
