EXEC SUMMARY: Stelter here with a special pre-debate edition of the newsletter, looking ahead to tonight's coverage... Scroll down for the rest of the day's media news, and there's a LOT...
The top ten candidates on one stage
Democratic debate No. 3 is here. Thanks to the DNC's tougher criteria this time around, only ten candidates made the cut – and all ten will be on stage for a single night of debating. ABC's live coverage from Texas Southern University in Houston starts at 8pm ET and lasts until 11. Univision will carry the debate in Spanish. | | The moderators: George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis and Jorge Ramos.
The expectations: Here are "six things to watch for," via CNN's Eric Bradner.
The aftermath: All of the cable newsers will have live analysis after the debate, stretching into the early morning hours. CNN's special coverage starts at 10:30pm ET...
The rules
Per ABC, "each candidate will have one minute and 15 seconds to directly respond to questions from moderators and 45 seconds to respond to follow-up questions and rebuttals," which is 15 seconds longer than the season's first two debates. "Candidates will give opening statements, but no closing statements."
No cursing!
"In an email obtained by CNN, officials from the DNC and ABC News instructed the campaigns to inform their candidates to refrain from swearing" on stage, Ryan Nobles and Rebecca Buck reported earlier this week. "A source said this is the first such warning the campaigns have received."
--> Here's what the email said: "As the debate will air on the ABC broadcast network, we are governed by FCC indecency rules. We will not be broadcasting on any delay, so there will be no opportunity to edit out foul language. Candidates should therefore avoid cursing or expletives in accordance with federal law and FCC guidelines."
--> "Several candidates have taken to using expletives on the campaign trail -- most notably Beto O'Rourke," Nobles and Buck noted.
Will Cam Newton out-rate Joe Biden?
Frank Pallotta writes: The #DemDebate will have stiff competition -- "Thursday Night Football," which kicks off on Fox, the NFL Network and Amazon at 8:20pm ET. But the game isn't exactly a barn burner with the 0-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the 0-1 Carolina Panthers. Back to you, Stelter...
Ten million viewers?
That's where I'm setting the bar for ABC and Univision's combined audience. For context, the higher-rated night of CNN's two-part Dem debate in July averaged 11.3 million people both on TV and online.
The fairest comparison might be to the third Dem debate of the 2016 cycle, which also took place on ABC, on December 19, 2015. The forum averaged 8 million viewers. But it was held on a Saturday night... traditionally a low-rated night for TV viewing... and there's a lot more interest in the Dem primary this time around...
Live-streaming everywhere
The list of live-streaming options is long: Roku, Hulu, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube, Apple News, Facebook, Twitter, and the ABC News, Good Morning America and FiveThirtyEight websites and mobile phone apps. Univision will provide the Spanish-language stream on all of its digital platforms, as well...
What it takes to produce a TV debate...
ABC says 115,000 pounds "of scenery and lighting" were transported to Texas Southern University for the debate hall and media filing center. Other #'s: 15,000 hours of man power to set up the stage... 30 cameras throughout the hall... 3,500 guests in the audience... and 1,000 media credential requests.
IN OTHER NEWS...
Justin Fairfax files defamation lawsuit against CBS
Oliver Darcy emails: Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax on Thursday filed a lawsuit against CBS, alleging the network defamed him when it aired interviews earlier this year with two women who accused him of sexual assault. The lawsuit demanded $400 million for alleged defamation and "severe emotional distress" caused by the reporting.
The lawsuit came after Gayle King aired interviews in April with Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson who accused Fairfax of sexual assaulting them in 2004 and 2000, respectively. Fairfax has denied their claims and said the encounters he had with the two women were consensual.
In his lawsuit, Fairfax argued that CBS and King failed to do their due diligence before airing the interviews with Watson and Tyson. The lawsuit contended that King "failed to ask basic questions" of the two women, and "failed to separately investigate the allegations in advance of the airing date, and instead only spoke to Watson, Tyson and their representatives."
"We stand by our reporting..."
Darcy adds: In a short statement, a CBS spokesperson said, "We stand by our reporting and we will vigorously defend this lawsuit." The attorneys for Tyson and Watson said their clients look forward to testifying under oath...
Krystal Ball slams Rush Limbaugh for 'slut shaming' her with false smear
| | Oliver Darcy emails: Progressive talk show host Krystal Ball excoriated Rush Limbaugh on her show Thursday for "slut shaming" her with a false claim. Earlier this month, Limbaugh incorrectly claimed Ball "posed nude" when she was "14 or 15."
Responding to him, Ball said the claim was false. "Slut shaming is an old tactic in American politics, in world politics," Ball added. "It's used to say that women aren't worthy of being anything other than sexual objects. And frankly, it's bulls***. I didn't want to let it slide without calling it out."
Ball said Limbaugh was likely referring to photos of her that resurfaced in 2010 when she was running for Congress in Virginia. The photos showed Ball and her now ex-husband, fully clothed, joking around with a sex toy at a party shortly after she graduated from college.
Limbaugh admits error... but continues to mock Ball as a "hostette" and "infobabe"
Darcy adds: Limbaugh clarified on Thursday that he was, indeed, referring to photos of Ball at a party. A correction was added to his website and on radio he said, "I was under the impression that when she ran for Congress ... some nude photos of her from social media had surfaced. Well, it turns out that that wasn't quite true." (Fact check: It wasn't true at all.)
BUT, even after getting called out for smearing her with a false claim, Limbaugh continued to mock Ball. He referred to her on his Thursday radio show as a "hostette" and former "infobabe" on what he dubbed "PMSNBC."
Food for thought
One more from Darcy: Imagine how Limbaugh would react if a major progressive media figure smeared a conservative with a false claim that they had posed nude as a teenager, and then when called out on it continued to mock the person. 🤔
Lauren Petterson becomes Fox Biz boss
Veteran "Fox & Friends" morning show exec Lauren Petterson is now the president of Fox Business Network, reporting to Suzanne Scott. I'm told that Scott announced the sudden change to Fox Biz staffers in-person on Thursday morning. Outgoing Fox Biz president Brian Jones was not on hand. But in a statement Scott praised Jones for building the business network and said "we wish him continued success as he embarks on his next chapter."
Petterson started in her new role immediately. Until Wednesday her title was SVP of morning programming and talent development for Fox News... She will continue to run talent development. I'm curious to see if a new SVP for morning programming has been appointed...
CBS hires Jay Shaylor
Jay Shaylor, executive producer of "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" since 2013, is joining CBS to E.P. the "CBS Evening News With Norah O'Donnell" when the program relocates to DC later this fall. "Shaylor takes over the broadcast from Kim Godwin, who had been helming on an interim basis," THR's Alex Weprin notes.
>> At CBS News DC, renovations are underway for O'Donnell's move to DC... "Evening News" and "Face the Nation" are getting new digs, debuting sometime in November...
>> A CNN spokeswoman said Shaylor's successor will be announced in the coming days...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- More to come on this: The DOJ "has rejected an appeal from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of a recommendation to indict him made by the US attorney in Washington, DC," CNN's David Shortell reported Thursday, citing sources. McCabe -- who has said he never intentionally misled anyone -- recently became a CNN contributor... (CNN)
-- Democratic strategist Robby Mook and GOP strategist Terry Sullivan have joined CBS as contributors... They debuted as a pair on Thursday morning... (TheWrap)
New exhibit pays tribute to fallen journalists and those under threat
Oliver Darcy emails: The Committee to Protect Journalists has partnered with United Photo Industries and the St. Anne's Warehouse for a special exhibit in New York City this week that will pay tribute to journalists who "have been killed or are currently living under threat for delivering the news." The exhibition will be on display at the Photoville festival starting Thursday and extending to September 22.
The exhibit will feature the final photos and articles published by fallen journalists. It will also include CPJ's #SafetyInFocus campaign that spotlights the risks photographers take on the job. More information here...
"Enjoy your stinkin' phones"
Express, WaPo's 16-year-old "commuter" paper, published its final edition on Thursday. Its last cover read, "Hope you enjoy your stinkin' phones." Subhed: "Add Express to the list of print publications done in by mobile technology:" | |
Google + original reporting
Kerry Flynn writes: Google is changing its algorithm to elevate original reporting. The idea is that larger investigations would rank higher than aggregations of it. Google's VP of news Richard Gingras said "these efforts will constantly evolve" due to the different standards newsrooms have. Gingras told NYT's Marc Tracy that the effort is to "earn and retain the trust of our users."
To reflect this change, Google updated its guidelines for its more than 10,000 raters. Google defines original reporting as "provides information that would not otherwise have been known had the article not revealed it" and also say raters should consider a publication's overall reputation for original reporting such as "prestigious awards" they've won.
The general consensus of media Twitter: It's about time. (Though Wired's Brian Barrett did note the awkwardness of Gingras citing local outlets covering natural disasters will benefit...)
New fund for media diversity
Kerry Flynn writes: Borealis Philanthropy is launching the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund to support news organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) built by and for people of color. The fund's priorities include organizations committed to community engagement and reaching underserved people such as communities of color, low-income communities, rural areas and immigrant populations. The fund has raised $3.6 million so far. Donors include Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, Google News Initiative and CUNY's News Integrity Initiative...
Facebook's local news push
Kerry Flynn writes: Facebook made several announcements related to its news efforts, timed with the Online News Association conference in New Orleans, which some of its news team members are attending. First, Facebook expanded "Today In," its tab for local news and information, to 6,000 U.S. cities and towns, up from 400. It's still not available in large cities like LA, NYC and SF. This effort is separate from the larger news tab due out next month. Today In is algorithmically-curated, without human editors. It's intended to serve communities and elevate not only local news stories but nearby events and conversations in FB Groups. I have access to Today In for Springfield, MA (a city near my hometown) and my favorite section is Animals and Pets.
Why is Facebook doing this? Josh Mabry, local news partnership lead at Facebook, cited another announcement: a trends report about local news on Facebook courtesy of data from Facebook-owned Crowdtangle. "People are hungry for local news," Mabry told me. "That comes through loud and clear when you look at the CrowdTangle Local Trends report and see interactions on local news up 26% year over year. The expansion of Today In will help more people connect to more local news."
Of course, if there's barely any local news being produced in a community, there's not much for FB to showcase. The company also announced 23 recipients of grants from the Facebook Journalism Project and Lenfest Institute for Journalism...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Kristen Hare's latest: What three local newsrooms (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Boston Globe and the Minneapolis Star Tribune) learned from the Instagram Local News Fellowship... (Poynter)
-- A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that the American public's civic knowledge has increased amid many "clashes involving the three branches of government." Still, APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson says the "overall results remain dismal..." (APPC)
"Alexa, can I trust you?"
Donie O'Sullivan emails: In 2016 Russia ran a social media campaign trying to decrease African American voter turnout. Similar concerns exist about the 2020 U.S. Census -- how could bad actors use technology to deter minorities from taking part? With Americans increasingly using voice assistants, like Alexa and Siri, for information, government officials explained to me how they are thinking about manipulation of these devices when it comes to census misinformation. Here's my full story...
BI: Quartz on track to lose money again
BI's Lucia Moses is citing sources inside Quartz who say the company is "on track to miss its new membership program goal and lose money again this year." Of the 20,000 new members Quartz hoped to garner by the end of the 2019, "it was less than halfway there" as of this summer, insiders tell Moses.
The new goal was part of the "once-buzzy" company's shift to a partial subscription model, after Quartz's purchase by Japanese media company Uzabase last summer. The annual membership program, starting at $100, "was pitched as a suite of extra benefits above and beyond the site's daily, free content," Moses writes. Read on...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- "Newspapers up and down the state of California say they have become collateral damage from the state's effort to rein in the gig economy," Tim Arango reports... (NYT)
-- "The Strategist, New York Magazine's site dedicated to shopping the internet smartly, today unveiled a redesign, including a new brand identity and homepage design..." (NY Mag)
More and more podcasts and projects about Epstein
VF's Joe Pompeo writes: "Here comes the inevitable boomlet" in big-ticket Hollywood productions about Jeffrey Epstein. Among them: "Endeavor is producing a podcast with Dylan Howard. Adam Mckay (Succession, The Big Short) has pushed out a podcast (with Julie K. Brown) and is said to be exploring a scripted series. A four-part Netflix documentary is en route." Details...
Correction and apology
Yesterday I made the most mortifying mistake of my newslettering career. In a party sightings item, I said Katie Couric was seen with Jay Monahan -- her beloved husband who died in 1998. Someone sent me the "spotted" list and accidentally wrote Monahan's name instead of Couric's incredible husband of the past five years, John Molner. It's entirely my fault for not catching the error before publishing, and I'm deeply sorry.
I apologized to Couric personally. And I'm thankful to the hundreds of you who emailed me pointing out the error. Hey, while we're talking about Couric, make sure to sign up for HER newsletter, her weekday morning digest Wake-Up Call, right here...
| | WarnerMedia wins the J.J. Abrams sweepstakes
Frank Pallotta writes: WarnerMedia will be the exclusive home to J.J. Abrams for the next five years. The company and Abrams announced a wide-ranging deal on Thursday that will have his production company, Bad Robot, producing TV shows, films and content for WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming service, HBO Max. The deal came with a reported price tag of $250 million.
The deal is a big one for (CNN's parent) WarnerMedia, locking down one of the most popular and accomplished names in Hollywood at an important time for the company. Abrams' star power may help WarnerMedia attract subscribers for HBO Max and possibly even eventually revive some of Warner Bros.' most popular IP. J.J. Abrams' "Superman," anyone?!?
THR: "The end of the backend" at Disney?
Brian Lowry emails with his analysis: The J.J. Abrams-WarnerMedia deal continues the mad jockeying for top talent fueled by the entry of new players into the programming game, but it shouldn't obscure that the nature of those dynamics, especially for lesser mortals, is evolving. The Los Angeles Times' Steve Battaglio and Wendy Lee look at Disney's efforts to alter its business arrangement with creative talent, in a manner that adapts to the streaming age but also risks depriving producers the huge "backend" paydays that furnished mansions in TV's heyday. It is, as they say, a battle between the rich and extremely well off, but it still underscores both the shifting structure of the business and Disney's vast leverage because of the sheer volume of properties it now owns since the Fox acquisition. Keep reading...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- "Rooster Teeth, for the first time in its 16-year history, has made a broad cutback in its workforce — laying off 13% of its employees, or about 50 staffers," Todd Spangler reports... (Variety)
-- Bryn Mooser, founder of the virtual reality and augmented reality studio RYOT, is "starting XTR, a Los Angeles-based production house named after one of the first cameras to be used in documentary filmmaking..." (Forbes)
-- "HBO Max is making its first foray into unscripted programming with orders for two new series — voguing series 'Legendary' and design competition show 'The Greatest Space' (working title)..." (Deadline)
-- Scott Huver reports on the upcoming Saturn Awards, which this year "is hoping to claim a little more of the spotlight for itself, with a substantial revamp and an expansive online reach..." (CNN)
-- There's going to be a "Girlfriends" reunion on "black-ish," Sandra Gonzalez reports... (CNN)
Lowry reviews "Hustlers"
Brian Lowry emails: "Hustlers" has strong gender and class themes running through it, with Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez starring in a true story about strippers who came up with an elaborate scheme to fleece their Wall Street clients. But it also works reasonably well as a guide to the challenges of maintaining a criminal enterprise that owes a debt to "Goodfellas," only with less bloodshed and more skin. Read on...
Three new cast members on "SNL" | | Whitney Friedlander reports: "NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' has added comedians Chloe Fineman, Shane Gillis and Bowen Yang as featured players for the upcoming 45th season. Yang joined the sketch show's writing staff last season and appeared as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when 'Killing Eve' star Sandra Oh hosted in March. The NYU graduate's casting is also noteworthy as he's the only Asian American series regular in this cast."
| | Thanks for reading! Email or tweet me your feedback anytime...
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