| EXEC SUMMARY: Trump's DOJ is appealing the ruling in the Brian Karem press pass case, Sarah Jeong is off the NYT editorial board, "SNL" and "60 Minutes" are back on, Apple is preparing to release its first theatrical films, and "The Irishman" is premiering in NYC. Scroll down for all of that news... But first... | |
One week ago, the contents of the whistleblower complaint were a complete mystery. Republicans like President Trump were spreading misinformation about Joe Biden. Democrats like Elizabeth Warren were criticizing House leadership for failing to fast-track impeachment.
Now everything has changed. The impeachment inquiry is accelerating. I suppose the only thing that's stayed the same is the anti-Biden smear campaign.
"This feels different," Jeff Greenfield says, "because there are people on the Republican side of things who seem genuinely bothered by what the president did on substantive grounds."
On this week's "Reliable Sources" podcast, I asked Greenfield to take stock of this historic week. We taped at 2pm ET. Since then, Mike Pompeo has been subpoenaed and special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker has resigned, but our conversation is still mostly up to date 😉
"A clear, understandable," and credible assertion
Greenfield on what changed: "Suddenly you had a a very clear, understandable assertion by someone whose credibility was vetted by one of Donald Trump's own appointees -- namely the Director of National Intelligence -- who said the president pressured the president of a another country to help him politically at the risk of perhaps risking desperately needed military aid. That's a simple, understandable assertion that goes to the heart of what a president's supposed to do or not do. And because it involved a rather urgent matter of foreign policy, it rattled a lot of the Republicans." There hasn't been a lockstep GOP defense "of the president because if the assertion is true, he was playing with the future of Ukraine, threatened by Russian militarists, saying 'I may not give you this money unless you help me politically.' And so I think the clarity of what was asserted and the nature of what was asserted was a big reason why things changed pretty quickly."
Greenfield added: "I have a feeling that some of these Republicans have got their fingers in the wind, seeing whether or not there is some kind of sea change coming about how the public regards Trump and impeachment."
The news used to "end" -- not anymore
What's different versus the Nixon and Clinton impeachments? Almost everything. "If you go back to Watergate," Greenfield noted, "once Walter Cronkite and co. signed off at 7:30 on the East Coast back then, the next news you got was when the morning paper hit your door. You could watch PBS's replay of the Watergate hearings but basically that was it. We would not immediately switch to five hours of frenetic analysis or opinion making. We did not have a bombardment of social media and tweets, so the whole process of unfolding the story, of finding out what happened, was in a much more deliberative phase..."
🎧 Listen to the full podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your pod player of choice...
ASU's student paper with the scoop!
Friday evening's Kurt Volker resignation was first reported by Andrew Howard, the managing editor of The State Press, the independent student paper at Arizona State. The paper tweeted the scoop and followed with a story about ten minutes later, leading the CNNs of the world to race and confirm it. I called Howard to find out how he did it -- he said, "we always try to localize national issues and see how they can affect the university. When we found out that Volker worked for the university, we just started pursuing that story. That was really it..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- A great way to get caught up: Read Michael Scherer's guide to "Day 4 of the impeachment effort..." (WaPo)
-- CNN's 7pm scoop from Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto and Kevin Liptak: White House efforts to limit access to Trump's conversations with foreign leaders "extended to phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter..." (CNN)
-- On Friday, after resisting for a long time, the NYT editorial board came out in favor of the impeachment inquiry. James Bennet explained why here... (NYT)
-- This John F. Harris piece for Politico touched on many of the same themes that Greenfield did on the podcast. Harris has lots of smart things to say about our media ecosystem... (Politico Mag)
-- Margaret Sullivan's assessment: "Trump, the TV president, finally meets a media story he can't control" (WaPo)
Trump attacks Baker and Glasser
This Peter Baker story in Friday's NYT was full of news -- which is why Trump insulted him.
"Obama loving (wrote Obama book) Peter Baker of the Failing New York Times, married to an even bigger Trump Hater than himself, should not even be allowed to write about me," the president wrote. Baker also wrote books about Clinton, W, and Putin... but the bigger point is that Trump thinks certain people should be prohibited from covering him. Oy. Baker's wife Susan Glasser will join me on Sunday's "Reliable Sources..."
Just the facts... are "highly incriminating"
This comment by MSNBC's Ari Melber crystallized a common challenge of the Trump age -- basic statements of fact can come across as "biased" or "unfair:"
"When I say certain things that sound like they are a criticism of the president, I will remind you, we are reporting the news of the facts that have emerged about the president," Melber said. "So when I say he's doing something that would be illegal for most people to do inside the United States, it sounds bad, it's actually what's in these notes. Highly incriminating."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Next w eek's New Yorker cover, by Barry Blitt, has Trump and Rudy pushing Uncle Sam overboard... (HuffPost)
-- The NYT is launching an "Impeachment Briefing" newsletter... (NYT)
-- S. Mitra Kalita notes that CNN has added an "impeachment" category for news alerts in the CNN app... (Twitter)
-- Maria Bustillos, CJR's public editor for MSNBC: "Because the president and his loyalists continue to insist they've done nothing wrong, it's imperative for journalists to draw a precise line between fact and opinion with every statement."
-- Graydon Carter's latest Air Mail letter: "My guess is that if and when Ukraine-gate heads toward its rightful conclusion, Trump's enablers—even Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, and the president's Fox News cheerleading squad—will eventually scatter the way cockroaches do when the kitchen lights go on."
-- I don't know what to say about this tweet, but it belongs in the Trump Tweet Hall of Fame: | |
Wallace calls out "deeply misleading" spin
Oliver Darcy emails: During appearances on Fox, Chris Wallace said on Friday he found the "spinning" that Trump's supporters have engaged in over the last day to be "astonishing and deeply misleading." Wallace told Shepard Smith that he expected such behavior from the White House, but had hoped those not employed by the administration to "look at the truth." The "Fox News Sunday" host added that he would like to see Trump's allies operate in a "reality-based situation" and "deal in the facts."
While Wallace didn't name anyone in particular, many of his colleagues -- particularly those in prime time -- have certainly engaged in deeply misleading behavior in their efforts to defend Trump. It's hard not to think that he wasn't referring to any of them... Smith: There's an "information stream of constant attacking of facts"
Darcy adds: While interviewing Wallace, Smith made an observation of his own. Smith noted that there are two information streams occurring: a stream of facts, and an "information stream of constant attacking of the facts that is interesting to watch." Interesting!
-- Related: Here's Paul Waldman on "how right-wing media will shape the impeachment battle..."
"What happened to Matt Drudge?"
Gateway Pundit knocks Drudge for appearing to turn on Trump
Oliver Darcy emails: I've noted over the past few weeks how the Drudge Report has appeared to have turned on Trump. First, Matt Drudge's website began spotlighting the negative economic news. And now, most recently, Drudge has aggressively covered the Trump-Ukraine scandal.
It appears I am not the only one who has noticed. WaPo published a story on it Friday, and then Jim Hoft of The Gateway Pundit, a prominent right-wing blog which has a history of publishing conspiracy theories, went after Drudge. In a blog post, Hoft wondered, "What happened to Matt Drudge?" Taking note of what he called a "pro-impeachment slant," Hoft wrote, "Dear Matt Drudge - Please come home." Hoft added that "we've all noticed" his change in coverage of Trump "for months."
I reached out to the reclusive Drudge for comment. He didn't get back to me. But he did appear on his website to mock the idea he wouldn't cover impeachment turmoil. He linked to WaPo's story with the headline, "WASH POST SHOCK: DRUDGE COVERING IMPEACHMENT!"
Notes and quotes
-- A "senior Senate GOP aide" speaking to the LA Times: "Our voters want two things from their congressmen: [Dumping] on the media and blindly defending the president. That's what being a Republican has come to." (LAT)
-- Leon Neyfakh, co-creator of the "Slow Burn" podcasts about the Nixon and Clinton impeachments, says this is one way to understand what has happened: "Mr. Trump took what had been a devilishly tricky and sprawling narrative about election interference and collusion – one that special counsel Robert Mueller struggled to effectively explain in his 448-page report – and boiled it down to one brief, secret phone call. As Mr. Trump probably knows, it makes for a damn powerful story."
-- Peggy Noonan: "Nobody knows where this is going. The politically obsessed may think they do, but something wild and unpredictable has been let loose. The charges are serious and credible. But America is as divided as it was in 2016, America is still in play, and it's all up for grabs." (WSJ)
-- BuzzFeed politics editor Matt Berman with the joke of the day: "I learned about sex because of the last impeachment. This time, kids'll just learn about Ukraine. Sad." (Twitter)
WEEKEND PLANNER
Friday night: "The Irishman" is having its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. Scroll down for details...
Saturday: The Texas Tribune Festival continues in Austin... Nancy Pelosi speaks at the conference at 8:15pm...
Saturday: The Global Citizen Festival in NYC will be carried live on MSNBC...
Saturday night: "SNL" is back...
A Pelosi on Sunday's "Reliable Sources"
Democratic strategist Christine Pelosi, one of Nancy's daughters, will join me live... along with Trump confidant Christopher Ruddy, Amanda Carpenter, Susan Hennessey, Suzanne Nossel, Oliver Darcy, and the aforementioned Susan Glasser... see you Sunday at 11am ET on CNN...
"60 Minutes" is back | | The 52nd season of "60 Minutes" will begin on Sunday with a couple newsworthy stories: Norah O'Donnell's sit-down with Mohammed bin Salman and Scott Pelley's segment about the drama in DC. Pelley taped interviews with Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy and Adam Schiff on Friday...
FIRST IN RELIABLE
Sarah Jeong departs NYT editorial board
Oliver Darcy emails: Sarah Jeong is no longer a member of the NYT editorial board. A spokesperson for NYT told me Jeong is no longer an employee, but has shifted to being a contracted contributor for NYT Opinion. "Sarah decided to leave the editorial board in August," said Kate Kingsbury, deputy editorial page editor, "but we're glad to still have her journalism and insights around technology in our pages through her work as a contributor."
In an emailed statement, Jeong said the change in role will allow her to "go back to reporting and writing long features while still being involved with NYT Opinion section on tech issues." Jeong added, "The decision was hard because of the many wonderful colleagues I would have to leave behind, but I made the change so I can work on what I want to work on in the immediate moment."
...says eyebrow-raising tweet wasn't a call to unsubscribe
Darcy adds: Jeong raised eyebrows on Friday afternoon when she weighed in on calls for people to cancel their NYT subscriptions over the newspaper's decision to identify the whistleblower as a CIA officer. Guardian columnist Siva Vaidhyanathan had urged people to not cancel, saying it would "hurt many great journalists" who work at NYT like Jeong.
"You're wrong," Jeong responded. "NYT does pay attention to subscriber cancellations. It's one of the metrics for 'outrage' that they take to distinguish between 'real' outrage and superficial outrage. What subscribers say can back up dissenting views inside the paper about what it should do and be."
The comment was read by many as a NYT employee urging people to cancel their subscriptions. But Jeong said it was not a "call to unsubscribe." She told me, "I'm just weary of having my name and my work invoked as a reason to not boycott. A lot of people have done and continue to do great work at the Times. But if a reader has real, good-faith objections to certain editorial decisions, the fact that the paper has done great work doesn't negate those objections."
Trump DOJ is appealing ruling in Karem press pass case
Katelyn Polantz reports: The Trump admin has told a federal appeals court that it is appealing a judge's decision ordering the W.H. to immediately restore the press credentials of Playboy columnist and CNN contributor Brian Karem. Earlier this month US District Judge Rudolph Contreras said in an opinion that Karem had "shown that he is likely to succeed" on his claim that his due process rights were violated when his pass was suspended. Justice Department lawyers and Karem's attorneys have agreed that the administration will not suspend or revoke Karem's hard pass "based on that facts at issue in the case" during the appeal.
--> Stelter adds: Notably, the 30-day period of Karem's suspension has already come and gone... So it seems the W.H. wants to fight this case so that it can take action against other reporters in the future... or unravel the strong opinion the judge wrote against them...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- "The Des Moines Register reporter fired in the wake of a scandal involving offensive tweets — posted by a viral star he interviewed and then his own — broke his silence Friday, telling BuzzFeed News he had been 'abandoned' by the newspaper after following standard editorial practice by performing a social media search on the person he was profiling. 'This event basically set my entire life on fire,' reporter Aaron Calvin said..." (BuzzFeed)
-- Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book "The Water Dancer" is firmly in first place on Amazon's constantly-updated best seller list... (Amazon)
-- Bill O'Reilly's book "The United States of Trump" is also doing quite well... No. 5 on Amazon right now... even though he hasn't been booked on any major networks this week. He was on Sean Hannity's radio show, but not Fox...
-- Trump book watch: WaPo book critic Carlos Lozada is writing "Reading Trump's America," described as "an assessment of what has been illuminating -- and not illuminating -- in recent literature on Trump and his America," for Simon & Schuster...
BBC caught up in fight over calling out Trump's racist language
The backlash continues... Hadas Gold has the latest... She sent in this update: What's new here is the BBC head of standards David Jordan did an interview Friday morning and said "I think it's probably unwise for the BBC to get ourselves into a position where we're calling out people for being liars or being racist," and tried to tread a VERY fine line where he said it's OK for BBC journalists to call the type of language Trump uses as "racist" but that you can't seem to suggest the motivation comes from a racist place. Thread? Meet the very small needle.
--> The anchor who sparked the controversy, Naga Munchetty, will not face any punishment, the BBC reported...
Recommended reads for your weekend 👓
By Katie Pellico:
-- Farhad Manjoo's critique of the open office floor plan took off on Twitter despite the tumultuous news week. In it, he warns that the layout is a "Capitalist Dead End..."
-- Savannah Jacobson explains for CJR how "many of New York's most compelling stories originate in non-English publications" given the city's unique linguistic breadth, and how the Voices of New York project has worked to "amplify and highlight" important original local reporting...
-- Friday marks a full year since Christine Blasey Ford testified on Capitol Hill. In lieu of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's new book, "She Said," which contains the first full interview with Blasey Ford after and about that day, you can read a recap from TNR's Melissa Gira Grant...
-- It has also been nearly a year since the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and little more than a day since PBS reported Saudi Arabia's MBS admitted at least a degree of responsibility "because it happened under my watch." Read (and watch) the preview ahead of the documentary set to air Tuesday...
-- Former Tumblr director Mark Coatney calls for a "PBS for social media..."
-- An illuminating reminder of the Ukrainian president's own TV origin story -- and that that origin story is available on Netflix...
Locast countersues
Kerry Flynn writes: Locast, a non-profit streaming service, has countersued ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The service, founded by David Goodfriend, is alleging that the broadcasters engaged in antitrust conduct and colluded to grow their market power.
--> Background: The four broadcasters had sued Locast in July for copyright violations. Locast argues its non-profit status protects it. Read more...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- The CNN/New York Times Dem debate in October "will occur on one night," even though it appears 12 candidates have qualified, the DNC said Friday... (CNN)
-- "Jon Adler, senior director of development for CNN Original Series, was promoted to VP of program development for the division..." (Variety)
-- Adam Hargis is taking the reins as publisher of T Magazine, the Times' style mag... (MediaPost)
-- Kerry Flynn emails: AT&T COO John Stankey told WSJ's Joe Flint earlier this week the value of NFL Sunday Ticket has peaked and so DirecTV is considering whether to renew. Frank Pallotta and I wrote about this possibility earlier this month... (WSJ)
Advertising Week's awkward ending
Kerry Flynn writes: Perhaps Pitbull wasn't the best choice. While this year's Advertising Week featured specific programming about diversity, inclusion and equality, the annual conference ended Thursday with a Pitbull concert, featuring booty-smacking of scantily-clad dancers, that made attendees disappointed. CNBC's Meg Graham tweeted, "Dozens of talks on equality, defeating bias and combating gender stereotypes in advertising. Then... this?"
To Pitbull's credit, the rapper was part of this year's programming to talk about his new multicultural agency, 305 Worldwide. He also released a new album Friday. To Advertising Week's credit, the organization had a female empowerment event with a performance by TLC on Monday...
| | "Spider-Man" swings on as Marvel and Sony mend split
Brian Lowry writes: The studios behind "Spider-Man" have reconciled, with Disney and Sony agreeing to collaborate on a third movie featuring the teenage hero, after a very public split a little over a month ago that caused an uproar among fans. Marvel will again have a hand in producing the next sequel, and Spider-Man would appear in another upcoming Marvel feature.
THR described the decision as a "shocker," but it's hard to see anything particularly shocking about the two studios taking an action that clearly appears to be in their mutual interest. Terms weren't disclosed, but it merely adds to Marvel chief Kevin Feige's teeming producing portfolio, which now also includes plans for a "Star Wars" movie. More...
Apple plans to bring films to theaters
Frank Pallotta writes: Apple is going to bring its feature-length films to theaters before debuting them on Apple TV+, the WSJ reported on Friday.
Tripp Mickle and Erich Schwartzel's scoop: "By reaching out to theater-industry representatives now and releasing films early, Apple is hoping to attract big-name directors and producers and avoid some of the tension created by another Hollywood newcomer, Netflix."
Later in the day, Apple confirmed the report by revealing the theatrical release dates for its first three films. "The Elephant Queen," a wildlife documentary "which premiered in New York this week to great fanfare, will open in theaters October 18 and be available for Apple's streaming customers when the expanded platform launches on November 1," Variety's Matt Donnelly reported. "Hala" will open in select theaters November 22 and "The Banker" will come out December 6.
More to come next year...
"Among Apple's first major theatrical releases is Sofia Coppola's 'On the Rocks,' which stars Rashida Jones as a young woman reconnecting with her eccentric father, to be played by Bill Murray," the WSJ story noted. "Apple is eyeing a mid-2020 release, perhaps following a premiere at a high-profile event such as the Cannes Film Festival, people familiar with the situation said." That fits into the larger strategy of using theatrical releases for "prestige and brand-building," which is "a strategy similar to that of Amazon Studios..."
Ellen's HBO Max deal
Ellen DeGeneres has signed a deal to make three programs for HBO Max: "Ellen's Home Design Challenge," a dating series called "First Dates Hotel," and an animated show titled "Little Ellen." Her production company will also "develop a documentary series, 'Finding Einstein,' that, in conjunction with the Albert Einstein estate, will seek out new inventors," the NYT's Nicole Sperling writes.
--> Sperling's big picture lede: "It's Not TV. It's HBO. For more than a decade, that was the slogan for the premium cable channel that gave the world 'The Sopranos' and other fare that could not be aired by the major television networks. Now, with AT&T as its new corporate parent, and a streaming service called HBO Max planned for 2020, the HBO name is becoming synonymous with big network sitcoms and mainstream television stars..."
Fall premiere week: Thursday ratings roundup
Brian Lowry writes: Thursday is traditionally a big night for the broadcast networks, in part due to the premium they get for movie advertising. So while CBS can savor a time slot win for "Young Sheldon" with a little over 8 million same-day viewers, that's a decline of almost a third from what its sire, "The Big Bang Theory," delivered last year in the same half-hour.
-- Big picture: Most freshman shows are having a "tough time breaking through," even as the bar for ratings success keeps getting lowered, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva writes...
-- Meanwhile, this is a good thread by Vulture's Joe Adalian, pointing out that while we tend to focus on broadcast ratings erosion, no one is immune, and that while Netflix doesn't divulge its user numbers regularly, a drop for its shows likely explains a rash of cancellations that have nettled some of their fans...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- Following up on Endeavor's aborted IPO: "Though the company can try again later, the cancellation derails a plan years in the making and calls into question the agency's strategy in dealing with an evolving Hollywood..." (WSJ)
-- "According to insiders, investor confusion over the company's business model was one of the reasons the planned IPO wasn't getting the traction" Ari Emanuel "had envisioned..." (TheWrap)
-- "It appears that Warner Bros. is looking to enter the awards race with Clint Eastwood's latest feature. The studio has dated The Ballad of Richard Jewell for a Dec. 13 release..." (THR)
-- Herb Scribner argues that the new "Joker" movie is ill-timed: "In an era of mass shootings," he writes, "is it right to do a glorification story about a mentally ill white man who is so damaged by society that he eventually becomes a killer?" (Deseret News)
-- "Joker" has spurred security precautions from the US Army and the Los Angeles police... (CNN)
"The Laundromat" puts poor spin on Panama Papers case | | Brian Lowry writes: Netflix kicks off its fall theatrical push with "The Laundromat," which certainly looks like a prestige project, with Steven Soderbergh directing an A-list cast headlined by Meryl Streep. But this plunge into the Panama Papers is oddly constructed and beats you over the head with its political message, in a way that suggests even those intrigued by the subject matter should save their quarters until it hits the service. Read on...
Lowry reviews "Abominable"
Brian Lowry continues: DreamWorks fares slightly better with "Abominable," a Chinese coproduction clearly intent on tapping into that market. In a sign of the times, though, it's the third animated movie about a Bigfoot/Yeti-type character released in the last 12 months.
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
By Lisa Respers France:
-- After "coming out" recently Mark Ronson now says he isn't sapiosexual after all and has apologized for identifying as such...
-- "Grey's Anatomy" Season 16 debuted and people had definite feelings...
-- You can do exactly what super successful mogul and celebrity Jessica Simpson did to lose weight -- and it won't cost you a dime. Here's how Simpson shed 100 pounds after the birth of her third baby...
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
"The Irishman" is a "masterpiece"
Frank Pallotta writes: I spent 3 and a half hours with a de-aged Robert De Niro on Friday morning, and I couldn't be happier.
Netflix screened "The Irishman" for the press ahead of Friday evening's world premiere, and I can confidently say it is one of my favorite films of the year. Scorsese has crafted a gangster epic that will be enjoyable in theaters and in the comfort of your home. Netflix could also have an Oscar hopeful on its hands. Other viewers are calling it a "masterpiece" and a "masterwork," as TheWrap notes here...
>>> After the screening, Scorsese, De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci spoke at a Q&A session... Here is Frank's recap... | | | |
