EXEC SUMMARY: Hey, Stelter here... shout out to Alex Koppelman for filling in as editor... We have a lot of news to share, from Friday's front pages to Endeavor's delayed IPO, so let's get to it...
How Trump's media diet hurts him | | In his now-infamous call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump brought up "the server," an apparent reference to DNC servers that were hacked in 2016.
The whistleblower's complaint says "I do not know why the President associates these servers with Ukraine."
Well, he must not be an avid consumer of the MAGA media universe.
As The Daily Beast's Kevin Poulsen explained here, Trump was "referencing a conspiracy theory pushed by Russian trolls and far-right pundits that imagines the Democratic National Committee fabricating all the evidence in Russia's 2016 breach of the DNC network." In other words, it's a Russia-friendly theory that contradicts all of the U.S. intel community assessments about Russia's meddling in the election.
It went "from the depths of 4chan, promoted by Russian media, to the president's mouth," BuzzFeed's Ryan Broderick wrote.
This is how the president's alt-right media diet actively hurts his presidency and the public.
John Solomon's contributions
WaPo's Philip Bump zeroed in on this point on Thursday. "There's little indication at this point that Trump's media diet is anything other than a buffet of conservative television and Internet articles. That diet might just have contributed to the most significant threat Trump's presidency has seen," Bump wrote.
The allegations in the whistleblower complaint "include a significant number of news articles published by a popular conservative opinion columnist for the Hill" -- that's John Solomon, a Fox regular -- "articles that the whistleblower seems to think contributed to the fervency of the Trump-Giuliani effort."
Bump said it's clear that "Solomon's reporting and the stories he helped advance were simultaneously politically useful to Trump and potentially influenced his thinking." And he pointed out that former chief of staff John Kelly specifically tried to keep these sorts of "unvetted" stories off of Trump's desk. It doesn't seem like anyone is trying to do that now...
--> For more on Solomon, WaPo's Paul Farhi is out with a new story... It says Solomon "has had a long, and occasionally decorated, career as an editor and investigative reporter in Washington, though his more recent work has been trailed by claims that it is biased and lacks rigor..."
What Trump's favorite TV shows are telling him
Right now they're telling him that he's a hero. That the Democrats just hate him no matter what. That, as Dan Bongino said, "this was a professional hit on Donald Trump. I have no doubt." And that, as Mark Meadows told Lou Dobbs, "the president didn't do anything wrong." Trump tweeted out three different clips from Dobbs' show on Thursday... and two clips from Sean Hannity's show...
--> Gabriel Sherman reported on Thursday that Fox's Shep Smith was told to stop critiquing Tucker Carlson. A Fox spokesperson denied that management had any direct conversation with Smith. At issue: The question of whether Trump is in legal jeopardy.
--> Oliver Darcy writes: A chyron on Laura Ingraham's show said 'Legal Experts: Both Call And Complaint Show No Criminality or Basis for Impeachment.' Fox's senior legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano has said Trump admitted to a crime. Shep Smith has cited other experts who agree. It's nuts how it has become totally normal for Fox's biggest stars to totally undermine and contradict the reporting and analysis from their own colleagues...
NYT's banner headline on Friday
The front page says "COMPLAINT ASSERTS A WHITE HOUSE COVER-UP." | | ...And that's arguably the biggest headline from Thursday: The whistleblower's allegation that senior White House officials tried to "lock down" a record of Trump's call, and that other politically sensitive info may have been treated the same way...
NYT criticized for identifying whistleblower's workplace
Who is the whistleblower? Where does he work? What were his motives? Reporters have been chasing these Q's for more than a week. On Thursday the NYT came out with a story describing the whistleblower as a CIA officer, though not naming him. The paper was widely criticized for sharing the details. The man's lawyer, Andrew Bakaj, said the report was "reckless, as it can place the individual in harm's way." The WSJ later matched the NYT's reporting.
Times exec editor Dean Baquet initially defended the reporting this way: "The role of the whistle-blower, including his credibility and his place in the government, is essential to understanding one of the most important issues facing the country — whether the president of the U.S. abused power and whether the W.H. covered it up."
Did the W.H. already know where the man worked?
On Thursday evening, the NYT came out with more: "The White House learned that a C.I.A. officer had lodged allegations against President Trump's dealings with Ukraine even as the officer's whistle-blower complaint was moving through a process meant to protect him against reprisals, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday."
Baquet updated his statement to note, "We also understand that the White House already knew he was a C.I.A. officer." If that's the case, it takes some of the heat off the NYT, for sure...
The LAT's scoop
Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times was the first reporter with quotes from Trump's shocking remarks to a group of diplomatic officials on Thursday. The NYT followed a few minutes later. The LAT was also first with the audio. "When I heard it for the first time today, it just took me aback," Stokols told MSNBC's Chris Hayes, calling it "casually menacing."
--> In his remarks, Trump also said "many" reporters are "scum," a word that he has mostly deployed against MS-13 gang members and other criminals in the past. He also called members of the press "animals" and "some of the worst human beings you'll ever meet."
Coming up on Friday...
-- Nancy Pelosi will be on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" at 7:30am...
-- Pelosi and House Dems will be holding a presser on 200 days of "Senate GOP Inaction" at 9:30am...
-- BTW, Friday marks 200 days without an on-camera White House press briefing...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
 -- TIME's cover this week has Trump painting himself into an orange corner...
-- Greg Miller's analysis: "The whistleblower has by some measures exceeded in weeks what Mueller accomplished in two years: producing a file so concerning and sound that it singlehandedly set in motion the gears of impeachment." (WaPo)
-- Lester Holt at the end of "Nightly News" on Thursday: "If history is any guide, this will only get uglier. And louder. And yes, further leach at this country's political divide. Which makes our collective challenge even more important: To listen. To ask. To examine the facts and demand nothing short of the truth. That's what we endeavor to do here every night. And will continue to do as this story unfolds..." (Mediaite)
-- Tim Naftali, former director of the Nixon library: "The Whistleblower complaint is from a patriot who understands and fears Abuse of Power. If even 50 % of his fears are accurate, we are in a variation of Nixonland again..." (Twitter)
-- Samantha Storey in praise of the whistleblower's complaint: "It's well written. It's clear. The sentences are easy to read. Its point ― that the president of the United States has undermined America's democracy ― screams off the page..." (HuffPost)
McConnell's silence
"Sen. Mitch McConnell, who often ignores reporters' questions but sometimes engages, just ignored three of mine," CNN's Manu Raju reported Thursday afternoon. "I asked him if he's concerned the whistleblower alleged Trump sought help from a foreign power to interfere in the 2020 elections. I asked if he's concerned that the WH allegedly sought to conceal the president's conversations And I asked if he has any concerns with Trump asking the Ukraine president to talk [to] Rudy Giuliani." McConnell "walked in silence..."
--> Related, and the headline of the day, from the WSJ: "Everyone In Washington Is Reading the Whistleblower Complaint — Except Senate Republicans."
Romney is not alone, but...
Jonathan Martin is out with a must-read story about Mitt Romney. He says Romney's public statements of concern "reflect what many in his party believe privately but are almost uniformly unwilling to say: that they are faced with damning revelations about the president that are difficult to explain away, and are unsure of whether there is more damaging material to come." This calls to mind what Mike Murphy said on MSNBC the other day: "One Republican senator told me if it was a secret vote, 30 Republican senators would vote to impeach Trump."
--> Matt Laslo tweeted: "Just overheard a Republican Senator tell a reporter *on background* that Trump discussing Joe Biden with a foreign leader was 'inappropriate.' Again, he would only say that on background."
Good or bad timing? Clinton is about to be all over your TV
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are coming out with "The Book of Gutsy Women" next week. Their first interview about the book will air on "CBS Sunday Morning" this Sunday... and they will also be on "The Late Show," "The View," and other talk shows...
>> Speaking with Jane Pauley in the CBS interview, Clinton called Trump a "threat" to the United States and a "corrupt human tornado..."
Roose: "Brace Yourself for the Internet Impeachment"
Katie Pellico writes: Tech columnist Kevin Roose readies NYT readers for an impending "Internet Impeachment:" "The last time an American president was impeached, it was largely an analog affair. When the House voted to begin impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton in 1998, only one in four American homes had internet access. AOL and Yahoo were the biggest websites in the world, and 'tweet' was a sound birds made."
We know how much has changed since then. Roose says that if Dems "want their impeachment narratives to stick, they will need to do a better job of controlling the online battleground, where partisan opportunists jockey to set the narrative in real time and undermine the opposing side..." Read on...
CNN fact-checks Trump in real-time
| | Oliver Darcy emails: This week has resurfaced the debate over whether to take Trump live on TV, given that his ramblings are often filled with lies and misinformation. On Thursday afternoon, CNN offered a case study in how it can be done. While airing a Trump pool spray, a fact check graphic appeared on CNN's screen, noting that there was "no evidence of wrongdoing by Hunter or Joe Biden." After the spray concluded, anchor Brianna Keilar said, "Alright, we need to fact-check some of the stuff the President said there." She then proceeded to do just that...
Darcy's bottom line
Oliver Darcy emails: One of the dominant tactics used by Trump's supporters in right-wing media has been to dismiss the whistleblower complaint as nothing more than unsubstantiated gossip or rumor. But that's not what it is. For instance, regarding the July phone call, the whistleblower says the facts were learned from "multiple White House officials with direct knowledge of the call."
The whistleblower also wrote that while he was "not a direct witness to most of the events," he found his colleagues' accounts credible "because, in almost all cases, multiple officials recounted fact patterns that were consistent with another." And the actual log of the July 25 call largely backs up what the complaint alleged.
Bottom line: Pro-Trump media allies have done their best to spin, deflect, and obfuscate. They will certainly ramp up the pressure in the coming days and weeks. But, at the end of the day, this story is clear and easy to understand. Trump, using the office of the presidency, pushed a foreign power to investigate a political opponent. Then, according to the whistleblower's complaint, the White House tried to cover it up.
Can Dems persuade the public?
David Gergen's analysis at the end of the day: "The whistleblower's report has it all: compelling writing, important details, and a clear picture of Trump and Giuliani potentially abusing power. Now, the question is whether Dems can persuade the American people he must go."
An audiobook version of the complaint is already out
Penguin Random House Audio quickly produced a 30-minute audio reading of "The Whistle-Blower Complaint" and released it for free. It was recorded by Saskia Maarleveld, a professional audiobook narrator. Rachel Maddow, whose next book is about to be published by Penguin, plugged the audiobook on MSNBC.
What news consumers need
Right now readers and viewers need explainers, timelines, maps, annotations, backgrounders, and fact-checks. They need links to the primary source documents, like the whistleblower complaint. They need context and big-picture perspective for a story that seems to be evolving every five minutes. Those of us who work in the news biz and live in the stream should assume that our audience does not... And write accordingly...
--> By WaPo's Michael Scherer: "What you missed while not watching Day 3 of President Trump's impeachment drama." This is an excellent blow-by-blow summary of the day...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Cable news ratings are surging this week... Viewership is up across the board, but particularly for CNN and MSNBC... (Mediaite)
-- Quite a chyron on "CNN Tonight" Thursday: "Is President Trump out-Nixoning Nixon?" (Twitter)
-- Fox's Martha MacCallum talking about Trump at an Advertising Week event on Thursday. "Contrary to the opinion of some people, he's not our boss." (THR)
IN OTHER NEWS...
It's not just Russia: A new study says at least 70 countries have seen online disinfo campaigns…
Hadas Gold emails: A new study from Oxford researchers finds that organized social media manipulation (also known as computational propaganda) is spreading at an alarming rate. There's evidence that such manipulation has taken place in 70 countries, up from 48 in 2018, researchers Samantha Bradshaw and Philip Howard found -- and Facebook remains by far the favorite platform for that manipulation, they said.
Authoritarian regimes in 26 countries have used social media manipulation to "suppress fundamental human rights, discredit political opponents and drown out dissenting opinions."
And China, which until recently focused its computation propaganda to Chinese platforms like Weibo, is now spreading to aggressively spread manipulated messages internationally using Facebook and Twitter, according to the researchers.
The report goes into detail on the number and funding of official "cyber troops" in some countries, like China, Vietnam and Venezuela, whose job is to "control, censor, and shape conversations an information online" sometimes through hacked or stolen accounts.
"Kathryn Murdoch Steps Out of the Family Shadow to Fight Climate Change" | | Katie Pellico writes: Kathryn Murdoch made a strong statement in her first-ever on-the-record interview with NYT science writer John Schwartz. Schwartz writes that Kathryn, along with her husband James Murdoch, are "stepping out of their family's shadow," and "claiming their independence from the more conservative arm of the family."
Building on James' recent interview with The New Yorker's Jane Mayer, in which he expressed his disagreement with some "views" on Fox News, Schwartz explains that Kathryn "has stepped out further, in order to bring attention to the fight against climate change" by "countering the efforts of those who block progress." In addition to her work with nonpartisan group Unite America, Kathryn says she wants to offer "a Republican answer on climate change," explaining, "There's just been denial and walking away from the problem. There needs to be one."
James' return to Fox "possible"
Pellico adds: "It is possible that her husband's career at Fox is not over," Schwartz teases. "Some who watch the company closely speculate that James could attempt a return after his father's death."
He forecasts, "A Fox News under James Murdoch could still be conservative, but would almost certainly be less intransigent on issues like climate change."
Sky-NBC international news service gearing up
Hadas Gold emails: The Sky-NBC joint international news service is building a new studio and newsroom in London. In a memo to staff, Sky News head John Ryley said the plans for the new international news service are "at a very early stage" but that a new newsroom and "bespoke TV studio" is being built on the second floor of Sky's studios. Previous reports have placed launch date at some point in 2020. In addition, the company is listing more than a dozen new positions for the news service...
Reuters reporting gets results
Jerrold Nadler said Thursday that "he planned to reintroduce legislation that would make it harder for companies to keep the public in the dark about products that allegedly pose health and safety risks," Reuters reports.
The hearing "followed a June 25 Reuters report that focused on judges who routinely keep important evidence secret in product liability cases. Two Reuters reporters who worked on the project, Lisa Girion and Dan Levine, appeared at the hearing to present their findings."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- "The Des Moines Register fired a reporter who targeted a local hero for tweets from his teenage years, after the discovery of posts in which the reporter himself used the N-word..." (Washington Examiner)
-- Verizon is "sponsoring a program to make the New York Times available free to potentially millions of high-school students as part of a deepening advertising partnership between the two companies..." (NYT)
-- A Swedish newspaper is no longer taking advertising from fossil fuel firms, and its editor is urging other media to "follow suit..." (Guardian UK)
-- The Vatican is hosting Facebook and other "Silicon Valley heavyweights" and experts "in a meeting officials said could provide material for a possible papal document on artificial intelligence..." (Reuters)
BBC elaborates on anchor's "breach" of guidelines
Hadas Gold emails: Outrage has continued to grow over the story of BBC morning show anchor Naga Munchetty, who was found to have broken BBC rules after she said in July that comments like Donald Trump's directive to four members of Congress to "go back" to the places "from which they came," are "embedded in racism."
The BBC published the full transcript of the day's broadcast and said in a statement that Trump's comments at the time were "widely condemned as racist, and we reported on this extensively," before explaining that their editorial guidelines "do not allow for journalists to then give their opinions" about individuals or their "motives."
The full decision -- and any punishments -- will be published on the BBC's websites in the coming weeks.
A "heat map" of layoffs | | The Save Journalism Project is out with a new "heat map" showing "layoffs, buyouts, and closures by state over the last few years." The group bluntly blames Big Tech for these losses, calling Google, Apple, and Facebook the "Grim Reaper of Journalism." Check it out here...
Facebook hiding "likes" in Australia
Kaya Yurieff writes: Facebook is now testing hiding your likes, following a similar test by Instagram. Facebook will test hiding the number of likes, reactions and video views from posts in Australia. The author of the post will still be able to see those metrics, but other users won't. The thinking is to reduce pressure on these social networks and make them a less toxic place where users aren't comparing themselves to others quite as much...
A writers' wrinkle as Vox and New York merge
Kerry Flynn writes: Brian Feldman of New York's Intelligencer has a story on a particular drama spurred by the merger between his newsroom and Vox's: the combining of Slacks. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff said at a company all-hands Tuesday that New York Media will be joining Vox Media's Slack, Feldman reports. The problem? All the gossiping that Vox employees might have done about their new colleagues in public, searchable channels. Pro-tip: Delete your Slacks...
Claire Atkinson's Q&A with Sinclair CEO
Katie Pellico writes: Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley spoke with NBC's Claire Atkinson. Some key takeaways from the interview:
-- Ripley doesn't rule out political advertising on RSNs, explaining that "from an advertiser perspective there's really no reason why they shouldn't be targeting those audiences more."
-- With regard to Trump's "fake news" attacks on the media, Ripley replies, "It doesn't really play on our business."
-- Ripley foresees a "sea of blood" in the streaming wars. "It's going to be losses for many years to come for many of those companies who are going to be engaged in a major share battle." He explains Sinclair's recent focus on sports will hopefully help to "reposition our company" for the long haul...
Endeavor pulls the plug on IPO plans
"The IPO market took another hit Thursday as Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. yanked its planned offering, and Peloton's shares skidded on their first day of trading," the WSJ's team reports.
This is an embarrassing moment for Endeavor, owner of one of the world's largest talent agencies, which abandoned its IPO plans just one day before its expected debut. At first the company scaled back its offering... then it decided to pull the plug entirely.
Per Deadline, the company "does not have a timeline for a rescheduled launch, but we hear it will not happen before the end of 2019..."
Here's what Ari Emanuel is reading
"The dramatic retreat came as Endeavor, run by Chief Executive Ari Emanuel, appeared to rethink its plans amid concerns that investors were cool on the stock and given the weakening of the broader IPO market," the LAT's Ryan Faughnder and Stacy Perman wrote... "The change in course is a setback for Emanuel and Endeavor, which analysts expected to pay down its substantial debt load with the proceeds..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- "Lionsgate has promoted Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch to President and CEO of the premium network, inking a new long-term contract..." (Deadline)
-- "A year after his last pact expired, 'Modern Family' co-creator Steve Levitan has decided to remain at 20th TV and has signed a new overall deal with the Disney-owned studio." Sources say the deal "is for five years and a total of $125 million..." (THR)
-- Marianne Garvey emails: I interviewed Sarah Jessica Parker about how she picks her projects (outside of acting) and here is what she told me. The latest is a new wine she calls "delectable..." (CNN)
-- One more from Garvey: Nick Cannon had a chance to say something meaningful to Oprah Winfrey the first time they spoke and he blew it, he tells Howard Stern. Oprah just can't move past it, Cannon says...
| | Lowry reviews "The Politician"
Brian Lowry writes: "The Politician" marks Ryan Murphy's first series for Netflix, focusing on a driven teenager who views a student election as his springboard to becoming President of the United States. Unlike its protagonist (played by "Dear Evan Hansen's" Ben Platt), the star-studded drama feels like anunderachiever...
--> NYT TV critic James Poniewozik's review: It "has the acid humor of 'Glee,' but also the flighty attention span." The audience "might be happier if it finds its focus..."
Zellweger wows as "Judy"
Brian Lowry writes: Renée Zellweger will almost surely be in the Oscar conversation for "Judy," playing Judy Garland -- tired, desperate and popping pills -- near the end of her career. It's a stellar performance, in what's otherwise a fairly standard movie biography...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- Jason Zinoman has a "wide-ranging interview" with Eddie Murphy in this Sunday's NYT... It is online now... (NYT)
-- Seth Abramovitch examines how Shane Gillis' "SNL" firing "has become a flashpoint revealing a deep and widening rift in the comedy world..." (THR)
-- It's been 50 years since the release of The Beatles' "Abbey Road." Twitter paid homage... (Twitter Moments)
Time for "The Irishman" | | Frank Pallotta writes: Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" premieres at the New York Film Festival on Friday. The debut of the big budget, 3 hour and 29 minute (!!!) gangster epic is a big moment for Netflix.
The streamer has released acclaimed films like "Roma," which won multiple Oscars last year, as well as blockbusters like "Bird Box," which was seen by millions of people. But "The Irishman," with its iconic director and all star cast of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, could be a big hit that may also win some major awards -- the film version of what "House of Cards" was for Netflix's original series unit.
>> The theatrical trailer for the film dropped Thursday. Read CNN's full report from Lisa Respers France here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
By Lisa Respers France:
-- Kylie Jenner's rep confirmed to me that she is hospitalized and going to have to miss her own cosmetics line launch Friday during Paris Fashion week. The rep said the reality star/makeup mogul is doing well under a doctor's care as she is being treated for an undisclosed illness...
-- Bella Thorne is set to be honored for directing a porn film...
-- Teresa Giudice's husband Joe says he didn't want to get married in this new "Real Housewives of New Jersey" trailer...
Relatively strong start for "Masked Singer"
Brian Lowry writes: Some (mostly) good news for Fox: "The Masked Singer" was down slightly in viewers (7.9 million) and demos from last year's average, but its 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 was good enough to easily win Wednesday among the broadcast networks. That's key for Fox, which has made the celebrity singing show the linchpin of its revised lineup.
Lisa has more from the premiere episode here...
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
S̶t̶r̶a̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ worse than fiction
Brian Lowry writes: Twitter can be a cesspool, but it has its moments. When I tweeted that pulling myself away from the news to watch advance screeners of the conspiracy-minded drama "Mr. Robot" seemed redundant on a day like today, the show's creator, Sam Esmail, responded, "Imagine if you had to work on it. *sigh*"
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