EXEC SUMMARY: I'm back in NYC, getting ready for Thursday's CITIZEN by CNN conference... Here's the latest on James Murdoch, Jennifer Griffin, David Shulkin, Marty Baron, Giuliana Rancic, Ronan Farrow, Tomi Lahren, Rose McGowan, Kelly Clarkson, and more...
One month in
| | Nancy Pelosi announced the start of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump one month ago, on September 24. JUST one month ago. It's worth taking stock of how much has happened since -- how many new pieces of the Ukraine puzzle, how many revelations about potential misconduct, how many desperate deflections by Trump and his allies.
Many prominent commentators read Bill Taylor's testimony on Tuesday and came away believing impeachment is now inevitable.
The Atlantic's David A. Graham made this point on Wednesday: "As the past month demonstrates, a lot can change in a few short weeks. One month ago, it wasn't clear there'd even be an impeachment inquiry. Today, impeachment itself is a near-certainty." Most of the chatter now is about what will happen when the Senate holds a trial...
One month from now...
"House Democrats are preparing to move their largely private impeachment inquiry onto a more public stage as soon as mid-November and are already grappling with how best to present the complex Ukraine saga to the American people," WaPo's Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian reported Wednesday night...
"Picture darkens for Trump"
The top headline on the WaPo website right now: "Republican defense of Trump grows more frantic and disjointed as Ukraine scandal escalates."
The NYT's main headline: "Republicans grind impeachment inquiry to halt as picture darkens for Trump."
And on CNN.com: "Feeling the pressure." Rene Marsh reports that "the Ukrainian President — weeks before taking office — discussed how to handle requests from Trump's orbit to publicly launch investigations, source says..."
Change the conversation
The Republican effort to disrupt Wednesday's deposition "came one day after Democrats secured some of their most explosive findings in the impeachment probe," Politico's team notes. "Yet GOP lawmakers — at least for the first half of the day — successfully changed the conversation; instead of being pressed for reaction to Taylor's testimony, they were fielding questions from reporters about the drama unfolding inside the secure facility."
>> Chris Cuomo's closing argument on Wednesday night, directed at Republicans like Lindsey Graham: "You used to say you don't need a crime. Now you say you do. You used to say it was okay to investigate in private. Now you say it isn't. You used to say POTUS must comply. Now you don't. It is obvious what you're doing. But also it is a collective obstruction of what the right says it holds most dear -- the Constitution. So my question is this. If the law matters so much, why do you act in ways that respect it so little?"
Matt Gaetz's latest play for the Fox audience
Re: Wednesday's much-publicized stunt: "Gaetz and his colleagues weren't just protesting," The Bulwark's Jim Swift wrote. "They compromised a secure area. It's like storming Area 51, except instead of idiot social media celebrities doing it, it's elected political representatives doing it to get airtime on Fox."
Gaetz was on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday night while newscasts on other networks pointed out the absurdity of his actions...
>> One hour later, Sean Hannity interviewed two of the other stormers and condemned the "Democratic closed-door Soviet-style impeachment coup attempt." He said "I hope you guys do this every day!"
Pinned to the top of Trump's Twitter feed...
...Is his Wednesday tweet calling "Never Trumper Republicans" "human scum."
"What we know is bad enough"
That's the title of this piece by Commentary's Noah Rothman. He runs through some of what "we still do not know," but concludes, "the all but confirmed revelation that the president subordinated essential American interests in deference to a crank theory that bubbled up from online message boards is disturbing enough. What's more, everyone, including Trump's Republican allies in Congress, knows it."
THURSDAY PLANNER
Twitter and Comcast report earnings before the opening bell...
Twitter NYC is hosting a Twitter News Summit with Jack Dorsey, Ben Smith, Susan Zirinsky and others...
Bob Iger is speaking at the New York Economic Club...
Amazon reports earnings after the close...
CNN's CITIZEN conference is on Thursday
The conference will be live streamed starting at 9am ET. I'll be interviewing Jeff Zucker on stage in the early afternoon. Other participants include Peter Navarro, Lloyd Blankfein, Anita Hill, Seth Meyers, Samantha Power, José Andrés, Mark Sanford, Joe Walsh, Bill Weld, and more. For the schedule and other details, click here...
James Murdoch speaks | | Megan Thomas writes: On stage at the VF New Establishment Summit, Radhika Jones asked James Murdoch about Fox and if he'd ever consider returning to the company. He said no.
-- He said "no," he does not watch Fox News.
-- She asked about Shep Smith's departure and he said he was disappointed to read about that.
-- He likes Pete Buttigieg and is clearly keen on generational change.
-- When asked about his legacy, and whether he can separate himself from what came before him, he said, "It's too early to say what my legacy will be... I think I want to be as useful as a I can and dig in to areas where I can make a difference."
Gaffe of the day: Colorado
Quoting from Mike Bender's pool report from the president's Wednesday afternoon speech: "A POTUS riff on his promise to build a border wall—in which he ticked off the list of states the wall would touch, including, incorrectly, Colorado—drew laughs from more than a few of the conference attendees. Several shook their heads as they turned to people seated next to them."
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Max Boot says Republicans "shouldn't worry what Trump will think of them. They should worry what their grandchildren will think of them." (WaPo)
-- Fox's Jennifer Griffin "has gotten attention from competitors — and tens of thousands of new Twitter followers — for her critical reporting on Trump's Syria withdrawal," Michael Calderone writes... (Politico)
-- Steve Bannon's new impeachment-themed radio show and podcast launched Wednesday. Politico's Daniel Lippman reported the daily show "will provide a platform for conservatives to share news and strategize..." (Politico)
-- "Trump's lies on Syria were jaw-dropping," Frida Ghitis writes... (CNN)
A waste of Zuckerberg's day?
| | Mark Zuckerberg's day on Capitol Hill "seemed to leave more questions than answers," The Information's Alex Heath says.
The "show trial" was full of "really, really stupid questions," Reason's Robby Soave writes.
Read Clare Duffy and Brian Fung's full recap for CNN Business here...
WaPo: Facebook News tab to launch Friday
Katie Pellico writes: Per the WaPo's Craig Timberg: "Facebook plans to launch a 'News' tab on Friday that will offer stories from hundreds of news organizations, some of which will be paid fees for supplying content to the service, people familiar with the plan say."
Key graf: "The list of participating news organizations, initially totaling about 200, will include The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, BuzzFeed News and many local news sources... The New York Times is likely to participate as well, though the terms have not been finalized." Read on...
What CNN Digital is working on...
"Not yet named, but referred to internally as 'NewsCo,' CNN is" developing a news delivery platform, The Information's Jessica Toonkel scooped on Wednesday. She said CNN is "discussing paying news organizations to feature their content on the platform, which will likely be a mix of subscription-based and advertising-based content, according to CNN digital chief Andrew Morse." Read on...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "Kathryn Johnson, a trailblazing reporter for The Associated Press whose intrepid coverage of the civil rights movement and other major stories led to a string of legendary scoops, died Wednesday. She was 93." Johnson worked at CNN for 11 years... (AP)
-- Andrea Mitchell, Rachel Maddow, Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker will moderate November's #DemDebate. "The lineup is the second all-female panel for a major political debate," Paul Farhi notes... (WaPo)
-- Ronan Farrow is launching a limited-series "podcast offshoot" of "Catch and Kill" next month... (Variety)
-- Speaking of "Catch and Kill," the book is debuting at No. 2 on the NYT best seller list, right behind Elton John's "Me." Farrow is on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Wednesday night... (NYT) | |
Farrow apologizes over comments on Fox's handling of sexual harassment scandals
Oliver Darcy emails: Ronan Farrow apologized on Wednesday for recent comments he made about how Fox News dealt with claims of harassment in the workplace. Appearing on Fox News last Thursday, Farrow criticized how NBC News has responded to claims of sexual harassment. As he called out NBC, Farrow mentioned that Fox has dealt with its own problems, telling Bret Baier the network "has done a great job of confronting some of the issues" it has faced.
In a statement to me on Wednesday, Farrow said, "Let me be clear: I in no way intended to suggest that networks like Fox have fully addressed these issues. One of the lessons of the past few years is that there's still a long way to go. I've heard what these women have said and join with them in the hopes that people in power are listening. I'm sorry if my comments implied anything else — it certainly wasn't my intention." What prompted Farrow's comments
Darcy emails: Farrow's apology came after a group of four former employees -- Juliet Huddy, Julie Roginsky, Tamara Holder, and Diana Falzone -- who have settled claims with Fox wrote a letter to him on Wednesday. "While we appreciate the work you have done to expose and explore sexual assault, harassment and retaliation in the news and entertainment industries, we are curious as to the basis of your effusive praise of Fox News for its response to the revelations by women who described the toxic work environment they faced," they wrote.
Farrow responded to the group in a private email, saying he has consistently called out Fox and that his comments were "in no way meant to imply that the problems are gone, or that there isn't tremendous work to be done." Following his response, Falzone told me, "I believe we are on the same page about his intentions to do better moving forward." Holder, Huddy, and Roginsky however criticized how Farrow privately responded. More here... | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Daniel Tovrov went deep, deep inside Newsweek... documenting insane traffic pressure and much more... He says "Newsweek is selling off its own legacy while hoping that readers won't notice..." (CJR)
-- Jeremy Barr interviewed Tony Dokoupil six months after his "CBS This Morning" debut "about acclimating to the daily grind and becoming more recognizable to CBS viewers..." (THR)
-- David Harsanyi, co-senior editor of The Federalist, is heading to National Review... (Federalist)
-- Local news outlets "are increasingly offering newsletters as destinations of their own to boost subscriber loyalty..." (Medill Local News Initiative)
-- ICYMI: "Harvard Crimson article on ICE protest draws backlash from student activists," Marc Tracy reports. Kudos to the Crimson for explaining how journalism works... (NYT)
Thank you, Tomi Lahren...
For showing us the Twitter printouts that the president evidently receives after his rallies. Someone compiled this list of supportive tweets and gave it to Trump, who signed a copy and thanked Fox's Tomi Lahren for her praise. Lahren tweeted out this pic... | | David Shulkin's book tour
The book, "It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country," has been flying under the radar for some reason... But it came out on Tuesday and it contains some striking accounts of life inside the Trump admin. David Shulkin "learned he was nominated to become secretary of veterans affairs while watching TV — and found out he was fired on Twitter," NPR's Brian Naylor reported on Tuesday.
In the book, Shulkin calls the environment in DC "toxic, chaotic and subversive." He'll be on the NYT's "The Daily" podcast and WAMU's "1A" radio show on Thursday...
"How Donald Trump Turned to a Comics Titan to Shape the VA"
In the book, Shulkin also confirms that Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter was deeply involved in VA matters.
Quoting ProPublica's Isaac Arnsdorf: "Starting with Shulkin's interview for the cabinet post, Trump routinely dialed Perlmutter into meetings and asked if the secretary was keeping Perlmutter informed and happy, Shulkin wrote. Perlmutter would call Shulkin as often as multiple times a day, and White House officials such as Stephen Miller would scold Shulkin for not being in close enough contact with Perlmutter and two of his associates at Mar-a-Lago..."
Rose McGowan sues Weinstein, Bloom and Boies
Katie Pellico writes: Rose McGowan named Harvey Weinstein and attorneys Lisa Bloom and David Boies in a racketeering lawsuit Wednesday, claiming there was a "diabolical and illegal effort" to silence and discredit her story. Black Cube, an Israeli intelligence firm alleged to have pressured journalists pursuing the Weinstein story, is also named. According to the NYT, the suit describes "efforts to derail" reporting from Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow. Weinstein's legal camp issued a statement Weddnesday calling McGowan "a publicity seeker looking for money."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- This is a remarkable reporter's notebook column by ABC's James Longman: "That time I told the head of Chechen police I was gay." Longman's special report airs on "Nightline" Thursday... (ABC)
-- Sarah Lacy and Paul Carr have sold Pando to BuySellAds. Lacy says BSA is buying up "much beloved but somewhat neglected online media brands and reinventing them for a whole new audience while still serving the existing audience with (hopefully) an even better product..." (Pando)
-- The House voted nearly unanimously in favor of a new bill that "would create a small-claims court for copyright cases" and, Engadget's Christine Fisher warns, "could be abused by trolls..." (Engadget)
-- A new report suggests online radicalization doesn't boil down to YouTube's "recommendation engine, but the communities that form around right-wing content..." (WIRED)
Happy birthday, Marty Baron
Jeff Bezos was in DC on Wednesday... And he dropped by his newspaper, the Washington Post, for a surprise birthday celebration. Exec editor Marty Baron turns 65 on Thursday! So Bezos "delivered" the big gift on behalf of the Post, a bicycle, and said a few words. Photo via Tom Jackman: | |
Tinder's original content bet
Kerry Flynn writes: In September, Reuters broke the news that Tinder wrapped filming its first scripted show. My first guess was a Netflix series about online dating. But turns out instead of creating something branded for another platform, Tinder made a video series exclusive to its app in the US. The four-episode series puts viewers in the apocalypse, where they then swipe left or right to make certain choices. I've enjoyed playing along and stats Tinder provided to me show it's increasing app engagement. Tinder CEO Elie Seidman tells me Tinder plans to release the series internationally and create more...
Inside LinkedIn's newsroom
Kerry Flynn writes: For the last few years, I've kept LinkedIn open on my desktop at my work. It's not because I'm constantly searching for jobs (though listings are a great place to find stories) but because I enjoy the conversation around business news that happens there. This month, I went to LinkedIn's NYC office to learn more about news on the platform. One reason for its success: LinkedIn has a newsroom of 65 journalists, led by former Fortune editor Dan Roth. Through LinkedIn, these journalists are not only able to uncover great stories but make sure they're being read by the right people. Read on...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- The Slender Man stabbing: "David Muir has the exclusive interview with Payton Leutner, who speaks for the first time five years after her two friends stabbed her 19 times and left her for dead in the woods of Waukesha, Wisconsin when she was 12 years old." The two-hour edition of "20/20" airs Friday... (ABC)
-- Jeanie Pyun is THR's new deputy editorial director, the outlet's No. 2 editor... And Degen Pener has rejoined THR as deputy editor... (THR)
-- Storyful launched an investigative unit earlier this month. Laura Hazard Owen says the company is "expanding its investigative capabilities with a focus on three categories: breaking news analysis, deep background" and "network mapping..." (NiemanLab)
-- Scott Feinberg's latest look at the Oscar tea leaves: "Netflix's 'American Factory, Neon's 'Apollo 11' and Amazon's 'One Child Nation' are the only films that have been recognized by all four major doc feature Oscar precursors..." (THR)
-- Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Mark Gurman chart Apple's history with Hollywood ahead of the November 1 release of Apple TV+, citing "interviews with more than a dozen executives who worked at Apple or on its programs..." (Bloomberg)
| | Sarandos at the VF Summit
Via Megan Thomas, a key moment during Katie Couric's on-stage interview with Ted Sarandos, talking about Netflix and the so-called streaming wars:
Sarandos: "We've always knew this was gonna be, when we had made this bet, we bet this was going to be an enormous space and we wouldn't be the only ones."
Couric: "Are you surprised it took this long, by the way?"
Sarandos: "I was surprised it took everyone so long... When they were selling us their content years ago, I couldn't, I was kind of surprised every time. If we were drinking our own Kool-Aid and we were believing this story, then all these networks were going to become apps and network dot coms and that they would want content. In the meantime, they sold it to us and helped us build it a big audience. But that's, this is why we made [our] originals department seven years ago. I said 'Someday these guys are not going to sell us their programming, and we'd better get good at it.' And that was our first original investment in seven years ago."
The "secret sauce"
Sandra Gonzalez writes: My quote of the day came from Couric, who did a truly phenomenal job moderating huge panels over the last two days -- first Sheryl Sandberg, then Sarandos.
On Wednesday, Sarandos was talking about how Netflix has found the right "marriage" between technology and tech in a way that, in his view, gives it an edge on new competitors whose roots are on one side of that aisle. Couric, in response, said: "I always have said that people who have the secret sauce of marrying tech with content are going to win the day, because I worked at Yahoo, and, I think they didn't understand content at all... but, of course, understood tech a lot." Tell us what you really think, Katie!
The Kelly Clarkson Show is off to a hot start | | Frank Pallotta emails: Since debuting last month, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" has become a daytime TV hit, averaging roughly 1.9 million viewers. That's good enough to put Clarkson in fourth place among syndicated daytime talk shows. Fourth place is a big deal because Clarkson is only behind the biggest names in daytime TV -- Dr. Phil, Ellen and Ryan and Kelly.
"I think the world is craving stories with humor, heart and everyday heroes that they can relate to," Clarkson told me in an email. More...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- The NYT's recap of Ben Sisario's latest: "Lizzo is suing 3 songwriters who claimed credit for her hit 'Truth Hurts' and said she will instead share her success, credit and royalties with the woman whose tweet inspired its signature 'I just took a DNA test' line. 'Not these men. Period,' she said." (NYT)
-- "Giuliana Rancic is once again saying goodbye to her full-time hosting role at E! News" as the show moves to NYC... (People)
-- Esquire's Dom Nero breaks down the "site full of cryptic documents" HBO released about the alternate universe of "Watchmen..." (Esquire)
Lowry reviews "Western Stars"
Brian Lowry writes: The fact Bruce Springsteen recently turned 70 is probably jarring enough to his fans. That he continues to challenge himself creatively -- making his directing debut, as co-director on his new concert movie "Western Stars" -- is a reminder that the guy who wrote "Born to Run" just keeps on running...
Marvel = traffic
Brian Lowry writes: I like a good headline as much as the next guy, but to characterize Bob Iger's response to criticism of Marvel movies by saying that he "fires back" at directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola is simply misleading at best. I mean, his reaction was summed up this way: "I'm puzzled by it. If they want to bitch about movies it's certainly their right," adding that it was "disrespectful" to the people working on those movies. People seem to be working awfully hard, frankly, to milk a few more days out of this story just because "Marvel" = traffic...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN
-- Kelly Ripa responded to backlash Wednesday over her joking that her son is living in "extreme poverty..."
-- Selena Gomez's new song lyrics have people convinced Justin Bieber inspired it...
-- Cardi B has already conquered the music charts and now she's aiming for Hollywood. The rapper has joined the "Fast & Furious 9" film...
-- Macaulay Culkin danced for Lizzo at her recent concert because when one of the hottest singers out right now makes a request, you do it...
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