EXEC SUMMARY: President Trump is about to become the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Scroll down for a viewers' guide to the day, a look at Wednesday's front pages, and some recommended reads. But first...
"If people don't have the facts, democracy doesn't work"
What a federal judge said in court on Tuesday has a lot of relevance to the impeachment vote we're about to witness.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson was overseeing the sentencing former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates, who flipped on Trump in the Mueller investigation, and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years probation.
Jackson, CNN's Katelyn Polantz wrote, "seemed annoyed with those who have disputed, without reason, the media's reporting on factual events." A tacit commentary on the president?
The judge noted that Gates and Paul Manafort lied "to the members of Congress and the American public" about what they were doing. "This deliberate effort to obscure the facts, this disregard for the truth, undermines our political discourse and it affects our policymaking," she said. "If people don't have the facts, democracy doesn't work."
What if people have access to the facts, but choose to believe a fantasy instead?
I said at the beginning of the impeachment inquiry that journalists shouldn't advocate for an outcome, but should advocate for a well-informed public. So... how well have we done on that count? | | Fitness for office
My view is that Trump's impeachment is fundamentally about three things: Abuse of power. Fact versus fiction. And fitness for office. All three were front and center on Tuesday.
Trump's six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi effectively centered the day's news coverage around him and his point of view. Cable news analysts like John Avlon said it was "unhinged" -- Avlon said "senators who read this are going to be concerned about his mental state" -- but much of the news coverage simply said the letter was "fiery" and "freewheeling." This reminded me of what Australian journalist Lenore Taylor asserted a couple of months ago: Grabbing pull quotes from Trump's rants and cutting out the craziest bits actually misleads the audience.
Quinta Jurecic, the managing editor of Lawfare, made this point better than I could. She said that "reading the full letter vs reading the news alerts and headlines ('Trump slams impeachment inquiry') is as good a demonstration as any of the distance between what Trump actually sounds like vs. the massively more coherent person media coverage makes him out to be."
So why pay attention to the letter at all?
"He knows how to play us like a fiddle," Chris Cuomo said Tuesday night. "He's doing it again tonight, having me recite his letter! So why do I do it?" Because "I want you to know what HE is willing to do to defend himself." The letter "tells you everything you need to know where his head and his heart are."
In a fact-free place. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale said the letter was "littered with lies, misleading claims and claims lacking key context -- on his dealings with Ukraine, on Biden, on impeachment, on his professed accomplishments, on the... Salem witch trials." Here is the full fact-check...
Like a Hannity monologue in letter form
When I read the letter, I recognized it right away -- it was pulled straight from the Fox News prime time lineup. It was a Sean Hannity "A block" come to life. WaPo's Glenn Kessler made a related point: "It seems clear that all Trump appears to know about Biden and Ukraine is the surface-level information he gleamed from Biden's CFR clip and Fox News bits. Too many things are wrong in the letter to suggest otherwise."
On "AC360," David Gergen said "it's going to go down" in history "as a letter from a two-bit dictator [of a] banana republic. It has that kind of quality to it." With sadness, Gergen said "think about our history, the people we've had, the men of letters who have been in that office." Then think about Trump's letters...
But as I said up top, the screed centered the day's news coverage around him and his POV. His grievances received far more national news media attention than the pro-impeachment protests in communities across the country. And he'll have a similar opportunity to command attention on Wednesday, since he's holding a rally that is scheduled to coincide with the impeachment vote. The final vote is likely to take place in the evening, possibly in the 6 or 7pm hours...
Wednesday's front pages
The NYT's lead story by Michael Shear calls the letter "irate and rambling," and labels it a "diatribe" in the headline.
WaPo's front page features excerpts of the letter and calls it a "fiery last stand:" | |
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- AP's overnight lede: "On the eve of almost-certain impeachment..." (AP)
-- "HISTORY REPEATING," Drudge says, noting that Bill Clinton was impeached by the House on December 19. Looks like it'll happen on December 18 this time... (DRUDGE)
-- Dan Rather: "In the coverage of impeachment, I worry punditry is outpacing reporting. And I worry some in the political establishment and the press underestimate the seriousness with which many American voters are approaching this presidency..." (Twitter)
-- On Wednesday, Chris Cuomo says, "we will be at the most sensitive period" since the Trump presidency began. "This is heavy stuff, and it is going to hit hard..." (Video via Twitter)
Where to watch
Anywhere and everywhere. CNN's special coverage will begin at 8am ET. Fox News and MSNBC's specials will begin at 9. The broadcast networks may begin special reports later in the morning, based on the House's schedule. The NBC, ABC and CBS say they'll be streaming every moment when they're not on the airwaves. Details:
-- On CNN, Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper will be in the anchor chairs all day...
-- On MSNBC, Chris Wallace and Ari Melber will anchor until noon, when Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace will take over...
-- On Fox News, Bret Baier will be "leading coverage from Washington, D.C." alongside Chris Wallace. "Contributions to the live coverage" will be provided by Martha MacCallum, Bill Hemmer, Julie Banderas, with "constitutional expertise and legal commentary" from Andrew McCarthy, and Trey Gowdy...
-- With Savannah Guthrie recuperating from eye surgery, Lester Holt will be the sole anchor on NBC, joined by Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Hallie Jackson and Geoff Bennett...
-- Norah O'Donnell will anchor from the new CBS DC set, joined by Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett, Nancy Cordes and many more. The network says "Reince Priebus will join CBS News' coverage to offer his impressions and insights..."
-- ABC says its special report will start around 10am. The lineup: George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Jonathan Karl, Cecilia Vega, Mary Bruce, Pierre Thomas, Terry Moran, Dan Abrams, and contributors Kate Shaw, Barbara Comstock and Melissa Murray...
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Jake Tapper reacting to Rudy Giuliani continuing to push anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia propaganda: "This is like if in the middle of the Clinton impeachment, Bill Clinton was out dating on the town. Just flaunting this. It's almost unbelievable..." (Mediaite)
-- Maria Butina, convicted of being a foreign agent in the US, is the new host of an online show for RT... (CNN)
-- "The Human Toll of the 2019 Media Apocalypse:" Maya Kosoff spoke with reporters and editors who were laid off this year... (GEN)
-- Talk-show host David Susskind "risked his career to interview Martin Luther King. It's now streaming for the first time," on Amazon Prime, Stephen Battaglio reports... (LAT)
What is the status of The Hill's review into John Solomon's work?
Oliver Darcy emails: Wednesday will mark one month since The Hill Editor-In-Chief Bob Cusack announced the outlet would conduct a thorough review of John Solomon's work and issue corrections when appropriate. But since then, there have been no real updates.
Cusack turned to Twitter earlier this month to say that the results would be "transparent and public." But it's hard to imagine what is taking so long. One would think that the review of Solomon's work would be a high priority for The Hill, given that his columns have been cited throughout the impeachment hearings...
Silence from Cusack
Darcy adds: I emailed Cusack on Monday and Tuesday asking for insight into the review. Why is it dragging on so long given that key players have already testified under oath about Solomon's reporting? When is the expected completion date? I didn't get a response...
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- An associate producer at "60 Minutes" "claimed she was sidelined after making a formal complaint about her boss, according to a lawsuit filed against the network Tuesday..." (NYT)
-- Mediaite's annual Most Influential in News Media list is out. I ranked right behind Bret Baier and Ari Melber, so now I know where I stand... (Mediaite)
-- Some sightings at Mediaite's Tuesday night party: Sean Hannity, who briefly said hello to George Conway and had a longer conversation with Preet Bharara; plus Rick Wilson, Molly Jong-Fast, Harris Faulkner, Bill Hemmer, Alisyn Camerota, John Berman, Brooke Baldwin, and Megyn Kelly...
-- "Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp. declined to run advertisements for 'Bombshell...'" (Bloomberg)
SNEAK PEEK
Craig Newmark's newest $$$ gift
This will come out on Wednesday: "The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) announces the launch of the Craig Newmark Trustworthy Internet and Democracy Program. In preparation for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this initiative will provide news outlets, government functionaries, election officials, and community organizations with free toolkits and online forums to help protect them from cyber threats. This effort is made possible through a $750,000 gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies..."
>> Fast Company's Marcus Baram has a preview here...
California sued over AB5
Kerry Flynn emails: American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) sued California in federal court on Tuesday, alleging AB5 harms freelance journalists. The suit comes just a day after Vox Media parted ways with hundreds of freelancers due to AB5.
The lawsuit alleges the law, which goes into effect January 1, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since it exempts marketers and graphic designers but restricts writers and photographers. The suit also alleges it violates the First Amendment by depriving freedom of speech with the 35-submissions limit...
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
By Kerry Flynn:
-- Maya Kosoff reports on the "human toll of 2019 media apocalypse," speaking to journalists who were laid off at outlets like WaPo Express, Vindicator and Brit+Co (GEN)
-- Sophia Amoruso sells Girlboss to Attention Capital, investment firm founded in August. Amoruso will remain CEO and all 23 full-time staffers remain (WWD)
-- Indira Lakshmanan is joining National Geographic as senior executive editor. She is currently executive editor at The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (NatGeo)
-- Zach Kahn, formerly senior manager of podcast marketing at Vox Media, will head public relations for Apple's podcast business... (Variety)
TikTok's good and bad news
Kerry Flynn emails: You can't deny TikTok's impact in 2019, but it hasn't always been positive.
The good: For Rolling Stone, EJ Dickinson writes about TikTok's impact on the musical "Beetlejuice" in the wake of the show being evicted from its theater. Personally, I found TikTok memes about "Beetlejuice" so creative and funny that they prompted me to see the show in October.
The bad: Ad agency execs tell AdAge that TikTok has been an "unusually difficult client." A former TikTok exec "blames the issues on bigfooting from China and a high turnover rate within its own U.S. marketing department."
Peacock's ad-free price?
NBCUniversal "is considering charging around $10 a month for an advertising-free version of its upcoming Peacock streaming video service," The Information's Jessica Toonkel reported Tuesday. "NBCU also is discussing charging $4.99 a month for a version with limited ads... For many viewers, though, Peacock will be free. NBCU plans to offer a version of the service with ads for no charge to cable subscribers of its parent company Comcast, it has previously said..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
-- WSJ's big Tuesday morning scoop: Peter Thiel is at the "center" of Facebook's internal divisions re: political ad policies... (WSJ)
-- Discovery "has acquired Latin American Golf which operates Golf Channel Latin America, a 24-hour pay-TV channel..." (THR)
| | "Skywalker" reviews are incoming
Brian Lowry emails: For all the money it's made, awards haven't been in the flight plan for "Star Wars" since the original 42 years ago. As "The Rise of Skywalker" prepares to launch, could nostalgia boost its Oscar presence? That's what I wrote about here...
>> Reviews hit after 3am ET. And like "The Last Jedi," expect some gap between the critical response and the fan reception...
"The Simpsons" is 30 years young
"Seems like just yesterday that a five-member family from Evergreen Terrace moved into America's television neighborhood, but, in fact, it was 30 years ago Tuesday that 'The Simpsons' debuted," Sandra Gonzalez writes.
"Nostalgia is slapping me around today, the 30th anniversary of the first Simpsons show," executive producer James L. Brooks tweeted. "Sentiment getting in some kicks. Sam Simon, Matt Groening & David Silverman once more gather with me as I remember random key early moments word for word and wish for a retroactive group hug." More...
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- While on a press tour to promote "Marriage Story," Adam Driver walked out of a "Fresh Air" interview "after expressing displeasure with listening to a clip of his own acting—a fear Driver has repeatedly voiced in the past," Maxwell Tani reports... (Beast)
-- Matt Webb Mitovich reports: "Before the close of Survivor Season 39, which CBS acknowledges was 'unprecedented' in how 'inappropriate individual behavior intersect[ed] with game play,' the network has announced new policies and procedures designed to curb sexual harassment, biases and other social issues..." (TVLine)
LET'S END ON A CHEERY NOTE...
"All I Want For Christmas Is You"
Mariah Carey "has landed the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for her famous holiday hit, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You,'" Marianne Garvey writes. "This is the first time the 25-year-old song has hit No. 1."
So how much is Carey earning from the tune? Alexis Benveniste has details here... "The singer has earned more than $60 million in royalties from the song, according to a 2016 estimate by The Economist..."
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