Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there, this is Oliver Darcy, in the chair for Brian Stelter. Scroll down for Mike Bloomberg's message for Bloomberg News reporters, the verdict in Elon Musk's "pedo guy" defamation trial, the memo from Gannett's CEO amid cuts, and more. But first...

The White House's hypocrisy

President Trump doesn't want you to believe stories that rely on unnamed sources. Trump tweeted Friday morning that people should "only accept information" that "has an actual living name on it." He has tweeted similar things in the past, warning people that when stories "don't mention names" it's "very possible that those sources don't exist" but are "made up" by reporters.

That notion is absurd for a number of reasons. For one, reporters don't fabricate information (unless you're at, say, an outlet like InfoWars whose founder the President has praised). But it's also absurd because the White House often forces reporters to attribute information to unnamed officials.

How the White House regularly provides info to reporters

Trump's supporters might not know this, but the White House regularly hosts what are called "background briefings." At those briefings, a senior administration official will brief the press on certain subjects and take questions from reporters. Only catch? The information is often not attributable to the person, but to an unnamed "senior administration official."

The White House press office also uses this tactic. When reporters ask White House spokespeople questions, it's not unusual for them to get a response back providing information attributable only to an unnamed "White House official."

Neither of these practices are new, of course. But Trump's suggestion that unnamed sources should never be trusted is. The bottom line: When Trump tells people not to trust information that is sourced to an unnamed person, he is effectively telling people not to trust much of the sanctioned information that is coming from his own White House.

Will this change? No answers

So why does the White House provide information to reporters which is NOT attributable to a person with "an actual living name"? That's unclear. So I decided to ask White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

I asked Grisham if the White House will now suspend the practice of mandating that sanctioned briefings be on background. Will the White House now put all such briefings on the record?

I also asked Grisham if the White House press office would cease responding to reporter inquiries with information attributable only to an unnamed "White House official." Will it suspend that practice, and provide all information on the record from now on?

I did not get a response.

FRIDAY NIGHT HEADLINES

-- White House says it won't participate in impeachment hearing...

-- Duncan Hunter says he'll resign after holidays following guilty plea over misusing campaign funds...

-- Trump still uses his personal cell phone despite warnings and increased call scrutiny...

-- A Saudi national is the suspected gunman in the deadly shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station...

Bloomberg to his reporters: Your paycheck comes with "some restrictions" on reporting

This didn't go over well... Mike Bloomberg said employees at his news organization "just have to learn to live with some things" when asked about their frustrations over the outlet's 2020 election policy forbidding the investigation of Bloomberg's competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"They get a paycheck," Bloomberg said of his employees during an interview that aired Friday with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King. "But with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities." Here's my full story...

Fierce backlash

Here are just a few of the reactions from across the journalism and politics fields...

>> Matt Pearce: "Getting the privilege and prestige of owning a major newsroom comes with its own restrictions and responsibilities, except if you're Michael Bloomberg, apparently..."

>> Judd Legum: "This is why it's important to have independent media that isn't controlled by billionaires..."

>> Yashar Ali: "If I was a reporter at Bloomberg and had the ability to leave without another job lined up, I would resign in protest today. This is an outrageous statement for someone who owns and controls a news organization..."

>> Janine Gibson: "Reporting in 1896: 'Without fear or favour' (Ochs). Reporting in 2019: 'With restrictions and responsibilities' (Bloomberg)"

>> Jon Lovett: "Hey @MikeBloomberg, I want to suggest a slight tweak: 'I hope and expect the professionals at Bloomberg News will treat me like any other candidate. That's the scrutiny you expect and even welcome when you decide to run for president in a democracy, no matter who you are..."

Bloomberg's other problematic moment

That wasn't the only moment in Bloomberg's CBS interview that generated controversy. As CNN's Cristina Alesci reported, "Bloomberg falsely claimed ... that 'nobody asked' him about the controversial stop and frisk policing tactic until he started running for president, despite being asked about -- and defending -- the policy as recently as earlier this year."

>> Related: What struck me about this moment was that Gayle King did not immediately call Bloomberg out in real-time for peddling this clear falsehood...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Michael Calderone notes that Jennifer Jacobs, who he calls "Trump's favored reporter," is being "caught in the Bloomberg tussle..." (Politico)

-- "With his barrage of complaints against the media, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is threatening to overturn the governing culture of the 1964 landmark Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan," WaPo's Erik Wemple says in his latest video... (WaPo)

-- Ari Melber breaks down how Fox has played a crucial role in the impeachment saga... (MSNBC)

-- Italian soccer stars are condemning a newspaper's front page "BLACK FRIDAY" headline... (NYT)

-- "With the exception of Motor Trend, Hot Rod, and Four Wheeler, TEN Publishing will cease the print products of its magazine brands," former Hot Rod editor David Freiburger writes... (Facebook)

JUST IN:

Elon Musk wins in 'pedo guy' defamation trial

Billionaire Elon Musk was victorious on Friday, exiting the courtroom declaring that his "faith in humanity is restored" after winning a defamation lawsuit filed against him that stemmed from his infamous "pedo guy" tweet.

Following a four-day-long trial, the jury reached the decision in less than an hour, according to CNN's Kerry Flynn, who has been in Los Angeles covering the case. More from Flynn's report here...

DiGenova and Toensing vanish from Fox

What ever happened to Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing on Fox? Over at Media Matters, Matt Gertz observed Friday that the two have "quietly vanished" from the network in recent weeks.

Gertz noted that diGenova and Toensing had appeared on Fox News and Fox Business 68 times this year. But, Gertz reported, neither of them have been on Fox's air since November 13. So what happened? I asked a Fox spokesperson for insight, but didn't hear back...

Gannett cuts continue

In a memo to staff obtained by Dan Kennedy, Gannett CEO Paul Bascobert addressed the layoffs which have reportedly commenced at some of the newspaper giant's properties across the country. "Over the past few days, we implemented a series of staff reductions across the company," Bascobert acknowledged. And there's more to come.

Bascobert said that the "honest answer" is layoffs are not complete. "Longer term, it should be no surprise that we will always be looking for ways to run the business more efficiently," Bascobert said, adding that "these necessary actions enable us to invest in the digital talent, products and services." You can read the full memo here...

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

By Brian Stelter:

-- McClatchy stock closed at 50 cents on Friday, its highest price in two weeks. But Joe Nocera says CEO Craig Forman "believes that," notwithstanding the stock price, McClatchy can beat the odds and craft a model that will allow it to avoid the clutches of a rapacious hedge fund..." (Bloomberg)

-- For a more pessimistic view, here's a brand new must-read by Ken Doctor: "This is how the 5 biggest newspaper chains could become 2 — and it all comes down to one day, June 30, 2020" (Newsonomics)

-- GQ's Geoff Gagnon has been promoted to executive editor, reporting to EIC Will Welch... (MediaPost)

WarnerMedia honors Ted Turner's legacy

WarnerMedia on Friday "named the Techwood Turner Broadcasting campus in Midtown after its founder Ted Turner," AJC's Rodney Ho reported. "Turner stood in the same spot he did 40 years earlier boldly announcing the launch of CNN, which started at the Techwood campus for seven years before moving to CNN Center downtown."

>> WarnerMedia also donated $550,000 to the University of Georgia, establishing a scholarship fund, an internship program and a Ted Turner Exhibition Hall & Gallery at UGA's Library...

Turner to CNN employees: "Carry it on," I'll be watching

The ceremony was emceed by Wolf Blitzer and included remarks from John Stankey, who said, "It is hard to identify a single word for someone as multi-dimensional as Ted, but from his business decisions to his commitment to the environment, the word that comes to mind is audacious."

Turner told employees of CNN to "carry it on" and that he'll "be watching." Turner added in his speech, "Turner Broadcasting and its networks, including CNN, are my proudest professional accomplishments and they always will be. The Techwood campus holds a lot of meaning to me because this is where it all began." Variety's Cynthia Littleton has more from the event...

WEEKEND PLANNER

-- Dems on the House Judiciary Committee plan to meet all weekend long...

-- Jennifer Lopez hosts "SNL," with musical guest DaBaby...

-- Billie Eilish will appear on "CBS Sunday Morning..."

-- Jerry Nadler will be on "SOTU" and "Meet the Press" Sunday morning...

-- The Miss Universe pageant will air live on Fox Sunday at 7pm ET...

-- "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" is live Sunday at 8pm ET. Read about the 10 honorees this year...

On this week's "Reliable" podcast: "How America Lost Its Mind"

Brian Stelter emails: Thomas E. Patterson of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government is out with a new book titled "How America Lost Its Mind: The Assault on Reason That's Crippling Our Democracy." And Patterson is my guest on this week's "Reliable Sources." He says the media bears partial responsibility for the assault on reason that is crippling American democracy. As for those media personalities "beyond the pale in terms of their willingness to fudge the facts," he says "we have to shame them out of existence." Listen to the episode via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your favorite app...

This Sunday on "Reliable..."

One more note from Stelter: Damon De Ionno, who ran this project showing "how smartphones turned election news into chaos" in the UK, will join me on Sunday's "Reliable Sources," along with Liz Mair, Olivia Nuzzi, David Frum, and a few surprises...

Publishers rake in subscriptions on Cyber Monday and Black Friday

Retail stores weren't the only companies that saw increased business in the past week with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. According to DigiDay's Max Willens, news publications also saw a big boost in sales.

"The Wall Street Journal and Wired both recorded the biggest single day of subscription sales in their histories," Willens reported. "On Black Friday, Barron's experienced the same. And New York magazine, which began offering promotions on Friday, logged its best four-day sales stretch ever."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

Katie Pellico emails: Instagram's new hashtag controls aren't stopping anti-vaxxers, writes Isobel Cockerell... (Coda Story)

-- Rush Limbaugh detailed how he effectively booked himself on "Fox & Friends..." (Media Matters)

Buzz builds around "Rise of Skywalker"

Brian Lowry emails: The buzz has already begun building for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," the premiere of which is now just two weeks away. The end of the saga prompted me to look back on my personal history with the series, and a column that -- at the risk of allowing Frank Pallotta et al. to compare my age to Yoda's -- it's taken 42 years to write. Read on...

Television Academy honors Rick Ludwin

Brian Lowry emails: There was a pretty extraordinary tribute at the Television Academy on Thursday night, honoring the late NBC executive Rick Ludwin, who recently died at 71. The speakers included Jerry Seinfeld and Conan O'Brien -- who both discussed the pivotal role Ludwin played in their careers -- and Jay Leno, as well as a number of former colleagues.

Ludwin famously championed "Seinfeld" -- giving up a portion of his specials budget to order four episodes of the series, which went on to become a goldmine for all concerned -- and O'Brien, during a stretch when NBC came close to firing the "Late Night" host after he replaced David Letterman.

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Brian Lowry:

-- The Screen Actors Guild might want to add a seven-second delay to its annual SAG Awards, with Robert De Niro to receive the organization's career-achievement award, which will be presented by Leonardo DiCaprio...

-- Hard to tell yet how good the timing will be in terms of current events, but Showtime's "Homeland" will return for its final season on Feb. 9...

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST...

The stars of 'A Christmas Prince' franchise understand its ridiculousness

Marianne Garvey writes: If you haven't seen any of the three "A Christmas Prince" movies streaming on Netflix, you should get to it for some cheesy royal family drama.

The two leads talked with me about what it's like to rule the fictional country of Aldovia and have a rival country try to put a curse on your newborn baby. Happy streaming!

Thank you for reading! Email me your feedback or connect with me on Twitter. Brian will be back on Sunday...