| | | | | Exec summary: New iPads on Tuesday? More Stormy Daniels developments? Plus, FX prevails in the Olivia de Havilland case, the WashPost wins the Toner Prize, and check out this "Black Panther" stat... | | The hedge fund behind "savage" newspaper cutbacks | | If you're working in a regional newspaper newsroom, you're probably already familiar with Alden Global Capital's treatment of papers like the Denver Post and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. If not, it's time to get familiar. Recent layoffs at the Post were devastating. And the hedge fund -- through its Digital First Media arm -- just took over the Boston Herald.
On Monday Bloomberg's Joe Nocera highlighted Alden's slash and burn practices in a piece titled "Imagine If Gordon Gekko Bought News Empires." He said Alden president Heath Freeman didn't respond to his requests for comment. Freeman "seems to have a rather unique view of a newspaper's purpose," Nocera wrote. "In this view, his papers are intended not so much to inform the public or hold officialdom to account, but to supply cash for Freeman to use elsewhere. His layoffs aren't just painful. They are savage." Read the rest here...
--> Further reading: Ken Doctor and Margaret Sullivan's recent columns about Alden... | | This year's Toner Prize goes to... | | | On Monday evening the 2018 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting was awarded "to a team of reporters from The Washington Post for their coverage of the Alabama Senate race and uncovering a pattern of sexual misconduct by candidate Roy Moore. The wining Washington Post team includes reporters Stephanie McCrummen, Beth Reinhard and Shawn Boburg; researcher Alice Crites; senior video producer Tom LeGro; and video reporter Dalton Bennett..." | | Slip-up almost keeps key government witness off stand in AT&T trial | | Here's what happened in court on Monday:
Sling TV president Warren Schlichting, "one of the government's key witnesses" against AT&T-Time Warner, "was almost blocked from testifying after the revelation that his attorney had over the weekend given him transcripts from the first day of the trial," CNN's Hadas Gold and Jessica Schneider report.
The government's lead lawyer, Craig Conrath, disclosed the breach to Judge Richard Leon on Monday morning. "Leon could have barred Schlichting from testifying, and could have held his lawyer in contempt of court. But he ultimately allowed Schlichting to testify and said any future violations would result in the witness being struck from the witness list." Read the full story here... | | | From the story: "Initial proceedings will be closed to the public as both sides hammer out how to deal with confidentiality issues in the continuing direct examination of Schlichting. Lawyers for AT&T and Time Warner are expected to get their chance to cross-examine him later in the day..." | | "Inside Time Warner, a growing chorus of AT&T merger skepticism" | | That's the headline on Joe Pompeo's latest piece for VF. He's building on what William D. Cohan wrote last week. Pompeo says there's talk about "the possibility of a Turner divestiture that all parties could get behind" -- a way to resolve the DOJ lawsuit.
He also hears talk that if the judge's deliberations "were to exceed a twice-extended June 21 deadline" for the deal to close, "at which point Time Warner could walk away without penalty, the company should perhaps renegotiate its acquisition terms -- or go a different route altogether." A possible outcome? An "epic auction" of Time Warner's assets. Here's the full piece... | | -- CNN's latest poll: "Trump's approval rating is highest in 11 months..." (CNN)
-- Lou Dobbs speaking for Trump's base in an interview with Kellyanne Conway on Monday night: "They want that damn wall, Kellyanne..." (Mediaite)
-- What's this about? "The owners of the National Enquirer," known to be close to POTUS, "have a slick, ad-free magazine on U.S. newsstands praising crown prince Mohammed bin Salman -- and insist they had no outside help for it..." (The Daily Beast) | | | That's what S.E. Cupp asked me on her HLN show on Monday. My answer: Yes, at least 22 million people care about the Stormy Daniels allegations. The ratings for "60 Minutes" were definitely boosted by NCAA basketball, but 22.1 million viewers watched Sunday's "60" episode, the program's biggest total audience in ten years. Here's my full story about the ratings... | | | Ron Mwangaguhung tweeted: "Remarkable how relevant '60 Minutes' has been over the decades. I grew fond of the show growing up. My parents watched it, and I got into it. Aĺl these years later I am still watching... And with the addition of Oprah and Anderson Cooper, '60 Minutes' will remain relevant for the foreseeable future..." | | Will Trump ever say yes to "60" interview requests? | | | As I noted in my story, Trump's last appearance on the newsmag was shortly after Election Day, when he was president elect. The episode featuring his interview with Leslie Stahl averaged 19 million viewers. The program's producers have been trying to book him for another interview, but Trump has declined... | | Now Stormy is suing Michael Cohen | | She's suing Michael Cohen for defamation. Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti is promising to reveal evidence of the alleged affair in the weeks and months to come. Avenatti to Anderson Cooper on "AC360:" "She's going to prove that what she said to you on '60 Minutes' was 100% accurate and that she's credible." Later in the broadcast, Avenatti and Cohen's attorney David Schwartz traded barbs...
--> What I'm wondering: Is there a brewing backlash against Avenatti's almost-too-savvy tactics? | | W.H. says Trump denies it, but he's staying silent | | | W.H. deputy press secretary Raj Shah on Monday: "The President strongly clearly and consistently has denied these underlying claims... The President doesn't believe that any of the claims Ms. Daniels made in the interview are accurate." Throughout the day on Monday, many commentators expressed surprise that Trump has resisted tweeting anything about Daniels... | | Fresh reporting from Gloria Borger | | "According to a source familiar with the president's thinking, there is no plan for POTUS to tweet about Stormy (at this moment)," CNN's Gloria Borger reported Monday evening. "Source says the president is dismissive of the women, saying the whole brouhaha is a nothing story..."
--> More via the WashPost: Trump is privately calling it a "hoax" and has "even has griped to several people that Daniels is not the type of woman he finds attractive..." | | Meanwhile, here's what Trump is hearing on Fox | | Howard Kurtz on Martha MacCallum's 7pm show: What Bill Clinton did "was far worse." I've been seeing/hearing the Clinton comparisons all day. Sean Hannity had two of Clinton's accusers on his 9pm show. Fox's other go-to target has been the "media," of course. This was part of Tucker Carlson's speech at 8pm:
Carlson: "If you're a committed Trump opponent -- pretty much everyone in the press is -- is Stormy Daniels really the best you can do? If you're looking for a new reason to be mad at the president, I don't know, how about the budget deal he signed on Friday? That bill will cost more than $1 trillion, but does nothing to protect the country from the foreign invasion that's changing it at an unprecedented rate. Of course, the press all but ignored THAT, and many more stories like it. Why? Because reporters could care less about voters -- or how the country they grew up in is vanishing. How about the 60,000 American O.D. deaths last year? Or the shrinking middle class? People dying younger? None of that is interesting to them. No one in Brooklyn cares at all. So instead, TV networks are devoting their entire schedules to convincing us that Donald Trump is naughty."
My two cents: This is a cheap and dishonest critique, insulting to Carlson's own colleagues, but it's appealing to some of his fans... | | "You're looking for a way to impeach my president" | | | CNN's Randi Kaye watched the "60" segment with a group of conservative Christian women in Dallas. In a Monday night segment on "AC360," Kaye said some of the women "some strongly suggested" that it was "all part of a media plot to bring down Donald Trump." Dr. Lynette Bryant to Kaye: "You're looking for a way to impeach my president..." | | A peek inside the morning show wars | | Avenatti did the morning TV rounds on Monday... And "GMA" broke an embargo by broadcasting its interview before CBS. According to a tipster, here's what happened: "CBS had the first interview post-'60 Minutes' as part of a booking agreement. 'GMA' and 'Today' pre-taped (as did CNN) to make it fair so we could all air right after CBS wrapped. However, 'GMA' broke that embargo and aired even before he was even live on CBS."
The word from ABC: Yes, it happened, but it was just a misunderstanding. "It was a mistake and they adamantly apologized," a source says... | | O'Donnell interviews Carter | | | In an interview set to air on Tuesday's "CBS This Morning," Jimmy Carter tells Norah O'Donnell that Trump's pick of John Bolton is "the worst mistake he's made..." | | -- ABC News SVP Tom Cibrowski is heading west... Becoming the president and GM of KGO, the ABC station in San Fran... (TVNewser)
-- NYT ed board news: "We're delighted to announce Mara Gay will join the editorial board as our lead opinion writer on state and local affairs..." (NYT PR)
-- Nightly news ratings race update: "NBC Nightly News" retook the 25-54 demo crown from ABC's "World News Tonight" last week...
-- Bill O'Reilly was kinda sorta back on Fox Sunday night... Andrew Kirell noticed that O'Reilly was "credited on-air" as "executive producer of the season-three premiere of Fox docu-series Legends & Lies..." (Beast)
-- The NYT's callout for submissions: "We are now accepting visual op-eds for publication in The New York Times Opinion section in print and online..." (NYT) | | Glasser joins The New Yorker | | | Internal memo from David Remnick and Michael Luo: "Since October, Susan Glasser, the former editor of Politico and currently their chief international affairs columnist and host of 'The Global Politico' podcast, has been writing a twice-monthly column for NewYorker.com from Washington. She'll now be joining us full-time as a staff writer, writing a weekly online column, 'Letter from Trump's Washington,' as well as longer pieces for the magazine. Susan will also bring her podcasting to us, contributing monthly interviews to 'The New Yorker Radio Hour.'" | | Bustle acquires The Zoe Report | | | Bustle Digital Group "is acquiring The Zoe Report from Rachel Zoe, Inc," Axios' Sarah Fischer reports. No word on deal terms... But "Rachel Zoe will become a significant shareholder of Bustle..." The company's CEO Bryan Goldberg says "we are planning many more acquisitions in the years to come..." | | | For the record, part three | | | -- "Nickelodeon has ended its relationship with Dan Schneider, the prolific producer behind many of the channel's signature scripted series..." (Variety)
-- "Endeavor acquired NeuLion, a company whose behind-the-scenes technology powers streaming video delivery for such high profile sports clients as the NFL and UFC, in an all-cash deal valued at $250 million..." (Deadline)
-- Anthony Crupi tweeted: "In its second major partnership with a top-tier sports championship series, YouTube TV goes all-in with the 2018 NBA Finals..." (AdAge) | | Yes, the FTC is investigating | | | "The Federal Trade Commission confirmed in a statement Monday that it is currently investigating Facebook data practices as the company faces new scrutiny from the Cambridge Analytica scandal," CNN's Seth Fiegerman reports. The news dragged down FB stock early in the day, but FB closed up 0.4% for the day... | | | The FB data scandal is "a moment that forces us, collectively, to step back and think about what we sacrificed for a more convenient and connected world," Charlie Warzel writes in his latest piece for BuzzFeed... | | | "Apple is gunning for Facebook," Dylan Byers writes. If you missed Monday morning's PACIFIC newsletter, here it is... Subscribe here if you're not already on the list... | | | Apple is holding an education-oriented event in Chicago on Tuesday... And the scuttlebutt is that the company "plans to announce at least one new iPad at a cheaper-than-ever price point during the event..." | | Viacom and Trevor Noah deepen biz deal | | | Viacom and Trevor Noah's production company have struck a "first look" deal. Variety's Brian Steinberg reports: "Viacom said its Paramount Players would adopt Noah's memoir 'Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood,' as a feature film. Lupita Nyong'o is attached to star as Trevor's mother, Patricia..." | | FX prevails in de Havilland case | | "A three-judge panel has tossed out the defamation suit brought by actress Olivia de Havilland, in a ruling that affirms the right of filmmakers to embellish the historical record," Variety's Gene Maddaus reports. "De Havilland sued FX Networks last year, alleging that the miniseries 'Feud' included a damaging portrayal of her. The case was closely watched because it appeared to threaten the ability of filmmakers to portray real events with fictionalized elements. But in its ruling Monday, the court unanimously held that such portrayals are protected by the First Amendment..."
--> "Feud" co-creator Ryan Murphy's statement: "The reversal is a victory for the creative community, and the First Amendment. Today's victory gives all creators the breathing room necessary to continue to tell important historical stories inspired by true events. Most of all, it's a great day for artistic expression and a reminder of how precious our freedom remains." | | Diversity is dominating the box office | | | "There's only one weekend so far in 2018 in which a film with a white male lead actor has won the box office," Frank Pallotta writes. "Films with women or minorities in lead roles have led the box office 11 out of 12 weekends this year, according to data from Box Office Mojo, a site that tracks box office revenue. In the same 12-week period in 2017, only five weekends were dominated by films with women or minorities in the lead." More... | | Check out this "Black Panther" stat | | | Via Frank's story: "Nearly a fourth of 2018's total box office gross can be credited to 'Black Panther,' according to comScore..." | | Netflix renews "Queer Eye" | | | Sandra Gonzalez reports: "Netflix has its eye on another season of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.' The rebooted reality show, which debuted in February with a new cast of experts at the helm, has scored another season, the streaming service announced Monday." | | AND Netflix renews four OTHER unscripted shows | | | The others are "Dope," "Drug Lords," "Nailed It!," and "The Toys That Made Us." Check out Joe Adalian's Q&A with unscripted head Bela Bajaria here... | | | For the record, part four | | | -- Chloe Melas emails: Christina Aguilera went makeup free on Paper's cover in honor of the mag's Transformation 2018 issue...
-- Lisa Respers France emails: Killer Mike has apologized that his appearance in an NRA video was "used as a weapon..."
-- One more from Chloe: Calling all "Stranger Things" fans. Exec producer Shawn Levy revealed some exciting news about season 3 at PaleyFest... | | Catch up on Sunday's "Reliable Sources" | | | You can read the transcript on CNN.com, listen to the podcast via Apple or other apps, watch the video clips on CNN.com, or watch the whole show on CNNgo or VOD. My advice: Skip the first 10 minutes about Stormy Daniels... But the rest of the hour holds up well... | | Exclusive interview with Eric Bolling | | | In his first time on CNN, former Fox News host Eric Bolling discussed the TV to Trump pipeline and his own interest in a White House position. When I brought it up, he also disputed the recent descriptions of Fox as a "propaganda machine." Watch the video here or read Jackie Wattles' recap... | | | POTUS and his reps follow a pattern: They deny, deny, deny until they have to accept that something is true. Recent examples include his legal team shakeup and H.R. McMaster's exit. My Q's on Sunday's "Reliable Sources:" How much harm does this cause? How does it make covering the White House more difficult? Here's my 3-minute-long essay... | | | Email brian.stelter@turner.com... the feedback helps us improve this newsletter every day... Thanks! | | | | | | |
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