Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Happy Friday! This is Oliver Darcy, in the newsletter chair for Brian Stelter. Scroll down for the latest on Deadspin, Britt McHenry's battle with Fox News, and Bob Iger's response to Martin Scorsese's criticism of the Marvel films. But first...

235 days and counting

Do you recall the last time you saw the White House press secretary stand behind the podium in the James S. Brady room and brief the press? Well, if not, no one could fault you.

It has been 235 days since a White House press secretary mustered enough bravery to face the press corps. And there is no reason to expect one soon...

"There is no plan now"

Even the folks at Fox are curious when there will be a White House press briefing. In a segment Friday on the network, one of the only places in which Stephanie Grisham seems to have the confidence to appear, host Bill Hemmer asked when a briefing would be held.

"Whenever it is time," Grisham replied, without detailing what exactly that means. Hemmer followed up with Grisham, asking her if she has even planned a briefing for the future. "There is no plan right now," Grisham said.

>> Side note: Imagine how deflating it must feel to be the White House press secretary and either not have either authorization or enough confidence to hold a press conference...

Dismisses need for war room

While appearing Friday on Fox, Grisham did say something noteworthy. Asked if the White House needs a war room to manage the impeachment inquiry, Grisham replied, "[Trump] is the war room. We don't feel the need for a war room." I actually think this is a fair point.

Indeed, as I have written before, previous presidents may have had war rooms full of lawyers and press aides during impeachment, but Trump has a right-wing media machine ready to defend him at any cost. He has a network nearly totally devoted to him in Fox, a cluster of loyal right-wing websites, talk radio, and an online army of trolls. Why would he need a war room?

"The White House press briefing now takes place on Fox News"

Over at the progressive Media Matters, researcher Bobby Lewis penned an excellent piece noting, "The White House press briefing now takes place on Fox News." Lewis wrote, "Grisham's particular innovation is to move the entire office of White House press secretary into the world of Fox News and Fox-adjacent media."

FRIDAY EVENING HEADLINES

-- "Impeachment testimony: Vindman was told not to discuss Trump-Zelensky call..." (CNN)

-- Another one from CNN: "Top White House official tried to find out if ambassador went rogue or acted at Trump's direction on Ukraine..."(CNN)

-- "Growing number of GOP senators consider acknowledging Trump's quid pro quo on Ukraine..." (WaPo)

-- "Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race..." (NYT)

Britt McHenry hires Lisa Bloom in fight with Fox

Fox personality Britt McHenry has hired the lawyer Lisa Bloom and filed a sexual harassment complaint with New York State's Division of Human Rights. In the complaint, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr, McHenry says she has suffered "tremendous anxiety, anguish, humiliation, and emotional distress" as a result of the alleged sexual harassment from Fox personality Tyrus.

"I have seen a therapist and have experienced stress-induced sickness, such as severe migraines," McHenry said in the complaint. "I have become physically ill repeatedly before going to work at Fox in New York." McHenry added, "My professional success and career have suffered immeasurably as a result of Fox's misconduct."

Fox says matter has been investigated twice

In a Friday statement, Fox revealed that the network has had a third-party conduct not one, but now two probes into the claims. "This matter has been fully investigated independently by two outside investigators who have exhausted every resource and avenue in doing so," a Fox spokesperson told me.

The Fox spokesperson added, "We stand by our processes and the conclusions of those impartial reviews. We recognize Britt's right to tell her side of the story and will defend in litigation our actions, which have been evidence-based and wholly appropriate."

>> Lisa Bloom fired back in a tweet: "Fox's false public statement omits important facts. We demand that Fox release Britt to respond with the truth. The era of silencing victims must come to an end."

Deadspin's entire staff has now resigned

"Deadspin's entire editorial staff has resigned in protest over the course of the week, leaving the future of the popular sports blog up in the air," Kerry Flynn reported Friday. Flynn noted that in a "tongue-in-cheek post published on Friday," senior editor Diana Moskovitz announced she had promoted Dave McKenna as editor-in-chief.

Only issue? It was McKenna's last day Friday. "McKenna has graciously agreed to accept his new position until the end of the day (this is his last day)," Moskovitz wrote. "Please note that Dave McKenna was the last EIC of Deadspin."

What's next for the site?

In her story, Kerry noted, "It's unclear what the future holds for Deadspin in its current iteration." That said, "When pressed for an update on Friday, a G/O Media spokesperson told CNN Business the company will continue to publish over the weekend and recruit new staff." Stay tuned...

>> Related: Joe Pompeo writes for Vanity Fair that Gawker's "content warriors keep sticking it to the man..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Erik Wemple wrote about how "Politico is Mr. October" for Sean Hannity... (WaPo)

-- Joshua Benton writes about how "data voids" on the internet "have opened a door to manipulators and other disinformation pushers..." (NiemanLab)

-- RedState is having a "red-hot" year, "even without Katie Hill," according to TheRighting... (TheRighting)

-- NewsMax CEO Chris Rudy thinks Trump's Ukraine phone call was "absolutely" inappropriate... (Mediaite)

Charlie Warzel's great reminder

In a Friday piece, Charlie Warzel made an excellent point: "Donald Trump and Republicans understand this potent combination of content creation and shamelessness. Whether its weekend tweets by the president or Rudy Giuliani's constant availability to journalists and Fox News hosts, Trumpists flood the zone with misinformation or ragebait. A Photoshopped image of a dog getting the Medal of Honor. Sharpiegate. A Fourth of July military parade."

"They're all attention spectacles," Warzel wrote. "When the inevitable outrage comes, they merely double down, with more content. The reaction from their enemies — the surprise at the shamelessness — is even more indignant, which delights supporters. It feeds cable headlines for another day. The result is disheartening, exhausting and politically effective.

In favor of Sean Duffy on CNN

Brian Stelter emails: My email inbox has been blowing up with opinions about Sean Duffy, CNN's newest pro-Trump commentator. Most emailers have been very, very critical of Duffy for his attempted undermining of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

CNN's Brianna Keilar called Duffy's comments a display of "anti-immigrant bigotry." But Mediaite's Colby Hall offered a different POV in this column. He said Duffy's presence on CNN is good for the national dialogue.

"Like it or not, Duffy's arguments are pervasive on the right, a vast swathe of the country," Hall wrote. "They go unchallenged and flourish in right-wing media. Shouldn't those arguments be invited on CNN and challenged? Or is it better to cup one's ears and pretend Trump doesn't have supporters who believe this? CNN's thinking is invite them on, challenge their beliefs, and have viewers watch the arguments emanating from the Oval Office fall apart." Here's his full column...

Wonderstruck starts Saturday

Stelter emails: Turn on the BBC America cable channel on any given Saturday from now on, and you'll see natural history programs like "Blue Planet." The channel is adopting a new name, Wonderstruck, on Saturdays only, and "counter-programming the world with the world," exec Sarah Barnett told me.

She likens the "mini-network" to Adult Swim, the network that takes over the Cartoon Network at night. Here's my full story... Barnett will join me on Sunday's "Reliable Sources" with more...

This Sunday on Reliable Sources

Stelter emails: Hall will join me this Sunday, along with Aisha Moodie-Mills, who strongly disagrees with him. Other guests will include Irin Carmon, Rachael Bade, Melanie Zanona, and Bill Frischling...

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Steve Schmidt has returned to MSNBC after advising Howard Schultz on a potential presidential campaign... (THR)

-- Fox's Jennifer Griffin was featured in Vie Magazine and spoke about her career and challenges she has faced... (Vie Mag)

-- Chris Wallace will air an interview with Nationals manager Mike Rizzo on Sunday...

Bob Iger: Buying Twitter could have "harmed the brand" of Disney

In a Friday interview with the BBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about how the company considered purchasing Twitter. Iger said that while he was "intrigued," he thought the "responsibilities" of running the platform "would burden us with things that would be potentially too distracting, too controversial, too challenging to manage." Iger ultimately concluded the purchase could have "potentially harmed the brand" of Disney...

Says he "would debate" Scorsese on Marvel

Iger was also asked about Martin Scorsese's recent criticism of Disney's Marvel films. Iger said he does "admire" Scorsese, but added that he "would debate him" over Marvel films, which he referred to as "good movies." Iger added of Scorsese, "I don't think he's ever seen a Marvel film. Anyone who's seen a Marvel film could not in all truth make that statement."

Facebook will allow UK election candidates to run false ads

Hadas Gold emails: One of the first big tests for the Facebook policy over political ads will come in December during the UK election. It couldn't come at a more fraught time -- the makeup of this parliament will determine what Brexit looks like -- and perhaps if it happens at all.

But Facebook confirmed to me and Donie O'Sullivan their policy of essentially allowing politicians to run false ads extends to the UK. Now the UK has really strict rules about political campaign advertising -- there's no paid political ads on radio or TV. And with the first election in December since 1923 (it will be cold and dark as we get less than eight hours of sun light a day here during December) leading many to think the importance of social media will rise.

What's especially ironic is that the policy is being championed by Facebook executive Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom who himself once complained about "lies" that spread during the 2016 Brexit referendum. Though Facebook is getting the brunt of the criticism regarding the political ads, experts say outdated political campaign laws are also to blame. Despite all the investigations into what happened last cycle -- nothing in British law has changed.

The Spectator under fire after publishing appalling column

Gold emails one more: British political magazine The Spectator (which just launched an American edition) came under fire after publishing an appalling column by Rod Liddle about the recent tussle in British politics over when to hold the next election (It will be December 12 by the way).

Liddle wrote the best Election Day would be when universities are closed and "Muslims are forbidden to do anything on pain of hell." He also seemed to poke fun at member of Parliament Rosie Duffield, who last month spoke out about a previous abusive relationship, describing her as 'the sobbing and oppressed Rosie "#MeToo" Duffield'.

Criticism rained down -- including from within the Spectator. A few hours later Liddle posted a response saying it was all a joke. "It was a very light-hearted series of suggestions about when to hold an election, based upon the silly dispute over the proposed dates for the election. It was patently a joke." The magazine's editor Fraser Nelson, appended his own note, saying, "This one was too easily misrepresented and should not have been published in the form that it was."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

By Kerry Flynn:

-- The Lily, the women-focused publication by The Washington Post, launched on Snapchat Discover (Twitter)

-- Ozy Media raised $35 million, which it plans to invest in its TV productions, podcasts and live events. The annual OZY Fest was cancelled this year due to excessive heat, which CEO Carlos Watson said was "zero percent fun..." (Axios)

-- How Future, which is buying Ti Media, has become a media consolidator... (Digiday)

Chrissy Teigen zings Ted Cruz for "paranoid" tweet

Conservatives regularly suggest, without evidence, that their voices are being suppressed -- or as they put it, "shadow banned" -- on social media. Earlier this week, Ted Cruz complained that one of his tweets had only been retweeted 169 times. "It's almost like the 3.4M people who chose to follow this account never saw this particular tweet.... Wonder why?" Cruz wondered.

On Friday, Chrissy Teigen fired back in a tweet of her own. "Sometimes stuff u say just bombs," she noted. "there is no need to get sad and paranoid about it." While comical, Teigen has a point. Pointing to a single tweet with low engagement in an attempt to prove a giant conspiracy is silly! Low engagement on a tweet might just mean what you posted wasn't very good!

NBC might give Peacock away for free

Frank Pallotta emails: If you think Apple TV+ was cheap at $4.99, NBCUniversal is considering giving Peacock away for free. CNBC's Alex Sherman reported on Friday that the company is thinking about making an ad-supported version of its streaming service free for everyone. "It would be the first free streaming on-demand video service from a major U.S. media provider," Sherman reported.

Sherman added that Comcast, NBCU's parent company, had planned on making the service free "only to cable subscribers and Comcast broadband customers" and that an ad-free production will "also be available but will come with a charge."

>> Peter Kafka had a good take: "Peacock is sort of a Netflix/Hulu/Disney+ etc competitor, but NBCU very much sees it as a way for them to make more ad $ then they do from FB, YouTube."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Lisa Respers France:

-- Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" celebrates 25 years being an earworm and is pretty much a holiday starting the day after Halloween now...

-- "Blade Runner" was set in November 2019 which means the future is now and you are officially old...

-- The new trailer for Netflix's "The Witcher" reveals release date...

Theater owners upset over "Irishman" release

Brian Lowry emails: It's no surprise that theater owners are upset about Netflix's limited theatrical release of "The Irishman," which seems designed more to mollify the talent involved than get anyone to see the film in theaters, as opposed to watching the 3 1/2-hour epic on a TV screen. That pushback, however, and headlines like "Hollywood Is Fuming Over Netflix's Plan for 'The Irishman,'" could impact what Netflix does care about namely, its award chances.

Bannon jousts with Errol Morris in 'American Dharma'

Lowry emails: Errol Morris received a cool reception for his documentary "American Dharma" on the festival circuit, and it arrives after another doc ("The Brink") devoted to the mind and machinations of Steve Bannon. Here, the two joust and discuss old movie s, in what might have been called "My Dinner With Steve K."

'American Son' makes flawed but powerful leap to Netflix

Lowry emails one more: Netflix has sought to bring theatrical experiences in the home, with Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show and now "American Son," a filmed presentation of the play with the original cast, headed by Kerry Washington. Always a difficult process, it's especially true with a play this claustrophobic, although the show -- about a missing young African-American man, while his mother waits in the police station -- retains its thematic power.

Thanks for reading! Shoot me an email with your feedback, or connect with me on Twitter. Stelter will be back on Sunday. I'm sure I'll see you at some point next week. Until then, have a great weekend!