Hey, good morning. Here's the latest on PBS, NPR, Kaitlan Collins, Andrew Sullivan, Meta, Netflix, Harvey Weinstein, and much more... |
In "How Democracies Die," Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said "democratic backsliding today begins at the ballot box." Strongmen are democratically elected, and then they turn institutions into "political weapons, wielded forcefully by those who control them against those who do not."
Around the world, "elected autocrats" maintain "a veneer of democracy while eviscerating its substance," Levitsky and Ziblatt wrote. This was nearly a decade ago, mind you, back in 2018.
Because there is no single moment when a country "obviously 'crosses the line' into dictatorship, nothing may set off society's alarm bells," the authors wrote. "Those who denounce government abuse may be dismissed as exaggerating or crying wolf. Democracy's erosion is, for many, almost imperceptible."
But there are clear signs when it's happening. Levitsky and Ziblatt wrote that democracy is subverted by "packing and 'weaponizing' the courts and other neutral agencies, buying off the media and the private sector (or bullying them into silence) and rewriting the rules of politics to tilt the playing field against opponents."
Now let's take a look at today's headlines...
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Harvard v. The White House is a top story everywhere, from the Harvard Crimson (see above) to Fox News. On "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" last night, Harvard law professor Andrew Manuel Crespo said universities must fight back "because this is a clear, unquestionable violation of First Amendment rights."
The Trump admin is trying to control "what we teach and what we say," he said, linking it to "authoritarian" power grabs around the world: "Institutions that are essential to civil society, like the press, like the courts, like the legal profession and universities are the first to come under attack, and that's what we've been seeing over the first few weeks of this administration."
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"As Big Law folds to Trump, some D.C. firms are fighting," Axios reports this morning. Yesterday another law firm in Trump's sights, Susman Godfrey, asked a DC judge for a temporary restraining order to halt Trump's actions against the firm. Susman Godfrey is particularly interesting because it is still actively battling Trump's 2020 election lies by handling Dominion's defamation claims against Newsmax, Rudy Giuliani, and other figures. "Today it is our firm under attack, but tomorrow it could be any of us," the firm says.
What does this have to do with the media? A whole lot. Reporters Without Borders said yesterday that Trump is "making it much harder for the press to enlist legal counsel to defend itself." For that reason, a collection of "over 60 press freedom organizations, lawyers, and journalists" have signed onto legal briefs supporting targeted law firms.
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As for Trump's meeting with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador yesterday, CNN's Stephen Collinson says "the warmth lavished on a leader who'd have been treated as a pariah by a conventional US administration was an ominous window into the 47th president's future intentions."
You should read Collinson's full analysis here. He points out an "atmosphere of growing authoritarianism around (Trump's) White House and an apparent determination to reject constitutional constraints on his behavior."
>> In a post on Bluesky, the Freedom of the Press Foundation warned that "if Trump can, in defiance of the Supreme Court, arbitrarily 'disappear' non-citizens in El Salvador, anyone else could be next — including journalists who report on his administration."
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The AP still isn't in the pool |
Judge Trevor McFadden's order restoring The AP's place in the White House press pool took effect on Sunday, "but on Monday, it was as if nothing had changed," The Washington Post's Jeremy Barr reports. The AP "was not included in the limited pool of journalists covering the president, as it had been before the ban."
Today Bloomberg is listed as the wire service member of the pool. Yesterday it was Reuters. If The AP isn't included tomorrow, it will be clear that the White House is ignoring McFadden's order. Meanwhile, the White House is appealing, and a hearing is slated for Thursday...
>> CNN's Kaitlan Collins was in the pool yesterday, and Trump insulted the network as she asked "straightforward and relevant" questions, Poynter's Tom Jones wrote. "Trump made clear," the NYT's Peter Baker said, that "what he wants are journalists who will tell him his policies are 'wonderful,' not ask tough questions."
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Trump sure is trying. CBS understandably had no comment about his latest call for the FCC to punish the network. FCC chair Brendan Carr – who was photographed last week wearing a gold pin with a silhouette of Trump's head – still hasn't responded to requests for comment about Trump's message. As I wrote for CNN.com, there is relatively little that Carr can do to impose "punishment," though the FCC's delay in approving Paramount's merger with Skydance is a big deal, and has already created uncertainty at the company...
>> Related: Oliver Darcy reports that Skydance chief David Ellison "was seen sitting ringside at the UFC fight in Miami, in the company of Trump," last Saturday.
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Urgent threat to PBS and NPR $$ |
According to a memo drafted by White House budget director Russ Vought and obtained by the New York Post, the Trump administration wants Congress to strip all the federal funding for PBS and NPR that Congress and Trump just OKed last month. This clawback – known as a "rescission" – totals $1.1 billion, which is the amount budgeted for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the next two years.
Vought's memo justifies the move by calling public radio and TV "politically biased." The Post says the White House "believes" the rescission proposal will be adopted by the House and Senate. It would be a long-awaited victory for Republican hardliners who have wanted PBS and NPR defunded for decades. It would also imperil smaller stations that serve Republican towns and rural areas.
>> "Public media executives have been planning for the possibility of having public funding clawed back for months," the NYT notes.
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Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show continues to stand out by showcasing anti-Trump protests, large and small, across the country. The protests "show people that they're not alone," she said last night, highlighting a "tiny" and "brave" handful of people in Henderson, Kentucky on one side of the screen and a huge rally held by Bernie Sanders and AOC in "deep, deep red" Salt Lake City, Utah on the other:
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There are actually many, many signs of resistance to Trump's power flexes, including from media outlets like MSNBC and The Bulwark. "An insurgency is building—but it feels a lot different this time," Eric Lutz wrote in this new piece for Vanity Fair.
Harvard's actions yesterday "injected energy into other universities across the country fearful of the president's wrath," and "some commentators went so far as to say that Harvard's decision would empower law firms, the courts, the media and other targets of the White House to push back as well," the NYT's Elisabeth Bumiller observed.
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>> Andrew Sullivan says it helps to see Trump as an "elected monarch." (The Dish)
>> From last night's "Daily Show with Jon Stewart:" Trump has "all the ingredients to be a top-tier authoritarian" except the "ruthless competence." (Deadline)
>> The U.S. is moving "toward the opaque habits and corrupt practices of the autocratic world," Anne Applebaum argues, and "it's now up to the media, to outside organizations, and to whistleblowers to keep reporting the slide into kleptocracy to the public and to the courts, to make sure that remaining laws are enforced." (The Atlantic gift link)
>> This is a gripping story by María Luisa Paúl and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux: "They fled authoritarian countries. Here they’re experiencing déjà vu." (Wash Post)
>> And don't miss this from Julia Angwin: "For months, Ami Fields-Meyer and I have been asking dissidents and activists from around the world how we can topple authoritarianism. We assembled their lessons into a field guide to courage." (New Yorker)
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Zuckerberg back on the stand |
Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand again this morning on day two of FTC v. Meta. CNN's Auzinea Bacon was at court for the first day of his testimony; Bacon and Clare Duffy have a recap here.
>> Jake Tapper interviewed former FTC chair Lina Khan about the case. Khan said the prospect of Trump intervening on Zuckerberg's behalf is "a constant worry that we all need to stay very vigilant about."
>> Mike Isaac's question: "What if Mark Zuckerberg had not bought Instagram and WhatsApp?" His point: The entire trial "hinges on unknowable alternate versions of Silicon Valley history."
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Palin v. NYT opening arguments today |
Liam Reilly writes: A jury has been selected for the retrial of Palin v. New York Times Co, with opening statements scheduled for today in Manhattan, per The AP's Larry Neumeister. The trial is expected to last up to two weeks. The court is not making a phone call-in line available, which means reporters have to attend in person if they want to listen in...
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Today's new nonfiction releases |
The #1 nonfiction book on Amazon's new releases chart right now is "How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously," today's new release by Bravolebrities and podcast hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo.
Also out today: Melinda French Gates's book "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward;" a new Dave Ramsey guide, "Build a Business You Love;" and former White House speechwriter Jonathan Horn's World War II story "The Fate of the Generals."
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Turning Trump's chaos into a game |
Fox Nation is game-ifying the chaos of Trump's (second) first 100 days in office with its latest streaming show, “What Did I Miss?” Hosted by Greg Gutfeld, the show will challenge four contestants who, on January 20, were placed in "complete isolation in upstate New York, with no contact to the outside world — no phones, internet, television, or social media," Fox says.
Gutfeld will present "dozens of scenarios featuring real headlines and fake ones, with the contestants having to sort through them to figure out what really happened, and what didn't," THR's Alex Weprin writes. "The grand prize is $50,000."
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>> "Our entire industry is going through a revolution:" CNN CEO Mark Thompson talked with the FT about the network's digital expansion plans. (FT)
>> Sunday's final round of the Masters "drew the highest rating for a golf telecast since 2018." (Yahoo! Sports)
>> "The AI-generated 'bias meter' that the Los Angeles Times rolled out last month in its Voices section … is not likely to come off the bench, managing editor Hector Becerra said in a recent meeting." (TheWrap)
>> "Public support for the U.S. government or tech companies taking steps to restrict false information online has ticked down slightly since 2023 after increasing in the years prior." (Pew)
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Netflix's $1 trillion vision |
Netflix shares rallied as soon as this WSJ story popped yesterday afternoon:
The company is aiming "to achieve a $1 trillion market capitalization and double its revenue by 2030, ambitious goals that show its growing heft as the largest global streamer," Jessica Toonkel and Suzanne Vranica report. Netflix's current market cap is $400 billion...
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Weinstein back on trial today |
Elizabeth Wagmeister writes: Five years after his historic conviction, disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is back on trial in New York today, following his overturned conviction.
For Weinstein, the retrial is another chance toward exoneration. But for his accusers, the stakes feel higher than ever – particularly amid a changed cultural and political climate in America in 2025. "I think much of the public was aghast when this conviction was set aside," attorney Gloria Allred told me.
Weinstein's lead defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, says he hopes Weinstein finally gets a fair trial after, he claims, the media made him out to be the "poster boy" of the #MeToo movement, which tainted the jury's perception. "It's a much different vibe in the whole country," Aidala told me. "There was an enormous amount of pressure on those jurors to find him guilty of something." My interview with Aidala will air today on "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
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