Hey, good morning. The FTC is blessing an ad industry merger, CBS is once again calling the president's "60 Minutes" lawsuit "meritless," the Sean Combs trial is coming to a close, and Brandy and Monica are headlining a tour. But first... |
"Information overload." "News fatigue." "The great tune-out." No matter the name, it's a real phenomenon with real impacts on American politics. As the NYT put it in this memorable headline last month, "One Thing Helping Trump's Approval Rating: Some People Are Not Paying Attention."
But when it comes to the conflict with Iran, Americans by and large are paying attention. Ratings and streaming views are up. Google searches are elevated. And a new CNN poll this morning shows that the vast majority of Americans have been following news about the US strikes in Iran at least somewhat closely.
The question: "How closely have you been following news about US airstrikes against Iran?" The answers: 32% said very closely and 47% said somewhat closely, while only 14% said "not too closely" and 7% said not closely at all.
The poll found that Trump's decision to strike "is broadly unpopular with Americans," with "sharp partisan divides" cutting through nearly every question asked in the survey. Here are the results...
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The f-bomb heard 'round the world |
This morning Trump was visibly angry at Israel and Iran... as well as CNN and MSNBC. Some of the televised analysis and commentary about Saturday's strike — and whether it was as successful as Trump claims — has clearly infuriated him. "I have no choice, I gotta watch that garbage," he said while speaking to reporters outside the White House.
The exchanges were shown in full on CNN. The president called out Comcast boss Brian Roberts by name, rebuked Israel amid accusations of ceasefire violations, and said both sides "don't know what the fuck they're doing."
"Moving past the personal attacks the president has made against CNN's accurate reporting," there was big news in his remarks, Kate Bolduan said. For one thing, John Berman added, "the president does not know if this ceasefire is still in effect. That's where we are this morning."
🔌: I talked about media coverage of the conflict with Jane Coaston on the "What A Day" podcast, hitting on the importance of humility and independent scrutiny of the claims coming from the region...
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Tucker and Levin still fighting |
Ceasefire or no ceasefire, Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin are still going at it. Carlson went after his former employer, Fox News, on his X show again yesterday, playing clips of Levin and Sean Hannity agitating for further conflict with Iran, and calling it "deranged." The point of it, he said, "is to scare old people into obedience."
Appearing on Emily Jashinsky's new show later in the evening, Carlson called Levin a "buffoon" and "a repulsive ghoul" — and repeatedly suggested the Fox host is sexually attracted to warfare. In response, Levin wrote a lengthy X post this morning, calling Carlson "the Happy Hooker of politics."
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>> What does it mean to have a president narrating a conflict in real time on his own social media site? The NYT's Jess Bidgood wrote about the Truth Social of it all.
>> After "truthing" about the ceasefire, POTUS got back on the phone with reporters, continuing the trend that we wrote about yesterday. He told NBC's Yamiche Alcindor that he thought the ceasefire would "go forever."
>> Slate's David Mack watched Fox News coverage of Operation Midnight Hammer and says the network "outdid itself."
>> "The gap between reality and reality TV:" Brian Lowry says the Iran conflict has put "renewed focus on the president placing looks and loyalty over credentials."
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FTC approves ad merger, but... |
Omnicom's $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic "can move forward on the condition that the new company does not enter agreements with others to steer ad dollars towards or away from publishers based on political content," Jody Godoy reports for Reuters. This FTC consent decree is a direct reflection of conservative arguments about online censorship and industry collusion. Of course, the companies didn't admit to ever conducting the type of boycott in the first place.
>> The Verge's
Lauren Feiner calls it "a gift to
Elon Musk's X;" here's why.
>> Media Matters is choosing to fight: Yesterday the liberal group sued the FTC, "claiming that the agency was waging a 'campaign of retribution' against the group on behalf of the Trump administration and Elon Musk," the NYT's Kate Conger and Ken Vogel report.
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Judge chastises Trump admin re: VOA |
The judge who partially blocked Trump's bid to dismantle Voice of America doesn't think the DOJ is taking its responsibility to keep him informed seriously. During a hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth asked why he hadn't been informed of Friday's layoffs, which, as I reported on Friday, sharply reduced total headcount, even as litigation is ongoing.
A DOJ attorney claimed the department "has been complying with his April 22 order 'in good faith'" and Lamberth replied, "I don't think so," the AP's Michael Kunzelman reports. "The judge gave the administration until Friday to file a written update on what it is doing at VOA..."
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Primary election day in NYC |
Two of the city's many candidates for mayor, Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani, closed with an appearance on Stephen Colbert last night — a notable bit of national press for a key local primary. (Andrew Cuomo, who enjoyed a lead in the polls until recently, has been relatively camera-shy.)
>> Politico's Calder McHugh says Mamdani's media strategy "subtly shifted," in the closing weeks of the campaign, "in an effort to broaden his appeal." Here's how.
>> Rolling Stone's CT Jones says Mamdani's campaign is "changing influencer culture."
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Today's new nonfiction releases |
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is out today with "Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C." Also new today: Carol Moseley Braun's "Trailblazer;" Margaret Stohl's "Super Visible: The Story of the Women of Marvel Comics;" and Mike Berland's "Not About Golf: The Life-Changing Joy of Playing the Game."
>> For other new releases, check out this fantastic Substack called The Nonfiction Book Party...
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🏀 Much-needed win for the NBA |
"The first game seven of an NBA Finals since 2016 delivered a big audience for ABC — and helped the series avoid some historic ratings lows," THR's Rick Porter reports. Sunday's finale averaged 16.3 million viewers, which ranked as "the most-watched NBA Finals contest since 2019." This means the seven-game series topped 10 million viewers overall...
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>> In a filing yesterday, CBS News "once again characterized the president’s lawsuit against the network as 'meritless' and an attempt to 'evade bedrock First Amendment principles.'" (Deadline)
>> Jeff Shell, "who will be the incoming president of new Paramount if the merger with Skydance is completed, has been accused by an attorney for 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone of interfering in contract negotiations with potential suitors." (THR)
>> F1 owner Liberty Media "has made growing the US audience of MotoGP its top priority" now that the European Commission has approved its acquisition of the motorcycling championship, Samuel Agini reports. (FT)
>> Maria Taylor "has been named NBC Sports' lead NBA and WNBA studio host for the company's upcoming NBA coverage on NBC and Peacock." (The Athletic)
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Combs trial coming to a close |
Sean "Diddy" Combs is not planning to testify in his criminal trial, CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reported yesterday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
>> During a discussion of the expected trial schedule in court, "prosecutors indicated the defense was not planning to call any witnesses in the case, though that could change." So, "closing arguments in the case could potentially take place on Thursday, with the jury deliberations starting as early as Friday."
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Entertainment odds and ends |
>> "Five Democratic senators staged a gay pride concert at a small theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday night as a form of symbolic protest against President Trump's takeover of the institution." (NYT)
>> "CBS Mornings" rolled out the news that Brandy and Monica "will embark on their first-ever co-headlining tour, 'The Boy Is Mine Tour,' this fall." (CBS)
>> "Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' rules the Billboard 200 albums chart for a fifth consecutive, and total, week." (Billboard)
>> Paramount is being sued by the late Paul Harvey's estate "for allegedly using an audio clip of Harvey's broadcast without permission" in "Landman." (TheWrap)
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