Happy Monday! Here's the latest on Brian Roberts, Apple, Barry Blitt, Joy Reid, "Crime Junkie," Dan Bongino, Jane Fonda, and more...
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Trump's anti-Comcast tirade |
Reporters usually have to rely on anonymous sources, background interviews and documents (sometimes obtained years after the fact) to divine what a president was really thinking and feeling. But not with the Trump administration.
President Trump names his enemies and signals what "should" happen to them on Truth Social, where everyone can see, including the government officials who are investigating those enemies.
Today's example: Comcast, which is the subject of a FCC probe into the company's DEI initiatives. In an overnight rant Trump called the company "Concast" and its chairman Brian Roberts a "lowlife;" labeled MSNBC a "corrupt" and "illegal" arm of the Democratic Party; and said "they should be forced to pay vast sums of money for the damage they’ve done to our Country. Fake News is an UNPARDONABLE SIN!"
To what extent do Trump's appointees and aides – eager to please him – take these social media missives as orders?
Sure, maybe he's just blowing off steam, but while we're asking questions, here's another: Would Trump saying a disfavored media company "should be forced to pay vast sums of money" actually get more attention and criticism if it were the result of some anonymously-sourced bombshell report, rather than an out-in-the-open social media post?
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Elon says it was just a 'pulse check' |
Sometimes the question isn't whether to take Trump and co. seriously or literally, but rather, which post to take seriously. Take Elon Musk's Saturday tweet saying that all federal employees would be asked "what they got done last week," and "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."
The ensuing OMB email didn't mention any consequences for failure to respond. As some agencies pushed back and told employees not to reply, Musk reframed the matter altogether, writing on X that the email was just a "pulse check" to "see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email." He also implied that some dead people are on the federal employee payroll and need to be rooted out.
So was it a "pulse check" or a way to force more employees out? Depends on which tweet you read.
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When professional talkers take over... |
"We got Kash through, so now you are going to see what real change is like," Dan Bongino said on his podcast last Friday.
Now Kash Patel is Bongino's boss. Bongino, a bomb-throwing radio host and podcaster who pushed Trump's big election lies in 2020, will be deputy director of the FBI, tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations, despite having zero experience leading a large organization.
The former Secret Service agent became a high-profile personality on Fox during Trump’s first term in office. More recently he hosted many, many hours of talk radio for Cumulus. He also helped put the right-wing video site Rumble on the map. The result: There is a huge amount of lib-bashing Bongino content out there, just like there are hundreds of hours of Patel podcasts, with some containing clues about how the two men will run the FBI. That's what happens when pro talkers take over...
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As the NYT's Annie Karni wrote yesterday, Senator Chris Murphy has emerged as a "clear voice for Democrats countering Trump," on virtually every available platform – YouTube, Substack, and TikTok in addition to TV. Overnight he had this to say on X: "Dan Bongino's entire show is telling listeners the world is ending so they buy the dozens of survivalist products he sells." Anyone who has listened to Bongino's podcast knows that Murphy has a point...
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Political media notes and quotes |
>> David French says this is the big-picture story: "The pattern we are seeing abroad mimics the pattern we’ve been seeing at home. Trump’s enemies are now the American government’s enemies. There is one standard of justice for friends of Trump and another one for everyone else." (NYT)
>> FCC chair Brendan Carr sees it very differently: "We are returning to an even-handed treatment for everybody," he says in a new interview with Ted Hearn. "The people that politically were benefiting from the weaponization of the government now feel like they're getting discriminated against when the reality is they're just getting even-handed treatment." (Policyband)
>> This morning Apple confirmed the $500 billion investment that Trump teased last week. (CNN)
>> 🔌: I'll be at the table on Dana Bash's "Inside Politics" during the noon hour today.
>> This week's cover of The New Yorker, "You're Fired!" by Barry Blitt, is "a historical slant on the current constitutional crisis:"
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👀 on 'fringe media figures' |
"Fringe media figures are increasingly present at the White House and throughout the new administration," NPR's David Folkenflik and Tom Dreisbach write, with some eye-popping examples:
>> "Lara Logan — barred from Fox News and the right-wing network Newsmax for promoting extremist views — shocked some participants by joining a formal State Department listening session about international aid."
>> Julie Kelly, a conservative commentator who played a key role in reframing January 6 rioters as victims, "announced last week that she had visited the U.S. Justice Department as an 'invited guest.'"
>> "Among the reporters now present at press briefings are the co-host of Steve Bannon's podcast 'The War Room' and a reporter from Lindell TV." Read on...
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First AP hearing this afternoon |
In case you missed the news in our special Saturday edition, The AP is asking a federal court to declare the Trump White House's ban unconstitutional and require them to rescind it. Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, will hold a motion hearing today at 3 p.m. in DC.
The White House Correspondents' Association filed a brief supporting The AP last night. You can read it right here. WHCA president Eugene Daniels said the "unacceptable" situation "has already had a chilling effect on journalists who simply want to do their job..."
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Trump's Comcast tirade was prompted by this MSNBC shakeup news.
Joy Reid is out at 7 p.m. ET. "The Weekend" hosts are in. Alex Wagner is not returning to 9. Jen Psaki is poised to take over that time slot. The existing 7 and 9 p.m. show staffs will also be out. While producers are being encouraged to apply for new jobs at the network, as Oliver Darcy reported for Status last night, the changes have roiled staffers.
>> Wagner is expected to stay at MSNBC as a correspondent, but Reid is leaving altogether.
>> The network's new president Rebecca Kutler is about to announce further programming changes, including replacements for the weekend hosts who are moving to the weekdays. The aforementioned Eugene Daniels and NYU law professor Melissa Murray are both in the mix to lead new shows.
>> Plus: "MSNBC is embarking on its first major steps toward building up a newsgathering operation, with plans to add a Washington bureau and domestic and international correspondents," Deadline's Ted Johnson writes.
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CNN's Emma Lacey-Bordeaux writes: In a poignant letter on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion, The Kyiv Independent's Editor in Chief Olga Rudenko reflected on the surreal situation three years ago, and said the feeling is similar now: "We saw it coming closer but didn’t want to believe it would happen — it seemed so insane, impossible to imagine. A military invasion to take over a free country? Impossible. Just as impossible as it is to believe that the leader of the free world will side with the Russian dictator. And yet, it's happening."
Despite it all, Olga struck a poignant note of resolve, pointing to the way Ukraine has defended itself and the support they've received from around the world. Her team's work reflects that fight. The Kyiv Independent got its start just before the invasion and since then they've done award-winning journalism – and haven't been shy about holding their own wartime leaders to account. Olga's note reflected the news outlet's commitment to continuing, despite the circumstances: "Today, when we finally wrap the day and go home, we will hear the air defense working — Russia's drones have been attacking Kyiv every night this week. We will publish the last stories of the day from our bathrooms, the safest place during an attack. Nothing is stopping here."
Olga has been receiving many words of support and advice. You can read the full letter and the work from Olga and her team here...
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>> Altice USA and MSG Networks reached a deal. (CNBC)
>> Audiochuck founder Ashley Flowers, host of the hit podcast "Crime Junkie," announced a $40 million investment from The Chernin Group. The deal valued Audiochuck at about $250 million, making it "one of the most valuable podcasting startups in the world," Lucas Shaw wrote. (Bloomberg)
>> A group of foreign correspondents unveiled Noosphere, "a mobile-first platform for news that will charge less than $20 a month to users in exchange for unlimited access to content produced by independent journalists," Max Tani reported. (Semafor)
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Last night at the SAG Awards |
Liam Reilly writes: No single movie swept the SAG Awards on Sunday night. "Conclave" took home the coveted best cast award, while Timothée Chalamet and Demi Moore took home the top actor honors. "Anora," which has nabbed some top awards in recent weeks, was shut out. In TV world, "Shōgun" and "Only Murders In The Building" won big, taking home several accolades. Surprisingly, "The Bear" failed to go home with laurels.
>> Jane Fonda, accepting SAG’s lifetime achievement award, called on actors to “resist … what’s coming at us” amid the flurry of changes coming out of the White House. CNN's Lisa Respers France has details here.
>> Following his win for "The Penguin," Colin Farrell said he’d be open to a second season of the HBO show if the writers come up with a "really strong" idea.
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'Little House' on the cultural battlefield |
"Few facts offer a more sobering barometer for the current state of our politics than this: A television remake that no one has seen, a show with no cast or crew, something that exists at present only in the form of a treatment, contract and press release, is already a battle in America's ongoing culture wars."
Jason Kyle Howard is right about that. Check out his Politico Mag story about the controversy over the planned remake of "Little House on the Prairie..."
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The Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery bundle that launched in July and includes Disney+, Hulu, and Max at a discount "has shown early signs of success in keeping customers subscribed," the WSJ's Patience Haggin reports. Key stat: "About 80% of the bundle's subscribers were still paying for the service three months later," a major win...
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>> Disney's "Captain America: Brave New World" "crash-landed in its second go-around with audiences" despite maintaining the top box office spot, Jake Coyle writes. Neon's "The Monkey" snagged the No. 2 spot. (AP)
>> Looking to profit off the massive streaming success of "Suits," the show's successor "Suits LA" premiered on NBC last night, but the reviews have been middling. (Rotten Tomatoes)
>> TLC launched "The Baldwins" last night, and Samantha Chery has a recap. (Wash Post)
>> I started watching Robert De Niro's "Zero Day" over the weekend and was instantly hooked. Kudos to creators Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, and Michael Schmidt – and Barack Obama's senior advisor Eric Schultz, who consulted with the producers to make sure the DC scenes were authentic... (NYPost)
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