Good morning! We're upgrading some newsletter software, so things might look a little different around here in the coming days. Email me if you notice any hiccups. Now to today's media news... |
Trump's 'trust me' problem |
Every day, I come across some version of the following back and forth on X, Facebook, Instagram or some other social media site:
News consumer: President Trump is doing something inexplicable, inane or illegal.
Trump consumer: That's fake news. Trump said so on Truth Social.
This dynamic — tune out the news, just trust in Trump — makes real dialogue impossible. It makes sane people feel unglued. And it's happening again now as Trump tries to end a war he started in Iran.
While trying to push through a peace deal, he wants people to just take his word for it. "It's a very strong deal," he said this morning. "Nobody knows what it is, but it's very strong, and most people seem to be very happy."
Some of his MAGA media allies are very unhappy. The title of the New York Post's latest editorial sums up the mood: "Trump's Iran deal gives the Islamic Republic big wins upfront — and America nothing." Fox News host Mark Levin fumed in a lengthy X post last night, "I sure as hell hope I am misreading and mishearing things." This morning on "Fox & Friends," co-host Brian Kilmeade summed up what he's been told about the memo, calling it "very vague and concerning."
All of this reminds me of something Trump said back on June 1: "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end." The White House immediately made the quote into a rather ridiculous meme. This week's commentary suggests that "sit back and relax" won't satisfy MAGA media...
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Read a draft of the deal: |
The Trump administration's official secrecy about the deal's text has also made it difficult to debate the matter. But leaks are helping.
Last night, Bloomberg published a copy of the "14-point draft memorandum between the US and Iran." CNN also obtained the draft agreement and published it this morning. "Given both the US and Iranians' secrecy around the language, it remains unclear whether the draft text shared with CNN will reflect the exact wording of the final document due to be signed in person on Friday in Switzerland," Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak and Mostafa Salem's story notes.
When asked by a reporter if the agreement is final, Trump said, "No, it's not final. It's a memorandum of understanding," and "if I don't like it, if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head."
Quotes like that one led The Atlantic's Tom Nichols to write that "Trump does not understand the war he lost."
"None of this makes any sense, except as desperate rationalizations from a man who cannot face facts and admit defeat," Nichols wrote yesterday. "Trump has always had a tenuous relationship with the truth, but evidence is mounting that on the most important questions of war and peace, the president of the United States seems to be losing his grip on reality itself."
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Press conference coming up... |
The president is expected to hold a press conference at the G7 soon, though some of the earlier sessions have started late... |
Vance worries about SitRoom tapes |
VP JD Vance says he is "legitimately" worried that someone may have recorded White House Situation Room meetings and leaked the tapes.
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's recounting of Situation Room meetings in the forthcoming book "Regime Change" is so detailed — and undisputed by the participants — that it has Trump aides fearing a "shocking breach," Axios reported over the weekend.
Axios cited anonymous sources, but Vance basically confirmed it during an interview with Megyn Kelly yesterday. He claimed last week's "Regime Change" excerpt about the White House "freakout" over the Epstein files was mostly a "nothing burger," but also said, "There were certain things in there that legitimately made me worried that people were, like, taping."
"Yeah, in the Situation Room!" Kelly said.
"Which, by the way, is like a felony," Vance said.
"Regime Change" comes out next Tuesday, and the authors will surely be asked about the existence of tapes.
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The VP's book tour is working... |
...At least in terms of book sales: His memoir "Communion" shot up to #1 on Amazon's constantly-updated list of best-selling new releases on launch day yesterday. "Regime Change" is #2, signifying huge preorder sales.
>> About the VP's visit to "The View" yesterday: While tense at times, it was a generally civil conversation between people of opposing views, something that's all too rare on TV in the Trump era. It happens on CNN's "NewsNight," but where else?
>> I thought that Vance confessing to being a "conspiracy theorist" on the subject of Jeffrey Epstein was a brilliant bit of politics, since most Americans believe there is an ongoing cover-up...
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CBS pays up for 'Linus and Lucy' |
CBS has agreed to pay Lee Mendelson Film Productions an undisclosed amount after "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" used the famed Vince Guaraldi composition "Linus and Lucy" in its May finale, Variety's Michael Schneider reports. The production company will donate the proceeds to Chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen. Separately, Schneider notes, "the show and Colbert had donated $2.5 million to WCK and Andrés" during the penultimate episode...
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🏀 Knicks' clincher sets an NBA ratings record |
The Knicks' first championship-clinching win since the 1970s set a ratings record dating back to the 1990s: Game 5 against the Spurs averaged 24.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since Michael Jordan's last title run in 1998.
The ABC and ESPN audience peaked at roughly 33 million toward the end of the game on Saturday night. Overall, the five-game series averaged 20.6 million viewers, fully doubling last year's seven-game series. And even those huge Nielsen #s can't realistically account for all the fans watching at packed bars and street parties across NYC. Here's my full story on the ratings...
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⚽ Big World Cup #s for the English language broadcasts... |
"Through the first weekend" of the FIFA World Cup, the games on Fox, FS1 and Tubi "have averaged 6.7 million viewers, up 152% from group stage average four years ago," SBJ's Austin Karp reports.
These are "strong numbers" for Fox Sports, FOS reporter Michael McCarthy wrote on X. He said "everything is lining up" for the network and FIFA: "First US World Cup since '94. Perfect time zones. And, most importantly, a strong Team USA that could go all the way."
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...and the Spanish language broadcasts |
While Fox's coverage in the US is averaging 6.7 million viewers, Telemundo's Spanish-language coverage in the US "is faring a little better thus far, averaging 7.5 million viewers through the first 12 games, which represents 53% of the World Cup audience in the US," Karp's story notes.
>> The US-Paraguay game marked the US team's biggest World Cup audience "ever on Spanish-language TV in the U.S. with 9.5 million viewers."
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Fox's World Cup 'beef' with ESPN? |
"Some Fox executives are frustrated at what they perceive as ESPN's lack of coverage around the first men's World Cup held in the U.S. since 1994," the aforementioned Michael McCarthy reports. Executives were "especially ticked off by ESPN's apathetic approach to this past weekend" during the US-Paraguay opener, according to McCarthy. Meanwhile, his ESPN "sources counter that Fox should quit beefing given FIFA's stringent media rules" that make showing more highlights difficult...
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CNBC ratings spiked just like SpaceX's stock price |
Special coverage of SpaceX's historic IPO last Friday led to CNBC's highest-rated day in five years, according to Nielsen #s provided by the network.
In the 25- to 54-year-old demo, CNBC was the #3 cable network during market hours behind ESPN and Fox News. Online, CNBC reported a 43% spike in unique visitors versus a typical Friday. The day "showcased CNBC at its best," editor in chief Dave Cho wrote to staffers...
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>> Every media company feels the need to have a FAST channel: The New York Post Media Group is working on distribution deals for its first such channel, Kerry Flynn reports. (Axios)
>> USA Today is adding Marvel digital comics "and an exclusive new, vertically formatted Marvel Infinity series, 'Spider-Man Today,' to its consumer gaming platform." (Axios)
>> Great news: Kyla Scanlon, one of the best financial content creators out there, is joining CNN as a contributor and economic analyst. (Variety)
>> More good news: "At a time when some observers have questioned ESPN's commitment to investigative journalism," the network is renewing veteran reporter Don Van Natta Jr. (Awful Announcing)
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Netflix denies Lionsgate interest |
Lionsgate shares jumped nearly 14% yesterday after Semafor's Rohan Goswami reported that Netflix is among several media companies interested in acquiring the Hollywood studio. Netflix disputed the report, however, with a rep telling TheWrap's Lucas Manfredi that the streaming giant "is not interested" in acquiring Lionsgate.
>> Goswami's broader point: Netflix has some M&A ambitions and is "increasingly showing up in the marketplace for giant deals..."
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More of today's tech talk |
>> "Brands are expected to cut more than 1 billion pounds of digital advertising spending due to the UK's ban on social media for under-16s," Mark Sweney reports. (The Guardian)
>> "Snap introduced Specs, a $2,195 pair of augmented reality glasses that co-founder Evan Spiegel described as a leapfrog advancement and the computer of the future," Mark Gurman reports. (Bloomberg)
>> Meta says Threads now reaches 500 million monthly active users. The platform is launching a "tool that lets users control what they see in their feed." (TechCrunch)
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Sean Penn is working on a January 6 movie |
Sean Penn has been "quietly" working on a January 6-related drama film, "a passion project" that will "follow the early life of a cop who goes on to be caught up" in the Capitol riots, Deadline's Andreas Wiseman reports. "Penn has scripted and will direct the movie, which has five-time Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper in talks to star in the lead role," though "there's no deal yet..."
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A few more Hollywood headlines |
>> Hulu is developing "The Pinnacle," a New York real-estate drama series executive produced by George Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth. (Deadline)
>> "As Hollywood appears poised to pivot to digitally native creatives like [Kane] Parsons and 'Obsession' director Curry Barker, Reddit is emerging as a focus point… for agents and execs seeking the Next Big Thing," Alex Weprin writes. (THR)
>> The Grammys are "adding five new categories, including best Asian pop music performance and best Latin song," Tom Richardson reports. (BBC)
>> Netflix dropped the official trailer for "Louis C.K.: Ridiculous," the comedian's first streaming special in nine years. (YouTube)
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