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Wednesday, December 3, 2025 |
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Hey, happy Wednesday. Here's the latest on David Ellison, WBD, Joe Kahn, Aishah Hasnie, Smartmatic, Craig Carton, Kalshi, "Stranger Things," and more. Plus: Spotify's "Wrapped" recap and Sesame's "Knives Out" parody. But first... |
🔊 Too loud? Not loud enough?
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This is one of those weeks that drives President Trump's critics a little bit crazy.
They look at all that's going on — his dismissiveness about Americans struggling with higher prices; his xenophobic screed about Somali immigrants; his late-night Truth Social posting spree; his midday fight to stay awake during a cabinet meeting; his latest scandalous pardon, and so forth— and they wonder why the news media's coverage isn't commensurate with the sheer chaos of it all.
In many ways, this is a very Trump 1.0 issue, unresolved in Trump 2.0 and destined to be debated forever. To many of Trump's detractors, including those in the media, it will always feel like the volume has been turned down when it should be turned up.
On the other hand, the louder the volume gets, the more it all just sounds like... an indecipherable shouting match.
The frustration is very real. But it also runs up against the structural reality of the Trump era. Remember Steve Bannon's era-defining quote: "The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit."
Two evergreen questions come to mind: To what extent can reporters be referees rather than play-by-play announcers describing the action on the field? And to what extent should they be referees, keeping in mind that many readers and viewers already think they're acting like players, and some love that, and others hate it?
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Hey, Jimmy Fallon said, "I am sure being up all night" posting unhinged content on Truth Social "didn't affect him during today's cabinet meeting." Then Fallon cut to a clip of Trump seeming to doze off.
Some find it funny; others find it scary. "I'm trying to figure out why the President's inability to stay awake during a press availability isn't being covered as if it's a crisis," Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz wrote on X.
The White House, BTW, claimed Trump was "listening attentively" the entire time. The press pool's video showed otherwise. I thought this headline on Aaron Blake's CNN.com analysis piece nailed it: "Trump said he was 'sharper than I was 25 years ago.' Then he spent an hour appearing to doze off — again."
"We all can recognize the signs of aging in Donald Trump — this is a grandparent where his family would be starting to have the conversation about whether he was safe to drive anymore, let alone control the nation's nuclear weapons," Garrett Graff wrote in his newsletter earlier this week. "It's long past time for this to be a sustained front-page story in the US."
Graff argued that "the US media knows how to provide wall-to-wall coverage and how to elevate a 'news story' to a 'news event.' (Think Hunter Biden or Hillary’s emails.) It's clear that the media hasn’t yet decided that the president’s health and fitness is worthy of a 'news event.' But it should be."
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'I don't know why' Trump would do that |
During yesterday's cabinet photo op, Fox Business correspondent Edward Lawrence asked the president if he perceives that Americans are "getting impatient with the reforms that you're making."
"I think they're getting fake news from guys like you," Trump shot back. Then he said "affordability is a hoax that was started by Democrats who caused the problem of pricing."
Afterward, Fox anchor John Roberts — a veteran of the Trump White House beat — said, "I noticed that the president took a bit of a swing at Ed. Ed is such a nice guy! I don't know why he would do that."
To that, I'd simply say, Really, John? You don't know why?
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The White House wants bias 'tips' |
Well, maybe not your tips, personally. But yesterday the White House added a "Media Bias Offender Tipline" page to its website. It says, "If you know of any media outlet misrepresenting the Trump Administration, and skewing the truth, link the article below for our team to review it!"
Apparently, the idea is to get more material for the media bias tracker that went up last week. But troublemakers over on
Bluesky are already talking about flooding the "tipline" with links to skewed Fox and Breitbart stories.
Political strategists would generally say that when a political operation is spending this much time bashing the press, they're not winning...
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The NYT's assistant managing editor for standards and trust, Patrick Healy, collected questions for exec editor Joe Kahn and published the Q&A yesterday. "Most of our reader questions were about President Trump," Healy said, underscoring the point I made above.
When Healy asked Kahn about the hardest part of his job, Kahn said, "The most challenging part of the job is producing an independent news report when some readers really want a more partisan one." Read on...
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4️⃣ more political media notes |
>> "Evil and disgusting": Pop star Sabrina Carpenter "condemned the White House's use of her song 'Juno' in a social media video showing ICE agents arresting immigrants." (TheWrap)
>> The White House responded by using Carpenter's own album title. (EW)
>> "With a major spectrum deal awaiting Trump administration approval, AT&T has dropped its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs under pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr." (Policyband)
>> The MAGA media content creators who fancy themselves the "new Pentagon press corps" asked a variety of questions at yesterday's briefing, ranging from "softballs to pointed queries to performances," David Bauder wrote. (AP)
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Lizza publishes Nuzzi's 'strategy memo' for RFK Jr. |
Michelle Goldberg said it best yesterday: With regard to Olivia Nuzzi, there's "a serious journalism scandal hiding inside a frivolous sexual one." Ryan Lizza "may not be a reliable narrator," she said, but the contents of Nuzzi's book "American Canto" suggest the ethical violations he alleges "are at least partly true."
Last night, Lizza published "the text of the political strategy memo" that he says Nuzzi wrote for RFK Jr. in June 2024. In the memo, Nuzzi offered advice on everything from optics and staging to media strategy. "You are the best candidate," she concluded. "I love you 💋❤️."
>> In a podcast interview with The Bulwark's Tim Miller, Nuzzi was uncomfortable talking about the RFK mess, saying at one point, "I don't know how to responsibly handle this on camera with you."
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Latest in Smartmatic v. Fox News |
Lawyers for Fox News and Smartmatic were in court yesterday, asking for a "summary judgment" ruling that would avert a trial over Smartmatic's claims that Fox defamed the company in 2020. NPR's David Folkenflik recapped the state of play here. New York State Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen "did not give any indications about which way he was leaning," The Guardian's Jeremy Barr wrote afterward. Cohen will likely rule in the coming weeks...
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Ellison skips DealBook Summit amid WBD negotiations |
Not much new to report about the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war in the past 24 hours. Paramount CEO David Ellison was slated to speak at today's DealBook Summit, but he withdrew. "He is, as you have read in the headlines, in real time, negotiating as we speak to try to buy" WBD, Andrew Ross Sorkin told attendees just now. Sorkin said "he has now promised us that he's going to be here next year and he's going to be on the stage with his father Larry."
>> Paramount "has a 'plan B' if Netflix wins" the auction, Charlie Gasparino wrote, foreseeing something that sounds like "a hostile bid for the company."
>> Meantime, Bloomberg's Michelle F Davis, Thomas Buckley and Kelcee Griffis conveyed some fresh details about Comcast's pitch to WBD.
>> "The battle for Warner Bros. features too much talk of Donald Trump favoritism," Holman Jenkins opines in the WSJ today. (Whose fault is that?)
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CNN strikes a deal with Kalshi |
"CNN has struck a partnership with Kalshi, the world's largest global prediction market company," Sara Fischer reported for Axios. It "marks the first major news partnership for Kalshi," and it means that CNN will get real-time access to the company's data. "The integration will be championed by CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, who will tap into real-time insights from Kalshi in his reporting..."
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>> Today NBC News is beginning to roll out an "ad-free subscription streaming service" that puts all of its content "in a single basket." The service will cost $5.99 a month. (Variety)
>> Aishah Hasnie has been promoted to anchor and White House correspondent at Fox News. She will anchor on Saturday afternoons. (Deadline)
>> "Craig Carton is finalizing a deal to take over the afternoon drive-time slot on WFAN beginning next year." It will be his third stint at the station. (The Athletic)
>> Elazar Sontag, the Washington Post’s newly minted food critic, is bringing back star ratings. (WaPo)
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>> Well, here's a new way to challenge Facebook legally: News publishers in Sweden "have filed a police complaint against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over scam Facebook ads which steal the identities of journalists." (Press Gazette)
>> Ireland's media regulator has opened investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn "over concerns that their illegal content reporting mechanisms are not easy to access or do not allow people to report child sexual abuse material anonymously." (Reuters)
>> YouTube "is rolling out a new roundup experience that lets you quickly review your most notable video habits over the last year," a/k/a Spotify's end-of-year "Wrapped," but for your video viewing. (The Verge)
>> And speaking of "Wrapped," "Bad Bunny has been named its most-played artist for a fourth time, dethroning Taylor Swift." (AP)
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Liam Reilly writes: Netflix has released a "Sesame Street"-themed "Knives Out" segment, titled "Forks Out," featuring a puppet detective Benoit Blanc spoof who, true to the gastronomic theme, is dubbed "Beignet Blanc." The five-minute piece, available on YouTube, promotes the third installment of Rian Johnson's murder-mystery series, which hits the streamer next week, while also making the most of Netflix’s deal with Sesame Workshop. If you're looking for a good laugh this week, you've found it…
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Entertainment odds and ends |
>> Speaking of Netflix, "the final season of 'Stranger Things' roared to its best opening week ever — and the second-biggest premiere for any Netflix original series." (THR)
>> Netflix is setting up theatrical screenings of the "Stranger" series finale, and there's a twist: "The streamer won't be taking a cut," with theaters "instead selling concession vouchers in exchange for seats." (TheWrap)
>> NBCU is bringing back its "Creator Collective" program for the Winter Olympics in Milan. (THR)
>> "Hamilton" on Broadway "hit its highest gross ever last week with an eye-popping $4.9 million," Caitlin Huston reports. (THR)
>> William Earl has the highlights/lowlights from Netflix's new docuseries about Sean Combs. (Variety)
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