Oliver Darcy here. Welcome to Labor Day Weekend! Scroll down below for how President Trump is lying about The Atlantic, what Nicholas Kristof quipped when Kayleigh McEnany stormed out of her press event, the latest on Stars and Stripes' future, details on Michael Cohen's book tour, and more. But first...
Fox undermines Fox
For years, Fox News has worked to undermine and discredit the work of other news organizations that have reported damning details about President Trump and his administration. But on Friday, something unusual happened: The network turned a skeptical eye toward reporting from its own correspondent.
After spending much of the day bashing The Atlantic for Jeffrey Goldberg's jarring report which said Trump had disparaged military members who had died in service to the country, Fox News itself confirmed key aspects of it. In a lengthy Twitter thread, correspondent Jennifer Griffin said she had confirmed Trump disparaged veterans; didn't want to honor the dead at the Aisne-Marne Cemetery; and did not want to lower flags after the death of John McCain.
An actual news organization would aggressively tout that it had matched much of the reporting at the center of the biggest news story of the day — especially given that Fox rarely delivers on original reporting of its own. And it would have mattered because Fox viewers are so often shielded from the truth. But Fox didn't proudly hold up Griffin's reporting. Instead, it acted as if it were ashamed and inconvenienced by it.
Griffin delivered her report in the 3pm hour. But during "The Five," pro-Trump hosts Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld moved to discredit The Atlantic's reporting — the same reporting that Griffin had confirmed key aspects of. Gutfeld called it a "hoax" and said "there are no sources" and that it had "already been debunked." Quite the opposite, Gutfeld, your own network had just confirmed it!
Alright, let's put Gutfeld in with his fellow pro-Trump propagandists. Surely Fox's "straight news" anchors — the ones who are marketed as delivering hard-hitting news — forcefully showcased their colleague's reporting? Surely the network didn't bend the news toward Trump, given that its own reporting indicated he actually disparaged the military members? Nope, not the case.
Bret Baier, Fox News' chief political news anchor, aired a segment in which he ran this chyron on the lower-thirds of the screen: "'FAKE NEWS': TRUMP DENIES STORY HE CALLED DEAD TROOPS 'LOSERS.'" Baier let John Roberts, who had relied on anonymous sources to try to pour cold water on The Atlantic's article earlier in the day, deliver a report casting doubt on it. And then he presented Griffin's reporting. Apparently unable to tell viewers whether Griffin's reporting was accurate, Baier concluded the segment by saying, "Thought we'd lay all of that out for you to make a decision."
>> Later in the hour, the show ran another chyron, this time with a notable omission: "QUESTIONABLE COMMENTS: ATLANTIC STORY ALLEGES TRUMP REMARKS ON SERVICE MEMBERS." Why not note Fox had reporting indicating this as well?
Things didn't improve when anchor Jon Scott, filling in for Martha MacCallum, covered the story in the 7pm hour. Scott interviewed Pete Buttigieg and repeatedly aimed at casting doubt on The Atlantic's reporting. Scott emphasized the denials from Trump flacks and claimed to Buttigieg, "It just comes down to a he-said, she said."
Perhaps you want to give Scott the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was just playing Devil's advocate as a journalist? You would have maybe been able to make that argument, but later in the hour, when Trump communications director Tim Murtaugh appeared on the program and bashed The Atlantic's reporting as "fake," Scott stood idly by and didn't challenge him. It was stunning to watch: the Fox News anchor pushed back on a guest making arguments aligned with his network's own reporting, then let another guest trash that reporting without challenging him at all.
![]() Instead of leading its homepage with Griffin's reporting, which confirmed many of the key aspects of The Atlantic's reporting, what did the network do? It led with Trump's denial. The splash headline quoted Trump saying, "IT'S A HOAX." And the main headline read, "Trump denies Atlantic report he belittled military in canceled trip amid conflicting accounts."
>> Jon Passantino, who now works at CNN, tweeted: "I used to manage the Fox News dot com homepage. This would be an extraordinary and unusual decision to run this denial as the top story despite having confirmed key details of the reporting..."
Brian Stelter writes: "From the reporting in my new book 'HOAX,' I think this passage from Page 18 is most applicable to Friday's news. I wrote that anchors and commentators felt 'excruciating pressure to please the Fox base -- and avoid their wrath.' This pressure comes, in part, from the daily ratings reports... The Nielsens are like 'an invisible hand,' one Fox veteran said, pushing everyone in a rightward direction. So banners and segments and bookings are all influenced by the fear that viewers will turn the TV off..."
About the word "Hoax"
Brian Stelter writes: "Trump said the word 'hoax' five times in 15 seconds at Friday's press briefing. He said Goldberg's story was a 'hoax' just like 'Russia-Russia-Russia was a hoax.' By doing so, he basically explained the title of my aforementioned book. At this point, his copious claims about hoaxes add up to... a hoax! He has been using the word more and more, every year, accusing his opponents of malice. The word is a building block in his permanent campaign of disbelief, as I wrote in this NYT op-ed..."
>> "Hoax is a potent word, in being an angry and mean one," the linguist John McWhorter told Stelter. It "carries an air of accusation, of transgression." McWhorter called it "the quintessence of Trumpian self-expression..." FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE -- Fox News contributor Stephen Hayes called out fellow Fox contributor and pro-Trump pundit Mollie Hemingway: "Mollie, you have used anonymous sources. Why is it OK for you to use anonymous sources but not for other people who are trying to get to the truth?" (Mediaite)
-- Observation from McKay Coppins: "A funny thing about the MAGA outlets that pride themselves on their coziness with the White House is that they never break news on the White House...." (Twitter)
-- As Trump suggests John Kelly could have been one of The Atlantic's sources, NYT underscores his notable silence in a story... (NYT)
-- Brianna Keilar, who referenced a story from her husband's own military service, delivered a scathing monologue about Trump's reported comments: "The ones that we have lost aren't losers, they are ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing..." (CNN) Trump's factual claims about The Atlantic are false
Trump called The Atlantic both a "second rate" and "third rate" publication. Both insults are untrue. He said it is "not going to be in business much longer." There's no evidence of that, and tons of evidence to the contrary. This is reminiscent of the way he attacked Vanity Fair for years while Graydon Carter was editor... And VF is still alive and well... McEnany storms out of press event
WH press secretary Kayleigh McEnany stormed out of her press event Friday after delivering remarks in which she blasted The Atlantic for supposedly being "only interested in pedaling conspiracy-laden propaganda." Reporters were gathered in the James S. Brady Briefing Room for what was ostensibly supposed to be a briefing. But, as a multitude of journalists pointed out, it did not resemble one. NYT's Nicholas Kristof slightly dissented, however, tweeting that it did remind him "of a press conference he once attended" — "in North Korea."
>> It's worth noting anytime McEnany bashes members of the press for supposed conspiracy theories that earlier this summer she literally defended Trump when he suggested an elderly man hospitalized after being pushed to the ground by police might have been an "ANTIFA provocateur" who was "scanning" police radios... Trump vows to continue funding Stars and Stripes after Pentagon ordered it to shutter
Trump overrode his defense secretary on Friday and vowed to continue funding Stars and Stripes after news the Pentagon ordered the organization to shutter leaked to the public. Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that the US "will NOT be cutting funding" to the outlet. Of course, his tweet came as he faces significant uproar over a report in The Atlantic that said he disparaged military members. Matt Pearce commented, "I think the Atlantic just saved some newspaper jobs."
Earlier in the day, USA Today broke news about an August 4 Defense Department memo to the outlet's publisher that said it had "decided to discontinue the publication" of the newspaper. The memo instructed Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer to provide the Defense Department a plan that "dissolves" the organization by January 31, 2021. The memo said Stars and Stripes should cease publishing by September 30, 2020, when the fiscal year ends. Here's my full story... This Sunday on "Reliable Sources"
Brian Stelter writes: "Big show in the works for this Labor Day Weekend! I will be joined by Carl Bernstein, SE Cupp, 'The Drudge Revolution' author Matthew Lysiak, and Stars and Stripes ombudsman Ernie Gates, plus Facebook VP Nick Clegg and HuffPost senior WH correspondent S.V. Date, author of a new book titled 'The Useful Idiot.' See you Sunday at 11am ET..." FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO -- Joe Biden held a news conference Friday. "This is a very newsy Joe Biden press conference ... and worth noting second time he is taking reporter Qs so far this week," MJ Lee observed... (Twitter)
-- Kate Bennet reported that the East Wing is grappling "with a familiar West Wing problem: the tell-all book..." (CNN)
-- Kevin G. Hall wrote: "New Jersey hedge fund Chatham Asset Management completed its $312 million purchase of the McClatchy Co. on Friday, opening a new era for a local news chain founded in the days of the California Gold Rush..." (McClatchy) The beginning of Michael Cohen's book tour ![]() Brian Stelter writes: "Michael Cohen's book 'Disloyal' has been in the top ten on Amazon for well over a week. Ahead of its release on Tuesday, Cohen has spoken with NBC's Lester Holt in an interview that will roll out Tuesday on 'NBC Nightly News.' In the clip that was shared on Friday, Cohen said Trump 'will do anything and everything within which to win. And I believe that includes manipulating the ballots.' He said 'I believe that he would even go so far as to start a war in order to prevent himself from being removed from office. My biggest fear is that there will not be a peaceful transition of power in 2020.'"
>> Holt has the first broadcast interview with Cohen and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow has the first cable interview, also airing on Tuesday... FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE -- BuzzFeed News published a post explaining why it is now referring to QAnon as a "collective delusion..." (BuzzFeed)
-- Jamelle Bouie writes about two types of conspiracy theories: "The 'new' conspiracism ... is conspiracy without any discernible theory of the world. It rejects explanation, however distorted, in favor of disorientation and delegitimization..." (NYT)
-- The NYT editorial board called on Congress to take more action on members who share doctored videos... (NYT) Journalism hacked
Donie O'Sullivan emails: "I interviewed Jack Delaney, a 26-year-old aspiring writer, who was unwittingly writing for a Russian disinformation operation that was posing as an independent leftwing blog. One thing he said to me stuck out in particular: the Russian disinformation operation paid a better freelance rate that some publications he has worked for in the U.S."
"We've seen Russia do this before -- try to hijack indpendent journalism as a way to stoke division. Joshua Frank, the managing editor of the independent leftwing magazine Counterpunch, which itself has been targeted by Russian intelliegence officers, told me, 'This sort of thing ultimately hurts real journalists caught up in it and independent media more broadly, especially outlets that are critical of the United States government, by casting doubt about our authenticity.' Read my story here..." "Facebook is broken"
Facebook employees continue to express displeasure with how the company's senior leadership deals with Trump's misleading posts on the platform. In a Friday story from BuzzFeed's Craig Silverman and Ryan Mac, employees said it was "shameful" and "unconscionable" for Facebook to have left up a post from the President encouraging supporters to vote twice — a felony in some states. The post was eventually flagged, but it took hours for even that action to take place. "Facebook is broken," commented one employee to BuzzFeed... Bay Area journalists denounce local blogger as sexist
29 female journalists in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday published an open letter denouncing a local media blogger for writing "disturbing and sexist things about us and our colleagues." In the letter, the journalists said the local blogger has "posted malicious rumors and gossip about us" and "presented us as objects to be ogled and mocked in exchange for clicks."
>> The accused blogger told SFGate that the letter was "outrageous" and that he was "laughing" at how "hysterical" the claims were. FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE By Kerry Flynn:
-- "College newsrooms challenge an industry’s status quo," Serena Cho writes. She's a senior at Yale and the managing editor of the Yale Daily News... (CJR)
-- Amanda Hess writes about the world of entertainment and events without in-person audiences, featuring Hoda Kotb, Turner Sports announcer Greg Anthony and Samantha Bee... (NYT) Great weekend reads... 👓
By Katie Pellico:
-- David Cohn looks at the big picture: "When journalism and Silicon Valley collide..." (Poynter)
-- This interactive from NYT's Jin Wu and Elaine Yu documents "the changing nature of speech" in Hong Kong under a "sweeping" new national security law challenging free expression... (NYT)
-- This adaptation from "Blood and Oil," Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck's new book about Mohammed bin Salman, details his "attempt to silence critics on Twitter." Read about how his team "allegedly infiltrated the platform—and got away with it..." (WIRED)
-- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel answered readers' questions about its Kenosha coverage, like, "Why aren't you calling these riots?" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
-- "Colleges can't wait for newsrooms to fix themselves." Minette Drumwright, Kathleen McElroy and Carolyn McGourty Supple are designing a course on ethical newsroom leadership and they write, "Newsrooms must treat their people as ethically as their sources and their copy. Journalism schools can jump-start this change..." (Poynter)
-- ProPublica offers tips to local reporters for covering mail-in voting "while educating voters..." (ProPublica)
-- NYT's Brian X. Chen talks about "Mulan" and Asian representation, looking back on the success of the 1998 animated classic, "a moment of joy and anxiety for Asian-American viewers..." (NYT) ![]() To be a success, "Mulan" will have to conquer the world ![]() Frank Pallotta emails: "The movie industry grew up in Hollywood, but the iconic American institution is now relying on the rest of the world as it seeks to recover from a pandemic that has devastated the global box office. That’s very apparent with 'Mulan,' the Disney blockbuster that’s skipping US theaters for Disney+ on Friday. The film opens in China on September 11."
>> This move could be a "transformative" moment for Hollywood, according to Aynne Kokas, the author of "Hollywood Made In China." Kokas told Pallotta, "The US is the largest box-office market in the world. It likely will not maintain that title this year if the COVID restrictions continue. This could be a blip if the US is able to return to its previous situation, or it could be an inflection point." Lowry reviews "The Boys" and "Away"
Brian Lowry emails: "This is a tale of two streamers. Amazon's 'The Boys' is back, having fast become the service's signature title, as evidenced by its early renewal and an after-show devoted to it. And the second season is happily better than the first, dressing up what’s one of TV's most subversive political and cultural satires in the garb of an eccentric superhero team. Elsewhere, Netflix is launching 'Away,' a mission-to-Mars series that like earlier shows devoted to that topic on Hulu and National Geographic, turns out to be pretty much a snooze..." FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX By Lisa Respers France:
-- Usher is heading to Sin City. He is the latest celeb to announce a Vegas residency...
-- Justin Bieber offered up an assist to Drake in DJ Khaled's "Popstar" video...
-- The Rolling Stones have released a deluxe version of one of their less popular albums, "Goats Head Soup." Keith Richards said the original 1973 album marked a special time for him... The pandemic takes its toll on fall TV
Brian Lowry emails: "LAT's Meredith Blake wrote on Friday about the havoc that the pandemic has played with the traditional concept of a 'fall TV season,' and incorporated a small anecdote that struck a little close to home: The fact that Variety’s Bob Knight was for years the last word on when the TV season officially started, and how that task actually fell to me one year after he left. (Nielsen eventually came to its senses and took control of the decision.)" PET OF THE DAY... Meet Charlie, the CNN-watching panther?
Brian forgot to include a pet of the day yesterday, and we heard from many of you who were disappointed! Pro-pet voices seem to outnumber pet-pic-critics by about ten to one, based on the results in our inboxes. And with that said, today's pet of the day:
Reader Regina-Marie Fagan emails: "Meet Charlie, my 10-month-old kitten, getting so big I'm starting to wonder if I adopted a baby panther. He has been a lovable joy to me during months of lockdown here in CA. When he isn't up to kitten mischief, Charlie loves to sit and watch TV news. And CNN is definitely his station of choice." ![]() ![]() Thank you for reading! Send me feedback via email and connect with me on Twitter. Enjoy the holiday weekend... Share this newsletter:
You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter.
® © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc.
Our mailing address is: |