Brian Stelter here. The Dodgers just won the World Series. The election is truly in its final inning. At this hour next week, the vote-counting will be underway. Will we know the next US president yet?
What the press needs to do now
-- Keep focusing on the Road to 270. Everyone has seen the national horserace polls. The state-by-state contest is much more important to cover in-depth.
-- Point people to the how-to-vote info they need.
-- Show, don't tell. Keep featuring the lines at early voting sites. Amplify the voices of voters.
-- Prepare people for a variety of vote-counting scenarios. Explain the reasons why some states have results sooner than others and why delays are not evidence of shenanigans.
-- Demystify the decision desks. President Trump's lies about the integrity of the election make it all the more important that the public understand how projections are made. VOA has an excellent new explainer here.
-- On a related note: Share all the reasons why the public should have confidence in the vote-counting process. Describe how it's decentralized and point out the checks and balances.
-- Recognize that hardcore partisans are consuming very different streams of info than casual readers and viewers. Case in point: the Hunter Biden email narrative.
-- Respect that Covid-19 makes this an election like no other.
Are reporters overcorrecting in response to 2016?
To put it another way: Are they treating Trump-Biden like it's a lot closer than it actually is?
"A lot of us did not see the Trump victory in 2016 coming. So we're gun shy this time," Politico's John Harris said on Sunday's "Reliable Sources."
"I am not sure that's a bad thing, actually," Harris said. "I think sometimes we go too far in the other direction, of looking like the race is over, when we don't know that. We probably made that mistake in 2016." But in the final inning of the 2020 race, "what Trump is avoiding -- and it's a huge gift the media is giving him -- he is avoiding 'death watch coverage,' the kind of coverage that John McCain got in 2008, where everything is like a hospital vigil."
>> CNN's Harry Enten with the big-picture view: "It really is noteworthy (I think) that Clinton's edge was collapsing at this point in 2016... There's basically no sign of that for Biden right now. His lead is holding in all the data I'm seeing."
Why it's time to retire 'Election Day'
Quoting from Vivian Schiller's important piece for CNN Opinion: "It's time to retire the term 'Election Day' and replace it with a far more clear and more accurate term: 'the last day of voting.' As for the stage we're in now? Easy: 'Election season.' This is more than an arcane exercise in etymology. Focusing on the anachronistic notion of a singular election day is a disservice to the public who are already confused by where and how to vote. Worse, it risks reinforcing the notion that in-person day-of votes are more legitimate than votes by mail, a falsehood propagated by President Donald Trump and his allies." Read the rest here...
Rehearsals and run-throughs are underway
The other day I spoke with Sally Buzbee, executive editor of The Associated Press, about vote-counting and race-calling preparations. "We work through various scenarios... We test all of our systems," Buzbee said. But "the voters really make the decisions in American elections. So there is only so much you can test."
Buzbee expressed her confidence in the other national news outlets that assemble and report the election results -- which is really important, I think, when the president is out sowing doubt about the entire system. "The networks' race calling and decision desks are all incredibly professional organizations," Buzbee said. "We deeply respect them."
Her bottom line: "This is not magic. This is actually math and facts and science. That's how races are called." Watch or read her comments here...
FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE
-- Seconding what Reuters EIC Stephen Adler wrote here: "Our goal — our usefulness — is to help our customers make better-informed decisions, not to try to sway them to vote one way or another." (Nieman Reports)
-- Remember The Needle on the NYT website in 2016? "There's no sign that the Needle will be making a reappearance on Nov. 3," David Bauder reports in this story about how "the world of election probability gurus" has changed since '16... (AP)
-- Chris Hayes on MSNBC Tuesday night: There is "an intense, almost unbearable level of anxiety right now among the millions and millions of people that make up the pro-democracy anti-Trump majority of this country..." (Mediaite)
-- All the major networks will be previewing their Election Night coverage in the coming days. NBC and MSNBC sent out their press release on Tuesday... It promises "rolling coverage from New York" on the broadcast network "through at least 4 a.m. ET, and as long as the race continues to unfold..." (NBC PR)
-- Norah O'Donnell is anchoring the "CBS Evening News" from NYC all week, previewing the news division's election studio at ViacomCBS HQ...
-- The latest from Philly: "Protesters took to the streets and bands of looters broke into businesses for a second night after officers in Philadelphia shot and killed a Black man who was holding a knife in an encounter that city officials say raises questions..." (CNN)
Headlines from swing states
>> Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Biden races to expand election map in Georgia with call for 'healing...'"
>> Miami Herald: "As Florida eclipses 2016 early vote totals, Democratic turnout lags in Miami-Dade..."
>> Dallas Morning News: "Bloomberg launches ad blitz in Texas to help Biden, as Democrats see best chance in a generation to flip the state..."
>> Las Vegas Sun: "New poll shows Biden widening his lead over Trump in Nevada..."
>> Raleigh News & Observer: "'North Carolina matters': Vice President makes 2 stops Tuesday, Trump up next..."
>> Arizona Republic: "Early voting: Arizonans should mail ballots by Tuesday..."
>> Des Moines Register: "Stories from early voters in Polk County..."
Understanding Trump and Biden's emotional appeals
I revisit my highlighted copy of psychology professor Drew Westen's 2008 book "The Political Brain" during every election season. Westen made the case that "elections are won or lost in the marketplace of emotions." In some ways his book was an argument to cover style just as much as substance, because passion, not policy, determines many voters' decisions.
When I interviewed Westen the other day, he said "we pick leaders according to two emotional questions: Does this person understand and care about people like me? Does this person share my values?" He commented that people are voting "with their gut about whether they can stomach another four years of Trump." And he described Trump support as a "cult-like phenomenon." Here's the video...
Biden's made-for-TV events
Biden is respecting Covid-era guidelines while Trump is defying those same guidelines. And there is a whole lotta dishonesty in right-wing media about the results. Trump and his flacks routinely mock Biden and surrogates like Barack Obama for small crowd sizes. "Biden is drawing almost no one," Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
So it's worth observing the obvious: Biden's in-person events are almost 100% for the cameras, not for crowds. They are made-for-TV moments, for cable and the nightly news and YouTube, making a "show" of campaigning while respecting Covid-19 restrictions. Right-wing commentators know this, but they pretend otherwise...
>> In Orlando on Tuesday, Obama said Trump was recently "fussing about the crowd size at the inauguration again, saying his was bigger. Who is thinking about that right now?"
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- "Cable news networks broke ratings records in October." Mediaite's recap: "Fox News had the best prime time ratings in cable news history. MSNBC had its highest-rated month in network history. CNN had its most-watched prime time ever." (Mediaite)
-- The Lincoln Project "is looking to beef up its media business after the election," Sara Fischer reports... (Axios)
-- Matt Gertz made a list of "17 times Trump has cast doubt on the election in response to Fox..." (Media Matters)
-- Watch Brianna Keilar roll the tape on all the times Lindsey Graham has pleaded for money on Fox News. Notably, Laura Ingraham cut Graham off when he tried to do it again on Tuesday night... (YouTube)
-- Kayleigh McEnany is now formally serving as a senior advisor to Trump's campaign, in addition to her job as WH press secretary, raising serious ethical concerns... (Daily Beast)
Baier's absurd justification for Fox airing Trump's rallies
Fox News has gone all-in airing Trump's rallies in the run-up to the election. While CNN and MSNBC have aired snippets of the rallies, putting what viewers see in context, Fox has aired long stretches of Trump, no matter how repetitive he gets. On Tuesday evening, Bret Baier attempted to justify the network's editorial decision to do so. Baier contended that it was fair because Fox has also aired Biden and Obama live as well. It's true that Fox has carried the Democrats, but...
>> Oliver Darcy writes: "There's a major problem, however, with Baier's argument: It's classic bothsidesism. Biden and Obama tend to deliver traditional campaign stump speeches. But Trump uses the air time to brazenly lie, in addition to spreading dangerous misinfo about a public health emergency. Suggesting that TV networks should give equal weight to each "side" is absurd. When I pointed this out on Twitter, Baier responded with a silly jab..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE
-- Aaron Blake argues that Obama is embracing "his inner Trump troll..." (WaPo)
-- The headline on William D. Cohan's latest story asks: "Is the Wall Street Journal editorial board too cozy with the Bradley Foundation?" Well, if you have to ask... (VF)
-- Speaking of questions posed in headlines, read Margaret Sullivan's latest: "Pro-Trump voices have Mark Zuckerberg’s ear. Is that why Facebook undermines liberal news sites?" (WaPo)
Pizzagate-style misinfo about Hunter Biden spreads on social
Oliver Darcy writes: "Pizzagate-style misinfo about Hunter Biden has been shared on social media platforms more than 112,000 times over the past week, according to an analysis by Zignal Labs. The specific allegations being leveled against Hunter Biden are too heinous to repeat here. But the numbers show how sinister attacks against the Bidens are being shared in large numbers during the final stretch of the campaign..."
"The America Bureau"
The New Yorker commissioned this 13-minute documentary about foreign correspondents who are covering the US election and related tumult. You should watch the whole thing, but here are a few standout quotes:
-- BBC's Larry Madowo: "If what is happening here was happening in any other part of the world, the way foreign correspondents would be describing it would just be shocking."
-- Alan Cassidy of Switzerland's Tages-Anzeiger newspaper: "Trump makes it hard on us because some of the things he does makes me wonder whether I'm covering an election in the United States, one of the oldest democracies in the world, or whether I'm actually reporting from almost a failed state."
-- Arjen Van Der Horst of NOS in the Netherlands: "As a journalist, it's an enormous challenge, and in some ways exciting, because you realize I'm probably never going to experience this again in my career. Any election I will do after this one, if I ever gonna do an election, is gonna be boring."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR
-- The US is on track to hit 100,000 new daily Covid-19 cases, if the current trend continues, per Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown's School of Public Health... (CNN)
-- Dan Diamond tweeted: "Trump repeatedly claims that the US media has a special fixation on coronavirus, which will go away post-election. But a scan of global newspapers reveals that Covid remains a top story virtually everywhere — understandably!" Diamond shared examples... (Twitter)
-- According to reports from a group of scholars, "Older people and Republicans are most likely to share Covid-19 stories from fake news sites on Twitter," Laura Hazard Owens reports... (NiemanLab)
IN NON-ELECTION NEWS...
Read Chrissy Teigen's essay
"Chrissy Teigen is healing from the loss of her child and grateful for the outpouring of support her family has received since, she says in a new essay published Tuesday. She also says so much more," Sandra Gonzalez wrote for CNN.com.
I appreciated this choice made by Gonzalez and her editors: "To excerpt portions of Teigen's deeply personal and thoughtfully chosen language in describing her entire experience -- especially when such care was apparently given to sharing her account in her own words as opposed to in an interview -- would potentially be a disservice to this sensitive topic. Women or people whose families have experienced similar loss might find it triggering. We found it hopeful and heroically human." Agreed. So read Teigen's essay here...
WEDNESDAY PLANNER
Trump holds rallies in Arizona and flies to Florida...
Biden receives a briefing from public health experts and delivers remarks about Covid-19...
The heads of Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet will testify before the Senate Commerce Committee starting at 10am ET...
Man who has repeatedly been wrong to tell Congress why he is right
Donie O'Sullivan wrote that headline, and he also wrote this: "In 2016, right after the election, Mark Zuckerberg said 'Personally I think the idea that fake news on Facebook influenced the election in any way — I think is a pretty crazy idea.' And in 2018, he defended Holocaust deniers' right to post on Facebook. In both of these high-profile instances, Zuckerberg admitted he was wrong. Now he will be in front of Congress defending his company's decisions to allow lie-filled ads from politicians (expect Dems to bring this up) and to reduce the distribution of the NY Post's story about Hunter Biden (expect Republicans to talk a lot about this). His only possible reprieve? Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai are also going to be there..."
Spectacle not substance
O'Sullivan adds: "Big Tech CEOs in front of Congress can be a futile exercise at the best of times. But six days out to the election? Expect this to be a super-partisan spectacle. The hearing is ostensibly about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — which shields tech companies from liability for what users post on their platforms. Both Biden and Trump want to get rid of Section 230 — but for very different reasons. Biden wants platforms to take more responsibility (more moderation) while Trump wants platforms to have a hands-off approach. It's not clear if either’s goals could be achieved by doing this. Confused? So are the politicians..."
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST...
Forbes is introducing a paywall
Kerry Flynn reports: "Forbes CCO Randall Lane told staffers in a memo I obtained Tuesday that the site will 'launch a digital subscription effort next month.' In other words, Forbes.com is adding a paywall, joining other publishers looking to rely less on advertising and gain more direct revenue from readers. The details: Starting November 1, non-subscribers can access four free articles per month. Forbes is keeping some content outside of the paywall, though, including its lists, public service journalism and Brand Voice articles. The pricing is $6.99 monthly, $74.99 annually and $139.99 for two years, and that doesn't include the print magazine..."
Spotify's Joe Rogan lends platform to Alex Jones
Oliver Darcy writes: "This is unlikely to help ease internal tension over Spotify's decision to bring Joe Rogan exclusively to its platform. On Tuesday, Rogan posted a three-hour episode featuring Alex Jones. Which is to say that Spotify's biggest podcast host gave a platform to a person that Spotify itself de-platformed in 2018. Spotify declined to comment Tuesday night..."
Alison Roman's NYT column is over
Kerry Flynn writes: "'After a spectacular fall from grace in May, it looks Alison Roman will be continuing her career behind kitchen doors,' Kate Lindsay wrote this week after Joe Rosenthal uncovered that Roman recently purchased a restaurant in Bloomville, New York. So what does that mean for Roman in NYT Cooking? Back in May, Roman's column was placed on 'temporary leave,' a NYT spokesperson said, in the wake of Roman's negative comments about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo's businesses. I asked the NYT on Tuesday and a spokesperson said 'Alison Roman has decided to step away from her bi-weekly column for The Times to pursue other opportunities.' Roman did not respond to my request for comment. But like several media personalities, she's been investing in her own Substack newsletter..."
FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE
By Kerry Flynn:
-- Nicholas Quah's latest Hot Pod is on "the rise of the politician podcast..." (Vulture)
-- Rep. Ilhan Omar and her 17-year-old daughter, Isra Hirsi, are cover stars for Teen Vogue's November issue (Teen Vogue)
-- Obama taped an interview with LeBron James and Maverick Carter for a special edition of "The Shop," airing on HBO this Friday... (Twitter)
-- Speaking of LeBron, The SpringHill Company is "partnering with CNN Films on its previously announced documentary about the history of Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Massacre of 1921..." (RealScreen)
-- "In a historic change, The Salt Lake Tribune will stop printing and delivering a daily edition at year’s end and switch to a weekly printed newspaper delivered by mail..." (Tribune)
-- Staffers at NowThis revealed their union effort Tuesday and the fact that they've received voluntary recognition from Group Nine Media... (Twitter)
Fox puts Bezos and CNN in the same sentence, but...
Charlie Gasparino said on Fox Business Tuesday afternoon that there is "pretty hot and heavy investment banking speculation that CNN could be for sale, and that the buyer of CNN could be none other than Jeff Bezos." He also indicated that CNN's owner, AT&T, hasn't received any inbound interest from Bezos, but justified his reporting by saying that the speculation "may be foreshadowing something might come in the future."
So what's the deal? Well, I personally know that reporters from at least three news outlets were chasing a rumor about Bezos and CNN earlier this month. But no one followed through with a story, which strongly suggests that people close to Bezos poured cold water on the idea. "There's nothing to it," one very well-placed source said to me. A spokesman for Bezos declined to comment, which is how it always works with rumors like this.
>> But: Chatter about a potential sale of CNN is likely to continue, in light of the WSJ's recent report that "AT&T has fielded interest from potential acquirers of CNN on multiple occasions, including last year..."
Jon Stewart is launching a show for Apple TV+
Frank Pallotta writes: "Jon Stewart is coming back to TV. Well, Apple TV+, that is. The former host of 'The Daily Show' will helm a new current affairs series for the service – part of a new production deal that Stewart signed with Apple. The company says Stewart's hour-long, as-yet-untitled series will 'explore topics that are currently part of the national conversation and his advocacy work.'" Lacey Rose broke the news for THR... Read her full story here...
Netflix's well-deserved special for Sarah Cooper
Brian Lowry writes: "Sarah Cooper has parlayed her social-media success as a Trump satirist into a Netflix special, 'Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine,' with a whole lot of big-name help, including Helen Mirren in the unlikely role of Billy Bush. The program has the feel of an old-time variety show, albeit with a sharper, more consistently political edge. At its best, 'Everything's Fine' is a reminder that everything is most certainly not fine, conjuring laughter by capturing the sheer absurdity of it all, much like Cooper's Trump-channeling videos. That's the gift, in essence, that Cooper has doled out in 60-second bites to those slowly losing their minds, and if nothing else, the special feels like well-deserved recognition for services rendered..."
SNEAK PEEK
The women of "Grey's Anatomy"
Ellen Pompeo and the women of "Grey's Anatomy" front the annual Power of Women issue of Variety, coming out Wednesday morning. In the cover story by Kate Aurthur, Pompeo, Debbie Allen, Krista Vernoff, and Chandra Wilson preview the show's next season, the impact of Covid-19, "bad male management," and more. The story will be live at this link after 9am ET Wednesday; here's the cover:
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- Tim Curry is set to join a “Rocky Horror” live stream to benefit the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Lisa Respers France reports...
-- Uzo Aduba will star in a reimagining of "In Treatment" for HBO, Sandra Gonzalez reports...
-- Via Marianne Garvey: A new trailer for the 'Saved by the Bell' reboot is here...
"This is Us" gets real
Brian Lowry writes: "While the way the show weaves current events into the plot is interesting -- after showrunner Dan Fogelman said it would feel 'almost irresponsible' not to -- it does raise the specter of making a program that was an escape into something less than that, to the extent it's not just the odyssey of the Pearson clan, but mirroring our reality."
>> Warning: Lowry's review has spoilers!!!
>> Personal note to Jamie: Let's watch when you get home from work...
Amazon's opaque statement about "Borat"
Brian Lowry writes: "Amazon put out a press release saying that its viewership for the 'Borat' sequel has been 'very nice,' a cute line, but a completely opaque one. The company claimed that 'tens of millions' of viewers watched the film over the weekend. While it’s easy to believe that the movie has done well given the scads of publicity, the way streamers continue to be coy about substantive metrics about who’s watching understandably drives traditional networks and media reporters – who would like to have some means of presenting a project’s cultural reach – crazy, or at least it should..."
LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
Dog of the day
First, a correction: I accidentally wrote "his" instead of "her" when writing about Kasey Jones' submission yesterday. My apologies.
Now to today's submission: Celeste Hoppey-Broder, a veteran of HBO, shared a photo of her son's dog Alta in her Halloween costume. She says "Alta is appropriately named after the ski area in Utah where my husband’s ashes are scattered. She brings us great joy. Happy Halloween!"
Thanks for reading. Email me your feedback anytime. Oliver will be in charge tomorrow...
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