Hey, welcome to a new workweek. Here's the latest on Paramount's big-money deal with the UFC, plus David D. Kirkpatrick's report on "The Number" and Donie O'Sullivan's profile of "online debater culture." But first... |
Yousef Al Zanoon/Anadolu/Getty Images |
Al Jazeera English's bright red on-screen banner could not be clearer. "ISRAEL MURDERS JOURNALISTS," it has said, for the better part of twelve hours.
In Arabic and English, on air and online, the network is paying tribute to five staff members who were killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City — and is calling for international action against Israel to "halt this ongoing genocide and end the deliberate targeting of journalists."
The Israeli military has confirmed that it targeted correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, 28, claiming that documents found in Gaza show "unequivocal proof" of his "military affiliation to Hamas." Al Jazeera strongly denies the claims; Al-Sharif personally refuted the allegation before he was killed; and CNN's story noted that "CNN cannot independently verify the documents released by the IDF."
"This has really sent shockwaves not only across the Middle East but beyond," CNN's Nada Bashir said this morning. Al-Sharif was "a household name for many in the Arabic-speaking world" for "documenting the horrors that we are seeing in the Gaza Strip."
Al Jazeera said the other staff casualties were correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh; cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa; and their assistant Mohammed Noufal. A local freelance reporter, Mohammad al-Khaldi, was also killed, according to Reuters.
Bashir said it's important to underscore that the strike took place "ahead of a planned expansion of Israel's occupation of parts of the Gaza Strip." Al Jazeera has asserted that Israel is trying to eliminate eyewitnesses; this morning, managing editor Mohamed Moawad called it a "systematic erasure of those who bear witness."
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"Israel is murdering the messengers," Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah said in a statement. "Israel wiped out an entire news crew. It has made no claims that any of the other journalists were terrorists. That's murder. Plain and simple." (The IDF is accustomed to defending against these charges by citing their interpretation of wartime rules.)
>> Al Jazeera said in its own statement that "immunity for perpetrators and the lack of accountability embolden Israel's actions and encourage further oppression against witnesses to the truth."
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Israel continues to ban international journos |
"Since the start of the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip to report independently," CNN's team notes. "Just hours before the strike that killed Al-Sharif and his colleagues, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said foreign journalists would now be allowed into Gaza, but only with IDF approval and accompanied by them, the same embed policy that has been in place since the beginning of the war."
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That's what David D. Kirkpatrick wanted to find out. He decided to "tally up just how much Trump and his immediate family have pocketed off his time in the White House." His findings are published in this week's New Yorker, out today, in a story titled "The Number."
Other news sources have focused on Trump's net worth, but those estimates include past ventures, like properties he owned before taking office. What about profits from Trump's two presidencies? Kirkpatrick shows the math and (conservatively!) estimates the sum to be $3.4 billion by the end of Trump’s second term.
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Trump wants a 'PR win' in DC |
At a 10am press conference that he has been hyping for days, the president will talk about his plans to wield more power over the nation's capital. "To support his threats, Trump has made false claims about rising crime in DC. But so far this year, overall crime numbers are lower than last year's," CNN reports.
>> Politico Playbook, citing "conversations with people in Trump world," says Trump sees an opportunity for a "quick, visually friendly PR win," which underscores how central the media coverage component is.
>> Notice how The Guardian framed its story on Sunday: "Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington DC." Robert Mackey noted that Trump's Truth Social post saying "the Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," was posted shortly after he motorcaded out to Virginia. The Truth post also contained photos that were all apparently taken during his drive.
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Hearing from judges — anonymously |
The Trump administration is evading court orders blocking its agenda, "suing judges for alleged misconduct, and veering toward what multiple current and former federal judges say could be a constitutional crisis," CNN's Katelyn Polantz wrote in this big piece over the weekend.
The sourcing stood out to me: Polantz spoke with about a half-dozen former and current judges, all of whom insisted on anonymity, not just because of what she calls the "tradition of jurists not to comment publicly on politics and ongoing disputes," but also to protect themselves "given the climate of harassment the Trump administration has created." Read on...
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In a taped sit-down with Maria Bartiromo that aired on Sunday, VP JD Vance claimed that Trump "has demanded full transparency" relating to files about the government's Jeffrey Epstein probe. Well, his demand sure hasn't been met yet. "After the Fox News interview aired," CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo notes, "clips of Vance's remarks gained traction across social media, with users across the political spectrum posting: 'Release the Epstein files!'"
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UFC moves from PPV to Paramount+ |
In Paramount's "first major move post-Skydance merger," David Ellison and co. have acquired "the U.S. rights to TKO Group's UFC for seven years, beginning in 2026," CNBC's Alex Sherman reports. It's a $7.7 billion deal.
Notably, "Paramount won't charge users any additional fees for access to the events, eliminating the pay-per-view model that ESPN+ has used for certain premium UFC events." So if you pay for Paramount+, you get everything. Select events will also be simulcast on CBS...
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>> Page One headline in today's New York Times: "CDC shooting followed years of demonization." Dr. Celine Gounder says "the intersection of disinformation, conspiracy theories and political violence is getting scarier by the day." (NYT)
>> Here's a local view from the AJC's Bill Torpy: "The anti-vax chickens come home to roost in shooting at CDC." (AJC)
>> Matt Flegenheimer visited Dr. Phil's mega-mansion in Dallas to write about "his herky-jerk transition from daytime TV behemoth to MAGA-friendly newsman." (NYT)
>> Business Insider founder Henry Blodget is launching an interview podcast called "Solutions" in partnership with Vox Media. (Semafor)
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Charlie Kirk vs. Destiny... |
...Coming to a college campus near you this fall? Donie O'Sullivan's latest report is about "the weird and wild world of online debater culture," from the inside, as you'll see. (Appropriately, the video is also up on YouTube.) "Young people may be tuning out the news," he says, "but this new form of live, provocative political debate is blowing up online..."
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AMC Entertainment "surpassed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue" in an earnings report this morning, Reuters reports. AMC cited a "nearly 26% jump in attendance during the period." AMC CEO Adam Aron credited "a recovering industry-wide box office, and the undeniable fact that both AMC and Odeon are executing so well." Shares popped in pre-market trading...
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'Weapons' #1 at the box office |
"American moviegoers are sending a loud and clear message to Hollywood: make quality, original horror movies and we will come," CNN's Auzinea Bacon writes. "This weekend, Zach Cregger's 'Weapons' topped the box office, grossing $42.5 million domestically. It's the second time this year that an original horror was No. 1 at the box office," with "Sinners" being the first...
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'Cool it with the savior worship' |
"Liberals enthusiastic over South Park right now should probably cool it with the savior worship. They’re not on South Park's team, and South Park is definitely not on theirs," Nicholas Quah wrote in this terrific Vulture piece the other day.
Still, there's something admirable about Matt Stone and Trey Parker "at this moment," Quah wrote. "In a landscape where most rich guys, from Tim Cook to Jeff Bezos, are busy repositioning themselves to preserve power, there's a strange catharsis in watching two dudes with money to burn actually stick to doing what they’ve always done. Consistency in one’s commitment to living by one’s own values — even profane, chaotic, nihilistic ones — feels rare right now. And in a moment this bleak, maybe that counts for something."
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AOL ending dial-up service! |
"AOL, an internet pioneer that brought millions of Americans online for the first time, is discontinuing its dial-up service next month," CNN's Jordan Valinsky reports. Can you believe it? Or rather, can you believe AOL was still offering dial-up? Data from 2023 indicated that about 160,000 people still connected to the internet through landline telephone service back then.
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