SCOOP
@PuckNews
: NBC NEWS plans to drop ex RNC-chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor following on-air revolt from NBC/MSNBC talent. Execs are deliberating over details; announcement pending. Meanwhile, McDaniel is seeking legal representation.
Full details, scoops &…
NEW: CNN's Christiane Amanpour took aim at Chris Licht's Trump town hall in a commencement address today; said she met with Licht this week and argued CNN shouldn't have let Trump “appear in that particular format."
I’m having lunch with Michael Avenatti
@MichaelAvenatti
at the Vanity Fair Summit and he’s proposing a three-round mixed-martial arts fight with Donald Trump Jr.
@DonaldJTrumpJr
for charity. No joke.
NEW NBC statement regarding the Trump immigration ad:
“After further review we recognize the insensitive nature of the ad and have decided to cease airing it across our properties as soon as possible.” – NBCUniversal Spokesperson.
New:: The AP; Bloomberg; First Look; Fox News; Gannett; National Press Club; NBC News; The New York Times; Politico; Press Freedom Defense Fund; E.W. Scripps; USA Today; and The Washington Post have filed joint friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNN’s and Jim Acosta’s lawsuit.
🏀 Multiple sources close to the Golden State Warriors tell me Mark Stevens, the minority owner who pushed Kyle Lowry, will likely be forced to sell his shares before the start of next season …
#NBAFinals
#KyleLowry
SCOOP
@PuckNews
: CNN's Chris Licht summoned
@OliverDarcy
and his editor to a meeting with himself and top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate:
#Break
: I’m told the Trump campaign barred today’s press pooler, NBC’s
@VaughnHillyard
, from traveling with the former president today in retribution for a recent interview in which Hillyard had pressed Rep. Stefanik to comment on E. Jean Carroll accusations against Trump.
NEW
@NBCNews
: Amazon has extended offer to President Joe Biden to assist with national Covid vaccine distribution.
In letter to
@POTUS
, Amazon Consumer CEO Dave Clark says "Amazon stands ready to assist you…”
Note: The CNN Town Hall was a 90 minute broadcast, though the network expected the actual event to go as long as 75 minutes. They stopped less than 70 minutes in. In other words, they could have gone longer if they wanted—which is usually what executives do with big ratings draws
#Break
: FOX Business has parted ways with Trish Regan - “We thank her for her contributions to the network over the years and wish her continued success in her future endeavors,” network says.
Regan had said coronavirus was a part of an effort to impeach Trump.
Scoop: ABC News President Kim Godwin sent a note to staff in which she called recent remarks by Donald Trump shocking and racist. "These remarks are as racist as they come,” Godwin wrote.
🚨 NEWS: Tucker Carlson will relaunch his show *on Twitter* with help from former Fox News staff. He will forgo at least $25 million owed to him by Fox Corp. in order to break non-compete clause.
@PuckNews
🚨 SCOOP
@PuckNews
: CNN C.E.O. Chris Licht will soon step down. Amy Entelis will serve as interim leader. Announcement could come as early as today.
Full story:
Where Jeff Bezos owns homes:
• Medina, Washington
• Beverly Hills (x3)
• New York City (x3)
• Washington, D.C.
• Van Horn, Texas
Am I missing anything?
Who is responsible for Facebook’s misuse of your data?
• Mark Zuckerberg, for the obvious reasons.
• Washington, for failing to regulate.
• You and me, for trusting FB with our data, hitting the “log in with Facebook” button and not asking ourselves how it actually worked.
personal news:
today's my last day at CNN
proud of the work
thanks to my colleagues
i've been lucky to serve the best in American media - St. Petersburg Times, WSJ, NYT, the NBC family, CNN
look forward to figuring out what's next
This is *not at all* what these models say, and this kind of misunderstanding of polling is what got pundits into trouble in 2016.
“Almost no chance” is 1%, 2%, not 20%. If you told me I had a 20% chance of falling off of a cliff today, I’d be scared out of my mind.
NEWS: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo will host the first 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary debates on TWO consecutive nights - JUNE 26 & 27, 2019 - in MIAMI, Florida.
Live on NBC, MSNBC & Telemundo.
SCOOP/NEW
@PuckNews
: Chris Licht has been asked to cut $100 MILLION from CNN’s budget, a target that will likely result in hundreds of job losses. His direct reports have already submitted proposals for jobs, shows, etc. that could be targeted >>
#Break
: “Saturday Night Live” will be *live* this weekend. Skits will be produced remotely and will include “Weekend Update,” NBC says. On a call, NBC chief Jeff Shell said Tom Hanks may be involved, source familiar tells me. NBC would not confirm that.
In sum:
+ The President of the United States has accused the world’s most powerful social media network of “killing people” by not doing enough to combat misinformation.
+ The company has responded by accusing the president of missing vaccine goals & passing the buck.
Jeff Zucker looking to get under
@realDonaldTrump
’s skin: “I’ve said before that Fox is state-run TV, the question should be is the White House state-run government by Fox TV?”
#Break
: The Walt Disney Company is further delaying the reopening of Disneyland past July 17, per company email ... Move comes amid heightened COVID-19 concerns and following protest from employees…. New date for reopening is TBD.
Personal News: I’m joining NBC News & MSNBC as Senior Media Reporter, covering the future of media and technology and its broad influence on business, politics and culture
I’m grateful to Jeff Zucker, Andrew Morse & CNN for the last three years.
There will be a newsletter...
CNN thinks that by empathizing with violent protestors they’re immune from the effects of disorder and lawlessness? Mob rule never ends well. How are they not covering this on their own air?
NPR is maintaining a very strict mask policy, and has set up an HR tip line for employees to report on colleagues who are not adhering to guidelines—with the possible result of discipline and even termination. This is from a memo sent out today:
+ from
@VaughnHillyard
pool report:
“Your NBC News pooler has been informed that the pool will no longer travel with and take part in the former president’s OTR stops today before his Rochester rally.
Your pooler was told that if he was the designated pooler by NBC News that…
#Scoop
: New York Times columnist Bret Stephens says that publisher A.G. Sulzberger “spiked” his column that was supposed to run on Monday morning in which he took issue with NYT’s handling of the Donald J. McNeil case (McNeil was ousted for his use of racial slur).
Thread….
NEW: The Associated Press says it is “no longer working with Hassan Eslaiah, who had been an occasional freelancer for AP and other international news organizations in Gaza.” Full statement here:
Meanwhile, CNN says it has severed ties with Eslaiah: “We…
More: Here is Hassan Eslaiah, an
@AP
and
@CNN
contributor, taking a selfie while being kissed by Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza and architect of the 10/7 slaughter.
The
@SteveKornacki
has signed "a new multimillion-dollar four-year contract that will employ him across NBC Sports and its entertainment division in addition to NBC News, where he will be a mainstay for MSNBC’s political coverage,” per
@SteveBattaglio
:
Jonathan Gold, the ambassador of Los Angeles and a man who revolutionized dining, has died.
Bourdain and Gold in the same year. One went global to celebrate the local. One went local to celebrate the global. Heroes both.
+ “Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named.”
Going to be an interesting test of the media that ran “Trump grabs handrail” headlines to see how they handle Biden falling down on the stairs.
Every news organization is entitled to its own editorial judgment, but if you set the precedent...
#BREAK
: Assault lawsuit against CNN’s
@donlemon
*dropped* as plaintiff Dustin Hice now says he misremembered event. Lemon lawyer calls suit "crass money grab from its inception," hits “unethical” media coverage (likely referring to Fox News, Megyn Kelly who gave it oxygen)...
Breaking from Facebook:
“We've assessed two policy violations against President Trump's Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time."
FACEBOOK official: "In private exchanges the Surgeon General has praised our work, including our efforts to inform people about COVID-19. They knew what they were doing. The White House is looking for scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals.”
NYT’s AG. Sulzberger, asked if he’s worried that
@realDonaldTrump
might sue over the tax story: “He’s not going to sue because the story is air tight.”
SCOOP
@PuckNews
: CNN C.E.O. Chris Licht plans to offer Kaitlan Collins, moderator of tonight's Trump town hall, a new contract to serve as the host of the network’s 9 p.m. primetime hour. The move could be announced as early as next week >>
The social audio play also means Spotify podcasters like Joe Rogan and Bill Simmons could soon broadcast in real time, rather than on delay, while musicians might one day be able to broadcast their concerts or other recordings live to listeners.
#Break
:
NETFLIX has landed the Obamas :: "President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features."
Scoop
@PuckNews
: CNN plans to change its on-air graphics back to old style that existed before ex-CEO Chris Licht changed them. Licht’s update, led by ex-comms chief Kris Coratti, did not go over well with CNN execs/journalists. Changes will start Monday, completed in 2-3 weeks.