Reflecting reality
BY ALEX KOPPELMAN:
Since the day Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, we’ve known Roe was dead too — the only question, really, was whether it would be formally overturned or just gutted in everything but name. Now, just more than a week after the publication of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe, it’s worth looking back and asking ourselves: Did our coverage over the past two years, all of it, really reflect what we knew?
It’s worth asking this now because there are other significant things we know.
We know that most of the Republican Party embraces — at least publicly — the outright falsehood that Donald Trump was the real winner of the 2020 election, but that it was stolen from him by a vast conspiracy. We know that the most prominent Republican elected officials who refused to back Trump on this are leaving office or being drummed out or primaried by the true believers. We know those true believers think there is no way Trump could lose a presidential election, and maybe that no Republican nominee could.
We know — though not all of us may admit it — that if the GOP takes one or both houses of Congress this fall and enough of those true believers get into office, then in 2024 there may be no stopping the tide. We know they do not believe he could lose, so we know there is a good chance he will not be allowed to.
And we know the result would likely be not just the overturning of an American election but a reshaping of the world order. Is your newsroom's coverage of the midterms reflecting these things that we know? Will it?
(Some people will think all of this alarmist or naïve, and will rightly think that just about every election gets treated as if it’s the most important election ever and then the vast majority aren’t. Some will think that we don’t actually know these things, that we don’t know what happen If the Republican nominee loses convincingly in 2024 and there is no evidence of fraud. But Trump lost convincingly in 2020 and there was no evidence of fraud.)
This is not a question about whether you’re covering the January 6th commission and what it’s learning, or what people who believe the lies about 2020 are saying as they run for office; many newsrooms are doing stellar coverage of both. It’s not a question about whether you’re starting up one of the units now popping up dedicated to covering democracy and challenges to it; those are worthwhile efforts but can’t do the job on their own.
This is a question about all of your coverage of politics and the midterms from now until November and then beyond. Is it business as usual, albeit with some of these stories sprinkled in -- or does it show the world as it actually is?
Big picture thinking
BY ALEX KOPPELMAN:
Let’s be honest: The nice thing about writing something like this is I just get to hector everyone without actually having to solve the problems myself. Because there is no simple solution. It would be great if this were as easy as doing one story a day about the democracy sky falling, or doing some overwrought punditry, or adding a “to be sure, democracy is at stake” paragraph to every article -- but of course it’s not.
People in newsrooms typically don’t have time amid the crush of news to think about the big picture of our coverage, to step back and look at all of it and the overall story it conveys to our audiences. But now, right now, we have to make that time. We have to think about the coverage decisions we make, the stories we cover and don’t and the ones we play big and the ones to which we give short shrift.
This doesn’t mean being biased. It doesn’t mean rooting for one side. It doesn’t mean slanting our coverage. It means recognizing that doing anything else will slant our coverage.
WEDNESDAY PLANNER
President Biden travels to Chicago for the 40th IBEW International Convention...
Disney reports earnings after the close...
Eurovision continues...
Musk: Twitter's Trump ban was 'a mistake'
The table is officially set for Donald Trump to return to Twitter. Speaking at a Financial Times conference on Tuesday, Elon Musk said he would reverse the "morally bad" permanent ban against the former president. "I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," Musk said. "I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice." He went on to voice support for timeouts and temporary suspensions, but not perma-bans
@jack voices agreement
While talking about the concept of permanent bans, Musk said that Jack Dorsey also agreed with him. Soon after, Dorsey posted on Twitter saying as much. "I do agree," Dorsey wrote. "There are exceptions (CSE, illegal behavior, spam or network manipulation, etc), but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work." Dorsey went on to say the post-1/6 Trump ban was a "business decision" and that "it shouldn't have been." Dorsey said Twitter "should always revisit our decisions and evolve as necessary..."
Would Twitter help or hurt Trump?
BY BRIAN STELTER:
Would Trump benefit from being able to tweet again, or would it hurt him politically? That's what I asked on "CNN Newsroom." Some Trump allies are evidently wondering the same thing. CNN's Gabby Orr spoke with a former Trump campaign official who said Trump's absence from Twitter has "done wonders" for his image: "People who miss his mean tweets are joining Truth Social and the rest of us, including voters who liked the guy but desperately wanted him to stop tweeting, have forgotten how truly disruptive he was."
The WSJ editorial board made a similar point: If Trump "is back in public view, picking fights on an hourly basis and blaming everyone else for his election defeat, he might remind voters why they grew tired of his antics and made him a one-term president..."
-- The ACLU issued a statement saying that Musk's plan to allow Trump back on Twitter "is the right call." The group said, "Like it or not, President Trump is one of the most important political figures in this country, and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech..." (Reason)
-- For a different take: Jill Filipovic argues that Musk's move "threatens to bring Trump back to the White House..." (CNN)
-- Jen Psaki noted that the decision would be made by a private entity, but reiterated the WH's view that social media platforms should curtail misinfo... (USA Today)
-- Kara Swisher: "It will be very dicey for Trump not to use Truth Social exclusively and there appear to be all kinds of thorny issues with that fetid SPAC..." (Twitter)
"Putin must go"
BY BRIAN STELTER:
Russian defense officials are "lying to relatives." They're guilty of launching one of the "bloodiest wars of the 21st century." Vladimir Putin "and his circle are doomed to face a tribunal after the end of the war." That's some of what was apparently posted on a pro-Kremlin news site by two Russian reporters. The articles have been taken down, but not before CNN was able to review the contents. The reporters, Egor Polyakov and Alexandra Miroshnikova, said "Putin must go. He started a senseless war and is leading Russia into a ditch."
FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO
-- Ukrainian journalist Tanya Kozyreva has been "crisscrossing" her war-torn country. In this essay, she writes, "I’ve learned that war can sound very tidy when it’s described with words like ‘phases,’ ‘offensives’ and ‘territory,’ but it’s not tidy...” (NYT)
-- Isobel Koshiw reports on "the Ukrainian journalists turned war correspondents overnight..." (Guardian)
-- TV Rain EIC Tikhon Dzyadko talks with Joe Scarborough about how state-TV propaganda affects the views of Russians: There are people "who truly believe that the US wants to destroy Russia and make a Nazi state from Ukraine..." (MSNBC)
Soft ratings for Sanders' debut
Ratings for Symone Sanders' new MSNBC show are in — and they're far from ideal. As Politico's Max Tani and Alex Thompson wrote, "Sanders' Saturday debut was third behind competitors at CNN and Fox, and one of the lowest-rated shows on the network all day in total viewers." What I found interesting is that on both Saturday and Sunday, Sanders' show shed viewers from the hour before, both in total viewers and the 25-54 demo. On Saturday, for instance, Sanders' lead-in averaged 426k total viewers and 42k in the demo. Those numbers dropped to 361k and 29k during Sanders' show. While this is common for brand-new shows, Sanders is starting with high expectations and a high profile...
OAN runs segment conceding "no widespread voter fraud"
This week the far-right network One America News belatedly acknowledged that there was no "widespread voter fraud" during the 2020 election in Georgia. In a 30-second package, OAN disclosed to viewers, "A legal matter with this network and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement." As The Daily Beast's William Vaillancourt reported, "The segment notes that an investigation by state officials into unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud made by ex-President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani turned up nothing."
-- The Dispatch is leaving Substack. Steve Hayes says that the outlet has outgrown the platform... (The Rebooting)
-- Yikes: "A writer’s personal essay explaining why she plagiarized portions of what was to have been her debut novel was removed from a literary website on Monday after the essay itself was also found to have included plagiarized material..." (NYT)
-- Joe Berkowitz interviews a pair of media studies professors and they discuss "why you need to take right-wing comedy seriously..." (Fast Company)
-- "With his 'menacing edge' and 'unmistakable prose,' Hunter S. Thompson changed the way we cover politics, Jason Vest writes in this look-back that is based on a newly published book about Thompson by author Peter Richardson... (WaPo)
Fox's "mixed bag"
Brady's monster deal with Fox Sports
How will Fox cover him?
Nexstar to debut The Hill show on NewsNation
-- The departures from BuzzFeed News continue: Katherine Miller says she is taking a voluntary buyout this summer... (Twitter)
-- The NYT has added three new producers to "The Daily." They are Carlos Prieto, Will Reid, and Nina Feldman... (NYT)
-- Disney has promoted Charissa Gilmore to SVP of corporate comms for the company's TV arm... (Variety)
-- Former Warner Bros. exec Jeffrey Schlesinger has started a consultancy firm. It's called Former Bros. Media... (Deadline)
Netflix ads are coming very soon
BY FRANK PALLOTTA:
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said last month that the streamer would likely incorporate ads "over the next year or two"? But it appears the change could come far sooner. Netflix recently told employees that the company's new lower-priced ad tier may come by the end of the year, the NYT's John Koblin and Nicole Sperling reported Tuesday.
Is music 'sticky'?
Warner Music CEO Steve Cooper argued during an earnings call Tuesday that streaming music is a less volatile business to be in than streaming video. While reporting earnings, Cooper said the following: "As the world grapples with war, inflation and other macro-economic concerns, one thing is certain: music’s ubiquity and value have already proven to be resilient through any kind of disruption. Unlike the video streaming market, which churns as subscribers constantly search for new and different exclusive content, the music streaming market is sticky..."
>> If you're wondering how Warner Music performed in Q1, the company "showed solid results for the 2022 quarter that ended on March 31, with revenue up 10.1%,' Variety's Jem Aswad
-- Ending an era: Apple is discontinuing production "of the last iPod model it still sells, effectively bringing an end to the iconic product line that helped usher in a new era for the music industry and the tech giant..." (CNN)
-- Patrick Frater reports that Sony Pictures "had a strong fourth quarter," making "profits of $101 million on revenues of $2.69 billion..." (Variety)
-- Brian Steinberg previews Warner Bros. Discovery's upfront pitch, saying the company (CNN's parent) is pursuing "primetime ad dollars that have been going to ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox..." (Variety)
-- Speaking of WBD: Chris Gardner reports that the company's return-to-office plan "has some staffers stressed..." (THR)
-- Greg Evans reports that the Broadway box office is "up slightly to $31M as a large spring roster leaves some seats empty... (Deadline)
FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX
-- The Austin City Limits lineup is out. It includes headline performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink, Lil Nas X, and more... (Variety)
-- NBC has renewed "Law & Order" and "Organized Crime," which means "all nine of producer Dick Wolf's scripted series — across two networks — will return in 2022-23..." (THR)
-- Sorry "Dollface" fans: Hulu has pulled the plug on the show after just two seasons... (Deadline)
-- HBO dropped the teaser trailer for "Westworld" season four on Tuesday... (CNN)
-- Speaking of "Westworld," Ariana DeBose is joining the cast... (THR)
-- Eva Mendes talks about her hiatus from acting: "I won't do violence, I don't want to do sexuality..." (Variety)
"They got spooked"
In a Women's Health cover story published Tuesday, Hilary Duff suggested Disney scrapped the "Lizzie McGuire" reboot because the company grew fearful of what it would entail. "She had to be 30 years old doing 30-year-old things," Duff said about what the character would have had to have been like. "She didn’t need to be doing bong rips and having one-night stands all the time, but it had to be authentic. I think they got spooked."
BY LISA RESPERS FRANCE:
-- Johnny Weir is a Eurovision superfan and it's paying off. The Olympian talked to me about hosting and providing commentary for the famed music competition which Peacock is exclusively streaming in the US...
-- Speaking of song contests, we have a winner for the American show inspired by Eurovision. And the "American Song Contest" winner is...
-- Joe Alwyn was accidentally making music with his girlfriend Taylor Swift while you were making sourdough during the lockdown...
NOW FOR A MOMENT OF JOY...
Pet of the day!
Reader Darlena Harris emails: "Honey Boo is our cat. The children are gone and he is our only baby now at home for my husband and I..."
