Infrastructure media blitz; Q1 ratings report card; Carlson astounded by Gaetz interview; Holt skewers bothsidesism; reporters go inside border facility; burnout in media

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Welcome to the final day of March! Oliver Darcy here at 11:05pm ET Tuesday. Tucker Carlson says his interview with Matt Gaetz was "one of the weirdest" he's ever done, Lester Holt is speaking out against bothsidesism, the TV news biz is digesting its Q1 ratings report card, and reporters are describing what they saw after being allowed inside a Texas migrant facility. But first...

Biden's infrastructure plan

Infrastructure week became a running joke for journalists during President Trump's administration. But President Biden is set to outline a very serious plan Wednesday.

The proposal, as CNN's Kevin Liptak and Phil Mattingly reported, will include $2.25 trillion in direct spending. That will be composed of "$650 billion for physical infrastructure, $300 billion for housing infrastructure, $300 billion for manufacturing, $300 billion for the electric grid and $400 billion for home caretakers and care for the elderly and disabled."

"As he travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to unveil the next chapter of his massive effort to transform the country though long-sought progressive priorities, Biden is deeply conscious that it is now his moment to step up," Liptak and Mattingly wrote. "He is looking to the bold actions favored by Democrats decades earlier to inform the opening days of his presidency, determined that small steps cannot match the current moment."

Media blitz

To sell the package to the public, the Biden administration will embark on a media blitz. "The Administration will be hitting the airwaves to talk about the jobs plan in local media, coalitions media, national media and elsewhere," a White House official told me. "And we'll be utilizing Administration officials, members of the cabinet, elected officials, and surrogates to make sure we are talking to as many audiences as possible about this generational investment in jobs and infrastructure."

Conservative media now cares about spending

After largely ignoring spending and pretending the debt didn't exist under the Trump admin, conservative media outlets are back to being concerned about fiscal responsibility. Ahead of Biden's announcement, outlets are already skewering the price tag. "BIDEN PLANS MAJOR TAX HIKES TO FUND SPENDING SPREE," was one banner I saw on Fox Tuesday. Expect this narrative to really build up in the coming days...

That said....

Those who work in conservative media shouldn't be the only people in media who scrutinize the price tag of this package. It IS a lot of money...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- NYT's Jim Tankersley and Emily Cochrane with perspective: "The scale of the infrastructure program — one of the most ambitious attempts in generations to shore up the nation's aging roads, bridges, rail lines and utilities — is so big that it will require 15 years of higher taxes on corporations to pay for eight years of spending..." (NYT)

-- WaPo's A1 headline points out the looming fight ahead: "Details on Biden plan set off clash..." (WaPo)

-- The fight from the left: "Biden's massive infrastructure push sets up critical test for Democratic unity," Lauren Fox and Phil Mattingly report... (CNN)

-- The fight from the right: "Business Roundtable to oppose corporate tax increase to pay for infrastructure," Alex Gangitano reports... (The Hill)

Lester Holt: Bothsidesism "can be quite dangerous"

As Lester Holt delivered the keynote address Tuesday night at the 45th Murrow Symposium, in which he accepted the Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, the NBC News anchor delivered a sharp critique of bothsidesism. "The idea that we should always give two sides equal weight and merit does not reflect the world we find ourselves in," Holt said. "That the sun sets in the west is a fact. Any contrary view does not deserve our time or attention."

"Decisions to not give unsupported arguments equal time are not a dereliction of journalistic responsibility or some kind of agenda," Holt added. "In fact, it's just the opposite. Providing an open platform for misinformation, for anyone to come say whatever they want, especially when issues of public health and safety are at stake, can be quite dangerous. Our duty is to be fair to the truth."

Q1 ratings report card

On Tuesday the television news biz received its report cards for the first three months of 2021. Here are some of the takeaways, compiled by Brian Stelter:

-- After a news-fueled January, ratings levels are returning to something resembling normal.

-- On cable, CNN had a standout Q1, winning the entire quarter in the coveted demo of 25- to 54-year-olds, well ahead of the No. 2 channel, ESPN.

-- Among all viewers, the cable news race was remarkably tight: MSNBC averaged 1.38 million viewers, CNN averaged 1.36 million, and Fox averaged 1.34 million.

-- MSNBC said this was its first quarter ever as the "most-watched cable network across the 24-hour day." From my POV, this is a continuation of a long-term trend: CNN's audience skews younger than MSNBC's.

-- Rachel Maddow continues to be far and away the most popular figure on MSNBC. She had the single most-watched program in Q1 in both total viewers and the demo.

-- In the money-making demo the top five shows were Maddow, "Cuomo Primetime," "Tucker Carlson Tonight," "Anderson Cooper 360," and "Erin Burnett OutFront."

-- Fox's obvious strength is prime time opinion: It was No. 1 in total viewers at night and expanded that lead "as the quarter went on, and was the most-watched news channel so far in March in the 24-hour-span category," WSJ's Ben Mullin wrote.

-- On broadcast, ABC's "World News Tonight with David Muir" topped ratings "in the first quarter, but the period also showed viewership coming back down to Earth across all of the evening newscasts," Deadline's Ted Johnson wrote.

-- In the mornings, "CBS This Morning" gained some ground while the other network A.M. shows continued to "split first place," with "Today" No. 1 in the demo and "GMA" No. 1 in overall viewers...

WEDNESDAY PLANNER

Biden delivers his infrastructure speech at 4:20pm ET...

Astead Herndon interviews Sen. Raphael Warnock on "The Daily" podcast...

"Godzilla vs. Kong" lands in theaters and on HBO Max in the US...

Tucker: Gaetz interview was "one of the weirdest" I've ever done

Tucker Carlson interviewed Matt Gaetz on his show Tuesday night — and commented afterward that it as "one of the weirdest" he has "ever conducted." Those comments came after a wild interview in which Gaetz denied that he ever trafficked a 17-year-old and said he was instead the victim of an extortion scheme involving a former DOJ official. NYT, citing sources, first reported Tuesday that Gaetz is "being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him."

During the interview, as Gaetz denied he had done anything wrong, he referred to a "terrible sex act" Carlson had previously been accused of (which the Fox host denied), telling Carlson he knows "what this feels like." Gaetz also mentioned a "dinner about two years ago" with Carlson and his wife in which he "brought a friend of mine" and told Carlson "you'll remember her." Gaetz said that that "friend" of his had been "threatened by the FBI." Carlson replied, "I don't remember the woman you're speaking of or the context at all, honestly." The whole interview was pretty stunning to watch...

>> Before the NYT's story, Axios' Alayna Treene reported that Gaetz had "privately told confidants he's seriously considering not seeking re-election and possibly leaving Congress early for a job at Newsmax..."

>> The former DOJ official Gaetz accused of being part of an extortion scheme is speaking out, telling The Daily Beast such claims are "completely, totally false..."

Fox rails against vaccine "passports," but...

If you watched Fox on Tuesday, you saw plenty of segments in which the network's personalities skewered the idea of so-called vaccine "passports." Which is why I found it so interesting to read the conditions the network is requiring guests to meet to attend tapings of Greg Gutfeld's new show.

According to the EventBrite page Gutfeld linked to on his show's official Twitter account, participants must wear face coverings, take a Covid test prior to the show, and even pass an online health screening. To gain entry, guests must then "BRING THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS" as proof they passed the tests. To recap: The network that has been attacking the idea of other businesses potentially asking for proof of vaccination is requiring its own guests to submit proof of a health screening to attend a socially distanced taping of a show at its studios. Hypocritical much?

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Fox has promoted Kayleigh McEnany to co-host of "Outnumbered." As Ben Leonard wrote, the move puts "one of the most prominent faces of the Trump administration at the heart of the network's midday lineup..." (Politico)

-- "Republican politics and right-wing media continue to fuse," Philip Bump commented... (WaPo)

-- Justin Peters takes a look at the Fox personalities battling it out to be the network's new 7pm host... (Slate)

-- Erik Wemple writes that the Dominion lawsuit "outs Fox News' disinformation campaign..." (WaPo)

-- Frequent liberal Fox guest Chris Hahn called Tucker Carlson a conspiracy theorist in a segment with Mercedes Schlapp that devolved into a shouting match... (Mediaite)

Reporters allowed inside Donna migrant facility

Members of the press were finally allowed inside the Donna, Texas, border facility that is holding thousands of unaccompanied migrant children. "Footage shot Tuesday provided a glimpse of the overcrowded conditions in border facilities and the sheer number of children who have arrived at the border," wrote CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Geneva Sands. They described the conditions seen inside the facility as this: "Children lying side by side in plastic-lined pods. Shelves stocked with supplies, including baby bottles and diapers. Girls huddled together in a playpen - where they'll also sleep at night - singing and coloring with crayons...."

Feelings of horror recalled in Minneapolis

"A professional fighter felt scared. An off-duty firefighter felt desperate. A high school student felt threatened. And a 9-year-old girl felt sad and kind of mad," CNN's Eric Levenson and Aaron Cooper summed up. "Feelings of horror and fear were recalled in a Minneapolis court Tuesday as a series of bystanders testified about what it was like to witness George Floyd slowly die under the knee of former police officer Derek Chauvin last May." The trial will resume at 10:30am ET as the prosecution continues to question bystanders who witnessed Floyd die...

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- "NYU Langone Health ... has set aside Covid-19 vaccination shots for employees of Bloomberg L.P., the financial data and media company owned by the billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg," Katie Robertson reports... (NYT)

-- "G. Gordon Liddy, a mastermind of the Watergate burglary and a radio talk show host after emerging from prison, died Tuesday at age 90..." (AP)

-- "Isha Sesay, who spent 13 years at CNN International as an anchor and reporter, is the new CEO of OkayMedia, a media company dedicated to Black culture and uplifting Black voices..." (Variety)

-- "As bad information spreads, Florida schools seek to teach 'digital literacy,'" Greg Myre reports... (NPR)

Spotify bets on live social audio

Kerry Flynn writes: "Spotify is no longer sitting on the sidelines of the rise of live social audio. The company announced Tuesday it is acquiring Betty Labs, which runs a social audio app called Locker Room. The startup has its origins in live sports betting but has expanded to conversations on just about anything. When I spoke with Spotify exec Courtney Holt about live audio last month, he told me Spotify's focus is with on demand, asynchronous listening. But Spotify's goal is to be the best audio platform and support creators, so I'm not too surprised to see they're no longer letting Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces and other platforms dominate the medium..."

Politifact calls out Facebook for vaccine misinfo

The fact-checking website Politifact on Tuesday called out Facebook for allowing vaccine misinfo to "persist" on its site. "Facebook's strategy for tamping down misinformation about vaccines is to single out certain categories of anti-vaccine claims, rather than taking a broad approach," Daniel Funke wrote. "The result is that many types of false or exaggerated claims against vaccines are allowed to remain on the platform." Facebook spox Kevin McAlister acknowledged that the company's enforcement "isn't perfect," adding it is "why we're always improving it while also working with outside experts to make sure that our policies remain in the right place..."

>> Worth pointing out: Politifact calling Facebook out is particularly noteworthy, given that it is a fact-checking partner of the social giant.

... Snopes calls out Facebook for QAnon group

Politifact wasn't the only fact-checking org to call out Facebook Tuesday. Snopes also published a story criticizing the platform's response (or lack thereof) to a QAnon-related group. "A Texas-based Facebook Group with a history of QAnon activity and that was connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was still active on the platform as of late March 2021, despite Snopes repeatedly alerting the social network to the group's actions for over five months," the site said. "The group was available to join despite the fact that the social media platform claimed to have a policy of removing groups that host QAnon content..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- "YouTube's refusal to remove a song some employees find racist to people of Asian origin has caused a fracas inside the company, the latest clash in a growing national debate about anti-Asian hate," Nico Grant reports... (Bloomberg)

-- Cecilia D'Anastasio writes that YouTube "has a creepy Minecraft problem." She says an investigation "found dozens of kid-focused videos with disturbing thumbnails that the platform serves up on the Topic pages of popular games..." (Wired)

-- Eriq Gardner asks: "Will an investigation into Twitter's moderation decisions backfire because the Texas AG tweets?" (THR)

Burnout in media

Kerry Flynn writes: "Two Texas Tribune execs simultaneously announced Tuesday they would be leaving the company, citing burnout. Editorial Director Stacy-Marie Ishmael tweeted, 'I've spent the last year operating at a relentless and breakneck pace to ensure that our journalism could rise to the demands of this moment. It did. We did. And in the process, I *totally* burned out.' Chief Product Officer Millie Tran tweeted, 'I realized it's essential to give as much care to the entirety of my life as I do my work.'"

>> Flynn adds: "It pains me to see women, especially women of color — voices that we desperately need more of in the media industry — choose to leave this industry, at least for some time. Stepping away to prioritize mental health is incredibly important. I just hope that newsroom leaders provide resources to better support their employees and prevent burnout, especially during overwhelming news cycles..."

Interim management at ABC News

"James Goldston officially left ABC News last week after a 17-year run at the network, including the last seven years as news division president. His exit came a few days ahead of the March 31 departure date announced in January," TVNewser's A.J. Katz reports. "Disney/ABC Television chairman Peter Rice and ABC News executive vice president Derek Medina are leading the news division as the search for permanent ABC News president continues..."

>> Here is Goldston's goodbye memo: "As I step away from leading ABC News," he wrote, "I remain optimistic that with your hard work and diligence and dedication, the great journalists here will help defeat this scourge of misinformation. It is our essential mission."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

By Kerry Flynn:

-- Cameo is now valued at $1 billion after closing a new funding round. The app has 40,000 celebrities, Sarah Needleman writes... (WSJ)

-- Speaking of new funding: Dapper Labs, the company behind trading card site NBA Top Shot, is valued at $2.6 billion. Michael Jordan participated in its latest funding round... (USA Today)

-- Max Willens reports on what happened with Medium's editorial strategy. One point of contention is the company put little investment in user acquisition and marketing its own publications... (Digiday)

-- Angela Fu put together a list of newsrooms searching for new top editors, from WaPo to Teen Vogue... (Poynter)

NCAA down 7% (so far)

Brian Lowry writes: "According to Sportico's Anthony Crupi, the NCAA basketball tournament – tabled during 2020 – is down 7% compared to 2019 results thus far. Given the off-a-cliff ratings for some live events, down 7% actually sounds like a win, with, of course, the big games still to be played. It does make one wonder if sitting out 2020 – as opposed to cobbling together sports, usually without fans – might have been the wiser course in the long run, in terms of building anticipation for their return..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

By Brian Stelter:

-- A big commitment by CBS: The network has ordered three more seasons of "Young Sheldon," allowing the producers to really plan ahead... (TVLine)

-- James Hibberd's scoop: "Game of Thrones is headed to Broadway. A dramatic stage show spectacular based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy world is now in development..." (THR)

-- Let the countdown begin: "Adult Swim's Emmy-winning animated comedy Rick and Morty will return for its fifth season on Sunday, June 20..." (Deadline)

Latest on the Oscars

Brian Lowry writes: "The Oscars continue to evolve, with the producers continuing to state a preference for in-person attendance, but exploring the creation of 'hubs' for European nominees in London and Paris. That sounds reasonable, but frankly, given the ratings trend for award shows this year, the ongoing planning seems to be spending a lot of time fretting about elements that will likely add not a single viewer to the telecast, suggesting some of them might represent more effort than they're worth..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN

By Lisa Respers France:

-- From season 4 of "The HandMaid's Tale" to Earth Day documentaries, see some of what's streaming in April...

-- Ariana Grande is joining "The Voice" as a coach, replacing Nick Jonas...

-- Demi Lovato has declared, "I am too gay to marry a man right now," in the wake of her failed engagement...

-- Rachel Bilson says she was "super bummed" that Rami Malek made her take down a photo of them both from high school that she posted on Instagram...

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...

Cat of the day!

Reader Christina Chapple emails: "My reporter husband gave 'Scoop' her name 20 years ago. Today, she's creaky and a bit cranky, snoozing through most everything, even 'Reliable Sources.' A life well-purred..."

Reporters, producers, editors, media execs, and readers: We want your pet photos! Submit your cat, dog, or other animal for Pet of the Day by emailing us. Make sure to include your name, a brief caption, and your occupation (if relevant and if you'd like.)