Covid's origin story; how Cooper covered another mass shooting; WH briefing room history; Williams leaves 'The Five'; inside AP's town hall; Amazon's MGM deal is official

View this email in your browser.

Share it on Facebook or Twitter.

Subscribe here.

Oliver Darcy here at 10:50m ET Wednesday. Americans will wake up to front page headlines about yet another mass shooting; more history has been made in the WH briefing room; Juan Williams says he's departing "The Five"; AP leaders have conceded mistakes in a town hall; Facebook announces a new misinfo tactic; Alden kicks off Tribune takeover with buyouts; and so much more. But first...

Covid's origin story

How exactly did the coronavirus pandemic begin? More than a year after the outbreak spread across — and upended — the world, we still do not have a firm answer. But new reporting has sparked renewed interest in the virus' origins. And with cases and deaths on the decline in the US, the topic is back in the spotlight.

One of the big headlines on Wednesday was President Biden's announcement that he had directed the intel agencies to "collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion" within 90 days. That announcement followed a Sunday WSJ report, confirmed by CNN and other media orgs, that the US has intel about three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology becoming ill in November 2019.

"As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has 'coalesced around two likely scenarios' but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question," Biden said in his statement announcing his directive to the intel community. "Here is their current position: 'while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter -- each with low or moderate confidence -- the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.'"

The right takes a victory lap

Right-wing media personalities and outlets have used new info that has come to light to take a bit of a victory lap and skewer mainstream journalists for their previous coverage. Some of the criticism about journalists rejecting the lab leak theory out of hand is fair. But some of the criticism conflates the journalists who poured cold water on the idea that the virus was an engineered bioweapon — a theory once floated by some Fox personalities — with the possibility that it accidentally leaked from a lab. Those two things are not the same. Bottom line: It's way more complicated than partisans are making it to be...

>> Tom Nichols points out that Tom Cotton also floated the idea China deliberately released the virus, though Cotton couched it as a "very unlikely" possibility. "He put it out there, let others run with it, then said 'well, it's not *likely*' - because Cotton knows exactly how the Fox and right-wing info swamp works. This is a recurring tactic on the right. Imply it, let the echo chamber run with it, then deny it, then say you were right all along. Because the goal, as always, is to plant the idea in the heads of stupid people who will not bother with later nuance or explanations..."

NYT reporter deletes tweet

Meanwhile: NYT reporter Apoorva Mandavilli deleted a tweet on Wednesday that said the coronavirus lab leak theory had "racist roots." The move to delete the tweet came after Mandavilli was widely criticized for the assertion. "I deleted my earlier tweets about the origins of the pandemic because they were badly phrased," Mandavilli tweeted. "The origin of the pandemic is an important line of reporting that my colleagues are covering aggressively..."

Newsroom staffers up in arms

Some staffers in NYT's newsroom were quite displeased by Mandavilli's tweet, a source told me. The source said that the staffers they spoke with were frustrated that a reporter would make such an assertion online as her colleagues actively work to report on the origins of the coronavirus — including the possibility of a lab leak. The source added that those staffers were also frustrated by the fact that Mandavilli's tweet gave the right free ammunition to attack the paper...

Facebook changes policy

"Facebook will no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured," Politico's Cristiano Lima scooped Wednesday. "In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps," a Facebook spokesperson told Lima. "We're continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Tablet Mag's Noam Blum on Facebook's policy reversal: "The damage from this goes beyond the lab leak debate. Every anti-vaxxer is going to point to this and say 'see? they said that was a conspiracy theory and suddenly it isn't. So who are you going to believe about this?'" (Twitter)

-- LAT's Chris Megerian adds: "This is so messy. The new focus on the lab leak theory does not suggest the virus was man made..." (Twitter)

-- The Atlantic's Daniel Engber writes the shift in public thinking about the lab leak theory is "all the more remarkable for its lack of any major associated revelations." Engber adds, "That the lab-leak hypothesis is gaining currency even as the facts remain the same has a useful implication, though. It suggests that definitive proof is not an absolute requirement..." (The Atlantic)

-- Jonathan Chait: "What the episode does reveal is the vulnerabilities in the mainstream- and liberal-media ecosystem. Media coverage of the lab-leak hypothesis was a debacle, and a major source of that failure was groupthink cultivated on Twitter..." (NY Mag)

-- Kylie Atwood's Wednesday scoop: "Biden's team shut down a closely-held State Department effort launched late in the Trump administration to prove the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab over concerns about the quality of its work..." (CNN)

It has happened again

WaPo's front page on Thursday features a story we have seen over and over and over again: News of a mass shooting. "Worker fatally shoots 8 at Calif. rail yard," the headline reads, accompanied by a photo of law enforcement officers at the scene...

Cooper puts San Jose shooting in larger context

CNN's Josiah Ryan writes: "Anderson Cooper opened his program Wednesday night by contextualizing the San Jose shooting that claimed the lives of eight victims. 'For the families of the victims,' Cooper said, 'Tonight is the beginning of what will be almost unimaginable pain and sadness. And that pain will be uniquely and indelibly theirs.' But, Cooper pointed out, citing data from the Gun Violence Archive, for the country it will have been the 232nd mass shooting event of the year in the US and the 17th since last Wednesday. Cooper's chyron later prominently quoted California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking, 'What the hell is wrong with us?'"

THURSDAY PLANNER

Biden will travel to Cleveland to deliver remarks on the economy...

The wait is over: The "Friends" reunion drops on HBO Max... Scroll down below for Lowry's review...

The iHeartAwards air on FOX at 8pm...

History made in White House briefing room

Karine Jean-Pierre made history "as the first openly gay woman and the second Black woman to lead a White House briefing," Politico's West Wing Playbook authors noted on Wednesday. Judy Smith, the only Black woman to helm the lectern before, back during the Bush 41 era, was there to cheer her on. Jean-Pierre is a logical successor to Jen Psaki next year, and nothing about today's briefing changed that...

Juan Williams suddenly leaves "The Five"

Brian Stelter writes: "Fox's Juan Williams, the lone dissenter on the conservative program 'The Five,' is stepping down from his co-host spot. He announced his departure on Wednesday's broadcast, and his exit is effective immediately. Fox says another liberal commentator will take his place, however, and says the change is Williams' choice. 'The Five' is about to resume in-person broadcasts in NYC, and Williams wants to stay in DC with his family. One has to wonder if the constant criticism from colleagues, and the sneering from Greg Gutfeld in particular, was a factor. Williams will remain a Fox political analyst, available to appear on other shows when asked..."

Who will take over?

Stelter adds: "Williams' exit comes at a time when Fox has tamped down on dissenting views by reducing the prominence of Democratic-leaning voices on the air. But Fox says 'The Five' will replace Williams with a liberal, and will have rotating liberal co-hosts until a new person is appointed. Possible co-hosts during the interim period include Geraldo Rivera, Richard Fowler, Jessica Tarlov, and a recent hire by Fox, Harold Ford Jr. Here's my full story..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Fox's second biggest star, Sean Hannity, wants the network's White House correspondent to give Biden a "sippy cup" he has made to portray the president as old and weak... (Daily Beast)

-- Speaking of Fox: The progressive group Media Matters finds that the network has "attacked Black Lives Matter over 400 times in a 6-month period..." (MMFA)

-- Brianna Keilar says the OAN-supporting Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann is "like a walking infomercial for conspiracy theory news." Here's why... (Mediaite)

Judge cites "steady drumbeat" of lies repeated on outlets

CNN's Katelyn Polantz writes: "Federal judges have for weeks been warning that the continued push of the Big Lie from right-wing media, Republicans and Trump himself may be keeping alive the same grassroots zeal that led to the insurrection in January.
Because of this, some of the rioters are still considered potentially dangerous. On Wednesday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson decided that a defendant must stay in jail, citing precisely that reason. 'The steady drumbeat that inspired defendant to take up arms has not faded away; six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government, not to mention in the near-daily fulminations of the former President,' Jackson wrote..."

>> Polantz adds: "Another judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, kept another man in jail on Tuesday. The man had tried to reach Sen. Ted Cruz in December and looked for contact info for Sean Hannity and others, prosecutors said. One of Cruz's staffers told police he seemed "to be coming from the 'friend' angle in wanting to ... help with the election fraud he saw."

"We've made some mistakes"

The Associated Press is -- nearly a week later and still not publicly -- admitting some flaws in its firing of Emily Wilder. WaPo's Jeremy Barr reported Wednesday that senior managers conceded they made some mistakes in their response to the situation during a Wednesday town hall with employees. Managing editor Brian Carovillano, however, said they were "mistakes of process, and not of outcome," per Barr. "We do need to be honest with ourselves and we need to admit that we've made some mistakes in the past week," he said. Julie Pace added that the AP "failed to initially see this as more than an HR issue" and "failed to see is how this impacted our staff broadly in so many ways..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Janine Zacharia, who taught Emily Wilder at Stanford, writes about the "real problem" with the AP's firing of her former student. "News organizations must urgently draft a plan for the next time one of their staff members is attacked by people who appear to show no interest in a serious dialogue about coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or any other issue," she writes... (Politico)

-- Erik Wemple tackles the Wilder fiasco: "They are privileging 'appearances' over their own work product. And they fail to recognize that those 'appearances' are orchestrated by people who are preying on misunderstandings about the making of a news product..." (WaPo)

-- Joe Pompeo pieces together what happened behind the scenes: "What seems apparent to me is that there was a disconnect between what Wilder took away from her social media training and what the brass actually expected of her..." (Vanity Fair)

-- In other news: "A proposal to award academic tenure to journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones has reached the board of trustees at the UNC at Chapel Hill, school officials said Wednesday, a sign of growing pressure on the board to resolve a controversy over the terms of her employment as she prepares to join the faculty..." (WaPo)

A global crackdown on online speech

"Russia is increasingly pressuring Google, Twitter and Facebook to fall in line with Kremlin internet crackdown orders or risk restrictions inside the country, as more governments around the world challenge the companies' principles on online freedom," NYT's Adam Satariano and Oleg Matsnev reported Wednesday. As the duo reported, the "campaign is part of a wave of actions by governments worldwide to test how far they can go to censor the web to maintain power and stifle dissent." From India to Myanmar and elsewhere, Satariano and Matsney wrote, leaders are "tightening internet controls..."

Facebook's new misinfo tactic

Facebook on Wednesday announced a significant new tactic to fight misinfo on its site: "Starting today, we will reduce the distribution of all posts in News Feed from an individual's Facebook account if they repeatedly share content that has been rated by one of our fact-checking partners," the company said in a press release. Additionally, if a user attempts to "like" a page on the site, Facebook will notify them if it is one that regularly shares info rated false by fact-checkers. The Verge's Bryan Menegus has the details here...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- "Facebook and Instagram are giving all users the option to hide public 'likes' on their posts, potentially upending a core dynamic of the social media platforms where like counts are seen as a sign of a person's influence," Clare Duffy writes... (CNN)

-- "The White House this week is teaming up with Snapchat to encourage young Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus," Rachel Janfaza reports... (CNN)

Alden kicks off its Tribune takeover with buyouts

Kerry Flynn writes: "In January 2020, shortly after Alden became Tribune Publishing's largest shareholder, staffers were offered buyouts. It was the second time in two years. On Wednesday, just two days after Alden's full takeover, Tribune newsrooms were once again informed of buyouts. Per Chicago Tribune's Robert Channick, management will have to negotiate with union employees. Jessica De Leon, reporter at McClatchy's Bradenton Herald, tweeted, 'Predictable, but still makes me sick and angry. Hedge funds are destroying newspapers across the country. Communities will continue to suffer, as will our democracy...'"

Roxane Gay launches book imprint

Roxane Gay is starting a book imprint. "Roxane Gay Books will be part of Grove Atlantic, the publishing house announced Wednesday, with plans to release three titles a year, a mix of fiction, nonfiction and memoir, and a focus on underrepresented voices," the NYT's Elizabeth Harris reported Wednesday. "There are so many barriers and so many gates," Gay told Harris. "Let's take them down..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

By Kerry Flynn:

-- John Green's "The Anthropocene Reviewed" debuted at No. 1 on the NYT's nonfiction lists on Wednesday. Carol Leonnig's "Zero Fail" was No. 2... (NYT)

-- Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy are writing a book, tentatively called "What Works: The Future of Local News," about community journalism... (Nieman Lab)

-- Reuters photojournalist Adnan Abidi speaks about his experiences covering the crisis in his hometown, Delhi... (CJR)

-- Versha Sharma's first column as EIC of Teen Vogue is about Darnella Frazier. "We ask too much of young Black girls like Darnella. The bare minimum that we can do is listen to them — and then do more to protect them," she writes.... (Teen Vogue)

-- CNN is turning 5 Things into a franchise with more newsletters, podcasts and a new segment on "New Day," Sara Guaglione writes... (Digiday)

James Bond, meet Jeff Bezos

Frank Pallotta writes: "Amazon made it official on Wednesday, announcing that it had made a deal to acquire MGM, the home of James Bond and one of the most iconic movie studios in Hollywood. The deal, which is valued at $8.45 billion, gives Amazon an extensive library of film and TV shows that it can use to fill out its Prime Video content coffers. Jeff Bezos said that 'the acquisitions thesis here is really very simple.' MGM, he explained 'has a vast, deep catalog of much-beloved intellectual property. And with the talented people at MGM and the talented people at Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century.' Here's my full story..."

Consolidation at a breakneck pace

Pallotta continues: "Amazon acquiring MGM may not be as earth-shaking as the Discovery and WarnerMedia deal just last week, but it's still quite notable thanks to MGM's historical prestige and Amazon's reach and resources. Yet, the most simple reason Amazon wanted to buy MGM is that it can afford to. The hefty price tag for the acquisition is nothing of significant consequence for Amazon, one of the world's wealthiest companies. Ultimately, the deal gives Amazon more content, a respected studio in Hollywood and a stylish super spy. That will only help it further compete in the ruthless world of streaming..."

"MGM is really the story of Hollywood"

Pallotta adds: "Being gobbled up by a tech behemoth is a fitting finale for MGM, a studio that has been whittled down over the last century by one technology disruption after another. 'MGM is really the story of Hollywood,' Jonathan Kuntz, a film professor at UCLA, told me. 'The studio has gone through all of the cycles of the film business over the last 100 years.' Kuntz added, 'In many ways, MGM is the idea of the classic Hollywood studio. And it tried to preserve that idea long after it was no longer a viable business strategy.'"

Lowry's point

Brian Lowry writes: "One footnote to the Amazon-MGM deal: Plenty of billionaires have bought their way into show business – including Kirk Kerkorian in MGM's past – usually with pretty unhappy results. The main difference here is that MGM – the lost luster of the name notwithstanding – serves an obvious purpose for Amazon's larger media strategy, setting aside whether the assets justified that price tag..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

-- "Amazon announcing its 2nd-largest acquisition the day after being sued by DC AG for antitrust is a story itself," Sara Fischer points out... (Twitter)

-- Stephen Colbert suggests that Jeff Bezos now owns the "holy mother of DVD extras," the unaired "Apprentice" tapes... (Variety)

-- "The pairing of AT&T's $43 billion spinoff of WarnerMedia with Discovery as well as Amazon's $8.54 billion acquisition of MGM Studios presents the Biden Administration with its first major merger reviews," Eriq Gardner writes. "How will the examinations play out?" (THR)

Children's book author Eric Carle dies at 91

CNN's Alexis Benveniste writes: "Eric Carle, the author and artist of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and dozens of other popular children's book, has died at 91. On Wednesday, Carle's Twitter account acknowledged the death, indicating he died Sunday.' Carle's family also acknowledged the artist's death on the author's website, saying, 'In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now traveling across the night sky...'"

Clarkson to take over DeGeneres slot on key stations

"NBC has locked in plans to fill the void created by the upcoming conclusion of Ellen DeGeneres' daytime show," THR's Lesley Goldberg wrote Wednesday. "'The Kelly Clarkson Show' has been slotted to take over the daytime slot currently occupied by 'Ellen' when the latter show comes to an end next year. Clarkson's show — which is owned and produced by NBC's syndication arm — will take over the slot in fall 2022 on NBC-owned stations..."

"Friends" reunited

Brian Lowry writes: "'Friends: The Reunion' was supposed to help launch HBO Max. The slightly bloated special – which might as well be called The One With Lots of Unapologetic Nostalgia – finally lands on Thursday, amid hype it can't possibly meet. The program works best when allowing the cast to quietly reminisce, and worst with cameos that couldn't be more random. The really glaring oversight, meanwhile, is the failure to mention in any way how the actors negotiated as a group in their later seasons, a then-novel tactic that underscored the solidarity among them, and what a cash cow the show became to all concerned. Here's my full review..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN

By Lisa Respers France:

-- Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry are set to continue their conversation on mental health. The pair will host "a town hall-style conversation special" for Apple TV+ tied to their recent five-part series "The Me You Can't See..."

-- Kim Kardashian says she failed the "baby bar" exam...

-- Emmy Rossum kept a big secret. The "Shameless" star announced Tuesday that she and her husband, "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail, have welcomed a little girl...

Tony Awards set for September

"The long-delayed Tony Awards, honoring the last set of shows to open on Broadway before theaters went dark, finally have a plan: The ceremony will take place on Sept. 26, timed to bolster a pandemic-hobbled industry as shows begin to reopen," NYT's Michael Paulson reported Wednesday. "Three of the 25 competitive awards — best musical, best play and best play revival — will be presented live during a television program, broadcast on CBS, that will primarily be a starry concert of theater songs. But the bulk of the awards, honoring performers, writers, directors, choreographers and designers, will be given out just beforehand, during a ceremony that will be shown only on Paramount+..."

Academy to admit fewer members

Brian Lowry writes: "After adding hundreds of new members each of the last several years in an effort to diversify its ranks since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is doing something different this year: It will admit about half as many members..."

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST....

Cats of the day!

Mike and Mary Pavlovich email a photo of their two felines, Sami and Thai: "What do you mean, Get OFF the Table?? Why?"

Thank you for reading! Email us your feedback (we also appreciate hot media tips) and send us your Pet of the Day submissions. Brian is back tomorrow...

Share this newsletter: