| Brian Stelter here at 11:01pm ET on Wednesday, July 21 with the latest on Maria Taylor, Tom Barrack, "Westworld," Alex Cooper, Charlamagne Tha God, rabbit 🐰 holes and more...
The competing faces of Fox
Fox News rolled out a new public service announcement on Wednesday to encourage viewers to get a Covid-19 vaccine. "America, we're in this together," Steve Doocy said in the ad. "If you can, get the vaccine," Harris Faulkner said.
It's clear that Fox News management is proud of this PSA and wants everyone to see it. Websites like The Hill even wrote about it. But Fox's highest rated host, Tucker Carlson, undermined the PSA barely an hour after it aired for the first time. He even seemed to take a dig at Fox's decision to promote the vaccines.
He did it by bashing CNN: He said that "as a channel, CNN shouldn't have a position on whether you should take medicine or not, because it's a news channel, it's not a health agency." A little bit later, he added, "Why is a news channel doing this? Any news channel. A lot of them are."
Yes, including Fox. Yet Carlson is objecting. I'd like to know how Doocy and Faulkner feel about Carlson's reckless rhetoric...
"The exact opposite message"  Over on CNN, at the same time as Carlson's rant, President Biden was speaking at a town hall and giving Fox some backhanded credit for changing its tune about vaccines.
"One of those other networks is not a big fan of mine, uh, one you talk about a lot," he said, looking at moderator Don Lemon, "but if you notice, as they say in the southern part of my state, they've had an altar call, some of those guys. All of a sudden they're out there saying, 'Let's get vaccinated. Let's get vaccinated.' The very people who before this were saying -- so that -- but that -- I shouldn't make fun of it. That's good. It's good. It's good. We just have to keep telling the truth."
Yes, there's been a slight change in Fox's tune, as I wrote in yesterday's newsletter. I checked the TVEyes database to confirm this: Fox shows have plugged Vaccines.gov at least 7 times this week, after going 6 weeks without mentioning the site at all. No matter what, "this is a good thing," Anderson Cooper said on CNN. His guest, Dr. Peter Hotez, said this shift "was clearly at the direction" of Fox management, after an earlier "systematic effort to delegitimize scientists."
The shift is a welcome sign. But some of the news coverage has overstated the change. Fox's highest-rated shows, starting with Carlson's, are still spreading anti-vax storylines, as I described up above. Immediately after the town hall, CNN's Dana Bash noted that on Fox "the exact opposite message was being sent as the president was speaking on CNN." Arguably Biden gave the network way too much credit... FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE -- Lemon expertly moderated Wednesday's event in Cincinnati, and noted at the outset that the audience was fully vaccinated...
-- If you missed the telecast, you can watch the entire thing here. Plus, Kevin Liptak has five takeaways... (CNN)
-- During a commercial break in the town hall, Biden engaged with the crowd and fielded at least one question... (Twitter)
-- Local angle to the town hall on Cincinatti.com: "Biden touts infrastructure deal to 'fix that damn bridge...'" (Cincinnati.com)
-- Donie O'Sullivan said he "checked in on a QAnon forum" after Biden mentioned the conspiracy cult during the town hall. "Discussion there has turned to how the person on stage isn't really Biden," O'Sullivan wrote... (Twitter) "The rest of the world's wondering about us"
Biden "raised the alarm about conspiracy theories flourishing in the US and dividing the nation, warning that 'the rest of the world's wondering about us,'" CNN's Paul LeBlanc wrote. "Biden said the US has 'got to get beyond this' moment after referencing the QAnon conspiracy theory and the role of misinfo."
>> Biden's key quote: Democracy "has to stand up and demonstrate it can get something done..."
The "disinformation dozen" is being overhyped
Biden once again criticized the so-called "disinformation dozen" during the CNN town hall. The "dozen" was identified in a March report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate as super-spreaders of anti-vaccine propaganda. "I said they're killing people. Those 12 individuals -- that misinformation -- is going to kill people," Biden said Wednesday night.
I took a close look at the accounts that were identified in the report and I was underwhelmed. Since March, some have been banned in some way from one or another of Facebook's platforms. Some have gone quiet. And others have learned how to post in ways that create less risk that Facebook will take action against them. In other words, they tiptoe up to FB's "line" without crossing it...
Facebook blocks #VaccinesKill after CNN inquiry
Last Sunday on "Reliable Sources" you might have heard me talk about the hashtag #VaccinesKill, which was live on Facebook at the time, with hundreds of posts. Before airtime, I asked Facebook PR about the hashtag since it seemed like a violation of the platform's policies. (All credit goes to "Reliable" producer Katie Pellico for bringing it to my attention.) By the end of the day, the hashtag had been hidden, effectively blocked by the site.
If this story sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened with FB-owned Instagram two years ago, pre-Covid. CNN Business wrote about the "Vaccines Kill" hashtag, and then it was blocked on Insta, but not FB. So here's the story I wrote Wednesday, including FB PR's explanation...
>> New from NBC: "Anti-vaccine groups changing into 'dance parties' on Facebook to avoid detection..." THURSDAY PLANNER Biden continues to push for a bipartisan infrastructure framework...
AT&T reports earnings before the bell; Twitter and Snap after the close...
An NBA championship parade for the Milwaukee Bucks starts at noon... "If you hear things..."
Speaking on Capitol Hill the other day, Senator Mitt Romney said it quite well: "If you hear things from conservative media that suggests it's dangerous to get a vaccine, you're not being served well by that media." That's ultimately what this is about — whether people are being well served by the sources they trust.
Speaking of Covid coverage...
Shouldn't deaths be the new barometer?  Oliver Darcy writes: "One thing that has struck me about coronavirus coverage over the past few weeks is how case counts are still the dominant statistic used by news orgs to relay the state of the pandemic to audiences. Case counts are important, but isn't the daily death count the better statistic to use now and going forward? I wonder this given that we know there are people who are testing positive, but have been vaccinated and are thus either asymptomatic or only experiencing mild symptoms. That's different than a year ago when no vaccine was available. And if you look at current deaths (see above), you'll see there is a slight uptick, but the # is still quite low compared to where we were previously in the pandemic. That's something that isn't quite showing through in recent coverage..." FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO -- Margaret Sullivan writes that "conservative media could still save lives and spare viewers from suffering, without betraying its hard-wired impulse to toss red meat into the maw of the culture war." Here's how... (WaPo)
-- Alexandra Levine reports that while the Biden WH is now hyper-focused on Covid misinfo, "the administration disregarded calls" six months ago to appoint "either one person or a federal commission to help lead the fight against misinfo..." (Politico)
-- Experts say "falsehoods about the vaccine are still reaching millions of people," Kari Paul reports... (Guardian)
-- "Whether Facebook is or isn't killing people depends on your definitions," Will Oremus writes. "What's clear, regardless, is that Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms have played a major role in the anti-vaccine movement..." (WaPo)
-- Hollywood productions keep being delayed by positive Covid tests. HBO's "Westworld" is the latest to "pause production..." (Deadline) How to enjoy the Olympics
Check out the daily breakdown of coverage; see what you want to watch,;and try to tune out the daily hum of Covid-related concerns, if that's at all possible.
-- Brian Lowry has a "tale o' the tape on the Olympics, TV-wise," for CNN.com here. He says there are "more hours of coverage than ever, no fans, and a whole lot of ways to watch (and stream) it..."
-- Lester Holt will begin anchoring "NBC Nightly News" from Tokyo on Thursday... Maria Taylor leaves ESPN... for NBC?
In the morning came this news: "After much discussion, an agreement on a contract extension could not be reached," so Maria Taylor is leaving ESPN. Frank Pallotta has the details here.
Then in the afternoon came this: "She is headed to NBC and will cover the Olympics," the NYPost's Andrew Marchand scooped. Taylor "could be waiting in the on-deck circle to become the host of 'Football Night in America,' when Mike Tirico moves to the full-time 'Sunday Night Football' play-by-play position in the fall of 2022." More...
>> A star is born: "Malika Andrews shined through the Maria Taylor-Rachel Nichols ESPN drama," Marchand's colleague Jenna Lemoncelli writes... FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE -- One of WaPo's main headlines in Thursday's paper: "Bipartisan inquiry into Jan. 6 crumbles..." (WaPo)
-- Tim Miller's take: "'There need to be people on the 1/6 committee who literally supported a MAGA coup or else it's not bipartisan' has got to be the stupidest beltway brain bleed take in a while..." (Twitter)
-- FTC chair Lina Khan cheered Jonathan Kanter's appointment as DOJ antitrust chief: "DOJ will be a key partner to the FTC as we tackle monopolistic conduct and unlawful mergers across the economy..." (Twitter)
-- "A California judge on Wednesday cleared the way for conservative talk radio host Larry Elder to join the field of candidates" in the recall election... (AP) "Tom Barrack's willing enabler — TV news"
When Trump friend Tom Barrack was arrested on Tuesday, "what caught my eye was the little mystery the prosecutors placed at the center of the indictment," LA Times business columnist Michael Hiltzik writes. "Barrack achieved some of his goals, they say, through a series of six 'nationally televised' interviews in 2016 and 2017." Hiltzik tracked down the interviews, four of which were on Bloomberg TV. A fifth was with Charlie Rose. "Watching these clips opens a demoralizing window into how easily TV interviewers can be manipulated, especially by rich and well-connected guests." Read on... Mark Levin tops Michael Wolff
A tale of two book-buying worlds: Right-wing rager Mark Levin's "American Marxism" debuted at #1 on the NYT's nonfiction bestseller list on Wednesday. Reporter and bombthrower Michael Wolff's "Landslide" debuted at #2. Two other new releases also made the list: "Frankly, We Did Win This Election" at #3 and "An Ugly Truth" at #11... Silenced again
Last week: The Daily Beast's Diana Falzone and Lloyd Grove publish an exclusive interview with Andrea Mackris, revealing "the full scope of Bill O'Reilly's alleged harassment of her -- and why she doesn't care if telling all means blowing up her NDA." It's a truly remarkable, and at times painful, profile.
This week: "O'Reilly is attempting to once again silence Andrea Mackris," Falzone reports. She was slated to appear on Wednesday's edition of "The View," but "on Tuesday evening O'Reilly was granted a temporary restraining order against his ex-staffer, effectively canceling her TV hit in the process." Details here... Twitter tests a down vote
Oliver Darcy writes: "Could a thumbs down button be coming soon to Twitter? The social media company said Wednesday that it is testing the feature with some users 'to understand the types of replies you find relevant in a convo, so we can work on ways to show more of them.' Twitter added that those who test the feature don't have to worry about others seeing their downvote as they aren't displayed publicly..." Down TikTok's rabbit holes  The Wall Street Journal created "dozens of automated accounts that watched hundreds of thousands of videos to reveal how the social media network knows you so well." The result is this terrific 13-minute video investigation. So what's the TikTok secret? "How long you linger over a piece of content" is the key factor. "Every second you hesitate or rewatch, the app is tracking you. Through this one powerful signal, TikTok learns your most hidden interests and emotions, and drives you deep into rabbit holes of content that are hard to escape." FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR -- Speaking of Twitter tests: The company also said it is testing new features for Tweetdeck... (TechCrunch)
-- Karen Hao writes about "why Facebook can never fix itself..." (MIT Tech Review)
-- Tumblr is starting a test "letting some users charge their followers a monthly fee in exchange for access to exclusive content..." (WSJ)
-- "Instagram is adding a new option to automatically translate text in story posts," Jon Porter writes... (The Verge)
-- "YouTube will begin pilot testing a new feature that will allow viewers to shop for products directly from livestream videos," Sarah Perez reports... (TechCrunch) Two milestones in Texas journalism
Katrice Hardy has been named the top editor of The Dallas Morning News. She is the first woman and Black journalist in the role. Hardy was previously exec editor of The IndyStar and regional editor for the Midwest of USA Today Network. Her appointment came one day after Maria Reeve was named the top editor of the Houston Chronicle, "the first journalist of color to lead" the newsroom. As Sewell Chan noted on Twitter, "This week, Black women were named to run Texas' two largest newspapers..." BDG to acquire Some Spider
Kerry Flynn writes: "The media consolidation wave continues. Bryan Goldberg is buying yet another media company to build up his portfolio of digital media brands ahead of an anticipated SPAC deal. Ben Mullin scoops that the all-stock deal values Some Spider Studios, which owns parenting sites Scary Mommy, Fatherly and the Dad, at $150 million. Some Spider 'expects to generate around $50 million in revenue this year and is on track to turn a profit of about $10 million' while BDG is also profitable and 'on pace to generate about $120M in revenue,' Mullin writes..." "I want to be the biggest podcaster in the world"
Kerry Flynn writes: "That's what Alex Cooper, host of popular podcast 'Call Her Daddy,' is quoted saying in several of the many profiles that dropped Wednesday -- the day her podcast became exclusive to Spotify. The four profiles -- Lane Florsheim for WSJ, Eliana Dockterman for Time, Kat Stoeffel for Bustle, Morgan Baila for Refinery29 -- cover Cooper's early life, the podcast's origins, fallout with her former cohost and her future. They also tease Cooper's plans to launch a second podcast potentially about crime: 'I'm looking at the charts and am well aware people are obsessed with true crime right now. So I want in. I want to be at the top of everything I do,' Cooper told Time..." FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE -- "Newspaper paid digital-only subscriptions claims and audited numbers are not in sync," Rick Edmonds reports... (Poynter)
-- The data war continues: "The VAB, an advocacy group that represents TV networks, has asked the Media Ratings Council to suspend Nielsen's accreditation..." (TheWrap)
-- "Forays into games, podcasts and TikTok-like shorts" suggest that Netflix "is thinking about new ways to present content beyond TV screens," Alex Weprin and J. Clara Chan write... (THR)
-- "Bloomberg TV is scrapping its plan to launch a streaming show based around" the "famously zany NYU professor and podcaster" Scott Galloway... (Beast)
-- "Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to 11 sexual assault charges" in an L.A. courtroom on Wednesday, "a day after he was moved across the country from his New York prison," Stella Chan and Eric Levenson report... (CNN)  To the dogs...
Brian Lowry writes: "Disney+ continues its mid-week launch strategy, but its latest offering, a sort-of revival of the 1989 cop-and-dog movie 'Turner & Hooch,' goes to the dogs in all the wrong ways, despite a pretty good creative pedigree."
>> Lowry adds: "On Wednesday the service also dropped the docuseries 'Behind the Attraction,' a behind-the-scenes look at the Disney Parks produced by Dwayne Johnson, in advance of his role in 'The Jungle Cruise...'" FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX By Lisa Respers France:
-- Legendary actress Marla Gibbs had a scary moment during her Hollywood Walk of Fame unveiling...
-- Robin Williams would have turned 70 on Wednesday and the beloved actor was remembered...
-- Khloe Kardashian talked about raising her biracial child as a White mom... Charlamagne Tha God lands talk show
Lisa Respers France writes: "Charlamagne Tha God is bringing Stephen Colbert back to Comedy Central. The radio host has landed a late night talk show on the network that's being executive produced by Colbert. 'Tha God's Honest Truth,' a weekly half-hour show, is set to premiere September 17..." LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
Town hall pet of the night
One of the questioners at the Biden town hall brought her dog, named Wonder, and Biden reacted with joy: "I'm a big dog person..."   Thank you for reading! Send us your feedback anytime. We are also always taking photos and captions of your furry companions for our Pet of the Day. Oliver will be running this newsletter show for the rest of the week... Share this newsletter:
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