Insurrection hearing; far-right TV fortress; Post's newest hire; Tuesday planner; 'Exorcist' trilogy in the works

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Brian Stelter here at 11:07pm ET on Monday, July 26 with the latest on the NYT's new politics editor, Clubhouse, "Ted Lasso," NBC, Activision Blizzard, and much more...

A hearing to prevent another 1/6

Earlier this month I mentioned the demoralizing experience of Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher who occasionally writes about people in her own life who have been deceived by right-wing fictions. Out of respect, Starbird only identifies them as a "loved one." Starbird recently described a visit with one of her loved ones who "expressed confusion when I said there were videos of violence against police on 1-6."

"All he does is watch 'news' all day," she tweeted. "How could he live in such a vastly different reality?" She said "the conversation ended with me explaining that yes, there WERE videos of ACTUAL violence on January 6, and showing a few of them to my <loved one>. He was very, very confused and wondered why he couldn't find them on his TV."

Cue Tuesday's first public hearing by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack at their workplace. "Like the 9-11 Commission before it, the select committee is investigating how our nation's defenses failed and how we can prevent similar attacks from occurring again," Ryan Goodman, Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance wrote for Just Security.

Four police officers will testify starting at 9:30am ET, and there will also be new video of the melee, according to CNN's reporting. Republican lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, will hold a get-ahead-of-the-hearing news conference at 8am.

Most major networks will carry the hearing live. A source familiar with the officers' plans told CNN that the testimony will be "quite vivid" at times. The political tensions will also be dramatic: Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are serving on a committee "that the rest of their party has dubbed unnecessary and, in some cases, tried to stop from happening altogether," CNN's Melanie Zanona, Ryan Nobles and Lauren Fox wrote Monday.

As Cheney said, "We have important work to do." But will it break through the far-right TV fortress? More specifically, will Fox News, Newsmax and One America News show the hearing wall-to-wall, the way a serious probe into an insurrection should be treated? Signs point to no...

TV coverage plans

Fox News will provide coverage, I'm told, but that could mean just about anything. A network spokesperson would not confirm any plans for wall-to-wall coverage of the hearings. Nor did the channel signal any plans for a "special report."

OAN did not respond to my inquiry on Monday night. As for Newsmax, a spokesman said the channel is planning "significant live coverage," adding, "we are awaiting the committee's full witness and expert list before committing to the time allotted." Alas, the four key witnesses have already been named: Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell, Michael Fanone, and Daniel Hodges. I don't expect Fox or Newsmax to go wall-to-wall, even though the channels position themselves as anti-terror and pro-police.

CNN, meanwhile, has been promoting its plans for special coverage starting at 9am ET. Jake Tapper will be in the anchor chair. On MSNBC, Hallie Jackson and Andrea Mitchell will begin special coverage at 9am too. And the NBC, ABC, and CBS broadcast networks have been blasting out press releases about their plans as well.

David Muir will anchor ABC's special report; Major Garrett will anchor on CBS; and Peter Alexander will anchor on NBC. (Since NBC is in Olympic mode, its plans are a bit more complicated. Because the hearing will take place partially during the "Today" show, and the "Today" cast is in Tokyo for the games, NBC will be putting all four hours of the A.M. show on Today.com to stream, starting at 10am ET, for anyone who wants the Olympic-focused coverage.)

Many major news outlets will livestream the hearing as well. We'll all see how newsworthy it really is. "I do hope that people will do themselves the courtesy of actually watching these hearings," Van Jones said on "The Situation Room" Monday evening. "When you hear from real people and you see real video, you don't have to take the left-wing word or the right-wing word, the truth speaks for itself, and it will in these hearings."

But even if right-wing TV does show the hearings, and the horrific videos, will it sink in with riot deniers? When I brought this up to Oliver Darcy, using Starbird's personal example, he was pessimistic: "Even if the videos are on his TV, he may not see." Meaning, Trump has convinced his devotees to disbelieve their own eyes and ears.

As for Starbird and the people in her life, she told me via email that "the interesting thing with these particular loved ones is that it's not Trump, but the media they consume, that has them so... influenced. If Fox News changed their tune and a few of their favorite 'blogs' aligned, they would follow suit fairly soon after." That's why the media coverage, or non-coverage, matters so acutely...

Tucker's link to the GOPers

Unable to participate in the hearing, Jim Banks and other GOP lawmakers plan to hold their own press conference on Tuesday. Those who watch the stunt might be treated to rhetoric that is similar to what Tucker Carlson pushes on his nightly show. And as it turns out there is, in fact, a connection between Carlson and Banks. Carlson's son Buckley is the communications director for Banks. It is an open secret in DC, but not well known outside those circles...

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Here are some Q's the select committee "should ask its witnesses..." (Just Security)

-- Jon Allsop's latest is about "the absurd coverage" of the committee... (CJR)

-- Some fringe GOP lawmakers will attempt to counter-program the committee by holding a press conference about "treatment of January 6 prisoners..." (Roll Call)

-- Jake Tapper flagged the fact that Brian Walsh, former spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called out the "prisoners" presser stunt in this tweet: "You can't credibly claim to support our brave men and women in law enforcement, especially the Capitol Police, but then side with their attackers. Hopefully responsible media outlets will refrain from covering this circus act..." (Twitter)

-- "Tech accountability groups are urging members of Congress to 'dig deeper' into the role Facebook played in leading up to the Jan. 6 riot," Rebecca Klar reports... (The Hill)

-- "Donald Trump finally has the obsequious press he always wanted:" Philip Bump describes OAN-land and says "it's an ecosystem in which his false election claims spread unchecked..." (WaPo)

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

Post poaches Politico's Theodoric Meyer

Theodoric Meyer is leaving Politico and joining the Washington Post as co-author of "Power Up," The Post's A.M. political newsletter. He will be teaming up with Jacqueline Alemany on the daily read. Until last week Meyer co-authored West Wing Playbook for Politico. A Post rep says "Power Up" will "pair Theo's deep-expertise on West Wing dynamics and the inner workings of K Street... with Jacqueline's authoritative insight into the halls of Congress..."

TUESDAY PLANNER

President Biden addresses the intel community workforce in the afternoon...

Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft all report earnings after the bell...

Dr. Leana Wen's "Lifelines," part memoir and part celebration of public health, hits bookshelves...

Newsom calls out right-wing media for anti-vax rhetoric

Oliver Darcy writes: "California governor Gavin Newsom on Monday called out right-wing media for trafficking in anti-vaccine rhetoric as he announced new vaccination rules for state employees, saying personalities like Tucker Carlson are 'literally putting people's lives at risk' by discouraging them from getting a vaccine. Newsom said at a press conference that state officials are 'exhausted by the right-wing echo chamber that has been perpetuating misinformation.' And in an interview with MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, Newsom noted that vaccine misinfo has become popular in right-wing media. 'It's overwhelmingly coming from certain networks,' Newsom noted, 'and it's having an impact on getting this disease behind us...'"

Meanwhile: Psaki says WH doesn't want fight with Fox

Darcy adds: "While Newsom was calling out the right-wing pundits peddling anti-vaccine rhetoric, Jen Psaki was asserting that the White House does not want to engage in a fight with Fox. In an interview with Snapchat's Peter Hamby, Psaki said that the network is 'a platform for us to communicate with the public.' She said that the White House doesn't have to 'approve everything they do editorially' to engage with Fox's audience. 'And frankly, the other piece of it is getting in a fight with Fox News at this point in time for the administration isn't particularly constructive coming off of an administration that completely destroyed trust in media, trust in institutions,' Psaki added. 'That's not the fight we want to fight right now...'"

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- Dan Diamond capturing Monday's mood music: "It took 227 days since FDA authorized the first coronavirus vaccines, but today felt like a U.S. tipping point on vax mandates — doctors, nurses, California, NYC, and Veterans Affairs all calling for or imposing them..." (WaPo)

-- NBC's Kelly O'Donnell recapping her Monday exchange with Biden: "The president called me a 'pain in the neck' (with a smile) as I pressed him on a NEW mandate for doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals to get the COVID vaccine..." (Twitter)

-- Chris Cuomo's plea to unvaccinated Americans: "Please don't help make America sick again. We just can't make ourselves sick again..." (CNN)

-- Mark Valentine, brother of conservative radio host Phil Valentine, spoke with CNN's Alisyn Camerota about Phil's change of heart about vaccination after a battle with the virus... (CNN)

-- Melinda Wenner Moyer reports on the "manipulative world" of vaccine misinfo targeting women online... (Women's Health)

-- And don't miss this must-read by Morgan Stephens, a production assistant for "Erin Burnett OutFront," about her eight-month struggle with long Covid... (CNN)

"Foreign journalists harassed in China over floods coverage"

An Phung flagged this story by The Guardian's Helen Davidson: "Foreign journalists reporting on the aftermath of China's flooding disaster have faced hostile confrontations in the street and been subjected to 'vicious campaigns' amid increasing nationalistic sensitivity to any negative portrayals of China. Reporters from the LA Times and German outlet Deutsche Welle were confronted by an angry crowd in Zhengzhou on Saturday, who filmed and questioned them, and accused them of 'rumour mongering' and slandering China. Other journalists have also been targeted, with a specific focus on the BBC." And CPJ is speaking out about it. Details here...

"Small steps, but..."

Kerry Flynn writes: "Joshua Benton's latest for Nieman Lab is titled 'Small steps, but: Most big American newspaper newsrooms are now led by someone other than a white man.' He pulled together a list of the 20 biggest daily newspaper newsrooms in the US and found that nearly two-thirds are run by a woman or a person of color, or both. Here's the list. 'One top job, at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, is vacant,' he noted..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- David Halbfinger, most recently the NYT's Jerusalem bureau chief, is returning to the US to be politics editor. Manny Fernandez, currently the L.A. bureau chief, "will remain in California and serve as deputy politics editor," per the internal memo... (NYT)

-- Former Guardian EIC Alan Rusbridger "has been appointed the next editor of Prospect mag in the UK, succeeding Tom Clark... (Prospect)

-- Edward Snowden says he hopes the Pegasus Project reporting by WaPo, Guardian and other news organizations is a "turning-point" in the public's understanding of phones as "all-powerful tracking devices..." (Continuing Ed)

-- Elizabeth Dias writes about how Facebook's "next target" is "the religious experience," noting that the company is "intensifying formal partnerships with faith groups..." (NYT)

-- Jill Lepore looks at Facebook's "broken vows..." (New Yorker)

-- Quite a headline on this David Pierce piece about the nature of social platforms as they ape each other's features: "Snapchat is TikTok is Instagram is Facebook is Snapchat..." (Protocol)

Recurrent's buying spree continues

Recurrent Ventures is purchasing tech and science outlet Futurism. The VC-backed firm "has quickly assembled a portfolio of well-liked but small, primarily digital media brands," Max Tani and Lachlan Cartwright wrote Monday. The list includes Popular Science, Saveur, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, The Drive, and MEL.

>> Recurrent CEO Lance Johnson told the Beast that "we would like to make a few more acquisitions this year..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Kerry Flynn:

-- "From New England to Arkansas, local investors are buying news outlets from large chains and seek to reverse what they see as decades of disinvestment," Mark Jacob writes... (Poynter)

-- Luke Winkie interviewed female video game journalists about harassment they've faced, and how to respond to it... (Nieman Lab)

-- The New Yorker launched a new quiz product called Name Drop with the hopes of boosting reader habit and subscriber retention, Mark Stenberg reports... (Adweek)

-- "It was really a kick in the teeth," Washingtonian senior editor Andrew Beaujon said of CEO Cathy Merrill's controversial op-ed. Kat Rosenfield interviewed Beaujon and other workers about the return to the office... (Air Mail News)

Clubhouse is hiring a head of news publishers

Clubhouse, the social audio app that burned bright for a while but faded in recent months, at least in my social circles, is making changes. Access is no longer invite-only. The app is changing how clubs work. And here's an interesting job opening: Head of News & Media Publishers. Details here. The job listing has been online for about a month but attracted attention on Twitter for the first time on Monday...

Activision Blizzard's culture problem

Videogame giant Activision Blizzard, the publisher of "Call of Duty" and other hugely popular games, is under tremendous pressure right now. The WSJ's Sarah Needleman can catch you up to speed on last week's gender-bias suit filed by California regulators, which "has reignited discussion about videogaming culture and whether the industry's treatment of women is toxic."

Now here's Rishi Iyengar with the latest for CNN Business: "More than 2,000 current and former employees signed a petition slamming what they see as the video game company's 'abhorrent and insulting' response" to the suit...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

By Amelia Burns:

-- "A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook and Microsoft" will "crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias," Elizabeth Culliford reports... (Reuters)

-- "The most important thing about a documentary deepfaking Anthony Bourdain's voice isn't that it happened, but that it happened and almost nobody noticed," Matt Pearce writes. Pearce says "the voice imitation revolution is already here," and media companies "are grappling with the big question of what happens when you separate speech from the speaker..." (LAT)

-- Luke Winkie writes that digital posts by female video game journalists become "populated with the sort of people who make a hobby out of tormenting the journalists" covering "the geek industries..." (Nieman Lab)

-- Andrew Boryga and Justin Baragona delve into how a police officer is "becoming something of a conservative cult hero" following a rise in Fox News hits, specifically Tucker Carlson's show... (Beast)

Lowry's observations from NBC's Olympic coverage

Brian Lowry writes: "Two quick Olympic coverage thoughts, based on a by-no-means-exhaustive sampling of the first few days: First, other stories will emerge, obviously, but NBC has decided this will be 'Simone Biles and the Olympics,' with everyone else pretty much relegated to supporting-cast status as long as the gymnasts are in contention. Second, the cameras at watch parties featuring families of the athletes have turned out to be a pretty decent "If life gives you lemons" solution to the absence of crowds."

>> For more, check out Frank Pallotta's story about the opening ratings...

>> Sorry, but NBC is "unlikely to recover from early Tokyo audience drops," SBJ's John Ourand writes...

Spears' lawyer files petition to oust her dad

Chloe Melas and Julia Vargas Jones report: "Britney Spears' newly hired lawyer filed a petition Monday to remove the singer's father, Jamie Spears, as conservator of her estate." Lawyer Mathew Rosengart is seeking to replace him with Jason Rubin, a CPA based in Woodland Hills. "The filing says Spears' estate has more than $2.7 million in cash assets and $56 million in non-cash assets." Read on...

Apple touts "Ted Lasso" premiere

Brian Lowry writes: "Say what you will about the broadcast networks being dinosaurs -- the Olympic numbers providing the latest evidence of their decline -- but at least their ratings provide some basis for comparison. That's usually more than can be said for any data coming from the streaming services, the latest example being Apple TV+'s fact-free release regarding the season two premiere of 'Ted Lasso,' which, stripped to its core, basically just says 'We did better than we did before' (whatever that was)."

Here's how Todd Spangler described the Apple stat in his Variety story: The show "tallied more Apple TV Plus accounts that streamed the S2 premiere on Friday, July 23, and over its opening weekend (July 23-25), than any previous launch, the tech giant claims."

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

-- "'Dexter' is back," Marianne Garvey writes: "Showtime released the first trailer for the revival of the show, which will premiere in November. It will be a 10-episode limited series..."

-- Lisa Respers France writes: John Travolta honored his late wife Kelly Preston over the weekend "by posting a clip from her final film..."

-- One more from Lisa: "Issa Rae has gotten married..."

NBCU pays up for "Exorcist" trilogy

The NYT's Brooks Barnes had the scoop on Monday: Universal Pictures and "its streaming-service cousin" Peacock "have closed a $400 million-plus megadeal to buy a new 'Exorcist' trilogy, signaling a sudden willingness to compete head-on with the technology giants that are upending entertainment industry economics."

Barnes said "Hollywood has heretofore viewed the year-old Peacock as unwilling to compete for top-tier movie deals," but maybe not anymore. "The eye-popping talent paydays of 2017 and 2018, when Netflix scooped up big-name television creators, have migrated to the film world..."