| Oliver Darcy here. It's 10:40pm ET on Wednesday, August 25, with the latest on Rachel Maddow, Rachel Nichols, Joe Rogan, Devin Nunes, Mike Richards, and even Luke Skywalker... Anger and confusion inside ABC News
Staffers are angry, confused, and demanding answers inside ABC News after a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleged that former "Good Morning America" boss Michael Corn sexually assaulted two staffers. The allegations, which Corn has denied, have rocked all levels of the news network, I'm told by multiple sources. As one source put it to me, "There is a lot of anger and confusion and people wanting to understand what happened..."
News about the lawsuit jolted across people's phones via a push alert from The Wall Street Journal Wednesday morning. Reporter Joe Flint scooped that Corn, who had inexplicably left ABC News earlier this year, was facing sexual assault allegations from two of his former colleagues. The "GMA" producer who filed the suit against Corn and ABC, Kirstyn Crawford, said she was assaulted in 2015 during a trip to cover the Academy Awards. Crawford also said Corn assaulted former ABC News producer Jill McClain in 2010 while on a flight and in 2011 during a trip to London.
Corn's legal team fired back with emails showing Crawford and Corn engaging in friendly banter hours after the alleged assault took place. Corn said in a statement that the emails prove her claims "are demonstrably false." He said her messages were "not the words and actions of a woman who had been assaulted hours before." He also said McClain's claims "are equally as fabricated." He said she invited him to his wedding and "repeatedly communicated to me and my wife that she missed me after leaving her position at ABC."
For its part, ABC only put out a terse statement that said, "We are committed to upholding a safe and supportive work environment and have a process in place that thoroughly reviews and addresses complaints that are made. ABC News disputes the claims made against it and will address this matter in court." A spokesperson for the network declined to say anything more...
Around 3pm ET, ABC News staffers got a curious email from newsgathering SVP Wendy Fisher, informing them that the afternoon editorial call with President Kim Godwin had been delayed until 3:10pm. The call is usually reserved for senior ABC News personnel, so the email — which was sent to a large listserv — baffled people, according to sources I spoke to. Then, at 3:11pm ET, nearly 500 ABC News staffers got another email inviting them to join the call.
At the top of the call, Godwin — who took charge earlier this year — read ABC's statement. She said that she came to ABC News to help change the culture and is committed to doing so. She said she wanted to be there for staffers and that she was addressing the issue Wednesday afternoon because she didn't want to wait until the 9am call the following day. "I'm here," she said at one point. "You know how to reach me. Call me. If you need anything, even just if you need someone to listen."
Godwin then took questions from a frustrated staff. Godwin was asked why the statement ABC News issued said that the network "disputed" the allegations. She answered that she didn't believe it to be a blanket statement, and that the company has certain feelings toward certain allegations. Godwin was asked why everyone learned about the allegations from The Wall Street Journal, instead of from management. Her answer: because the allegations were made in a lawsuit.
The questions from ABC'ers were not in short supply. Bottom line: It was a call full of raw emotion. I'm told one person yelled. Another person cried. As one source put it to me, "It was definitely a tense call..."
According to sources who were on the call, Godwin was asked whether "GMA" would address the story on Thursday, but didn't give a clear answer. I checked with an ABC News rep, but didn't hear back. The network still hasn't named a new senior EP of "GMA" to replace Corn...
After he departed ABC News, Corn joined Nexstar's fledgling "NewsNation" as the head of news. The network is not commenting on the allegations against him. A spokesperson told me, "We have no comment on anything that may or may not have happened prior to Mr. Corn's employment with Nexstar..." FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE -- One of the big stories heading into Thursday: "A federal judge ordered sanctions Wednesday for Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and several other lawyers who worked on Trump-aligned lawsuits seeking to challenge the results of the 2020 election..." (CNN)
-- Another big story: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued its first sweeping requests Wednesday for records from federal agencies pertaining to the attack on the Capitol and President Donald Trump's efforts to subvert the election..." (WaPo)
-- Snopes says that "during a recent investigation into QAnon activity on Facebook," its "research led ... to social media accounts managed" by a Republican challenging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The team discovered the challenger "live-streamed on Facebook" during the Jan. 6 insurrection... (Snopes) Lester Holt to interview officer who shot Ashli Babbitt
In a sit-down that will air Thursday on "NBC Nightly News," Lester Holt will interview the US Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 insurrection. This will be the first time the officer has spoken out and revealed his identity for the first time. Per NBC, the officer — who was recently exonerated for using force against Babbitt — will "share his perspective on the events of that day, including the aftermath of the deadly insurrection and the threats he has received..." FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO -- Ben Smith writes about how Mexico is helping get NYT and WSJ journalists out of Afghanistan: "Mexico's role in the rescue of journalists ... offers a disorienting glimpse of the state of the American government as two of the country's most powerful news organizations frantically sought help far from Washington..." (NYT)
-- "Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the decision to offer protection to the journalists is 'congruent with the historical position of Mexico,'" Karol Suarez and Ivana Kottasová report... (CNN)
-- Smith also reports on a bipartisan letter "pushing the Administration to evacuate VOA and Radio Azadi journalists — US Government employees, still stuck there..." (Twitter)
-- Natasha Korecki reports that the White House wants its "props on Afghanistan" from the media: "The president and his team have taken it on the chin for the past week. Now, amid a massive evacuation effort, they want kudos too..." (Politico) CNN facilitates evacuation of dozens of Afghans
Brian Stelter writes: "CNN boss Jeff Zucker shared an update with staffers about the network's efforts to extract locals who worked with the network in Afghanistan. 'We've facilitated the evacuation of between 60 and 70 Afghans,' he said, a mix of local staffers and support personnel who worked alongside CNN for years."
On USA Today's Thursday A1  USA Today is sending a strong message to President Biden on its Thursday A1. The paper, taking the rare step of running a piece by its editorial board on the front page, is calling on Biden to "leave no American behind" in Afghanistan. The editorial board writes that this is Biden's "moment to lead with conviction and courage..." Maddow's worth
Brian Stelter writes: "I think it's safe to say that Rachel Maddow has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for MSNBC over the lifespan of her 9pm show. 'According to Kantar data, The Rachel Maddow Show brought in more than $66 million in ad revenue in 2020,' TVNewser noted the other day. So keep that in mind when you read Lachlan Cartwright and Max Tani's story about the 'massive MSNBC deal paying Maddow to work less.' The Daily Beast duo confirmed CNN's reporting that Maddow's daily show will end next year. Instead, she'll host specials for the channel and produce content across NBCU. They also reported that the deal will pay Maddow a 'jaw-dropping $30 million per year to keep her with the company through the 2024 election, according to four people familiar with the matter.' Maddow's camp pushed back hard on that salary figure – a source close to Maddow said 'it's completely inaccurate, and I'm shocked that anyone would publish that. It's just not true.' But NBC execs feared losing Maddow entirely, so she had all the leverage..." ESPN pulls Nichols from NBA coverage and cancels "The Jump"
>> SBJ's John Ourand, who broke the story, pointed out: "This marks the first of several changes that are coming to ESPN's NBA coverage this season. Roberts took over as the production exec overseeing ESPN's NBA coverage two weeks ago, and this marks his first big move to reset how the network covers the NBA...." Is Joe Rogan losing influence?
Kerry Flynn writes: "I think it's fair to say that question has been on every media reporters' mind since Joe Rogan signed an exclusive licensing deal with Spotify in May 2020. While 'The Joe Rogan Experience' is available for free on the platform, there's still a barrier to entry for those who listened on other podcast apps or through YouTube. Yet, Spotify has continuously said on its earnings call that he's performing well. But how exactly? The Verge's Ashley Carman thinks his influence may be waning after collecting and analyzing data on the Twitter follower bump his guests receive post-show, on Google search volume and on his YouTube subscribers. Read on..." FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE -- Dow Jones is opening its US offices "for more employees who are interested in returning on a voluntary basis," effective September 13... (Talking Biz News)
-- Two political science professors write that "unverified reports of vaccine side effects in VAERS aren't the smoking guns portrayed by right-wing media outlets," but note that "they can offer insight into vaccine hesitancy..." (The Conversation)
-- Tom Bateman found that the anti-parasitic drug right-wing media has spotlighted as a supposed Covid-19 treatment has also been "promoted as a COVID-19 cure in Facebook groups and paid adverts hosted on the company's platforms..." (EuroNews) Facebook updates vaccine policies
Following the FDA's approval of the Pfizer vaccine, Facebook on Wednesday announced it had updated its policies to prohibit claims that assert "there are no FDA-approved vaccines" and that "the Pfizer vaccine is not FDA-approved." The company said it will "continue to look for and take action against new claims that are no longer accurate given the FDA's announcement." Facebook also said that it is "sharing messages across Facebook in both English and Spanish to make sure people see the FDA's approval announcement..." Roose points out Facebook's missed opportunity
In conversation with CJR's Mathew Ingram, NYT's Kevin Roose made a smart observation about Facebook's decision to shelve its Q1 transparency report. "What's sort of ironic is that the Q1 report, if it had been released, would have been an opportunity for Facebook PR to engage in one of its favorite activities: pointing out the hypocrisy of the mainstream media," Roose said. "After all, this wasn't a clickbait story from some Macedonian troll farm -- it was syndicated in the Chicago Tribune! What do you want them to do, start taking down New York Times stories?"
"I would have liked to have had that conversation," Roose continued, "in part because it would have highlighted the ways that misinformation campaigns use decontextualized real news as well as totally false stories to push their messages, and the ways news organizations should frame stories about vaccine side effects responsibly to make sure they don't end up inadvertently fueling some anti-vaccine group's crusade. Instead, we ended up talking about Facebook's duplicity, which can't have been the plan..." FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR -- "Facebook has approached academics and policy experts about forming a commission to advise it on global election-related matters," Ryan Mac, Mike Isaac, and Sheera Frenkel report... (NYT)
-- A judge has dismissed Devin Nunes' defamation suits against GOP strategist Liz Mair, but the California congressman is still trying to sue the Twitter accounts @DevinCow and @NunesAlt. The Fresno Bee's Gillian Brassil says "he has not been able to serve them with a complaint..." (Fresno Bee)
-- "Lawmakers are reexamining how tech companies should handle violent material in emergency situations after the political tirade of a bomb threat suspect thrust the Capitol into chaos as it streamed on Facebook Live," Cristiano Lima reports... (WaPo) OnlyFans suspends ban on sexually explicit content
That didn't take long: Just days after announcing that it would prohibit sexually explicit content on its platform, OnlyFans said Wednesday that it would put that new policy on hold. The company made the announcement citing "assurances" it said it had received from its banking partners "to support our diverse creator community." CNN's Brian Fung and Sara Ashley O'Brien have all the details here...
>> Related: Vanity Fair's Delia Cai explains how the OnlyFans controversy is emblematic of a larger issue in the creator economy's dependence on platforms... FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE By Kerry Flynn:
-- Rana Cash has been named exec editor of the Charlotte Observer. She is the first person of color to hold the top job in the paper's 135-year history... (Observer)
-- Bitch Media EIC Evette Dionne says she is "beyond burnt out" and has resigned... (Twitter)
-- Andrew Beaujon goes "inside the plan to make Jeff Bezos's Washington Post the everything newspaper..." (Washingtonian)
-- The Atlantic says it now has more than 830,000 total print and digital subscribers. But Comscore data shows the site's traffic has dropped from 30 million to 18 million over the past year... (Digiday)
-- Kristen Hare reports on The Spokesman-Review, the paper in Spokane, Washington, and how it brought back its evening edition... (Poynter)
-- Erin Andrews writes on her Facebook Bulletin about her experience with IVF... (Bulletin)
-- "Fox Corp. has come in as the lead investor in a $100 million Series A fundraising round for blockchain platform provider Eluvio," Dade Hayes reports... (Deadline) Will Mike Richards remain as "Jeopardy!" EP?
"In a show of defiance that has baffled Hollywood, Sony Pictures Entertainment has signaled that it will keep [Mike] Richards on as executive producer of 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune,'" NYT's Michael Grynbaum, Nicole Sperling, and Julia Jacobs reported Wednesday. "During a call with 'Jeopardy!' staff on Monday, Sony's top TV executive, Ravi Ahuja, made clear that the studio supported Mr. Richards, according to several people briefed on the call who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. Mr. Ahuja praised Mr. Richards for his willingness to step down from the hosting job, saying it was the right move for 'Jeopardy!,' and signaled that he expected the crew to move forward from last week's uproar with Mr. Richards in charge..."
On a related note: NYT's Julia Jacobs on Wednesday published a Q&A with Claire McNear. In the conversation, McNear made this observation about the beloved game show: "It was never flashy; it was never trying to get in the headlines or be the thing that you debated over dinner. And now it very much is..."  "The Mandalorian" reveals the tricks that brought Luke Skywalker back  Brian Lowry writes: "Beyond the tricks (not of the Jedi mind variety) used to bring Luke Skywalker back, the Disney Gallery about 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 finale included some interesting thoughts from Jon Favreau about the ethics of 'deep fake' technology. Mostly, though, it's a lot of fun, including tidbits about precautions taken to hide the secret and how the producers brought 'Baby Yoda' along to help convince Mark Hamill to say yes..." FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX -- "MTV's 2021 VMAs will get the Doja Cat treatment as the ... singer will host the annual awards ceremony," Alexandra Del Rosario writes... (Deadline)
-- "Director Spike Lee is reediting the fourth and final episode of his 'NYC Epicenters: 9/11-2021½' docuseries on HBO. The original cut of the episode featured interviews with 9/11 truthers," Jordan Moreau reports... (Variety)
-- "There's been fights, there's been tears": Lacey Rose pulls the curtain back behind "the making of 'Impeachment: American Crime Story...'" (THR) "Bob Ross" paints complex portrait of the artist's life
Brian Lowry writes: "'Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed' looks at the painter's life. But the meat of this Netflix documentary involves the more complicated picture of the dispute over his estate that followed his death..." 20 years since the death of Aaliyah
Lisa Respers France writes: "Like so many who die young, Aaliyah is forever frozen in time -- youthful, beautiful and left with dreams unfulfilled. The singer and actress was 22 years old when the plane she was traveling on crashed soon after takeoff from the Bahamas on August 25, 2001, killing her and eight others aboard. The fascination with Aaliyah and her music have not abated in the two decades since the world tragically lost her..." FOR THE RECORD, PART SEVEN By Lisa Respers France: -- Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson talks about being a teen and overcoming tough times...
-- The "Matrix 4" trailer and title has dropped... SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST...
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