Received this email from a friend? Sign up here.

Tuesday, July 09, 2024

Donald Trump threatens to jail Mark Zuckerberg, Dominion Voting Systems accuses ex-OAN host Christina Bobb of dodging her deposition, Meta announces it will remove some posts attacking "Zionists" as a form of hate speech, Netflix teams up with Joe Rogan for a live comedy special, the jurors are selected in Alec Baldwin's "Rust" trial, and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Trouble in George-Town

CNN Photo Illustration/ABC News

George Stephanopoulos, sporting a T-shirt, shorts, and over-the-ear headphones, was traversing the New York City streets by foot on Tuesday when he was approached by a stranger who asked for his thoughts on President Joe Biden's fitness for office.

"I don't think he can serve four more years," candidly replied the ABC News anchor, who had just sat down with Biden a few days earlier for his first on-camera television interview following the CNN presidential debate.

The blunt remark from Stephanopoulos — video of which made its way to TMZ — served as the latest example of the news media turning on Biden, expressing strong concerns about whether he has the fortitude to defeat Donald Trump in November and then serve an additional term in office.

On Tuesday night, Stephanopoulos expressed regret for his frank remark, saying through a spokesperson, "Earlier today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't have." (Notably, Stephanopoulos did not withdraw the viewpoint he articulated, but simply said he shouldn't have expressed it.) ABC News separately said that Stephanopoulos "expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News." Regardless, any damage inflicted by the comment was already done.

It goes without saying that Stephanopoulos is far from alone amongst his peers in the news media in sharing that opinion. Whether fair or unfair (and I do believe you can argue some of the coverage over the past two weeks has been over the top and irresponsible), the reality is that Biden has, at this juncture, lost much of the press corps. Many journalists simply do not buy the narrative that Biden, his campaign, and the White House are selling.

"To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race,"
The New York Times editorial board titled a scathing piece last week as several other prominent figures called for him to step aside.

That loss of trust poses a significant challenge for Biden as he tries to convince the American public that he is up for the difficult task before him. Every move Biden makes, every sentence he utters, has now fallen under a microscope, never a good sign for a political candidate. Worse for Biden, he is no longer being given the benefit of the doubt. In fact, just the opposite.

The president said this week that he does not care about what "the elites" think about his candidacy. But, given his decades in politics, he surely knows that alienating and going to war with the news media is not a winning strategy. Whether he likes it or not, how the news media covers his campaign influences how millions of Americans view his fitness for office. And given how close the 2024 race already was before the CNN debate, the recent coverage battering Biden's campaign poses a grave threat to its livelihood.

How Biden might manage to pull himself out of this media storm threatening to consume his candidacy remains to be seen. Can he? Thus far, the steps Biden has taken to win back trust have failed to deliver the desired outcome. The Stephanopoulos interview is the perfect example of that. Instead of helping him move forward, granting the interview has effectively backfired, with Biden failing to even convince Stephanopoulos with his message.

The fact that the president could not convince the interviewer his campaign hand-picked for his first post-debate sit-down of his ability to lead the nation for the next four years does not bode well for his campaign.

BIDEN IN PERIL

The "rift between [the] press and Biden team" has deepened post-debate, Sara Fischer reports. (Axios)
Jon Stewart "was likely correct to light up Biden a few months back. He did so not in the name of bothsidesism, but to warn his viewers of a serious vulnerability," Jacques Berlinerblau argues. (MSNBC)
Philip Bump details how the New York Post and Alex Berenson helped give life to the story about a Parkinson's doctor visiting the White House story, which soon fell apart. (WaPo)
A very good read from The WaPo's Dan Diamond taking readers behind the scenes: "The media's facing a lot of scrutiny on Biden-related stories — compounded by the challenges of reporting on presidential health — so I want to be extra-transparent. Like other news outlets, The Post had looked into Dr. [Kevin] Cannard's visits but we had held off on a story; we decided to wait until we knew why he was visiting the White House before determining if it was actually newsworthy." (Dan Diamond)
"The media has been breathlessly attacking Biden," Margaret Sullivan writes. "What about Trump?" (Guardian)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Trump's Transparent Threats: Donald Trump is spelling it out in black and white, overtly pledging to jail his political opponents. The disgraced former president on Tuesday vowed that if he is elected again, he will "pursue" so-called "election fraudsters" (translation: his perceived critics) at levels "never seen before." Trump openly said that he will send these people "to prison for long periods of time." He then warned that he already knows who these supposed "election fraudsters" are, explicitly threatening Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and telling him to "be careful." Gizmodo's Matt Novak has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: While Trump's threats are happening out in the open — plain as day for everyone to see — they continue to receive relatively little attention from the press. Most outlets on Tuesday did not even bother to cover Trump threatening to jail Zuckerberg. It's a sign of how normalized his authoritarian-like behavior has become.

THE INDUSTRY

THE PLAY FOR PARAMOUNT

"What now for Paramount?": Pamela McClintock, Rick Porter, and Aaron Couch go through "how things will (or won't) likely change" at the media company. (THR)
Todd Spangler ticks through the "burning questions about the deal." (Variety)
Josh Rottenberg writes about how Paramount Pictures is entering "an uncertain new chapter in its storied history." (LAT)
"A diminished Hollywood welcomes a new mogul": Brooks Barnes takes a look at David Ellison. (NYT)

IN THE BIZ

Regal Cinemas said it has secured a $250 million investment to upgrade its theaters. (THR)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

USA Today "has lost much of its visibility while contending with the same economic pressures challenging all media outlets," Paul Farhi reports. (WaPo)
Former WSJ reporter Stephanie Armour hit her former employer with a disability discrimination lawsuit, accusing the paper of intentionally cutting staffers with high health care costs, David Folkenflik reports. (NPR)
Bloomberg News announced it had tapped Olivia Nuzzi to host "Working Capital," a six-episode video interview series. (Variety)
The WaPo launched Climate Answers, an A.I.-powered chatbot that can respond to user questions about climate change with responses drawn from the outlet's own reporting. (Axios)

MEDIA MOVES

Sony Pictures upped Louse Heseltine to senior vice president of corporate communications. (THR)
CNN named Joan Biskupic its chief Supreme Court analyst. (CNN)
Chalkbeat hired Shani Hilton and Andrew Golis. (Axios)
The WaPo named Ellen Francis its Brussels bureau chief. (WaPo)
Bloomberg News hired Aaron Gordon as a data reporter. (TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Joe Rondone/The Republic/ USA Today Network

Bobb'ing Her Deposition: It appears former One America News personality Christina Bobb does not want to sit down with lawyers representing Dominion Voting Systems in the company's lawsuit against the conspiratorial right-wing channel. Bobb, who now serves as a Republican National Committee "election integrity" official, was accused by the voting technology company on Monday of having dodged her deposition. "Bobb has not produced a single document in this litigation, and simply ignored Dominion's attempts to schedule a date for her deposition," Dominion's lawyers wrote in court documents. Bobb's lawyers countered the deposition would undermine her rights against self-incrimination as the Arizona election subversion case unfolds. CNN's Marshall Cohen has the details.

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Meta's 'Zionist' Move: Meta has come a long way since the days in which Mark Zuckerberg refused to take action against Holocaust deniers posting on his platforms. The social media company said Tuesday that it will extend some of its hate speech policies to the word "Zionist," given that it can be used in an antisemitic manner. "We have determined that the existing policy guidance does not sufficiently address the ways people are using the term 'Zionist' online and offline," Meta said. "Going forward, we will remove content attacking 'Zionists' when it is not explicitly about the political movement, but instead uses antisemitic stereotypes, or threatens other types of harm through intimidation, or violence directed against Jews or Israelis under the guise of attacking Zionists." It's just the latest example of online platforms moving to address hate speech spurred by the Israel-Hamas war. CNN's Brian Fung has more.

TOO MANY TABS

Elon Musk's X has "been hit by stalling user growth," Clara Murray and Cristina Criddle report. (FT)
But, even with all the problems confronting X, Mark Zuckerberg's Threads "does not yet appear to have become a genuine threat to Musk's platform," Beatrice Nolan reports. (Business Insider)
Arianna Huffington is working with OpenAI to build a "health coach." (The Verge)
Google is renewing one of its offices in San Francisco, but will overall "occupy less space" in the city as it continues shrinking its real estate footprint in the Bay Area, Roland Li reports. (SF Chronicle)
Google is making its dark web reports free for all users. (The Verge)
In a first, U.S. regulators banned NGL — a messaging app that marketed itself to young users — from allowing users under the age of 18 to use its digital platform. (CNN)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/James Gilbert/Getty Images

The Return of Rogan: Netflix is once again teaming up with Joe Rogan for its next live event. The streamer said Tuesday that the controversial Spotify podcaster, who has a lengthy history of misinforming his sizable audience on health and political issues, will carry his "Burn The Boats" comedy show live on August 3. The show will mark Rogan's first stand-up performance in six years. But it is the third time Netflix has partnered with Rogan for a comedy special. Variety's Ethan Shanfeld has more here.

OFF STAGE

The jurors have been selected in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter "Rust" trial. (NBC News)
Harvey Weinstein was back in court as New York prosecutors vowed to bring new sexual assault charges against the disgraced Hollywood filmmaker. (AP)
The second season of HBO's "House of the Dragon" is gaining viewers, with the latest episode debuting to 8.1 million viewers Sunday night, up from 7.8 million during the season's premiere. (Deadline)
"Shrek 5" will hit theaters in summer 2026. The film will star regulars Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy. (The Wrap)
It's here: Paramount Pictures dropped the trailer for Ridley Scott's "Gladiator II," starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington. (YouTube)
NEON unveiled the trailer for the thriller "Mother's Instinct," starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. (YouTube)
Jennifer Lawrence will star in A24's adaption of the sci-fi comedy "Why Don't You Love Me?" (THR)
Sam Worthington and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will star opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James in the thriller "Fuze." (THR)
Lin-Manuel Miranda is finishing the recording of an album for a new musical about Walter Hill's 1979 "The Warriors." (Bloomberg)
Scarlett Johansson continues to talk about how stoked she is to star in "Jurassic World," saying on "The Tonight Show" that she has "been trying to get into the franchise for like 15 years." (The Wrap)
The BET Awards amassed an audience of about 3 million viewers across 10 Paramount-owned networks, up 10% from last year. (Deadline)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.

You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for Reliable Sources.
To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or sign up to manage your CNN account

Learn more about the CNN app | Get CNN web alerts | Sign up for a free CNN account