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Brian Stelter
Not every political tell-all or insider perspective book theme works. But CNN's Brian Stelter is getting a lot of attention for his new one: Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth. In fact, it's currently number one on Amazon.
It's not just a matter of timing, though the timing is of course dead on. The election is heated, the cable news wars are going strong, the relationship between Fox News and President Donald Trump is in the headlines (thanks to Trump himself), and with both conventions going on, the topic of media coverage is itself a topic covered by media.
In fact, the media's coverage of the president and the parties isn't just about Fox News, as in the case of Stelter's book, but as it pertains to the media overall. Stelter addressed that on Sunday in explaining that coverage of the RNC by CNN would be not handled in the same hands-off way they carried the Democratic convention.
Still, the book excerpts relating to Fox News, and to Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch family in general, have captured most of the attention.
Stelter even made a rare appearance on MSNBC to discuss the Fox angle with host Rachel Maddow last week. "“You describe them as sort of a shadow cable news government that appears to select policies for him knowingly,” Maddow said of his telling of the relationship between Fox and Trump.
On his Reliable Sources, he was interviewed by New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota, going into even more Fox detail. 6.5.0 |
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 | MEDIA LOSER:
Jerry Falwell Jr.
The unzipped pants yacht photos and subsequent fallout which lead eventually to Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. taking an "indefinite" leave of absence from leadership at the Christian school were not the end of woes for the son of late evangelical leader and Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell.
No, it turns out there's a lot more.
News came out this weekend that Falwell Jr. had allegedly been blackmailed by a man who was having an affair with Falwell's wife, Becki Falwell. The man, a pool boy, had been photographed with the couple on vacation, to much speculation. And then there was more. On Monday, the pool boy, who became a business partner and vacation sharer, spilled his guts to Reuters on the affair. He claims it was not brief, that he and Becki were romantically involved for years. On top of that, says Falwell would watch.
“Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room," Giancarlo Granda told Reuters.
It's not just your usual famous person sordid story. It involves an evangelical brand name, at a leading Christian university, who also happens to be a major Trump supporter and frequent political commentator who spoke at the last Republican Convention. (More on this years's speaker's below.)
Hard to say who is the bigger loser: Falwell Jr. for his life falling apart, or the rest of us for having to hear the details. 6.5.0 |
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| The RNC Begins Tonight The first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday night. Wondering how to watch, when to watch, and who will be speaking?
Find all our coverage of the RNC here.
CNN has already started their interruptive fact checking.
We have the list of speakers here, including, but not limited to, Nikki Haley, Matt Gaetz, Rudy Giuliani, and Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann.
It's worth noting in this space, particularly considering our Media Winer, that no Fox News contributors will be among those with a speaking slot.
Two DNC speakers last week, John Kasich and Andrew Yang, are current CNN commentators. Presidential historian and author Jon Meacham, who briefly spoke at the DNC last week, is an NBC News contributor.
It is not clear if departing Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway will keep her speaking slot, following the news this weekend that...
The Conways resign their respective political roles
Citing their need to focus on their family, both Kellyanne and her husband George Conway announced they are resigning their current politically charged positions.
It's worth noting also, in this space, that when news broke of the Conway resignation, only Fox News had live coverage.
Postmaster General
Postmaster General Louis Dejoy testified today before the House.
Things got heated with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And Rep. Jim Cooper was brutal.
But maybe the harshest exchange was with Rep. Steven Lynch. Suffice it to say the words "grossly incompetent" featured prominently.
The GOP
Republicans are taking the headlines this week, and right off the bat there are two notable stories.
Dozens of current and former members of the party are endorsing Biden.
The party is not offering a platform at the convention, except to say that the GOP is about whatever Trump is about.
Exactly what that is, even pollster Frank Luntz couldn't say for sure.
Social Media
Twitter slapped a warning label on another Trump tweet this weekend.
TikTok confirms they are suing the Trump administration.
Beyond Anger
A disturbing video this weekend showed police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting a black man in the back multiple times at point-blank range.
The ACLU calls the incident "attempted murder" on the part of the police officers.
Sentiment online has been very much along those lines, too. 6.5.0 |
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| 2020 DNC a Zoom Cast Reunion of 2008 RNC?
HBO's John Oliver is not convinced the DNC put their best foot forward when it came to guests and speakers last week.
“A lot of time was given to Republicans like Meg Whitman, Colin Powell, and John Kasich, who delivered his remarks standing at a literal crossroads,” he said. “And it’s hard to convince progressive voters you’re a forward-looking party when your convention feels like a Zoom cast reunion—except the show is the 2008 RNC.”
He also said Biden's speech show the election will be between "adequate vs. evil" |
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