Counterprogramming breaks through
One week into the war with Iran, a new supreme leader has been named, and Fareed Zakaria says “it’s a very bad sign for the war” because the hardliners are “fully in charge.” Israel has launched fresh attacks. The price of oil has surged. The Wall Street Journal says we’re in “the most severe energy crisis since the 1970s.”
These are ALL-CAPS-all-the-time developments. And yet I keep thinking of what former labor secretary and noted Substacker Robert Reich said last week:
“A big part of the authoritarian playbook is war. War takes over the news. War blots out criticism. War divides a nation’s people, subjecting those against it to being called unpatriotic. War grants leaders all sorts of emergency powers. War consumes everything else. We mustn’t let this war do so.”
People care deeply about the war, no doubt. But I’m noticing that a number of other stories are breaking through. The most popular story on the WSJ site this morning is about “Epstein files fallout.” At The Washington Post, it’s a story about the Trump administration retreating from DOGE cuts and “ramping up hiring.” On CNN.com, the top three links are about the war, followed by a story about airport delays related to the Homeland Security shutdown.
You can see this pattern all across news sites. The NYT’s trending page says its most-emailed article today is about a grim nature report that was “killed by Trump” but then released independently. The AP says its most-commented story is about the South Florida university probing a “racist group chat tied to a local GOP official.” Google Trends says “Havana Syndrome” is trending, thanks to last night’s report on “60 Minutes.”
Homepage editors sometimes call these stories “counterprogramming.” Judging by the metrics, readers want all the programming…
WSJ’s compelling visual scoop |
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The WSJ’s most-read piece over the weekend, until the Epstein story supplanted it, was a superb visual investigation titled “Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown.” The project found that “of the 279 people accused by officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens.” Here’s the key: “Close to half of those Americans were never charged with assault. None have been convicted at trial. Yet names, mug shots and other identifying details posted by the government put a bull’s-eye on them. They had to explain the accusations to family, friends and employers. In a few cases, their home and workplace addresses were leaked online, drawing death threats.” >> As Mark Lukasiewicz tweeted, “amazing reporting and innovative presentation make for powerful journalism.” |
Live Nation settles antitrust case, avoids breakup |
As soon as Gail Slater was forced out as the Justice Department’s antitrust chief, analysts predicted this would happen: Trump’s DOJ has settled the Biden-era antitrust case against Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, multiple outlets reported this morning, citing sources. Politico’s Yasmin Khorram, who was first with the details this morning, said the deal entails “structural changes to Live Nation’s ticketing business.” But the headline is that Live Nation has successfully avoided a breakup after an aggressive MAGA lobbying campaign by the likes of Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis. Recall what former DOJ official Roger P. Alford said when he resigned last summer: “Live Nation and Ticketmaster have paid a bevy of cozy MAGA friends to roam the halls of the DOJ in defense of their monopoly abuses.” >> “Notably, states can continue to press their own claims outside of the DOJ,” NBC’s story notes, and some state AGs have said they will do so. |
The Trump White House has enlisted SpongeBob, Iron Man and “Call of Duty” in its “meme war against Iran,” and the pushback has been considerable. Last week, Ben Stiller spoke out, condemning the presence of a “Tropic Thunder” clip in a White House video promoting the strikes in Iran. “We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine,” Stiller wrote. “War is not a movie.” Now, Steve Downes, known to video gamers around the world as the voice of Master Chief in “Halo,” is calling out the “disgusting and juvenile war porn.” Downes said “at least one propaganda video” is using his voice, and he wants it removed “immediately.” IGN’s Wesley Yin-Poole has more here. |
Kari Lake says she’ll appeal. But “if left standing,” Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s Saturday ruling “would open the door to reversing a series of sweeping acts taken by Lake in trying to kill Voice of America and other international networks that receive federal funding,” NPR’s David Folkenflik writes. In the meantime, sidelined VOA staffers will remain in limbo… |
Lemon, Fort, and the broader press freedom fight |
Joel Simon spoke to the attorneys representing Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for this new CJR story about their legal defense. Simon says the legal battle “is really about pushing back against a broader Trump administration effort to deny First Amendment protections to any journalist or news organization accused of ‘bias,’ which is often just code for critical coverage.” |
Amnesty International calls for Nashville reporter’s release |
As we noted in yesterday’s special edition of Reliable, Nashville reporter Estefany Rodriguez remains in ICE custody “pending her immigration proceedings.” This morning, Amnesty International USA called for her immediate release and said “the U.S. immigration system must not be weaponized to silence the work of journalists.” Amnesty called her detention i”yet another stark example of the escalating and overlapping attacks on the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the rights of immigrants in the U.S.” |
Rashida Jones teams up with Piers Morgan |
Former MSNBC boss Rashida Jones has a new gig: CEO of Piers Morgan’s digital media company Uncensored, Jessica Testa scooped in today’s DealBook. “Jones has been tasked with expanding Morgan’s show into a full-fledged digital network,” with a focus on “adding more shows in categories like sports, true crime and entertainment,” Testa wrote. >> Uncensored “expects to close its first round of funding this week, with at least $30 million,” the NYT adds, citing sources. |
Simon & Schuster names new CEO |
Simon & Schuster has hired Greg Greeley, a longtime Amazon exec, to be its new CEO, Jeffrey Trachtenberg reports. His framing: “Publisher turns to industry outsider as expanded entertainment options squeeze the book business…” |
Scott MacFarlane exits CBS News |
Scott MacFarlane, the highly regarded CBS News justice correspondent who seemed like a rising star at the network, says he is leaving. “This is my decision, and I appreciate the bosses at CBS for understanding it,” he wrote in a memo to colleagues just now. >> MacFarlane said he looks forward “to some independence and finding new spaces to share my work in line with my personal goals.” |
‘Melania’ is now streaming |
First Lady Melania Trump’s film is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, “after quietly winding down its run in theaters, where it has earned north of $16.4 million domestically,” THR’s Pamela McClintock writes. >> McClintock notes that Amazon had high hopes for the film outside North America, “but foreign grosses were never reported.” |
Trump tapes a video for Murdoch birthday bash |
At Rupert Murdoch’s 95th birthday bash on Saturday night, Bret Baier “introduced a surprise video tribute” from POTUS, who “called Murdoch ‘legendary’ and ‘one of a kind,’ and also praised the birthday boy for his ‘courage, vision, and determination,’ saying he’s ‘changed the world’ during his venerable career,” the NYPost’s Ian Mohr reports. (Why, yes, Trump is still suing Murdoch and the WSJ. Why do you ask?) >> Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright staked out the party and turned it into a very cheeky photo report. |
>> Fox News host Joey Jones personally apologized after his show aired the wrong footage of Trump at a dignified transfer: “I am embarrassed and ashamed that this happened.” (AP) >> Jeffrey Goldberg follows up on “Signalgate,” noting that nearly a year “after a national-security scandal erupted on my iPhone, no one in the Trump administration has faced consequences.” (The Atlantic) >> The WaPo editorial board says the FCC is a “zombie government agency” that “should no longer exist.” (WaPo) >> Tencent “intends to invest several hundred million dollars in Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” though the Chinese company “would be acting as a passive financial investor,” Dong Cao and Manuel Baigorri report. (Bloomberg) |
‘Can AI save local news?’ |
That’s the title of Alexandra Bruell’s WSJ story from the other day, exploring a sensitive subject in news industry circles right now. She describes how The Philadelphia Inquirer and other regional outlets are using AI “to automate elements of reporting and expand coverage.” But as a Cleveland Plain Dealer source told WaPo’s Will Oremus and Scott Nover, “you see your own mortality in this.” The Plain Dealer is getting more attention than it has in years (decades?) for “using AI to turn reporters’ notes into full story drafts,” a move that “has aroused indignation online and anxiety within the paper’s ranks,” the pair wrote. >> Plain Dealer editor Chris Quinn told the Post that AI tools are “already boosting its bottom line, helping it retain staff at a time when other newspapers are shrinking or even shutting down.” |
Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers” opened “to an estimated $88 million worldwide this weekend, the biggest debut for an original animated movie since 2017,” though still below Pixar’s hits of the past, the WSJ’s Ben Fritz reports. Fritz profiled Pixar’s creative boss, Pete Docter, last Friday… >> Meanwhile, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” “collapsed in its box office debut with $7.3 million,” Variety’s Rebecca Rubin writes. The flick is “shaping up to be the year’s first big bomb.” |
Focus Features “has released the first trailer for ‘Lorne,’ a documentary chronicling the life and career of Lorne Michaels,” ahead of its theatrical release on April 17. |