THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
The Washington Post

The phrase "bombshell report" has been thrown around a lot in recent years, and usually with a partisan tinge. Bombshell is in the eye of the beholder, so to speak, and whether or not it's damaging to one's political opponents is often a deciding factor.

But a new report from The Washington Post's Dalton Bennett and Jon Swaine published on Friday, The Roger Stone Tapestruly deserves the bombshell label.

Roger Stone, the longest-serving political adviser to former President Donald Trump, was filmed by a Danish film crew for more than two years for the upcoming documentary A Storm Foretold.

Stone spoke directly to the camera throughout the documentary and even allowed filmmakers to capture “fly-on-the-wall footage of his actions, candid off-camera conversations from a microphone he wore and views of his iPhone screen as he messaged associates on an encrypted app.”

Post reporters reviewed more than 20 hours of footage filmed for the documentary, finding clips that featured Stone's efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election results, secure preemptive pardons for himself and Republican lawmakers, and even rail against Trump himself. Particularly notable footage includes Stone's activities on Jan. 5 and 6, 2021 -- especially since Stone has refused to cooperate with the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6.

MEDIA LOSER:
Russia Today

RT America is effectively shuttering after the cable station laid off most of its staff, CNN reported on Thursday, and it's only the latest blow for the Kremlin-backed network.

Formerly known as Russia Today, RT has several sister stations around the world, including in the United Kingdom and France. RT America launched in 2010 and has since offered a steady diet of pro-Russia coverage.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, the network has come under increasing scrutiny and pressure given its ties to Moscow. On Tuesday, DirecTV said it would be dropping RT from its list of channels.

Facebook, TikTok, and Google have also all announced restrictions on RT’s content. Apple removed the RT app from its app store in all countries except for Russia.

RT America’s production company, T&R productions, announced it will cease operations “as a result of unforeseen business interruption events.” In a memo to staff, T&R general manager Misha Solodovnikov told employees, “Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent separation from employment of most T&R employees at all locations.”

CNN described the layoffs as “an effective end to RT America.” Good riddance.

Taylor Lorenz on Why She's Moving to the Washington Post, What Happened
at the Times, and How to Deal With Smear Campaigns

The A-Block

New horrors in Ukraine

A week after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an unprovoked war against Ukraine, images from the ground are starting to show the scope of the devastation.

Media outlets have shared photos and video showing civilian areas in multiple Ukrainian towns attacked by Russians.

Dan Rivers, a correspondent with Britain's ITV, documented the harrowing aftermath of the overnight Russian shelling of a small Ukrainian village on Thursday morning. “This is a normal Ukrainian village, which has been smashed to smithereens for no reason that I can see of,” said Rivers, reporting live from the scene. “There is no obvious military target here. There is no garrison of troops. There is no significant infrastructure."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared dramatic video of the shelling and subsequent fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the city of Enerhodar.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine denounced the attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine as a “war crime."

Fox News contributor Dan Hoffman had an eye-opening report about the extraordinary lengths taken by Zelensky's security team to protect him from Russian mercenaries seeking to assassinate him. 

On a lighter note, Mediaite founder Dan Abrams looked back at Zelensky's victorious run on the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars -- as well as a far less successful effort from Fox News' Tucker Carlson.

GET ALL OUR UKRAINE COVERAGE HERE


In Other News...

Tucker Carlson Admits He Was 'Wrong' About Russia Invading Ukraine, But Blames Biden Admin for His Being Wrong

'Incredibly Positive Across the Board!' CNBC's Becky Quick Gushes About Feb. Jobs Report Showing 678k Jobs Created

Seth Meyers Torches Ron DeSantis for Berating Students in Masks: 'How Much of a D*ck Do You Have to Be?'

Bill Barr Tells Lester Holt that Trump 'Was Responsible' for Jan 6th Capitol Attack

Joy Reid Torches Laura Ingraham Over Criticism of Sanctioning Russian Oligarchs: 'Do They Literally Get Their Scripts From the Kremlin?'

Must See Clips

"Take this guy out"

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for one or more of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal allies to assassinate him a week after Russia invaded Ukraine.

While appearing on Fox News’ Hannity Thursday during the initial reporting of the Russian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Graham invoked both the assassination of Julius Caesar and the failed 1944 assassination attempt on German dictator Adolf Hitler.

"How does this end?" Graham said to host Sean Hannity. "Somebody in Russia has to step up to the plate. Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there more successful Col. Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends, my friend, is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country a great service and the world a great service." 

Graham later reaffirmed his comments on Twitter.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of backlash -- including later that night on Fox News, from host Laura Ingraham. By Friday morning on Fox & Friends, Graham had changed his tune, calling instead for Putin to go to jail

Watch Graham's initial comments here and his backtrack here

Links We Like

In a divided nation, a rare moment of unity on Ukraine
- Joanna Slater, Deborah Lynn Blumberg, and Taylor Killough, Washington Post
Putin Is Determined to Destroy What He Cannot Possess
- Jim Geraghty, National Review
A Taxonomy of Right-Wing Dog Whistles
- Molly Jong-Fast, The Atlantic
Hot Takes Are Making the Ukraine Invasion Worse
- Nick Gillespie and Regan Taylor, Reason
Reading this online? Why not get it in your inbox? Sign up for the Mediaite Live from the Greenroom Newsletter today!
Twitter Twitter
Facebook Facebook
Instagram Instagram
Visit Mediaite Visit Mediaite
Copyright © 2021 Mediaite LLC All rights reserved.

Write to us:  [email protected]

Problems with these e-mails? Update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.