THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2021 

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Greg Gutfeld

Fox News' Greg Gutfeld has come a long way since he helmed the network's panel show for insomniacs, Red Eye With Greg Gutfeld, which aired weekdays at 3 am ET. In addition to his role as one of the regular panelists on The Five, his late night talk show Gutfeld! is off to a roaring start since its launch back in April.

The ratings for Gutfeld! have repeatedly beaten even some of his broadcast competitors, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

This week, Gutfeld! hit an impressive milestone, surpassing all late night shows on both broadcast and cable, beating CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for the first time. The show's ratings for Tuesday averaged 2,120,000 viewers and 434,000 in the critical 25-54 year old demographic. Gutfeld! repeated the feat on Wednesday, averaging 2,017,000 viewers and 384,000 in the demo.

Critics, predominantly on the left, have had few nice things to say about Gutfeld! But the audience has spoken. Greg Gutfeld, at least for one week, is the ratings King of Late Night.

MEDIA LOSER:
Mike Richards

This executive producer for Sony Pictures Television's beloved trivia show Jeopardy! lost his gig hosting the show before it even began.

Who is Mike Richards?

Richards' selection to take over the host's podium after Alex Trebek passed away was immediately controversial. Why should an unknown corporate guy get selected over someone with a real connection to the show and its fans? And then reports emerged about discrimination lawsuits at Richards' former gig with The Price is Right and derogatory comments he had made.

On Friday, Richards sent a memo to the Jeopardy! staff in which he said he would be stepping down as host because "moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show." 

Twitter predictably had a field day with the news, with Richards being brutally dragged by pretty much everyone, and speculation running rampant about who might get the gig now. "Happy Friday, y'all!" tweeted LeVar Burton, the former Reading Rainbow host and contender once again for the job. 

The A-Block

Heartwrenching stories from Afghanistan

As the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan continue, personal stories are emerging from people who are desperate to escape before the Taliban kills them or their family members. 

"Please save me and my family," an Afghan interpreter identified only as Abdul begged President Joe Biden in an emotional interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan.  

A video of a baby being handed to a military official over a concertina-wired wall at the Kabul airport went viral. There's at least a bit of hope in that story: the baby was medically treated and later reunited with their father.

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie -- a dual citizen of the U.S. and Pakistan -- reported that her friends in Afghanistan were “waiting on their death sentence” after the Taliban’s takeover.

Humanitarian Razia John, who has opened schools for girls in Afghanistan, broke down in tears worrying about the fate of the country's young women and girls while being interviewed by CNN's Poppy Harlow

JUST IN: Biden spoke at the White House Friday afternoon about the crisis in Afghanistan. He vowed that all Americans who want to leave will be evacuated, and also promised that we would get our Afghan interpreters and other allies out as well. 

The president did take questions from the media, but only from five reporters, and left immediately thereafter as the press corps shouted questions at him. "Why do you continue to trust the Taliban, Mr. President?" 


In Other News...

Texas Lt Gov. Dan Patrick Gets Buried on Twitter for Blaming Covid Spread on Black People: 'Unadulterated White Supremacy'

Rep. Mo Brooks Gets Absolutely Blasted for Tweeting ‘I Understand Citizenry Anger’ In Response To Capitol Bomb Threat

CNN RIPPED on Twitter for Reporting Trump-Inspired Terrorist Had 'Personal' Issues

Fox News Reporter Says ‘No Word on a Possible Motive’ for Man Who Said He'd Blow Up DC Unless Biden Resigned

Must See Clip

An “uncontrollable lust for political power.”

Ouch. The Daily Show has a long history of merrily shredding hypocritical politicians, but the way they eviscerated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stands out for its hilarious brutality.

This week, those working at the late-night show released a mock biography on the South Carolina senator, titled The Daily Show-ography of Lindsey Graham: Married to the Game.

The segment was especially vicious regarding Graham's dramatic change of tune regarding Trump.

Watch the epic takedown here.

Links We Like

What we actually know about the vaccines and the delta variant
- Dylan Scott, Vox
European forces cross Taliban lines for Kabul rescue, pressuring Biden to expand evacuation
- Katerina Ang, Jennifer Hassan, Erin Cunningham, and Andrew Jeong, Washington Post
Fox News host Mark Levin's bestseller "American Marxism": A work of staggering ignorance
Zachary Petrizzo, Salon
Rashida Tlaib Supports Legislation Canceling Rent. She Also Made Up to $50,000 as Landlord Last Year.
- Christian Britschgi, 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.