THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020 

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Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Lester Holt

At 2 p.m.ET on Thursday, both the NBC TV network and streaming service NBC News Now will break into normal programming to air special coverage of the memorial service for George Floyd, anchored by Lester Holt.

Later, at 6:30 p.m., Holt will be going live from Minneapolis for a special edition of NBC Nightly News.

And, joined by a team of NBC News reporters around the country, he will host the NBC primetime special ‘America in Crisis,’ airing at 10., to "take a deeper look at the push for justice and how we can heal the divide."

But it's more than just the live coverage. As Variety wrote on Thursday, the stalwart anchor has, in addition to the headlines this last week, "been offering something else: empathy."

"I think part of continuing to get the trust of a viewer is to be forthcoming and reflect that you’re not sitting in some ivory tower someplace, that you are experiencing what they are experiencing," Holt told Variety.

For offering "a way through words to acknowledge this broader pain, and unease and anxiety,” as he put it, and for the essential day of coverage, it's definitely a positive media moment and win.

MEDIA LOSER:
Fox News Channel

As the world looked on in horror as police violently cleared out peaceful protestors so that President Donald Trump could hold a photo-op, a subset of the president’s media supporters launched an alarming attempt at spinning the imagery:

Despite tearful reports and stinging evidence from the ground, police had not used tear gas on protesters.

The silly but dangerous semantic debate was wielded by the president’s blind defenders — from Fox host Laura Ingraham to Fox Contributor Mollie Hemingway writing at the Federalist — as a means of avoiding a conversation about the president ordering violence against peaceful protesters to allow for a photo op.

Never mind facts, or that literal tear gas canisters were found at the scene. Police don’t like the word, so they opt for a euphemism. The Trump campaign, and its media backers, demand corrections. The debate is now about the media — not the violence.

Honest and professional reporters get caught up in the misinformation. Fox News anchor Ed Henry, a renowned newsman, falsely claimed that police didn’t use pepper spray to quell the crowd. Fox host Jesse Watters, an pro-Trump opinionator, outright denied any use of tear gas.

All responsible for a dangerous re-write of history.

The A-Block

Cotton Revolt

New York Times staff engaged in a rare, and very public pushback against the decision by the newspaper’s editorial page to publish a controversial op-ed on Wednesday, with dozens of Times writers, editors, and contributors warning that the implications of such a move “puts black @NYTimes staff in danger.”

The backlash was centered on a Times op-ed from hardline conservative Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), entitled “Send in the Troops.”

In their response to the backlash, the board suggested that people are just confused about the difference between opinion pieces and news articles.

He Praises Tyrants!

CNN’s Anderson Cooper went off on White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Wednesday night and asked how she could possibly compare the president to Winston Churchill.

‘Overrated General'

President Donald Trump attacked his former Secretary of Defense James Mattis over a statement to the Atlantic where Mattis said Trump was “the first president in my lifetime” who “tried to divide us.”

"Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis," Trump calmly stated, in keeping with the dignity of his office and the service of the Marine known by his comrades as 'Mad Dog'. 

Also Trump didn't actually fire Mattis but what difference do facts make?

The answer to that question is "no difference." At least if you're Laura Ingraham, that is.

And if you're Sen. Lindsey Graham, why bother with details at all when you can just blame the media?

'A Couple of Hundred Million’

Dr. Anthony Fauci is hopeful that the U.S. will have a mass-produced vaccine on the market by early 2021.

Speaking with the Journal of the American Medical Association, the coronavirus task force member expressed optimism that “close to a hundred million doses” of a vaccine would be available within six months.

Live Shot Catches NYPD Mass Arrest

Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas and his crew captured footage of the New York Police Department on Wednesday night as they arrested loads of demonstrators who were peacefully protesting.

Fox News, CNN Split Ratings Wins on Tuesday

The cable news audience surge continued apace on Tuesday as nationwide anti-police brutality protests entered their second week, with CNN and Fox News pulling in incredible ratings numbers.



The two networks shared the ratings victories on Tuesday, with CNN taking daytime and primetime wins in the demo and Fox News topping all competitors across all dayparts in overall viewers.

The numbers, and the top shows, are available here for Mediaite+ subscribers. 

Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees came under intense criticism over the last day or so, for saying “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America” as the nationwide protests continue over the killing of George Floyd

In an interview Thursday on CNN’s New Day, former NBA player Stephen Jackson absolutely tore into Brees for his remarks.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Brees apologized for his comments. "I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused," he said. And a lot more.

Forgetting Trump

George Will said that Republicans will forget Donald Trump “fairly fast” when the President, according to Will, loses the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

“I’m fairly confident that Mr. Trump will be defeated in the election,” Will said. “The next morning, a lot of Republicans will say, ‘Trump? I don’t recognize the name.’ They’ll get over this fairly fast."

Speaking of the Election

Former Vice President and current presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden swept a trio of Fox News state polls, most commandingly in Wisconsin, where he leads Trump by nine points.

‘Atomic Bomb’

CNN’s Van Jones compared the pain inflicted on the black community by police brutality to an “atomic bomb” during an interview with Brooke Baldwin on Wednesday.

The United States is "on a pathway right now" said Van Jones, toward "five or ten American cities on fire by the end of this summer, if we get one more videotape, another videotape, and nothing done."

 

Must-See Clip

Late Night Round Up: Star Guests  

Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and James Corden all discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and racism with their guests on Wednesday night.

Colbert talked to Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God about his on-air conversation with Rush Limbaugh, Kimmel spoke to Shaquille O’Neal about raising black sons and discrimination in America, and Fallon had Sen. Kamala Harris on the protests, the election and more.

It was a big names night all around.

Links We Like

Can someone get this to the president? Please?
- via Erick Erickson
Trump’s enablers can redeem themselves with contrition
- Clarence Mingo, via Columbus Dispatch
Church leaders have a duty to unite, not divide, our country
- via RealClearPolitics
What happened to social distancing?
-  via National Review
Don’t deploy active duty American troops to battle Americans
- The Editorial Board, USA Today

Police no longer need the cover of darkness to kill innocent black people
-  Wil Haygood, via Washington Post
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