THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
New York Post

Twitter announced Friday that it lifted restrictions on the New York Post’s Twitter account.

The Post confirmed the news in a tweet saying, “We’re baaaaaaack.”

Prior to Twitter’s announcement, the last tweet that went up on the Post’s account was on October 14th, following its first reports about Hunter Biden. The social network faced criticism for cutting off users’ ability to share the report hours after it dropped.

The Twitter Safety account initially tweeted at the time that they viewed “materials included in the articles as violations of our Hacked Materials Policy,” and then subsequently said that policy would be updated after getting “significant feedback.”

On Friday, Twitter said that "because a specific @nypost enforcement led us to update the Hacked Materials Policy, we will no longer restrict their account under the terms of the previous policy and they can now Tweet again.”

Sen. Ted Cruz erupted on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey during a Senate hearing over media censorship on the social media platform last week — specifically targeting him for banning the New York Post over the Hunter Biden reporting.

Twitter stood by its decision for quite a while and through a good deal of criticism, even at the New York Times and from CNN's Jake Tapper, before relenting. And, putting aside criticism of the story itself for a moment, any journalist in their right mind can see the problem with a social media platform deciding which news stories contain approved information.

The New York Post standing firm, being restored, and enjoying a weekend of attention including a huge jump in followers, makes them them the obvious winner.

MEDIA LOSER:
The Atlantic

The Atlantic posted an exhaustive, brutal correction following the publication of a controversial article last week about niche sports in a tony Connecticut suburb. A day after, the publication retracted the lengthy magazine feature.

The editor’s note ran following an investigation by the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple, who debunked a passage in which a 12-year-old boy was purported to have suffered injury after being struck with a sabre in his neck during a fencing match. The boy was actually a girl, it was discovered, and the degree of the injury is very questionable. Given the girl did not bleed at all — even competing in another match after sustaining the wound.

The passage goes to the heart of the piece — which sought to show the lengths to which parents in areas such as the affluent Fairfield County, CT go in order to get their children into Ivy League sports programs.

There are other lingering questions about the piece, but the author, Ruth Shalit Barrett, admitted to The Atlantic’s fact checkers that she was complicit in having Sloane — the anonymous source relied upon for the anecdote in question — claim to have a son.

“We have established that Barrett deceived The Atlantic and its readers about a section of the story that concerns a person referred to as Sloane,” the editor’s note begins. It's fully brutal, both in tone and in egg face.

Adding further controversy to the piece was the author, who was found to have plagiarized when she wrote for The New Republic and went by Ruth Shalit in the 1990s.

Yep, seriously.

Read the rest and you'll see how The Atlantic became Monday's Media Loser.

The A-Block

‘Fraught’ 2020

Anchor Martha MacCallum will be leading FNC's coverage on election night. MacCallum previews ‘fraught’ 2020 vote, responds to Fox News critics, and discusses challenges of an election night unlike any other, in this exclusive interview with Mediaite's Joe DePaolo.

Will Trump Steal Election -- or Even the White House?

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said President Donald Trump would not refuse to leave the White House if he loses the 2020 presidential election, claiming on ABC's This Week on Sunday that Trump "will abide by the decision of the voters. I’m confident of that.”

Christie was answering that question from George Stephanopoulos, but it has come up in a lot of places. Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper a few weeks ago, former National Security Adviser and outspoken Trump-critic John Bolton said the president will not "leave graciously."

The question of whether the GOP en masse will commit illegal acts in order to steal the election has likewise been bandied in the media for weeks, if not months. And on the campaign trail as well. Democratic candidate Joe Biden said in October that "the only way we lose this is by the chicanery going on relative to polling places." He later slightly walked back by saying he'd accept the results of the election. Also way back in April he said that Trump would postpone the election to stay in power. "Mark my words," Biden said at the time. That one didn't pan out, obviously.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro this weekend said that if Trump does not lose his state, it must be because it was stolen.

Columnist and economist Paul Krugman likewise suggested that if Trump wins on Election Day, that will be ipso facto evidence of fraud or theft. So did Washington Monthly's David Atkins. And filmmaker Michael Moore. And late night host Samantha Bee. Tim Wirth and Tom Rogers writing at Newsweek.

Vox ran a headline just 3 days ago that reads "Trump may try to steal the election. Americans may have to take to the streets." Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky called it "Trump's Coming Coup."

This is reportedly not an example of fearmongering. It's analysis and commentary.

'Undemocratic Garbage'

Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller drew significant outrage and offended fury from the media and Democrats for using an interview with George Stephanopoulos to claim the president will be ahead on election night and then the Democrats will “steal” the election. Some pollster is likewise very bad for saying crazy talk about stolen elections, because who would ever do that? In modern media? Right?

THE LAST DAY

This is it. Tomorrow is Election Day. Mediaite will have ALL the coverage, from dawn's first light to the darkest of the night. But before that begins, get a look at all our coverage of the polls for the last few days.

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE POLLS IN THE FINAL STRETCH.

‘Fire Fauci’

President Trump apparently feels he'll have more flexibility after this election, and hinted at what he might do with it, at least with regard to Dr. Anthony Fauci, when his rally crowd started chanting "Fire Fauci" over the weekend.

Joy Behar thinks Fauci should quit before Trump can fire him.

Fun with Dick and... Karen?

A strong majority of women named “Karen” are voting for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden according to a study released Monday. It breaks down a lot of names, both for Biden and for Trump.

SPECIAL COVERAGE

The showdown between President Donald Trump and candidate Joe Biden is the biggest news night of the year, and networks are rolling out the big guns: Their top anchors, analysts and reporters are covering results and analyzing polls, from the afternoon of Tuesday until the late night. Every network plans on keeping the lights on past 2 a.m. for what is expected to be a late night affair, thanks to the current coronavirus pandemic which has turned patience into an Election Night mantra for every outlet.

We decided to put together a guide of how every news network is covering the big night, from the anchors that are leading their broadcasts to the wild card commentators and the secret weapon contributors to watch.

Here’s how the major cable and broadcast networks will cover Election Day in 2020.

NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson
Gives Us An Inside Look at the Final Days of the Trump-Biden Race

Links We Like

Yes, there is a hidden Trump vote
- via Washington Examiner
Workers rally against Trump’s broken promises
- via The American Prospect
Dwight Schrute was a warning
- via The Atlantic
I’ve come to understand what 2016 Trump supporters wanted. It’s not 2016 anymore.
- Stephen King, via The Washington Post

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