Good morning.
- The video that made the media’s day
Blanket coverage of a cop pumping bullets into a teenager had less to do with his belated, curiously timed indictment than the video’s judicially forced release. No surprise, national and local Chicago coverage reflected a certain homogeneity: the video, ministers, local activists, former cops, more video and going live to surprisingly modest demonstrations while insisting on chyrons about protests “erupting,” as Fox News Channel did. For sure, some coverage was a bit better than others and some was a lot worse (Chicago’s Fox station clunkily interspersed its late-evening newscast with multiple happy talk Thanksgiving weather segments). MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell was worth catching if only because he beckoned thoughtful freelance writer Jamie Kalven, the son of a late and legendary University of Chicago law professor, who has been way out ahead on the whole story for months. Amid the anguished and angry pontificating, there are facts.
The media tended to miss this: It took an unidentified whistleblower to tell Kalven long ago that the video blew to smithereens the initial B.S. defense of the cop by both the police department and police union. That also served to underscore the slow-walking of the saga by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who Tuesday offered a theatrically suitable mix of concern, outrage and an urging for locally therapeutic nonviolence. TV reporter-anchor Carol Marin reiterated, too, how it was not until five days after Emanuel’s own runoff re-election win in April that he asked the City Council to approve a $5 million payment to the teen’s family without even a lawsuit having been filed. (Chicago Sun-Times) As columnist Eric Zorn had already noted, the 400 days before an indictment were an outrage. (The Chicago Tribune) They’re further cause not to trust government. But the media also by and large missed the godawful underlying circumstances of the victim’s life embedded in the video it distributed with righteous indignation and Pavlovian monotony. What else is new?
- Pope Francis’ unholy miscue
A good man over whom the press has slobbered has really stepped into a pile as a Vatican prosecution began of five people Tuesday. They include two journalists who wrote books that relied on leaked documents from a Francis-overseen committee looking into outrageous Vatican expenditures (a sumptuously refurbished attic for one cardinal) and payments for securing sainthood for individuals, among other matters. (Poynter) If the newsies are found guilty by the judge, “it would create a bizarre diplomatic situation. The Vatican has only four holding cells and no long-term prison. It would also need to extradite the journalists from Italy for something that is not a crime in Italy, and then ask Italy to imprison them. Italian law protects press freedom, unlike the laws of the Holy See.” (BBC)
- Unfortunate commercial flight
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was leading a solid discussion of Turkey’s downing of the Russian fighter plane after the joint White House press conference of Presidents Obama and France’s Francois Hollande. He then broke for commercials. They included one for Turkish Airlines (“Widen your world”). Well, at least it wasn’t for a Russian defense contractor.
- An ad blocking confab
Even Edward Snowden, a presumed First Amendment zealot, advocates for the use of ad blockers. It’s a very economically significant issue for publishers. What should they do as readers become more averse to the distractions of ads and more able to do something about them? If you’re in New York City Dec. 2, there’s a good panel to discuss the conundrum at New York University’s journalism building. (Nieman Lab)
- Gaining audience via quality
Here’s a case study for all those insecure newspaper publishers who are slashing staffs and relying on pedestrian crap to gain readers: Quality can win out. But real quality. Since The New Yorker has re-established a paywall, “Subscriptions to NewYorker.com are up 61 percent compared to 2014, an indicator that the magazine’s year-old metered paywall has proved effective.” (Poynter) But they’re selling quality, not flimsy local fare, low-brow columnists, sporadic semi-investigations and celebrity clickbait.
- The Trump-Fox News relationship
The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple surveys an at times ambiguous landscape and concludes, “Whatever zigs and zags the relationship has sustained, Trump appears to remain in good stead at the network. He is the front-runner, after all, and he assists with Fox News’s amazing ratings. He’s also looking more and more erratic. As he racks up more appearances, he continues telling falsehoods. The more he gets challenged on these statements, the greater his allegiance to them. Through it all, pundits are scanning the landscape for signals that Trump is finally done for. Safe to say that a shellacking on ‘Fox & Friends’ would be a pretty good indicator.” (The Washington Post) Don’t hold your breath quite yet.
- Revealing page from POLITICO’s Playbook
Gawker obtained a batch of emails from the account of Philippe Reines, who was formerly a take-few-prisoners top aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They include an exchange with Mike Allen, a respected and workaholic POLITICO staple and star columnist, who sought an interview with Hillary Clinton for a money-making POLITICO brunch. A behind-the-curtain look at how journalism is occasionally (often?) practiced in Washington, D.C. finds the reporter offering to let the questions be approved in advance. “No one besides me would ask her a question, and you and I would agree on them precisely in advance. This would be a relaxed conversation, and our innovative format (like a speedy Playbook Breakfast) always gets heavy social-media pickup. The interview would be ‘no-surprises.’ I would work with you on topics, and would start with anything she wants to cover or make news on. Quicker than a network hit, and reaching an audience you care about with no risk.”
Ah, this is not good at all, even if probably far more frequent among media than outsiders might assume. It has historically been more associated with TV’s heated competition for exclusive newsmaker and celebrity “gets.” But the growth of lucrative media-sponsored events (breakfasts, brunches, symposia, etc.) surely has made D.C.’s elite print and digital operations rather more flexible than they would ever concede to any journalism school symposium on big-time reporting. Only after Gawker’s piece was posted did POLITICO respond, saying “We didn’t end up doing any interview with Chelsea Clinton and we have a clear editorial policy of not providing questions to our guests in advance.” (Gawker)
- Drowning in dough, Bloomberg makes a curious hire
The financial colossus has brought on John Geddes, a former New York Times managing editor for news operations, as Bloomberg U.S. politics editor, disclosed Megan Murphy, new bureau chief at Bloomberg’s talent-rich but leadership-needy Washington bureau. (Poynter) Geddes, who took a Times buyout several years ago, is associated with being a seasoned newsroom manager and operations specialist, not with politics. When you’re Bloomberg, you have the luxury of such hires.
- News autopilot
An early holiday wish: I wish for five dollars for every TV reporter who will be bundled up, some wearing very unattractive winter outerwear and hats, and doing live shots today at local airports about the crush of Thanksgiving air travel, which is expected to be higher than last year even post-Paris. (Dallas Morning News) And maybe five dollars, too, for every story about security for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (WABC-TV) I could pay for our big family gathering tomorrow! Oh, well. Travel safely. Happy holiday.
- Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Michael Kranish will be an investigative political reporter at The Washington Post. Previously, he was deputy Washington bureau chief for The Boston Globe. (The Washington Post) | John Geddes is now U.S. politics editor at Bloomberg. Previously, he was a managing editor at The New York Times. (Poynter) | Patrick Appel is creating a magazine for Piano Media. Previously, he was digital editor for POLITICO Magazine. (POLITICO Media) | Job of the day: The Information is seeking a Facebook reporter. Get your resumes in! (Mediagazer Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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