THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Kaitlan Collins

Thanks to new social distancing guidelines and the fact that a member of the press corps tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House briefing room has gotten a lot less crowded in recent days — with the White House Correspondents Association limiting access to only a select few. But amid the escalating crisis, CNN's Kaitlan Collins has remained in the room for much of the past week and provided a stellar public service.

Collins has walked the extremely fine line of firm, relentless and respectful with her questioning of President Donald Trump and members of the coronavirus task force. She has done her best to get answers without coming off like she has an axe to grind. 

Yesterday's presser was a good example. Hours after Trump threw out Easter Sunday as a target date to reopen the country, Collins pressed him on whether his medical experts were on board. When the answer was vague, Collins pressed for specifics. “Who suggested Easter?" she asked.

“I just thought it was a beautiful time, a beautiful timeline,” Trump said.

“So that wasn’t based on any of the data?” Collins asked.

Trump again delivered few specifics. But ABC's Jon Karl picked up where Collins left off. And Fox's John Roberts picked up where Karl left off. The White House press corps is never better than when they are working together. On Tuesday, they were led by CNN's 27-year-old star — already, clearly, one of the most respected journalists in the room.
MEDIA LOSER:
Ben Domenech and Sean Davis

Co-founders of pro-Trump website The Federalist Ben Domenech and Sean Davis spent a lot of Wednesday not being reached for comment, after an article on coronavirus published at the site went viral.

The tweet of the article was so outrageous that it first was labeled with a warning by Twitter before eventually being taken down as a violation of the terms of service. And the account was locked temporarily.

The article proposed an “outside the box” solution to the current pandemic: deliberate infection via Covid-19 "parties."

No seriously, that's what it said. The dragging on Twitter was thorough.

Neither of the site's founders responded to requests for comment from Mediaite. Or Vice. Or Tech Crunch. Though Davis did dedicate some afternoon time to complaining about Twitter's enforcement of coronavirus guidelines on items shared prior to the creation of those guidelines, for some reason.

It was an embarrassing episode for the site and its founders. Or it should have been, in any case. There is no indication of any actual sense of having been chastened by public outcry and rebuke.

It was former contributor to the site Robert Tracinski who may have summed it all up best, tweeting on Wednesday morning: "I think this is the fifth time in the past year and a half that I've been glad The Federalist fired me, sparing me the necessity of having to quit in protest."
 

The A-Block

$1,200 Smackers

Democrats and Republicans finally made a deal on the terms of a coronavirus stimulus, though voting has not yet taken place. 

Part of the massive $2 trillion dollar price tag is given over to giving relief to American workers by way of $1,200 direct payments per adult. But whether that is enough to actually provide relief is a subject of some contention. And not just among Democrats but among conservatives and financial experts alike.

Ahead of the vote, in his late afternoon Covid-19 task force briefing, President Donald Trump offered more details on the specifics of the bill, a large portion of which is dedicated to staffing and protective gear for hospitals and healthcare professionals. The bill also bans stimulus funds being used by corporations for stock buybacks.

Not really helpful

A Washington state public radio station and NPR affiliate has announced that they won’t air the White House’s coronavirus press briefings live anymore, citing “false or misleading information” from the administration on the coronavirus.

That means they won't be showing the briefing which presents the official government updates and response on a national crisis. Which seems not that great.

By the way, Trump's town hall on the outbreak that aired on Fox News on Tuesday was the highest rated town hall in cable news history.

Don't stop social distancing

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), strongly urged the global community to keep social distancing policies in place, or the world will risk a relapse of the coronavirus pandemic. 

LameScreed

You might think the advice from the Coronavirus task force and the WHO is motivated by concern for public health (unless you write for the Federalist), but according to President Trump the actual thing motivating the advice from his own advisors and global health officials and others is just the product of the media trying to ruin his reelection.

Math. How do it work?

Speaking of disinformation, conservative author and pundit Ann Coulter was slammed for a tweet Tuesday afternoon claiming the seasonal flu is more deadly compared to the coronavirus for people under 60, while attaching a chart that contradicted her claim

America's Doctor and the Golden State Warrior

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading member of the coronavirus task force, has been omnipresent over the past several weeks on media outlets far and wide. From spots on the big three cable news networks to podcasts and everywhere in between. But now, the doctor is going one-on-one with one of the greatest of his generation.

Stephen Curry?

Yep.

‘Club Quarantine’

This video of parents celebrating son’s 21st birthday by turning garage into ‘club quarantine’ is honestly inspiring.

What to Watch

Mediaite’s Picks For What TV and Movies to Binge on During Coronavirus Lockdown


One of the many unfortunate by-products of the covid-19 coronavirus crisis is the hours of confinement that effective social distancing demands. 

And since playing “Twister” is out of the question, one great way to occupy your time, and keep your mind off the news, is a good TV binge — or five.

To that end, Mediaite has put together our staff’s picks for movie and TV marathons to pass that extra time. Why do chores when you can do not chores?

Check out our picks here... and enjoy!

Must-See Clip of the Day

'God Bless the United Shaysh'

The Daily Show Wednesday released a montage of Fox News personalities expressing concern over 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s mental acuity — but spliced together with footage of President Donald Trump’s flubs and frequent missteps.

And it. Is. Amazing.
 

Links We Like

BuzzFeed Cuts Staff Salaries, CEO Jonah Peretti to Forgo Pay During Coronavirus Crisis
via Variety
Fight Coronavirus — and Speed Economic Recovery — With This Direct Aid to Businesses
- Carol Roth, via Fox News
We’re Relying on Trump to Care About Our Lives: Will He?
- via New York Times 
This Is Only the Beginning of the Shutdowns and Distancing
- via The Atlantic
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