THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021 

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Hunter Walker

A bombshell report published by Rolling Stone's Hunter Walker on Sunday said that several of the supporters of former President Donald Trump who helped plan the January rallies in D.C. have been cooperating with the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, saying that not only did they participate in multiple planning sessions with senior White House staffers and Republican members of Congress, but that they were promised pardons by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

The two sources told Walker they spoke with GOP members of Congress or senior level staffers, including Gosar, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO.), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL.), Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) -- as well as White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Walker's report is backed up by previous reporting from other outlets, additional sources and evidence reviewed by Rolling Stone, and the sources' expectation that they'll soon testify publicly. It's a promising sign for newly-mintededitor-in-chief Noah Shachtman's leadership.

MEDIA LOSER:
Breitbart

It's never a good look for a media company when a major online platform thinks you're the "least trusted" source, but that's exactly what happened in internal discussions at Facebook about right-wing website Breitbart. 

Facebook, mired in its own public relations crisis, has been the focus of a series of damning exposés published by the Wall Street Journal and other outlets based on tens of thousands of internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen

The latest revelations include a report that a Facebook employee proposed removing Breitbart from their News Tab last year, shortly after the killing of George Floyd. The employee argued that Breitbart was pushing inflammatory and slanted coverage of the protests, and the social media giant's own internal assessment judged Breitbart as the "least trusted" media source included in the News Tab.

Many Facebook employees reportedly supported removing Breitbart from the News Tab, but a company researcher warned of the political blowback from supporters of former President Donald Trump.

MSNBC Anchor Ayman Mohyeldin Discusses How US Media Covers the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: ‘Historically, This Has Not Gotten Balanced Coverage’

The A-Block

Man on an island

CNN’s Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter dunked on their rival news network during a segment on CNN Newsroom Sunday, describing Fox News stars as “think[ing] they are in some kind of Revolutionary War against vaccines,” but praising Neil Cavuto as “a man on an island at Fox News” for his heartfelt message encouraging viewers to get vaccinated.

The discussion came in response to two separate Fox News clips featuring Cavuto and Lisa Boothe.

Cavuto, who had tested positive for Covid, appeared remotely on MediaBuzz and expressed gratitude that he had been vaccinated, especially since he was immunocompromised. He urged viewers to put politics aside, to “please get vaccinated,” and “think of what’s good not only for yourself but those around you.”

Boothe had a different view, boasting that she was unvaccinated and planned to stay that way because she was “doubling down as a giant middle finger to [President] Joe Biden’s tyranny.”

Acosta and Stelter both agreed that Cavuto's message made him "a man on an island at Fox News," and worried about his voice being drowned out by those like Boothe's.

Stelter continued the conversation Monday morning on New Day, describing Fox as a "hostile" environment where "the sane rational voices are the quiet ones, and the ones that are on another planet are the really loud ones.”


In Other News...

Fox Launches New Weather Channel With Forecast of 'No Politics'

Trump Blasts Fox News For Supposedly Airing ‘Untruthful Anti-Trump Commercials’

Alec Baldwin Told Gun Was Cold; Rust Assistant Director Under Scrutiny for Past Safety Complaints

JUST IN: Jonathan Lemire Leaving AP for Politico, Named Official Host of MSNBC's Way Too Early

Must See Clips

The GOAT hits 600 TDs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady threw his 600th career touchdown pass on Sunday, becoming the first NFL player to reach that milestone. But the moment was quickly derailed after another player gave away the history-making ball.

Wide receiver Mike Evans apparently did not know about the significance of the ball, and generously handed it to a fan in the stands Oops.

Quick negotiations ensued to trade with the fan for a signed Brady jersey and a less historically significant game ball.

Another video taken from the fan's perspective is just as hilarious, as the man goes absolutely bonkers as he captures Brady's historic 600th TD on camera, and then ends up with the ball in his own hands.

Links We Like

Who should get a Covid-19 booster shot right now?
- Dylan Scott, Vox
What Happened When Facebook Became Boomerbook
- Helen Lews, The Atlantic
Gun Rights Activists Join Abortion Rights Activists To Fight Texas Abortion Law
- Damon Root, Reason, 
J.D. Vance and the Great Challenge of Christian Malice
- David French, The Dispatch
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