Happy Woodward Season! Media ethics debates abound. President Don't Panic goes on a Twitter bender and his media defenders come up short.

THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Bob Woodward

In a presidency full of shocking revelations, the one brought to light Wednesday by one of America's preeminent journalists might have resonated stronger than any other.

The stunning previews of Bob Woodward's forthcoming book, titled Rage, hit the Internet shortly after 12 noon, and sent immediate shockwaves. Over the course of 18 interviews with the author, President Donald Trump admitted to purposefully downplaying the coronavirus.

“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

And Woodward brought receipts — as he shared the audio of Trump making that comment, as well as several other damning statements. The president was unable to wriggle his way off the hook by blasting the reporting as a biased hatchet job – although he tried. It was Donald Trump on tape. And it was a journalistic legend who made it happen.

Make no mistake, there were plenty of critics who called out the famed reporter for sitting on the tapes for 7 months in the name of book sales. (Indeed, the book instantly vaulted to No. 1 on the Amazon best seller list.) Some went so far as to say Woodward had "blood on his hands" for keeping his crucial reporting private in the midst of a national crisis.

What is beyond dispute, though, is that no other journalist has gotten the president to incriminate himself like this. The ethics debates will last a long time, but so too will Woodward's landmark reporting.

MEDIA LOSER:
Trump's Media Defenders

You may have thought, when Bob Woodward released TAPES of Trump saying he recognized how deadly Covid-19 was, but that he wanted to deliberately “play it down” to the country, that there would be no way to defend such a brazen violation of public trust.

You were wrong.

Tucker Carlson got the ball rolling on Wednesday night. The Fox News host blamed Lindsey Graham for convincing Trump to speak to Woodward. Somehow, Trump was not to blame for doing 18 interviews with the reporter.

Sean Hannity carried the torch. In a hastily announced interview with the president, Hannity defended Trump from his own comments.

The president himself provided a dubious explanation.

“I'm the leader of the country, I can't be jumping up and down and scaring people," Trump said. "I don't want to scare people. I want people not to panic, and that's exactly what I did."

Those that had the pleasure of living in a cave during the past four years might believe that Trump is concerned about calming Americans. Everyone else likely remembers all the times he warned of a world-ending migrant caravan invasion, or when he recently exclaimed that Democrats want to abolish police and flood the suburbs with crime.

Fox & Friends bought the explanation. Steve Doocy compared Trump misleading the country on the virus to FDR's Fireside Chats meant "to calm America."

THE INTERVIEW

Jennifer Griffin, national security correspondent for Fox News, is the guest on this week's episode of The Interview podcast.
Listen here!

The A-Block

President Don't Panic

Trump was on a Twitter bender this morning, which included retweeting a post that mocked his own weight.

The most telling tweet however, was one that flew in the face of his claims that he's concerned with tamping down panic in the country...

Brit Hume Re-Signs With Fox

Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume signed on to a new multi-year deal with the network, Wednesday where he has worked since January 1997.

Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said, “Brit is an exceptional journalist who has played an integral role in our unrivaled political coverage — his extensive knowledge of the intricacies of Washington have made him a tremendous asset to our team and a popular favorite with our viewers. We look forward to his continued expertise for many years ahead.”

Savannah Guthrie Nabs First Live Interview With Bob Woodward

NBC News' Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie is set to interview journalist Bob Woodward in his first exclusive live interview on Monday following revelations from his upcoming book on President Donald Trump, Rage.

Woodward's book -- which contains a trove of quotes from the president -- alleges that Trump purposefully downplayed the coronavirus in February despite knowing how dangerous it was.

The interview will air on Today on Monday, September 14.

You Might Get to See Ivanka Take a Covid-19 Vaccine Live on The View

After The View co-host Joy Behar declared yesterday that she would only take the upcoming coronavirus vaccine after President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump had taken it herself, Trump responded publicly on Thursday.

"Deal @JoyVBehar. I would come on your show to do so," she tweeted. "I trust the FDA and so should all Americans. Vanquishing this virus should be our collective top priority."

It was also reported on Thursday that most Americans are worried the coronavirus vaccine will be rushed by the Trump administration.

TIME Magazine Brings Back Black Border to Mark Coronavirus Death Toll

The next issue of TIME Magazine brings back a somber addition seen only once before almost nineteen years ago today.

TIME will use a black border instead of its signature red -- previously used following the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- to mark the nearly 200,000 American casualties of the coronavirus pandemic.

"An American Failure" in red also sits on the cover.

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Must See Clip

DUNE

The first trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune -- starring none other than Timothée Chalamet -- was released on Wednesday.

If you missed the wild look at the upcoming epic, watch it here.

Links We Like

The subscription business is booming at The Atlantic
- CNN
Margaret Sullivan on Bob Woodward under fire
- The Washington Post
Time Magazine asks a harrowing Covid-19 question
- via Time
Disgraceful FiveThirtyEight headline omits Manchester United from contention in the next Premier League season
- FiveThirtyEight

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