THE DAILY NEWSLETTER  - TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2020 

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Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Jo Ling Kent

NBC News correspondent Jo Ling Kent was caught in a frightening situation on Monday night as she covered protests in Seattle following the death of George Floyd.

Kent wore a gas mask and was escorted by a security detail as she reported from a baseball field on the seventh night of demonstrations. As she described the movements of the police, Kent was hit by fireworks, which prompted her to run with her team amid screams and the sounds of explosions.

Kent tried to carry on with her report from a fence on the edge of the field, but as the situation drew increasingly chaotic, MSNBC host Brian Williams expressed concern before cutting away and saying “maybe the best thing to do here is for Jo Ling and her crew to be sure about their safety, and we can surmise the rest from her reporting.”

In a Twitter post after the incident, Kent wrote that her team was “ok and safe.”

Not only was it dramatic footage, it is an object example of the perseverance and professionalism of reporters on the ground. 

MEDIA LOSER:
New York Times

On Monday, President Donald Trump conducted a press conference during which explosions from Lafayette Park could be heard — from police and National Guard forcibly clearing peaceful protesters out of the park. When Trump followed that presser by walking through the aftermath to do a photo op at St. John's Episcopal Church, that was all the mainstream media — or anyone else — could talk about.

But when it came time for the New York Times to sum up the day with its front page, they went with "As Chaos Spreads, Trump Vows to ‘End It Now'," and proudly tweeted the result to an unappreciative social media world.

The resulting backlash was intense, as media and political figures savaged the NYT front page, and editor Dean Baquet, with gusto.

The general theme of that backlash — that the paper was behaving like a propaganda arm for the Trump administration — isn't just a bad look. It's deja vu. 

Last time, Baquet admitted to a bad call. But now here we are again.

The A-Block

St. John's Photo Op

After his address to the nation on the protests and riots in multiple cities, President Donald Trump walked from the White House across Lafayette Park to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was set on fire Sunday night.

The president walked to the church after police dispersed protesters at the scene — including, reportedly, firing tear gas.

Meanwhile, nearby, ABC 7 caught police brutally attacking members of the press.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported Monday night that Trump decided to get the photo op because of recent coverage of his being hunkered down in the “bunker.”

Legendary former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw said the stunt "would have made P.T. Barnum proud.”

Clergy outraged (and tear-gassed) too

A D.C. Episcopal church bishop, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde condemned the President using the church as a prop. “I am outraged,” Budde said. 

A reverend FROM St. John’s Episcopal Church, in a furious Facebook post, said that church clergy were tear gassed in order to clear the area for a “cheap political stunt” and “photo opportunity.”

Not to mention social media

A White House official reportedly outraged by the photo op spoke anonymously to Axios about being "ashamed" of scene was then mercilessly mocked for sticking around. "No one is forcing this anonymous wimp to stay," is a good example of the theme.

The official White House Twitter account posted an absurd propaganda video of Trump’s teargas-enabled church photo op, and Twitter blue checks destroyed them for that, too.

"We take mistreatment of journalists seriously"

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is calling for an investigation over Australian news crew that was apparently assaulted by police as they covered protests outside of the White House Monday evening.

"You don’t deserve my movies anymore."

Seth Rogen cursed out fans who didn’t agree with his support of the Black Lives Matter movement on Monday, telling several to “**** off” in the comment section of his Instagram.

"The stock market doesn’t care about social justice."

During his opening monologue on Mad Money, CNBC’s Jim Cramer explained why the Dow Jones went up 92 points on Monday despite widespread violent protests and unrest.

“I can’t breathe”

At 5 p.m. on Monday, MTV, Nickelodeon, and eight other ViacomCBS networks went off the air for eight minutes and 46 seconds in honor of George Floyd, and in support of social justice.

Tiger King news

Carole Baskin, whose feud with Joe Exotic was chronicled in Netflix’s Tiger King, was given control of her rival’s Oklahoma zoo on Monday by U.S. District Judge Scott Palk. 

Must-See Clip

Handshakes and Hugs 

Protestors and police enjoyed a Capra-esque moment during protests Monday night in Fort Worth.

The demonstrators told the police on scene they would go home if the officers would take a knee. After the cops did just that, after they took a knee in solidarity, the heavy tension lifted, and protestors and cops exchange handshakes and hugs.

This video of that stunning moment went viral for good reason.

Links We Like

The American Nightmare: Anti-Black Racism
- via The Atlantic
Trump is right: Antifa is a terrorist group
- via Washington Examiner
Why the policing problem isn’t about “a few bad apples”
- via Vox
The Summer of 2020 Is Going to Be Long, Violent, and Necessary
- via Mother Jones
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