Quote of the Day:
“Watching cable news rots your brain. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.”
— Sydney Elaine Leathers, former sexting partner to ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who is in prison for sexting with an underage girl. Leathers is porn film actress.
Roger Stone on why Steve Bannon hates him
“[Steve] Bannon’s animus toward me stems from a column I wrote for the Daily Caller arguing that he had outlived his usefulness in the Trump White House and should be fired. The next day, he was.” — GOP strategist Roger Stone in a new column for The Daily Caller.
Kathy Griffin hates Halloween?
“Have been at a friends house handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. I swear, I’m gonna start to charge 50 bucks for candy bars for all these 25-year-olds showing up with their goddamn hands out. Grow up!” — Kathy Griffin, comedian, Democratic activist.
Speaking of Halloween…
“For Halloween, and every other day of the year, I am dressing up as a big slob.” — Eve Peyser, Vice News.
Olivia Nuzzi wants book recs but not YOURS
“On a related note: Anyone read any good *nonfiction* political books lately? (If you reply with your own book I will drown myself in the Potomac please don’t make me do that.)” — Olivia Nuzzi, New York Mag.
An update on Guardian labor reporter Mike Elk…
I wrote a story that was published Wednesday about Guardian freelance labor reporter Mike Elk yelling at Washington Examiner‘s Salena Zito in Pittsburgh, calling her an anti-Semite. The Mirror reported that Elk was arrested for public intoxication in Tennessee. This is true. He says the charge never went anywhere. “Please note this,” he wrote The Mirror by email. “I have no further comment but I was never convicted of public drinkers [sic].” He says the “charges were dropped.” A judge did, however, ban him from frequenting a host of bars in Chattanooga.
‘You are such a ghoulish mean girl Mollie’
Maggie Haberman, NYT: Got to interview Barbra Streisand, who has a new album this week, among her most political ever as she grapples with the Trump era.
Mollie Hemingway, Fox News, The Federalist: You have to have a heart of stone to not laugh at this tweet.
Yashar Ali, HuffPost, New York Mag: It’s @maggieNYT’s birthday and she got to interview a woman she has admired since she was a child, Barbra Streisand. You are such a ghoulish mean girl Mollie. I’m sorry that someone’s excitement makes you so miserable.
Read Maggie’s story here.
CNN’s Oliver Darcy becomes Brian Stelter on Halloween
If only there was a special outfit for this…
“Trick or treat? This is Oliver Darcy, and on this Halloween, I’m Brian Stelter, filling in for him while he’s at the NYC Halloween parade with Jame.” — Oliver Darcy, media writer, CNN.
Just Asking Q’s: Is Pence faking a southern accent?
“Is Pence trying to sound Southern at this stop in GA? Because he doesn’t sound like him and he sounds like me when I fake a Southern accent.” — Liz Mair, communications strategist.
Prof receives call from Rep. Fortenberry’s office because of a retweet
“Last Friday, I received a threatening phone call from Congressman Jeff Fortenberry’s Chief of Staff, Reyn Archer. Because I liked a silly photo on Facebook, Archer—who is politically powerful and very well-connected—contacted my employer and then threatened to use his office to make public that I like vandalism, which is clearly untrue. — Ari Kohen, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
See the story in the Lincoln Journal Star.
Hear the audio of the conversation.
Gossip Roundup
TMZ: Kim Kardashian West says she’s sorry for using the R-word. Here.
NYP‘s Page Six: The Harvey Weinstein allegations get creepier, if that’s even possible. Now there’s a 16-year-old Jane Doe. Here.
Splinter News: The site’s media writer finds CNN Don Lemon‘s ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude “refreshing.” Here.
Story idea…“Would read a good profile of Soledad O’Brien. Someone get on that.” — David Weiner, co-founder Gossamer, who says his surname is “pronounced like a penis.”S
Soledad O’Brien whacks Axios’ Jonathan Swan
O’Brien is CEO of Starfish Media, and a former CNNer; Swan is a national political reporter for Axios.
SOLEDAD: Which is why it matters when the intv—which was a promo—was shot. Shot a week ago? Then yes, someone (Miller, is what I hear, unconfirmed) fed it to Axios, who saw they got a nugget for their show. And held it. For a promo. That would be kinda… odd.. right?
JONATHAN: The interview was shot on Monday. We write in the piece how the reporting came about. Your sources are incorrect.
SOLEDAD: Thank you for answering me. Why no follow ups? Why are you laughing in the interview?
JONATHAN: The smile is unfortunate & that criticism is fair. I’d worked hard on some reporting & sprung it on him & the reaction you saw was my genuine surprise. I shouldn’t have been given the topic, but that’s the truth.
JONATHAN: We included all the appropriate legal context in the initial story. The mistakes we made – both of which we corrected – were headline not reflecting appropriate skepticism and not correcting his quote re being the only country. (A mistake Bloomberg and AP also made.)
SOLEDAD: Well, not quite. You also failed to follow up on “they’re saying I can do it without Exec Order”—who?? Have you talked about it with counsel? Yes! —who?? The goal—it seemed—was in getting him to confirm what you propose, with no actual pushback. Anyway thx for answering me.
JONATHAN: If it’s unconfirmed, and you are a journalist, why are you saying it publicly?
SOLEDAD: “Well, I am revealing that it is unconfirmed. Three pretty good sources told me, but—it’s not confirmed. And I am not a reporter on this story. But I get it, babe, be mad at me for your poor reporting. (also tell your editor to not put your laughing in the promo—bad look.).”
A Convo Between Two Journos
Daniel Dale, Washington correspondent, Toronto Star: “How the Trump-clickbait complex works: a reporter asked him if he thought Soros was funding it, though he hadn’t mentioned Soros; he said “I don’t know who, but I wouldn’t be surprised”; The Hill got its #content, truncated the quote, got its clicks.”
Dara Lind, Vox: “Usually I hate this genre as you know but it really should not be too much to ask Trump to refrain from expressing any openness whatsoever to THE LITERAL CONSPIRACY THEORY ESPOUSED BY THE DUDE WHO SHOT UP A SYNAGOGUE.”