Good morning.
- But missed by MSNBC
After a week of largely scripted remarks, Pope Francis on Saturday night junked a two-page address already distributed to the media and went decidedly spontaneous in addressing a conclave on families in Philadelphia. Deadlines prompted many Saturday stories to lead with his earlier immigration remarks at Independence Hall. But this was certainly more telling than what Peggy Noonan conceded was the “high-class boilerplate” of his much-touted speech to Congress. (The Wall Street Journal) On Saturday night he joked about being single and about mothers-in-law in a fun but stirring homily on the jobs and complexities of family life. But after a week of solid coverage, including the the return of Brian Williams, the network that has vowed a renewed emphasis on “hard” and “breaking news” was MIA as it broadcast a six-hour New York City concert it co-sponsored and aimed at helping to end extreme poverty worldwide. (Adweek)
Yes, it was a noble cause. But it was basically a rock concert, with the likes of Coldplay, Eddie Vedder and Beyoncé, occasionally interspersed with earnest proclamations by Bill and Melinda Gates, Michelle Obama and others. Indeed, as Francis was listening to an inspiring couple in Philadelphia who fled political turmoil in the pope’s native Argentina and emigrated to Canada, there was Beyoncé enervating her jumping, cheering end-poverty audience by singing about “shit” and “downtown bitches.” When Francis himself began speaking, the concert was running an ad for psoriatic arthritis. Meanwhile, Fox and CNN covered the whole Philadelphia event, and Fox was actually quick off the mark in grasping the fact and significance of Francis junking the prepared text. As it turned out, he invoked the destruction of war and the need of all of us to “walk ahead and choose” a better path. Yes, this was a Saturday night in America and cable news watching was minimal. There were probably more people glued to Texas A & M vs. Arkansas. But, on this night, one cable outlet (which has made much of a harder edge and whose work on Francis earlier in the day was good) probably made the wrong choice, whatever the ratings and its role.
- Trump ‘saving democracy,’ proposing tax cuts
Like the great critic he is, Frank Rich is responsibly provocative as he expands on a point he has made previously, namely that Donald Trump is a salutary presence in our politics. So on the same week D.C. pundits are suggesting that Pope Francis’ speech to Congress might change our coarse ways, Rich says, Trump’s “unexpected monopoly of center stage may well be the best thing to happen to our politics since the arrival of Barack Obama. In the short time since Trump declared his candidacy, he has performed a public service by exposing, however crudely and at times inadvertently, the posturings of both the Republicans and the Democrats and the foolishness and obsolescence of much of the political culture they share.” (New York Magazine) Hmmm. What if Hillary Clinton nevertheless wins? A pretty enduring status quo will be the victor, I say. And watch last night’s interview on “60 Minutes” in which also exposed were Trump’s facile, impractical responses to many Scott Pelley inquiries. He also said his tax “plan” would assure that millions of poor won’t pay taxes and lots of rich folks would pay higher rates. (CBS) It was unintentionally fitting that Vladimir Putin, similarly not lacking in self-confidence (and probably richer via skullduggery) was subject of a Charlie Rose interview on the same show. (CBS)
- A Jason Rezaian deal at the UN?
World leaders are convening for the annual opening of the General Assembly. As they do, the Washington Post correspondent sits in a Tehran jail, his bogus trial for alleged espionage long over and the government suggestions of an imminent verdict clearly bogus. So does he now become part of some prisoner swap, like the one the Obama administration cut earlier in the year with Cuba? (The Washington Post) Iran’s leader said as much Sunday. (The Guardian)
- Merkel confronts Zuckerberg over hate speech
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel confronted Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg on how his company is progressing in efforts to curtail racist posts, after her government complained the social network wasn’t doing enough to crack down on recent xenophobic outbursts. Attending a luncheon on the sidelines of a United Nations development summit in New York on Saturday, Merkel and Zuckerberg were overheard on a live transmission broadcast on the UN website as participants took their seats. After Merkel briefly queried Zuckerberg about the hate-post affair, the Facebook CEO is heard responding that ‘we need to do some work’ on the issue.” (Bloomberg)
- Endangered senator lashes out
Illinois Republican Mark Kirk is in re-election trouble and now he’s lashing out at his constituents’ favorite daily newspaper and even claims it’s harassing his 79-year-old mother. This is all about his grousing over what he assumes is the thrust of a story the paper is reporting but hasn’t even published. It appears as if his campaign manager played his cards wrong, leaving the world with an email trail as he sought to derail the still unseen opus. (POLITICO) The paper itself ran a short piece about the flap mostly from wires. (Chicago Tribune)
- A big opening night stage for a likely-impossible task
Jon Stewart’s successor on “The Daily Show” opens tonight and “Comedy Central is giving Trevor Noah the biggest platform possible when he makes his Daily Show hosting debut: Parent company Viacom will simulcast his first episode across all its major networks. The show will air simultaneously on Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, Nick at Nite, MTV2, CMT, TV Land, Centric, Logo, MTVU and VH1 Classic, among others. The Daily Show’s national ads will remain the same across the simulcast.” Even Mets’ fan Stewart might concede this is like taking Derek Jeter’s place in the Yankees lineup. (Adweek) Practice shows with an audience (and largely the same staff) suggests not a dramatic change in format. (The New York Times)
- Ben Carson, Jake Tapper fence on Muslim remarks
Carson suggested that the media is making a bigger deal of his remarks than the public in general. So? “Oh, of course it’s possible that the media thinks it’s a bigger deal than the American people do. Check that: It’s actually quite clear that the media thinks it’s a bigger deal than the American people do. Nothing wrong with that, either. Media organizations cannot and should not be driven my majoritarian impulses. Polling has shown that Americans in general view Muslims more negatively than other groups. Who’ll stick up for them if the media doesn’t?” (The Washington Post)
- Online journalism awards
“Coverage of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Baltimore riots in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death and the shootings in Canadian Parliament took top honors Saturday night at the 2015 Online Journalism Awards, which ended the Online News Association Conference.” (Online News Association) Start-up reported.ly, the Baltimore Sun, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, The New York Times and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel were among the big winners.
- Oh, about the pope and women
“But even as he was spreading the love to nuns, a priest in San Francisco, Father Jack McClure, was being sanctioned for appearing at a conference on women’s ordination in Philadelphia last weekend — a conference he said he attended in the spirit of the pope’s call for dialogue… If only the pope could apply this Golden Rule: Do unto women as you would have them do unto you.” (The New York Times)
- Front page of the day, curated by Kristen Hare
The front page of the day comes from Beaver County (Pennsylvania) Times, which led Sunday’s paper with the Pope’s visit. (Courtesy the Newseum)
- Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Julian Holguin is now senior vice president for brand partnerships at Billboard. Previously, he was head of brand partnerships at Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. (Email) | Janet Paskin is now head of Bloomberg’s new sports business team. Previously, she was editor of Businessweek.com. (Fishbowl NY) | Job of the day: Reddit is looking for a staff writer. Get your resumes in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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