‘Daunting news agenda’: Several major stories to unfold in week ahead
A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Prepare to hit warp speed. Assignment editors are losing sleep as they plan for the next seven days. This is an incomplete list:
>> Thursday: The trial of President Trump continues.
>> Friday: A pivotal vote on witnesses?
>> Sunday: The 49ers versus the Chiefs meet for Super Bowl LIV!
>> Monday: The Iowa caucuses. Per RCP’s average, Bernie Sanders is polling in the top spot, followed by Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg…
>> Tuesday: Trump is scheduled to deliver the annual State of the Union address…
And there’s more…
The Harvey Weinstein trial is ongoing in NY. Mike Pompeo is on a multi-country trip. CNN and The Des Moines Register are releasing a final Iowa caucus poll on Saturday. And we are still awaiting details on a public memorial service for Kobe Bryant…
“Tremendous editorial pressures”
The sheer amount of planning and resources necessary to cover each of these events is remarkable. “These stories bring intense audience expectations, massive logistical challenges, and tremendous editorial pressures,” explained Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau chief and current director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. “News organizations need to cover each story with appropriate detail, context and emotion. And emotion is running very high.”
Sesno noted that the current information environment in which these events are taking place will certainly result in increased scrutiny. “Under the social media microscope this will be much tougher because most every viewer, reader, listener will be judging — many in real time,” Sesno said. “It’s a daunting news agenda, but the public is tuned in and amped up. News organizations will be judged quickly and harshly.”
Cross-overs…
Brian Stelter emails: I’m interested to see how these big events and psuedoevents cross-pollinate. For example: POTUS will be talking about the trial in a Super Bowl Sunday interview with Sean Hannity. The hosts of “Fox & Friends” will be live in Miami for special weekend editions of the show. And Bloomberg News is holding a Super Bowl watch party for reporters who are in Iowa to cover the caucuses…
FOR THE RECORD
— Congrats to Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig! “A Very Stable Genius” debuted at No. 1 on the NYT bestseller list. Debuting at No. 2 was “Profiles in Corruption” by Peter Schweizer, the author who has pushed discredited conspiracy theories against Clinton and Biden… (NYT)
— Read more of Wednesday’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter… And subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox…
— I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s worth (again) pointing out: Fox News was the only cable news network that did not carry proceedings from Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday night. Though, Sean Hannity briefly dipped into the trial when Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz was presenting…
— Speaking of Dersh: Esquire spent 21 hours with Dershowitz. He told the mag, “I got a lot of grief during the O.J. case. I defended that guy for murder, but it was nothing like this. This is much worse…” (Esquire)
— Andrew Kaczynski pointed out that “Ted Cruz got 20K RTs on a claim that was quickly pointed out as false. He acknowledges his tweet is false in his follow up tweet but hasn’t deleted it…” (Twitter)
