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** OPINION
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** More media threats: Elon Musk shares a chilling post about ‘60 Minutes’
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Elon Musk, shown here at the White House last week. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Perhaps tired of watching President Donald Trump wage war on the media all by himself (more on that in a moment), Elon Musk decided to lob a serious attack of his own.

Musk went after CBS News’ “60 Minutes” because, apparently, he was upset over a story the news magazine show aired Sunday night. Correspondent Scott Pelley did a segment ([link removed]) on the first month of the Trump presidency, focusing on the human impact of the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as the cuts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk runs.

Musk did not respond to interview requests from “60 Minutes,” but he did go off on “60 Minutes” on X. He posted a clip from the show’s interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris and wrote ([link removed]) , “60 Minutes are the biggest liars in the world! They engaged in deliberate deception to interfere with the last election. They deserve a long prison sentence.”

Musk was alluding to the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris before last November’s election. In a question about the Middle East, CBS News ran Harris giving one answer during a clip on “Face the Nation” but aired a different answer to the same question on “60 Minutes.” Trump has sued CBS for $10 billion, saying the edited answers were meant to hurt his chances of winning the election.

CBS News has since done something news organizations rarely do: It released the entire transcript and all the footage of the Harris interview, and it appears the network did nothing inappropriate.

Still, Musk’s post was disturbing.

Prison? Seriously? And is this the same person who has consistently preached about the First Amendment and free speech as he turned his social media platform into the Wild West of speech where anything goes? In fact, just a few hours earlier, Musk tweeted ([link removed]) , “One of the first things Hitler did upon gaining power was apply aggressive censorship.”

As far as Musk’s comments about “60 Minutes,” Mediaite’s Alex Griffing called it ([link removed]) a “chilling” post. The New Republic’s Edith Olmsted called ([link removed]) it a “fascist threat.”

Normally, who cares what someone — even a billionaire such as Musk — has to say? But seeing how he has grown so close to Trump and, it appears, has a powerful voice in our government and country, any such threats should be taken seriously.


** It’s all in the wording
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Apparently President Donald Trump’s ban on The Associated Press is not just about the AP’s decision to continue using “Gulf of Mexico” instead of “Gulf of America.”

In a piece for Axios ([link removed]) , Marc Caputo writes, “One of the big reasons President Trump is limiting AP reporters’ White House access is to protest what aides see as years of liberal word choices that the wire service’s influential stylebook spread across mainstream media, according to top White House officials.”

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Caputo, “This isn't just about the Gulf of America. This is about AP weaponizing language through their stylebook to push a partisan worldview in contrast with the traditional and deeply held beliefs of many Americans and many people around the world.”

OK, give me a second to roll my eyes.

According to Caputo’s story, some of the phrases and words that some conservatives object to are capitalizing the B in Black when referring to Black people and culture, but not capitalizing the W in white, as well as other guidance when it comes to immigration and transgender issues.

If there is one giant news organization that is known for its impartiality and neutral reporting, it’s The Associated Press. Caputo, in fact, said it is considered “the gold standard of neutrality.” That’s well-put and true.

Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications for the AP, told Caputo that AP “is a global, fact-based, nonpartisan news organization with thousands of customers around the world who span the political spectrum. If AP journalism wasn't factual and nonpartisan, this wouldn't be the case.”


** Scratch that
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The Washington Post has killed what was supposed to be an upcoming print advertisement from two groups calling for Elon Musk to be fired as the head of DOGE.

Common Cause and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund had bought two ads for $115,000. One that was supposed to run today called for Musk to be fired after asking if it was Musk or Trump running the country. The ad reportedly said, “The Constitution only allows for one president at a time.”

CNN’s Liam Reilly reports ([link removed]) , “After sending the Post the artwork on February 11, Common Cause was told three days later that the Post would not be able to run the wrap, a spokesperson for the group told CNN. The advocacy groups had signed a contract with the Post and were waiting for a final review from the newspaper before sending over the funds. When the advocacy group asked the Jeff Bezos-owned outlet whether there was anything they could do to alter the wrap to make it more suitable, they were simply told that the Post could not run it.”

According to Reilly’s story, the ad that was killed was a wrap, meaning it wrapped around the outside of the paper. That was the one that was nixed. However, there was a second ad that was to appear inside the newspaper and had a similar message. That one said, “No one elected Elon Musk to any office.”

Reilly wrote, “Though the Post was amenable to publishing the inside ad, Common Cause told the paper to forget it and walked away.”

According to Reilly’s story, the Post would not comment on specific advertising decisions and would not say if Bezos was involved. However, the Post’s policy, like pretty much the policy of every paper in the country, is that the news outlet can refuse to run any ad it doesn’t want to run for pretty much any reason, or no reason at all.

Virginia Kase Solomón, Common Cause’s president and chief executive, told Reilly that the Post’s decision was “concerning,” reminding everyone that the Post’s slogan is “Democracy dies in the darkness.” Solomón said the Post “seems to have forgotten that democracy also dies when a free press operates from a place of fear or compliance … Yet now, we are forced to ask ourselves if The Washington Post — a pillar of investigative journalism during Watergate — is unwilling to challenge those in power. Under Jeff Bezos’ ownership, concerns about corporate influence over the press have only grown, and this decision raises serious questions about the paper’s independence.”


** A night to remember
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Original “Saturday Night Live” cast member Garrett Morris, arriving at the show’s 50th anniversary special on Sunday in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

“Saturday Night Live” aired its 50th anniversary special Sunday night and it’s getting mixed reviews. Personally, I really enjoyed it, although I admit that I am probably more forgiving than most because I’ve always been such a big fan of the show.

Attempting to jam 50 years into a live three-hour and 15-minute show is next to impossible, especially when you consider the unenviable task of trying to include as many past cast and guest hosts as possible, as well as other big-shot celebrities. The show tried to walk the fine line in which it used new skits of classic characters to help viewers remember the past, such as “Debbie Downer,” “Bronx Beat,” “Black Jeopardy” and, of course, “Weekend Update.” In addition, it took a few strolls down memory lane with clips of old skits.

There were some stellar moments: Adam Sandler singing a song remembering the cast drew a standing ovation; Meryl Streep making her first-ever “SNL” appearance playing Kate McKinnon’s mom in the classic bit about being abducted by aliens; a parody of “Hamilton” about New York City; and a fun scripted Q&A hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler that featured a bunch of celebrities, including past cast members.

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans wrote ([link removed]) , “If all you expected was a diverting, nostalgia-filled evening where former cast members and celebrity friends of the show bounced in and out of sketches based on some of the program's more notable features, then you likely enjoyed the special — which stretched well past its three-hour planned run time.”

Count me among that group.

Deggans added, “But if you were looking for a collection of performances that might somehow place the history of this comedy institution in perspective — or if you wanted the show to take some of those old, venerated sketches and use them to comment on modern times — you were likely disappointed by what the SNL crew rolled out.”

Meanwhile, in a moment of self-awareness, the special showed old clips of skits that we now know were racist, sexist, homophobic or involved other issues that are (and were) problematic and wrong.

As always, there were musical guests: Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opened the show with Simon’s “Homeward Bound”; Miley Cyrus performed a Prince cover (“Nothing Compares 2 U”) with Brittany Howard; Lil Wayne played with the Roots; and Paul McCartney closed the show with an “Abbey Road” medley of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End.”

McCartney and Simon, especially, were not at the top of their games, but their mere presence alone brought back a ton of “SNL” memories — kind of like the entire night.


** Not finding the humor
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Of course, Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” got all bent out of shape over something in the “SNL” 50th anniversary special. In a skit called “Black Jeopardy,” Tom Hanks played a character he has done before on the show — a contestant named Doug who wears a “Make America Great Again” hat.

In Sunday’s night special, just like in a past “SNL” episode, the character of Doug initially acts startled and backs up when the fake game show’s host, Kenan Thompson, comes up to shake his hand. Thompson is Black. (By the way, it was not the first time that exact joke — Hanks’ character backing away from Thompson’s handshake — was used on “SNL.”)

“Fox & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones, who is Black, said, “I don’t censor comedy, but that wasn’t funny.”

Co-host Kayleigh McEnany, who was filling in on Monday, added, “No, they must have gotten the script from Don Lemon. Remember when he made fun of MAGA voters, or his guest did, for not being able to point out a country on the map? That’s ridiculous!”

McEnany and regular co-host Steve Doocy went on to talk “SNL,” but Jones wasn’t done being upset about the “Black Jeopardy” skit, adding that he has covered Trump rallies and that Trump is popular with many Black voters.

Meanwhile, Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher writes, “MAGA Melts Down Over Trump Fan Scared Of Black Host’s Handshake In Tom Hanks SNL50 Sketch.” ([link removed])

And here’s another good read from Christopher: “Grow a Spine, MAGA — You Won! Stop Whining About SNL Being Mean To You!” ([link removed])


** Media tidbits
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* For the Columbia Journalism Review, longtime media writer Paul Farhi with “Don’t Boycott the Briefing.” ([link removed])
* Fox News’ Sean Hannity will conduct the first joint interview with President Donald Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk, today at the White House. Hannity will interview the two during the afternoon and the conversation will air during Hannity’s show tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern.
* Winners of the 2024 George Polk Awards, which “place a premium on investigative and enterprising reporting that gains attention and achieves results,” were announced Monday. Here’s the complete list of winners ([link removed]) . The George Polk Awards were established in 1949 by Long Island University to honor George Polk, a CBS correspondent murdered in 1948 while covering the Greek civil war.
* Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder with “The NBA All-Star Game is an abomination that is beyond fixing.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins with “Growing Up Murdoch.” ([link removed])


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