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** OPINION
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Good morning. First, a quick update. I will be taking a few days off to travel to New York City to visit my son, as well as see “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway. But my Poynter colleagues will continue to bring you The Poynter Report for the next few days. Thanks again for reading, and I’ll talk to you again next week.

Now onto today’s newsletter …


** Why reporters are focused on a book about the former president instead of the current one
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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)

In Tuesday’s newsletter ([link removed]) , I wrote about the upcoming book about Joe Biden from authors Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios: “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” ([link removed])

It paints a pretty bleak picture of Biden’s final months in office, when he was described as having good days and bad, often working limited hours and, according to the authors, “an increasing number of moments when he seemed to freeze up, lose his train of thought, forget the names of top aides, or momentarily not remember friends he’d known for decades. Not to mention impairments to his ability to communicate — ones unrelated to his lifelong stutter.”

There have been plenty of reactions, but chief among them (at least in my inbox) is why we are talking about the former president when we should be concentrating on all the things being done by the current president.

CNN’s Brian Stelter put it well in his “Reliable Sources” newsletter ([link removed]) :

For the liberals and other Trump opponents who keep asking, on social media, why reporters are looking back at Biden's past instead of focusing on Trump's present conduct, the answer is clear, and borrows from a George Clooney observation: “Democrats deceived the country about Biden's abilities and, Clooney said, ‘that’s how Trump won.’” (Biden appearing to not recognize Clooney at a fundraiser hosted by the actor was a huge revelation ([link removed]) from the excerpt.) Plus, Tapper and Thompson report on Trump constantly, as do their news outlets.

For the conservatives who keep claiming that the press conspired to hide Biden's decline from the public, there are many rebuttals, including reporting as far as back as 2019 about the then-candidate's health. The X feed for ‘Original Sin’ ([link removed]) debunked a viral video mashup from a bad-faith actor that baselessly claimed Tapper was part of the "conspiracy," and added, “Ignore the haters, read the book.” That's always sound advice!”

Meanwhile, reaction from the Biden camp?

Chris Meagher, a Biden spokesperson, told The New York Times’ Reid J. Epstein ([link removed]) that Biden’s team had not yet seen a copy of the book and had not been consulted in its fact-checking. Meagher added, “We are not going to respond to every bit of this book. We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite — he was a very effective president.”

For more about the book, check out Epstein’s story in the Times: “A Book Points to Biden’s Decline and Democrats’ Cowardice: 6 Takeaways.” ([link removed])

And here’s a book review in The Washington Post from Alex Shephard: “‘Original Sin’ indicts the ‘cover-up’ of a steeply declining Joe Biden.” ([link removed])

And, most notably, CNN’s Jeremy Herb with “New book reveals how Biden’s inner circle kept Cabinet from him in final two years of presidency.” ([link removed])

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Kimmel to advertisers: support journalism
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This is upfront season. That’s when television companies break out their big stars to meet with advertisers to tell them about all their upcoming programming. So, naturally, it’s a time for the entertainers to drum up interest by saying how great their shows are.

At Disney’s upfront, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel did what he does best: cracking jokes and even roasting his own network, including saying, “At least CBS and Fox are making shows. ABC, we ordered one new show, and it’s a spinoff of an old show. Which begs the question: What are we doing here? We risked our lives flying into Newark for this? I mean, if you went to a restaurant and the waiter said, ‘Our special tonight is last year’s fish,’ would you eat it?”

Kimmel also did something else unusual. He encouraged advertisers to support another network’s show. But it was very admirable.

Kimmel, who has frequently and publicly feuded with President Donald Trump, told the audience, “I know it’s not part of our multi-platform, but support ‘60 Minutes’ — they deserve it. You have the power, because you have the money. Support journalism. It’s important, and it doesn’t work without you.”

Trump is suing Paramount, the parent company of CBS, claiming that a “60 Minutes” interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris last year was edited in such a way as to affect her chances of winning the election against Trump. The New York Times recently wrote ([link removed]) , “Legal experts have called the suit baseless and an easy victory for CBS.” However, Paramount is reportedly looking to settle the case, partly because it is trying to finalize a sale to Skydance — a deal that needs approval from the Trump administration.


** CNN makes it official
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As I mentioned in Tuesday’s newsletter, CNN is going to give a streaming service another try. On Wednesday, the network made it official, announcing plans for a streaming service that will debut in the fall.

At the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront on Wednesday, CNN boss Mark Thompson told advertisers the service will be “one simple way to explore the very best of CNN journalism on your phone, your connected TV or other digital device.” He called it “the first true news streaming service.” But it will also include more: live channels, news feeds and exclusive content.

Despite Thompson’s announcement (as well as a press release from CNN), we still don’t know a lot about the new streaming service — such as the price and the exact launch date, although it will be in the fall. It will also include CNN’s already existing digital subscription product.

Clearly, CNN is taking the time to try and get it right, seeing as the network is trying to dust itself off from CNN+ — the $300 million lead balloon that launched and crashed quickly in 2022. Thompson, who was not in charge of CNN during the CNN+ disaster, said that digital was a priority when he took over the network in the fall of 2023.


** Media news, tidbits and links for your review …
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* For Vanity Fair, Paul Farhi with “‘It’s About Keeping C-SPAN Alive’: Behind the Network’s Beef With Google.” ([link removed])
* CNN’s Marshall Cohen with “Fox News gets a win in Smartmatic defamation case.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Jeanna Smialek with “Court Sides With New York Times Over Access to E.U. Covid Vaccine Messages.” ([link removed])
* The Verge’s Tina Nguyen with “Elon Musk’s apparent power play at the Copyright Office completely backfired.” ([link removed])
* Axios’ Sara Fischer writes ([link removed]) , “Time plans to launch a new editorial vertical called Time Longevity, dedicated to the coverage of science, health, business, tech and policy innovations that address aging and the human lifespan, its CEO Jess Sibley and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs told Axios.”
* Sports and movie fans were all giddy when Amazon MGM Studios released a photo of actors Christian Bale and Nicolas Cage ([link removed]) posing as their characters in an upcoming movie about former NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden. The movie will be called “Madden.” Cage is playing Madden and Bale is playing Raiders owner Al Davis. The post says that the movie will be directed by David O. Russell, and will also star John Mulaney as EA Sports founder Trip Hawkins, Kathryn Hahn as Madden’s wife, Virginia, and Sienna Miller as Carol Davis, wife of Al Davis (and still part-owner of the Raiders). No word on when the film will be released.
* The Ringer’s Miles Surrey with “Max Is Now HBO Max (Again). Huh?” ([link removed])
* J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, writes for The Atlantic: “The End of Rule of Law in America.” ([link removed])
* A compelling read from The New York Times’ Corina Knoll: “Who Is Searching for Emmilee Risling?” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* New reporters: Get essential reporting techniques, effective storytelling methods, and newsroom navigation skills. Register today ([link removed]) .
* Access ([link removed]) Poynter’s comprehensive mental health reporting resources.
* Learn how to “lead your leaders” in this virtual intensive for journalism managers handling big responsibilities without direct reports. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Update your immigration policy expertise with Poynter's Beat Academy. Enroll now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here ([link removed]) . And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast ([link removed]) for even more. The latest episode ([link removed]) features an interview with former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki.
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