| | | | | First lady Melania Trump watches as President Trump climbs the stairs to Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport Sunday in Morristown, New Jersey. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images | | | FLOTUS Warns of Pitfalls of Social Media: Melania Trump speaks at cyberbullying summit
@jack Talks Fixing Twitter Problems: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he's "ready to question everything"
"The Only VMA That's Worth, in my Opinion, Being Nominated For": A look at this year's VMA Video With a Message category | | | What Washington is Talking About:
It's the third day of deliberation for jurors in the Paul Manafort trial, a speechwriter for President Trump is no longer at the White House following a report by our KFile that he spoke at a conference in 2016 attended by white nationalists, and Trump will honor ICE and border patrol officials at an event this afternoon at the White House.
What America is Talking About:
Simone Biles became the first woman to win five US Women's Gymnastics Championships all-around titles Sunday and wore teal as a show of solidarity to sexual abuse survivors, the Pope responded to the report of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, saying "no effort must be spared" to protect children and make sure crimes aren't covered up, and Kevin Spacey's latest film earned just $126 on its first day.
Poll of the Day:
Social media isn't all an echo chamber. A Pew poll last week found 14% of American adults said they've changed their views on a political or social issue because of something they saw on social media in the past year. The group most likely to change their minds was men aged 18-29, and the group least likely to change their minds was those 65 and older. | | Credit: Pew
Hundreds of Officials Denounce Trump Over Revoking Security Clearance:
Today, 175 former intelligence, State, Defense, and National Security Council officials signed a letter in support of former CIA Director John Brennan, whose clearance was revoked by Trump. The letter stated they believe the "country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views." Last week, 12 intel officials signed a similar letter, to which an additional 60 officials added their names.
Mueller's Team Has Had Extensive Interviews With White House Counsel:
White House counsel Don McGahn has had three interviews with Robert Mueller's team, but did not give any information that would be incriminating to Trump, a source told CNN. The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump's team doesn't know the extent of McGahn's conversations, and Trump has been tweeting a lot about it.
Some Trump Donors Don't Want to Pay For Post-White House Golden Parachutes:
Not only was Omarosa offered a $15,000/month gig working for the Trump campaign after she was booted from the White House, other members of Trump's inner orbit, like Carl Higbie and Corey Lewandowski, have actually accepted offers to work within a universe of pro-Trump groups after leaving the White House or campaign. But at least one Repub donor says he and others are concerned their money is being used to support those who get let go from their job. Energy exec Dan Eberhart told Politico:
"I have talked to several donors who share my concern about these entities being used as dumping grounds for former allies and staffers to muzzle them. I don't think it's a good practice. Ultimately, donors are giving money to wage a successful campaign, not to fund people's golden parachutes out of the White House."
FLOTUS Warns of Pitfalls of Social Media:
First lady Melania Trump spoke at a cyberbullying summit in Rockville, Maryland, this morning where she said, "most children are more aware of the benefits and pitfalls of social media than some adults." FLOTUS comms director Stephanie Grisham told Kate that Melania is "well aware of the criticism" of her advocating against cyberbullying despite her husband's continued tweets, "but that will not deter her from doing what she feels is right." Grisham said, "I would hope most people in this country are proud that they have a strong and independent first lady who only has the best interests of children at heart -- I know I am." | | Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
@jack Talks Fixing Twitter Problems:
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sat for an interview with our Brian Stelter and said the company is "ready to question everything" to fix issues including harassment and hate speech. He reiterated that Twitter does "not look at content with regards to political viewpoint or ideology. We look at behavior." He also said the company needs "to constantly show that we are not adding our own bias, which I fully admit is left, is more left-leaning." | | Credit: CNN
These Are the Songs Nominated for Video With a Message at the VMAs:
The VMAs are probably my favorite music awards show (don't @ me), and they're tonight. I spoke with some of the directors whose political and social music videos are up for Video With a Message award. The videos cover topics including racism, sexism, sexual harassment, and suicide prevention. Here are a few of the nominees:
"This is America" - Childish Gambino | | Credit: Childish Gambino/YouTube
"This Is America" was an immediate sensation, racking up more than 80 million YouTube views in a week, rocketing to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and inspiring articles, Twitter threads, and conversations about its meaning. The video was directed by Hiro Murai, who's worked with Donald Glover on other projects including the FX series "Atlanta." Murai told Vanity Fair that Glover pitched him on a video that showed him shooting a man and a church choir, and it grew from there. "Those were the two things he pitched me, and from that, and from the way he was kind of miming the dance moves, we abstractly started bouncing the ball back and forth," Murai said. Glover said Murai handled the "tricky" concept well. "Hiro's really good about restraint," he said.
"PYNK" - Janelle Monáe feat. Grimes | | Credit: Janelle Monáe/YouTube
The 48-minute short film released with Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer album was set in a dystopian world where people who look different or don't fall in line are deemed "dirty," and the video for "PYNK" serves as a flashback for before the bad guys took over. "I was listening to the lyrics a lot and came up with some ideas and sent them off to Janelle's team," director Emma Westenberg told COVER/LINE. "We created this world that became the music video." The world they created is very pink and very female, with allusions to female sexuality and the female body. The message is feminist, but it's also one of equality. As Monáe sings, "Deep inside, we're all just pink." Westenberg said she considers Monáe an activist ("She doesn't like to call herself that, but I think she is") and said she wanted to make a video that "captured her spirit." "It was really a joy to learn from her and collaborate with her," she said.
"1-800-273-8255" - Logic feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid | | Credit: Logic/YouTube
Named for the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, "1-800" was the first top ten hit by Gaithersburg, Maryland's own Logic. Director Andy Hines told COVER/LINE Logic reached out about making a video about "a young black male who is confused or figuring himself out about his sexuality in high school" and from there, he wrote the story. In it, the high schooler gets caught with a boy, is bullied for being gay, and contemplates suicide. Hines called the shoot "taxing," because his wife had just given birth three days earlier. "It was a very interesting experience for me just in terms of empathy and my general point of view," he said. "It was an emotionally charged experience, for sure." Hines hopes people will get something out of the video regardless of their background. "It's for the kids in the story, it's for the bully. There's a lot of different perspective, people can watch that video a lot of different ways," he said.
You can read about and watch all the Video With a Message nominees here.
Street Art Sighting:
The MTV Moonman got a Statue of Liberty makeover. A giant moon person holding a torch will be a backdrop to tonight's show. Designer Julio Himede told Variety it was an homage to the VMAs being held in New York City. "From a set point of view, we are excited about the fact that the VMAs is back in New York City," Himede said. | | Credit: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE.
P.S.:
It's always fun to watch the pop stars watch the VMAs, and based on photos of the seating chart that are now out, I'm most excited to see Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande, who are seated together. Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner are in the row behind them. | | Credit: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
Kate Bennett is off. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment