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The Los Angeles Times Extends Its Scathing Anti-Trump Editorial Series

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Ad Age “Media Guy” columnist Simon Dumenco’s media roundup for the morning of Wednesday, April 5:

Last night on CBS’s “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert’s guest Louis C.K. called President Trump “a gross, crook, dirty, rotten lying sack of [bleep].” For the record, The Los Angeles Times has said basically the same thing this week in its multi-day anti-Trump editorial series (see No. 6, below). I was tempted to say the paper’s editorial board was slightly nicer about it — but you know what? Not really! Anyway, let’s get started …

1. This, from Laura Litvan of Bloomberg Politics, is helpful: “Here’s What Will Happen When the Senate Goes ‘Nuclear’ to Confirm Gorsuch.”

2. The New York Daily News this morning:

3. Or maybe you can look away. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post makes no mention of Syria on its front page today, but, hey, at least the paper’s on top of these big stories:

4. Speaking of Murdoch, “Bill O’Reilly’s Future at Fox News Is in Rupert Murdoch’s Hands,” per New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman, whose post begins,

As more and more companies pull ads from Bill O’Reilly’s prime-time program, Fox News staffers are beginning to speculate over how — or if — O’Reilly can survive the sexual harassment scandal swirling around him. The intensity of the backlash appears to be growing, not abating. As many as 18 sponsors have bailed on O’Reilly’s program and the National Organization of Women has called for his firing.

And the number of advertisers jumping ship continues to grow — ABC News puts the number at 22.

5. The top story on White House-favorite website Breitbart this morning: “McConnell Supports Senate Intelligence Committee Investigation of Susan Rice.” Meanwhile, a reality check from Wired’s Brian Barrett: “Sorry, But Susan Rice Is Not Your ‘Smoking Gun’.”

6. When I first noted The Los Angeles Times’ anti-Trump editorial series in this space on Monday, the paper’s editorial board had indicated it would come in four parts. (I quoted a choice passage from Part II, “Why Trump lies.”) But apparently they can’t help but keep going, because today’s installment, “Trump’s War on Journalism,” shows an expanded table of contents for the series indicating that as-yet-entitled parts V and VI are coming Thursday and Friday. Here’s a brief taste of today’s installment:

Trump’s strategy is pretty clear: By branding reporters as liars, he apparently hopes to discredit, disrupt or bully into silence anyone who challenges his version of reality. By undermining trust in news organizations and delegitimizing journalism and muddling the facts so that Americans no longer know who to believe, he can deny and distract and help push his administration’s far-fetched storyline. It’s a cynical strategy, with some creepy overtones. For instance, when he calls journalists “enemies of the people,” Trump (whether he knows it or not) echoes Josef Stalin and other despots. But it’s an effective strategy.

7. And finally, to bring things full circle … “Finally, The Muppets Collaborate With Sean Spicer,” via Colbert last night:

Simon Dumenco, aka Media Guy, is an Ad Age editor-at-large. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.

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