Hegseth Echoes Trump With His Efforts to Pit the Troops Against the Media

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TOP STORY

HEGSETH FIRES UP THE TROOPS — AGAINST THE MEDIA

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsethspoke to the military Wednesday and offered some of his most pointed and withering remarks to date against "fatties" and "weirdos" as he insisted: "The patriotic cowboys are in."

He also took up the anti-media mantle of President Donald Trump. That's really what the speech was all about — and the left-leaning and right-leaning newsletters in the stack agree.

THREE TAKES

The Washington Times , Mike Glenn —Hegseth insisted that cutting 20% of the military's generals and admirals is just a matter of "accountability" and not the "purge" the media described, Glenn wrote today. His speech also included an announcement of the formation of Project Meridian, which will be helmed by Elon Musk, Anduril Industries co-founder Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Glenn focused less on Hegseth's continued assault on the media and more on his pledges to reinstate American military might, including "a nationwide competition among state governors to select the site for the first U.S. military base built in 40 years."

The Poynter Report , Tom Jones —Jones described Hegseth's speech as a "blistering attack against the media," and offered plenty to support that characterization. Hegseth "played the hits," which included "using phrases like 'fake news' and another word that has become popular in the Trump administration when talking about the press: 'treason.'" Jones also pointed out that Hegseth "did more than attack the media" — he also attacked the military. He said in part, "We are no longer the woke department or the weak department."

The Bulwark's Morning Shots , Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger —The stack's strongest take came from Kristol and Egger. "No uggos are allowed," in the military anymore, and Hegseth's "chest-thumping speech" about "his determination to build America the hottest , sexiest , sweatiest military the world has ever known," will apparently become an annual event, they added. Of Project Meridian, which will focus on "the future of warfare," Kristol and Egger concluded, "Isn't it nice to know we're in good hands?"

TAKEAWAY:While Trump gets a lot of attention for his blustering, loud, aggressive front-of-house attacks on the media, MAGA operatives like Hegseth are perpetuating those same attacks back-of-house — and their words may go further than Trump's ever could. Hegseth, on Wednesday, used some of Trump's favorite words and phrases in connection with the press. "Fake News." "National betrayal." And even "treason." And with Hegseth's purge of non-compliant officers, many of those left could be very sympathetic to what the Defense Secretary is saying about the fourth estate.

TOP SCOOPS & ANALYSIS

SCOOP

TheWrap , Lucas Manfredi —Both Paramount's Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahimand California Attorney General Rob Bontaspoke separately about the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger at TheWrap's annual TheGrill event. "The sessions marked a fitting capper to a remarkable and unpredictable 12 months filled with a bidding war, competing corporate egos, several false starts and a dramatic final stand between Bonta and Paramount. In a final turn, both Delrahim and Bonta talked up the benefits of the deal," Manfredi wrote today. Bonta also "vehemently, respectfully" disagreed he caved to Paramount's demands, and Delrahim insisted the deal was "pro-competitive" and "transformational."

SCOOP

The Washington Sun , Evan McMorris-Santoro, Jasmine Wright, and Manuela Silva —Florida Senate candidate Angie Nixonwill get a boost from Sen. Kristen Gillibrand(D-NY), who also heads the Senate's fundraising, today when the latter hosts a virtual event to support the former's campaign. This comes after Nixon told MS NOW this week "that the DSCC has not committed to helping her air ads."

SCOOP

Status , Natalie Korach and Oliver Darcy —The Trump administration is "planning to spend taxpayer dollars" on ads that might air on MS NOW, just days after he tried to ban the network from the White House. That's news that angered plenty of people who work at MS NOW. Network execs "immediately encountered some pushback from staffers," and one person told Status, "Everyone is very aware that our audience is going to hate this." A spokesperson for the network also told Korach and Darcy, "We know the size, engagement, and influence of the MS NOW audience, and apparently the White House does, too. The decision to spend taxpayer dollars to reach our audience speaks for itself." But, they added, deciding to air the ads "presents an undeniably awkward juxtaposition with the programming of a network that proudly declares itself 'pro-democracy.'"

ANALYSIS

CJR's Ethics and Security , Anika Collier Navaroli —Can a chatbot be poisoned by disinformation? It seems like it, Navaroli wrote today. "Gaming chatbots' output has often been called 'generative engine optimization' (think search engine optimization, but for the AI)," she wrote. "But that characterization belies the real damage that such efforts can cause." That's because "once a chatbot ingests information that's been published on the internet (or, depending on the LLM and the privacy agreement, input into its prompt box), the company keeps it forever."

ANALYSIS

CNN's Reliable Sources , Brian Stelter —The transcript of Trump's latest interview with TIME reveals a "highly emotional" interview, Stelter wrote today. It's also a "giant ego trip" in which the president "showed off pictures of his White House renovations, fretted that someone will try to rip the gold out of the Oval Office, and refused to rule out demolishing the Kennedy Center."

ANALYSIS

Morning Brew , Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Holly Van Leuven, and Abby Rubenstein —There is increased "criticism and accusations of investigative mishandling" that are "mounting against Cornell University and its local officials this week," Liebergall wrote today. This follows "online uproar" that began last week after The Cornell Daily Sun reported on the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe, who has claimed that "seven university fraternity members" gang-raped her and forced her to take drugs. "USA Today reported that Cornell rarely expels students accused of sexual violence, which experts say reflects a nationwide trend on campuses," Liebergall added. "The Cornell case has also prompted renewed scrutiny of what critics call a 'voluntary intoxication loophole' that makes it harder to prosecute some rape cases in 19 states, including NY."

BUSINESS OF MEDIA

Digiday Daily , Krystal Scanlon & Tim Peterson— It's been over half a year since OpenAI began selling ads within ChatGPT, but brand spending remains capped at test levels because marketers want clearer attribution metrics and standardized campaign measurement tools. QUOTE

"Part of the frustration comes from a sense that OpenAI hasn't built much beyond the basics. Marketers' own reluctance to trust the company with their data accounts for the rest."

ADWEEK Daily , Kendra Barnett— Ten years after its $1.1 billion Wall Street debut, adtech pioneer The Trade Desk is contending with slowing revenue growth, partner friction, and a stock down 91% from its peak amid an increasingly competitive open web ad market. QUOTE

"Now, the adtech company has gone from Wall Street darling to a company under pressure, grappling with slowing revenue growth, partner backlash, and a stock down 91% from its peak."

Awful Announcing's The A Block , Sean Keeley— The Big Ten won three consecutive national championships. Do viewers care? Well, data indicates the SEC's TV ratings dominance is only getting stronger, turning into a commercial divide between college football's two premier conferences that's getting too big to ignore. QUOTE

"Despite winning three straight national championships, the Big Ten faces a problem that's entering crisis territory: the TV ratings gap between the Big Ten and the SEC is widening."

Barrett Media's Morning Edition , John Mamola— As ESPN's sports debate show Pardon the Interruption — the paradigm setter of the genre — marks a quarter century on air, co-host Michael Wilbonvoiced "rage" (in his own words) over the network's lack of digital and social media promotion for the program. QUOTE

"Informed opinion. Timed discussion. The concept of keeping the audience in tune with what's up for discussion now and what's to come… Michael Wilbon told Jimmy Trainathat he doesn't pay attention to viewership figures. Instead, what he does pay attention to is what he doesn't see from the network that employs him: promotion, social aggregation, and support in a digital economy."

CNN's Reliable Sources , Brian Stelter— At Bloomberg Screentime, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandosacknowledged that subscriber and revenue growth are not pacing as fast as leadership desires. Are there cuts on the way? Stelter pointed out that there are some rumors circulating and a respected TV blogger puts the number at about five to 10% of the company's workforce.

The Poynter Report , Tom Jones— California Governor Gavin Newsomsigned Assembly Bill 2222 into law, creating refundable tax credits for local news outlets based on the number of journalists they employ in an effort to stem newsroom contractions statewide. QUOTE

The LA Times ' Hannah Fryand Dakota Smithcall it "an innovative yet controversial attempt to slow the decline of local journalism."

OTHER COOL STUFF

Page Six Hollywood — Hollywood agent extraordinaire Ari Emanuel's tell-all memoir Roll the Calls is debuting at No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list after getting unexpectedly leapfrogged by Princess Diana 's brother, Charles Spencer , whose surprise release Swan Song took the top spot.

Awful Announcing's The A Block — Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin treated fans to a livestreamed walk-through of his previously-secret Minecraft city after recently admitting to being a longtime player of the game.

POLITICO Playbook — President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to fast-track bioengineering projects to purge Washington, D.C.'s invasive mosquito population by 90% and tick population by 50% by 2028. Maybe this is what he meant by "drain the swamp" the whole time.

WHAT GOT MISSED?

The Washington Sun , Evan McMorris-Santoro, Jasmine Wright, and Manuela Silva —Rep. Tim Burchett(R-TN) also moonlights as a… skateboard seller? The story of the "nascent homemade board business" is "a tale of trying unsuccessfully to navigate Byzantine congressional ethics rules," The Sun reported today. This means that "The Tennessee Republican can't put his name on his boards or associate himself with them directly," something he finds "laughable" even though he understands.

NEWSLETTER OF THE DAY

Noahpinion , Noah Smith —Smith has been experimenting with "writing shorter posts and aggregating interesting items," something his readers are responding to. It's also something that has transformed his own newsletter quite a bit. Today's takes a look at the shifting reasons Americans are still pessimistic about AI (there are fewer worries the tech will steal jobs and increasing concerns it will simply destroy humanity), reindustrialization, and the so-called rent crisis (which, he added, is "not as bad as you think." There's plenty to sift through and the new format is snappy.

This newsletter was produced by Lindsey Ellefson.

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