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Michael Bonfiglio’s Documentary “From The Ashes” Premiers on National Geographic Channel Sunday

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Photo courtesy Pavlofox / Pixabay.

The documentary From The Ashes, a look at the lives of American communities as they struggle with the legacy of the coal industry and its future, will debut on television on the National Geographic Channel this Sunday, June 25th at 9PM EDT.

Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio and produced by the Academy Award- and Emmy-winning production company RadicalMedia, From The Ashes first premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release.

As explained on its website, the documentary aims to tell the story of

“Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry and what its future should be in the current political climate. From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the ‘war on coal’ to present compelling and often heartbreaking stories about what’s at stake for our economy, health, and climate.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the film as “heartbreaking and enlightening at the same time. A must-watch for everyone because we should all be in this together.”

From the Ashes is produced by RadicalMedia in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and directed by Michael Bonfiglio and produced by Sidney Beaumont. For RadicalMedia, Jon Kamen, Joe Berlinger and Justin Wilkes serve as executive producers. For Bloomberg Philanthropies, Katherine Oliver serves as executive producer. For National Geographic, president, original programming and production is Tim Pastore.

Fox News, MSNBC Rated Top Two Most-Watched Cable Networks

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Photo courtesy Jeff Maurone via Wikimedia Commons.

Cable news channels Fox News and MSNBC were the top two most-watched networks on basic cable for the week spanning June 12 through June 18, according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research.

Fox News has spent 24 consecutive weeks as the top channel in all basic cable, reaching an average of 2.35 million viewers during prime time, and also earning total-day viewership of 1.508 million, calculated as the average of viewers between 6AM and 6PM EST.

Notably, Fox News has also reclaimed the top spot in the key 25-54 demographic, averaging 460,000 viewers in prime time from rival MNSNB, which received 435,000 viewers.  CNN had received 348,000 viewers in this demographic.

MSNBC has lately been seeing its highest ratings in the channel’s 21-year history, with 1.942 million viewers during prime time, which landed the network at second place overall in basic cable. The channel’s total-day viewers brings the network in at third place with 1.009 million total viewers, behind Fox and Nickelodeon.

CNN is also up in viewers nearly 50 percent year-over-year, and ranks seventh place in prime time total viewers with 1.028 million. The network ranks fifth in total-day viewers with an average of 831,000.

All three cable news networks are up 33 percent through the first week of June, compared to the same time frame during 2016.

Correspondents Criticize White House Press Briefings

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James Brady Press Briefing Room, 2007. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

White House correspondents Monday publicly blasted press secretary Sean Spicer and the administration’s communications team for increasingly conducting off-camera questions-and-answers instead of the standard publicly broadcast press briefings.

Spicer has not held a publicly broadcast White House press briefing in over a week, as Monday he told the press cameras and audio recordings were not permitted throughout the proceedings.

CNN’s Jim Acosta took to the airwaves to criticize this decision by the administration:

“The White House press secretary is getting to a point where he’s just kind of useless. If they’re getting to this point where he’s not going to answer questions or go on camera or have audio, why are we even having these briefings or gaggles in the first place?”

During the briefing, Zeke Miller of Time Magazine challenged Spicer to answer “why our friends in radio and television can’t use this [briefing] live.”
Spicer’s response was that President Trump had made public comments during a photo opportunity with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, and would again later in the day during a meeting at a technology council meeting.

There were no opportunities during either event for the media to ask President Trump any questions.

During the un-televised and un-recorded press briefing, press secretary Spicer also refused to take questions from CNN’s Acosta. The president and administration has pushed back frequently against stories critical of the administration on CNN, labeling the network as “fake news.”

“It’s off camera and you can’t answer questions?” Acosta yelled toward Spicer as the press secretary walked out of the briefing room.

“The Daily Show’s Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library” to Open This Friday

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has announced the grand opening of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library with a grand opening this Friday in New York City.  The library will remain open to the public through the weekend.

Announced by host Trevor Noah in March, the library “will feature visual installations and a fully interactive experience for hands of all sizes, giving patrons the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to memorialize and celebrate the many “unprecedented” moments of President Trump’s Twitter history.”

Exhibits will include “Trump vs. Trump,” designed to “document President Trump’s unique ability to hold a variety of different opinions on the same subject.”  A video retrospective titled “Sad!” will “solemnly display a collection of people, places and things that the President has deemed ‘SAD!’”

According to The Daily Show,

“The library will be so tremendous that the public is going to get tired of the tremendousness.”

The library will be located within a two-minute walk of Trump Tower in New York City on West 57th Street.  It will be free and open to the public from 11AM to 7PM Friday, June 16 through Sunday, June 18.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Bans Interviews in Hallways, Decision Quickly Reversed

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Sergeant at Arms staff announced tough new restrictions on media interviews to the members of the Senate press gallery.

The announced ban including prohibiting on-camera interviews in hallways, outside Senate offices or committee rooms without permission from the Senate Rules Committee, the Sergeant at Arms or Senate Radio and TV Gallery, depending on the location of the interview. Also, reporters were told that a special press pen would be created in the Capitol basement, a popular location for the media to ask questions of Senators on their way to the Senate floor or lunch cafeteria.

Bloomberg TV chief Washington correspondent Kevin Cirilli confirmed these new restrictions, tweeting he was told he could not stand outside the Budget Committee office to interview lawmakers.

These new rules were quickly rescinded later in the day.

A Senate official said the Rules Committee had never ordered the Sergeant at Arms office to enforce tougher media restrictions and suggested the announcement was a miscommunication. “Everything you did before, you can still do,” said an official familiar with the discussion.

Senator Richard Shelby, Chairman of the Rules Committee, released a statement Tuesday saying they made “no changes to the existing rules governing press coverage on the Senate side of the Capitol complex.”

Trump Again Characterizes Mainstream Media as “Fake News” on Twitter

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Donald Trump reiterated one of his usual phrases on Twitter Tuesday morning, blasting the press again as “fake news” after articles were published critical of the administration.

“The Fake News Media has never been so wrong or so dirty. Purposely incorrect stories and phony sources to meet their agenda of hate. Sad!”

The president regularly refers to the media as “fake news” and accuses journalists of printing fabrications and promoting an agenda when stories negative of the administration are published.

This latest tweet was posted the morning before Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It has been suggested the Attorney General mislead or incorrectly testified before the Senate that he only met with Russian officials twice during the presidential campaign, where stories have inquired as to whether a third meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. took place in April 2016.

Trump also tweeted this week about the DOW and NASDAQ, stating the “#FakeNews [mainstream media] doesn’t report the great economic news since Election Day.”

According to TrumpTwitterArchive.com, President Trump has branded the mainstream media as “fake news” on Twitter at least 52 times on his personal account so far this year.

Montana Rep-Elect Greg Gianforte Donates to Press Freedom Group

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Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Republican Representative-Elect Greg Gianforte, who won a special election to fill Montana’s at-large seat to the House of Representatives last month the day after after assaulting Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, announced he has donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists as part of a civil settlement.

In a letter released Wednesday as part of the settlement, Gianforte states:

“My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard.”

The donation to CPJ, which promotes press freedom worldwide, was initiated “in the hope that perhaps some good can come of these events,” the letter continues. “I made a mistake and humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

The Congressman-elect still faces criminal charges over the assault. He could be fined up to $500 or face up to six months in jail if found guilty.

Jacobs has signed a release foregoing any civil claim against Gianforte in return for the apology and donation. The reporter has also requested that a crowdfunding campaign to replace his broken glasses also be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Media Likely to be Excluded During Trump-Putin Meeting

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Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump is likely to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Germany this upcoming July, although no firm plans have been made so far according to a Kremlin spokesperson.

But according to Russian newspaper Izvestia, if that were to occur, the media would likely be excluded. There would likely be no photo opportunity, no press briefing, and no joint statement issued after the meeting.

“There will just be the meeting,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted in the newspaper.

Trump and Putin agreed during a phone call in May to try to meet face-to-face around the dates of the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Spicer Absent from White House Press Briefing, “Possibly Upgraded”

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer was absent from the podium at Monday’s press briefing, instead being run by deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

When asked about Spicer’s whereabouts by correspondent April Ryan, Huckabee Sanders replied:

“He’s here today. This is part of my job as well. Did you guys ever ask any of the other deputy press secretaries when they filled in?”

Asked if Spicer was taking on new responsibilities with the resignation of Mike Dubke, former communications director, Huckabee Sanders answered that “I mean, he is taking on a little bit of extra duty at this point. It’s probably upgraded at this point given that we don’t have a communications director.”

Dubke resigned as communications director on May 18, although he remained on staff during President Trump’s first international trip as president and only recently officially left his post.

Huckabee Sanders rejected any hint that Spicer’s role in the White House was being reassessed. “I’m just filling in for the day,” she said. “There are a lot of demands on his schedule, particularly given the fact that there’s not a communications director, and this is part of my job as well and when I’m needed I’ll step in. Nothing other than that.”

Lawrence O’Donnell Signs New Contract with MSNBC

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Photo courtesy Jeff Maurone via Wikimedia Commons.

After weeks of uncertainty, Lawrence O’Donnell has renewed his contract with MSNBC. His current contract is set to expire on Sunday.

“The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” airs at 10PM EST on the cable news network. The show has been receiving a boost in the ratings of late, ranking as the third most watched cable news program overall, falling behind only MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

The former “West Wing” producer announced on Twitter Thursday that he will be on MSNBC “for the foreseeable future.”

Terms of the contract have not currently been disclosed