BREAKING: BOMBSHELL firing stuns Washington DC

This is Democracy Watch.Mark, we have news that just shook up legacy media in one of the biggest ways that we've seen thus far.Can you explain what just happened?

Yeah, CBS News just fired Scott Pelley, who was the anchor, the longtime anchor at 60 Minutes.Really an iconic figure, a journalist, journalist, a straight shooter.I got to know Scott because he did an episode about the cowardice of big law in the early parts of this Trump administration.And he came to me and said, I'd like you to be on camera.And I was like, well, why don't you find some other lawyer who's at a large law firm?I had been for much of my career, but I'm not now.

And he said, because none of them are willing to speak.They're all afraid.None of them will be on air.And so I sat down for an interview, and he actually said words to that effect at the introduction of the interview.And really laid it out.And so now you have Scott Pelley, telling, you know, the new head of 60 Minutes, who has no experience in this kind of programming.

No, no, nothing qualifies him for this work, who was put there by Barry Weiss.And you have Scott Pelley, who said, during this confrontational meeting, you know, Barry Weiss was sent here to kill CBS News, and that's what she's doing.And so he's there to murder 60 Minutes, I think were his exact words.And that's exactly right.I mean, let's remember, let's remember that CBS News settled a bullshit case against them that was brought by Donald Trump, simply to put money in the pocket of Donald Trump.I mean, it was a bogus claim, even by bogus claim standards.

And the only benefit beneficial effect of it was that they were able to write a check, I think for $16 million.Maybe not to Donald Trump's personal pocket, but to one of his causes, whatever it was.But they settled a bogus claim so that they could move money in that direction.And then David Ellison, who, you know, I don't know his politics.He's the son of a close friend of Donald Trump's and a very rich man. uh you know he needed to get approval for him to purchase paramount and we all know in the trump administration the only way you get approval to do anything is to you know you know have have have an in with uh donald trump and make whatever deal uh that he wants and what donald trump wanted was to neuter critical media right he wanted to make sure that that that 60 minutes didn't go hard on him again, that CBS News didn't go hard on him again.And by the way, that CNN, which is owned by Paramount, doesn't go hard on him.

So the journalists at CNN who are staying quiet here or are sort of like shuffling the papers, like they're coming, they're going to be next.

Yeah.

And so that's what's going on here.Scott Pelley didn't pull his punches.And to the bitter end, he stood tall and he and he fought.And so, you know, we owe him a measure of gratitude and praise.For me, it's kind of, like I said, it's bittersweet because he brought me on to 60 Minutes as the one lawyer willing to stand up and speak in public.And now he is the one journalist willing to stand up to what's going on at CBS.

So, you know, I wish he was not leaving.I suspect that this is going to lead to a further exodus there.uh but you know anyone who thinks that legacy media and 60 minutes can be trusted this is like just proof point number a thousand that it's not true so you need to support independent media and the way you're going to do that by starting is to make sure you're subscribed to this channel because brian does more good work in bringing you independent news information analysisthan anyone else on YouTube.It is the place I go, it is the series that I do, I do with Brian.And so make sure you are subscribed to this channel, hit the bell to get alerts when there's new content.

I appreciate that.I'm going to put a link to this channel right here on the screen.And while we're at it, I also have to make sure that everybody knows that if you're looking for the single best resource as it relates to voting rights and all things related to democracy, there is no better resource than Democracy Docket, which is the news outlet Mark founded to focus on everything voting elections.So I'm going to put that link right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video.That is how I find out all news, anything related to redistricting, to voting rights, everything comes through democracy docket.So again, if you're not yet subscribed, do yourself a favor, especially as we head toward midterms where this stuff could not be more important and subscribe.

Mark, to that end, how are you thinking about your role in this ecosystem as we watch legacy media overtly kowtow to Trump?I mean, this is even like, there's not even any subtlety being attempted here.It is just an open gutting of anybody who dares utter an ill word of dear leader and the installation of these avowed sycophants.

Yeah, and by the way, you know, for a movement that claims that, you know, people are snowflakes and they're too woke.I mean, this letter that Nick Bilton writes to Scott Pelley, I mean, it's whiny.It is like overly dramatic.

I'm going to throw that letter.I'm going to throw that letter right here on the screen if you want to read a few sentences from it.

Yeah, so I want to highlight in the in the middle of of it.He complains that, you know, he invited Scott Pelley to dinner and, you know, he rejected it.And then he says, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications.and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt.I welcome a diversity of viewpoints and respectful debate among the team, but this was nothing of the sort.Yesterday's performative display of hostility enacted in front of the staff instead of a civil private conversation demonstrated you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.

or approaching my tenure with an open mind to collaboration and progress.I mean, here's the thing.I mean, this is the right -wing movement, right?I mean, let's be honest, that's who's behind this whole shift going on at CBS and these other news outlets, that he is upset about the incivility and contempt, literally.Of all the things that someone who's an executive at CBS could be complaining about, incivility and contempt, It's about Scott Pelley.

Yeah.

Right.It's not about Donald Trump.It's not firing people the way that Barry Weiss fired people.It's not the the the insulting, you know, memo that Nick Bolt built in and the others like act like they know more than these these these correspondents who have been doing this for for decades and who, by the way, have the highest rated news program in all of television.Right.I mean, CBS is their crown jewel is is 60 Minutes.

So.Number one, the lack of civility and hostility, but then he's very concerned, very concerned about performative displays of hostility.I mean, this is something that you would normally read conservatives complaining about, about liberals saying that the conservatives were incivil or were performatively hostile.And you would have Barry Weiss in the Free Press mocking them.Well, You know, every accusation is a confession.it comes to these guys.

And so as far as Democracy Docket is concerned, and this is, again, your news outlet, but also more broadly an antidote to what we've seen in legacy media.How does a moment like this, where we have further gutting of actual journalists, how does that make you think about your mission in terms of reaching people?

Yeah, look, my goal is to have democracy.I could grow and grow fast.And it's part of the reason why I appreciate you telling people to subscribe.And I'll echo that here.I mean, right now we have 30 employees.We break news.

We have reporters who are covering the courts and elections and democracy issues.We have opinion.We have newsletters.I mean, I am we are not trying to be a substack.In fact, we're not on substack.We are trying to be a full -scale pro -democracy newsroom, offering news analysis and information about what's happening to democracy, voting, elections, and the courts.

And we're growing fast, but we've got to grow faster.Because the truth is, the retreat that legacy media is beating in this is dramatic.And Independent news outlets like Democracy Docket are going to pick up the slack, but we need to do it with everyone's full support as quickly as possible.So if you can become a free subscriber, become a free subscriber.If you can afford a few dollars, become a premium member, even better.But I hope everyone signs up.

Mark, you might not have a straight answer to this question, but does legacy media come back from this?

No, it doesn't.You know, I had on my own podcast, Harry Littman, and I don't know if you know, Harry, but he is a lawyer who wrote a longtime column for the L .A.Times and quit actually last year and started a subsect called Talking Feds.And he he he he is a former federal prosecutor and he talks about these issues.And I had him on and I asked him kind of the question about the legacy of

and its tilt towards Trump.And he made a point that I think is worth making, which is that legacy media was dying anyway, right?Like, this is an accelerant to their dying.But the truth is, you know, Brian, you have over 5 million subscribers to your YouTube channel.Your YouTube videos get more views, more people watch your content than watch any of the cable stations, you know, and frankly, a lot of the broadcast news.And so like that was already going on, you know, before this.

Yeah.

And this is just accelerating that dissent.I mean, you know, essentially they are alienating their audiences because let's be honest, who's who's consuming You know news other than fox news.It's largely people in the center the center left and the left and that's who they're alienating through this so I don't think they come back I'm, not sure that they would have come back anyway, because like I said, I think linear television was in decline I think newspapers have been in decline, you know, even the new york times which is probably the healthiest of all the newspapers right now It's yeah, i'm not saying it doesn't do good journalism But it is it is its growth is because of its games its puzzles its recipes its lifestyle the real growth in this system.right now is independent media.And the problem is that right -wing independent media has, you know, a thousand sponsors with, you know, and everyone's bought in, you know, the entire Republican Party is bought in, the right -wing viewers and ecosystem are bought in.And in the left, you know, folks like you and me at Democracy Docket, like we are still competing to get into the same level of rotation, notwithstanding the subscriber numbers or the viewer numbers.

with, you know, Democrats and Democratic officials.And so that's got to change.And but the way that's going to change is more people subscribe to Democracy Nuggets newsletters, more people watch your videos.And so we just need to support independent pro -democracy media.And then it will it will get that flywheel effect.

Last question here, Mark, do you think that Trump and Republicans will be successful at what I think is their overarching experiment, which is to basically own all of these different news outlets so that he basically has state media and it's filled with you know, right -wingers or people who are who are friendly to their political ideology and that will kind of help spread conservatism or the MAGA ideology across the country.Do you think that he's going to be successful at doing that or do you think that viewers are going to be smart enough and say, I know what's going on on CBS News instead of, you know, sticking around and allowing myself to be conned by, you know, this right -wing project, Barry Weiss's new right -wing project, I'm just going to escape legacy media altogether go to independent media and find people who are willing to tell me the truth?

Yeah, I think it's both.I mean, I think the fact is that we cannot minimize how much damage has already been done.You know, CNN is even now before this merger, CNN is not the same CNN that it was under under Zucker.Right.I mean, like it already had pivoted to a much more milquetoast approach to Donald Trump this this time than the last time.You've, of course, got Fox News, which is a juggernaut.

And you've got OAN and, you know, Newsmax, you know, that are, you know, decidedly conservative.CBS we've talked about.ABC is owned by Disney.Disney, you know, also paid money to settle a bogus lawsuit.And, you know, by all accounts,Disney is making their money on theme parks and on characters and movies.

They don't want to piss off Donald Trump.And so there's nothing about like ABC News's coverage that you think, wow, they're really going on a limb.You know, NBC, they got rid of MSNBC for a reason.I mean, like, I'm not privy to any insides, and I know people will spend a million reasons why they did this.Just like from my observation, they got rid of MSNBC or MSNOW because they didn't want the baggage of pissing off Donald Trump.I mean, Comcast, the parent company of NBC, they've made Big contributions I think to the ballroom, you know, like I mean, they're also not trying to be in the crosshairs of Donald Trump.

The Washington Post, we could talk about that.The LA Times, we could talk about that.Those are true newspapers that used to be checks on right -wing actors, and they're not anymore.Like I said, you still have the New York Times.Honestly, the Wall Street Journal at this point maybe does more fearless journalism than many of the other legacy outlets.But the pickings are pretty slim.

I mean, it's pretty slim when you look at who's out there.The Atlantic, I think, does really good work.MSNOW is still out there.But, you know, it's going to ultimately have to be filled by people like you, by Democracy Docket, you know, that I founded, like the bulwark that Tim Miller, you know, is involved in, which I, you know, I think does really good, does really good work.Like, we're going to need independent media on the left of center to fill this gap.And that means that A, we're going to need to have good content, which I think is obviously first and foremost, but second, we're going to need viewers and subscribers and readers to embrace this and to make this their first, not their fourth read of the day, to make it the thing they share on social media rather than the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal or the certainly the other outlets I mentioned.

We need them to lift up theseindependent news outlets if we are to have a chance, you know, going forward.But I'm optimistic about it.Like I said, look, Democracy Docket started with just me and an idea in 2020.Now it's got four hundred fifty thousand subscribers.It's got a YouTube channel with, you know, seven one seven hundred thousand subscribers, which is nothing compared to you, Brian.

And you're you're responsible for a lot of that growth.So thank you.And and, you know, its website, it's got like I said, it's got 30 employees and reporters covering and breaking original news.

Well, look, I think that the most important thing right now is for everybody watching.If you are not one of those people who currently subscribes to Democracy Docket's YouTube channel or Democracy Docket itself, this is the perfect opportunity to do so, not just to elevate Mark's voice in this ecosystem, but also to show some support for one of the only outlets that remain that is willing to do this work in defiance of what Trump and this administration are trying to do, which is clamp down on any pro -democracy news outlets.So this is the opportunity to do exactly that and to stand up, especially in the face of what's happening throughout the rest of this ecosystem.So I'm going to put a link to Democracy Docket right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video.If you'd like to subscribe to this channel, I'll put that link on the the screen as well.I'm Brian Taylor Cohen.

I'm Mark Elias.This is Democracy Watch.