Politico

The attack in Nice, France has upended the pre-convention media plans for both presidential candidates. Donald Trump announced that he was postponing his vice presidential announcement, originally scheduled for July 15. Additionally, Trump told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly he was likely also postponing a planned joint interview with his vice presidential nominee on the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." "Well, in light of what's happened tonight, in light of this, you know, absolutely horrific attack, you know, I'm not sure that I'm feeling good about doing 60 Minutes and I'm not sure that 60 Minutes is going to want to do anything other than this attack," Trump said in his second phone-in interview on Fox on July 14.

Dozens of literary and media luminaries -- from Margaret Atwood, Jay McInerney, Martin Amis and Judy Blume, to Robert Caro, Kurt Andersen, Jill Lepore and Janet Malcolm -- are calling on the presidential candidates to "uphold freedom of the press and end intimidation toward journalists" at their nominating conventions these next two weeks.

The writers are among more than 20,000 people, as of the morning of July 15, who have signed a petition that PEN America, the century-old literary and free expression organization, will deliver on Monday to the Trump and Clinton campaigns, as well as to the Republican and Democratic national committees. Other organizations and media outlets, including The Nation, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and The Intercept, partnered with PEN to collect signatures. “I think our members and partners are growing increasingly concerned with a climate of hostility toward the press in the context of the campaigns, and tactics that risk curbing press freedoms,” said PEN America executive director Suzanne Nossel. She cited recent episodes of “threats directed at journalists” and “remarks about the tightening of libel and defamation laws.”

The Senate has confirmed Carla Hayden to be the next Librarian of Congress. She was approved by a vote of 74-18. Hayden, the CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library, was nominated by President Barack Obama five months ago. She replaces James Billington, who resigned as Librarian of Congress in September after 28 years on the job.

In 2003, Hayden, then president of the American Library Association, rallied librarians across the country to oppose the USA PATRIOT Act, saying the national security law passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks gave law enforcement "unprecedented powers of surveillance — including easy access to library records with minimal judicial oversight." The Librarian of Congress manages a vast national collection of some 160 million works. While it's a somewhat obscure post, the Librarian wields considerable power behind the scenes, particularly in the area of copyright. She decides, for example, whether Americans can tinker with their copyright-protected devices like smartphones, tablet computers and even software systems in cars. President Obama, in announcing the pick in February 2016, said of Hayden: "Her understanding of the pivotal role that emerging technologies play in libraries will be essential in leading the Library of Congress as it continues to modernize its infrastructure and promote open access and full participation in today's digital world." She becomes the first woman and first African-American to fill the post.

It’s been more than two months since Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) pulled out of the presidential race. But he’s still bitter at Fox News. On a radio program, Sen Cruz responded to Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who questioned why Sen Cruz was meeting with Donald Trump and had agreed to speak at the GOP convention when he had previously excoriated the presumptive Republican nominee.

"I didn’t watch what she said and If I got dismayed every time somebody on Fox News attacked me, you know what, life is too short to worry about, that is an institution that can express its own corporate opinions, and it has done so at great volume during the course of the primaries. And I’m not going to worry about their attacks. Our country is in an extremely challenging position right now, and there are a lot of people who played an active role in putting us in this position,” Sen Cruz said.

Donald Trump has slashed his regular cable television appearances and is largely restricting himself to "friendlier terrain" on Fox News, according to Howard Kurtz, the channel's media analyst and host of "Mediabuzz." According to Kurtz's report, Trump's staff is not notifying him of every interview request. It's part of an effort to tamp down on the "risk of the candidate making mistakes or fanning minor controversies."

"Several weeks ago, high-level staffers concluded at a meeting that the boss should be limited to no more than three interviews a week, print reporters included. He wound up meeting that quota in just half a day. But aides now vet whether certain reporters can ride on his plane, which used to be a snap decision by Trump," Kurtz reports. Trump's last interview with CNN was June 13. =The presumptive Republican nominee's last interview with MSNBC was in May with "Morning Joe".

The line between news reporting and opinion is blurring in Ferguson (MO) as some national journalists inject their perspective and even themselves into the story.

The conduct of a few prominent members of the press on the ground has drawn the attention of media observers and prompted the wrath of conservatives who see an anti-law enforcement bias in the Fourth Estate.

David Plouffe, the former campaign manager and White House adviser to President Barack Obama, is taking his political secret sauce to Uber in late September as senior vice president of policy and strategy.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said Uber “is trying to win hearts and minds,” adding: “There’s an incumbent … the big-taxi cartel … and we’re the challenger.” Plouffe, 47, will be one of the top few executives at the booming transportation disruptor, in charge of global branding, communications and policy -- as Kalanick put it, Uber’s “campaign manager.”

Forty-eight media organizations -- ranging from the Associated Press to Fox News to The New Yorker and the National Press Club -- sent a letter to law enforcement authorities in Ferguson (MO) to protest the police's treatment of reporters and ask for greater transparency regarding the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American who was shot and killed by police.

Former Vice President Al Gore and business partner Joel Hyatt have filed a lawsuit against Al Jazeera on charges of fraud and material breaches in their acquisition of Current Media.

Gore and Hyatt, the co-founders of Current Media, say that Al Jazeera has unlawfully refused to turn over tens of millions of dollars currently located in an escrow account. That money is owed to Current Media shareholders per the terms of the $500-million merger agreement made in January 2013, the plaintiffs say.

The complaint has been filed under seal at the request of Al Jazeera, though Gore and Hyatt have filed a motion seeking to unseal it.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable said they are withdrawing financial support for a dinner honoring Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a regulator who is reviewing the companies’ multibillion-dollar merger.

The two companies were both set to sponsor the Walter Kaitz Foundation Dinner in September -- at a cost of $110,000 for Comcast and $22,000 for Time Warner Cable -- where Commissioner Clyburn is set to receive the foundation’s “diversity advocate” award.

Both Comcast and Time Warner Cable said they will instead donate to the foundation at the same level in a more general capacity.