AirTalk parses through the implications of California Rep. Darrel Issa’s retirement announcement just days after fellow Republican Rep. Ed Royce said he will not be seeking re-election in 2018. We also give you the latest on Southern California’s rainstorm; how accurately is your profession depicted in Hollywood?; and more.
All politics are local: Following Ed Royce, Darrell Issa announces retirement. Plus, DiFi’s release of Fusion GPS dossier
Another Southern California Republican member of Congress is bowing out – Darrell Issa won’t run for re-election this year.
His district straddles Orange and San Diego counties. It was considered one of the most vulnerable to flip Democratic. Issa’s move follows fellow-Republican Ed Royce’s of north Orange County bowing out a couple of days ago. What does it mean for the midterms in 2018?
Also, Senator Dianne Feinstein has released congressional testimony of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, garnering backlash from the GOP, though the move was supported by committee Democrats. Why did she release the transcript, and what will these mean for her Senate run?
Our panel of political guests weigh in.
Guests:
Jessica Taylor, lead digital political reporter for NPR based in DC; her latest piece looks at Issa’s decision to not seek re-election and other GOP retirements; she tweets
Norberto Santana, publisher of "Voice of OC," a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on civics and government in Orange County since 2009; he tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
Chris Megerian, reporter for the Los Angeles Times currently based in DC, where he writes about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian investigation; his latest piece looks at Feinstein’s release of the GPS Fusion dossier; he tweets
From ‘The Post’ to ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ how accurately is your profession depicted in Hollywood?
From cops and lawyers to journalists and news anchors to paper company salespeople and local government employees, there are no shortages of television and film portrayals of jobs and careers. Steven Spielberg's “The Post,” is a good recent example.
The film is a punchy drama starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in a story about the Washington Post and New York Times’ investigative journalists that dug into the so-called Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s. Journalism is a popular occupation in film, it would seem. Films like “Broadcast News,” “Network,” and “Nightcrawler” come to mind. There are films like ‘Stand and Deliver’ and ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ about teachers’ quests to connect with their students. And of course, there’s a bevy of television shows depicting life at work, from ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ to ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Law and Order,’ and, ‘The Office.’
If your profession has been portrayed in film, what did you think about how the screenwriters and director depicted it? Was it accurate to your experiences? Where did it stray? What films most accurately portrayed your profession? Are there certain careers that lend themselves more easily to being portrayed in film or TV than others?
Weigh in at 866-893-5722.
As skies clear, rescue efforts continue for Southern California residents trapped by mudslides and flooding
Yesterday morning’s massive mudslides and flooding in Montecito killed at least 15 people, with dozens of others unaccounted for.
As of dawn, about 300 residents of Montecito’s Romero Canyon were awaiting rescue. The canyon is inaccessible except by helicopter.
AirTalk surveys the damage.
Guests:
Amber Anderson, public information officer for the City of Santa Barbara
David Wagner, KPCC business and economy reporter; he is in the La Tuna Canyon area covering the damage from the rain and mudslides
Lance Orozco, news director with KCLU, our sister NPR station covering Ventura County
As Bannon steps down, we look at the past, present and future of Breitbart
After falling out with both President Trump and one of his financial backers, Steve Bannon has decided to step down from the job of executive chairman at Breitbart News, as reported by the publication Tuesday.
President Trump broke ties with Bannon last week, after Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” quoted Bannon discussing Donald Trump Jr. in an unfavorable light. Then one of Bannon’s biggest donors, Rebekah Mercer, decided to pull her financial support. Now, as Bannon steps down from the nationalist, far-right publication that he helped steer to infamy, we look back at the history of the outlet.
Breitbart was started by Andrew Breitbart as a conservative site in 2007, changing direction after his death in 2012 and ultimately hitching itself to the Trump candidacy, which it rode into mainstream notoriety, under Bannon.
What is the history of the publication? What role did Bannon play at the helm of the publication? And how will his departure impact its future?
Guests:
Joe Concha, media reporter and columnist for The Hill; he tweets
Jeffrey McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University in Indiana and former journalist; he is the author of “Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007); he tweets
Political polarization has led one gym to ban cable news on its TVs. How are you dealing with it if you own a restaurant or a bar?
Whether you’re going out to eat, hanging out in a hotel lobby or hitting the gym, there’s probably a TV playing cable news not too far from you… and chances are, other viewers nearby may not share your political opinions.
But now there’s one place you won’t have to worry about running into your least favorite national cable news channel. Minnesota-based gym chain Life Time – which has 128 fitness centers across the U.S. and Canada, including a location in Laguna Niguel – has banned national cable news networks from its large TV screens. The gym will no longer be providing CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and CNBC, instead opting for less controversial options like USA, A&E, Discovery, HGTV and ESPN in addition to local news affiliates.
In a statement to KPCC, Life Time spokesperson Natalie Bushaw said the decision was “based on many member requests received over time across the country, and in keeping with our overall healthy way of life philosophy and commitment to provide family oriented environments free of consistently negative or politically charged content.”
Bushaw continued, “I want to emphasize that we certainly are not against news delivered accurately and respectfully, and we intend to continue to have appropriate news channels on some of our large screens.”
In a time of high political tensions and increasingly partisan news, consuming political news in a public place can be stressful. Business owners, have you ever run into issues with playing cable news for your customers? How have you dealt with customer complaints and any conflicts it has caused between your guests?
Guest:
David Caplan, news editor at ABC News Digital who has been following the story; he tweets