Subject: ?Axios AM: Mike's Top 10 — Day 100 for Axos! — 1 key to all this week's Trump news — United plans new question at check-in — Ben Smith's cheeky BuzzFeed memo
From: "Mike Allen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2017 06:29:07 -0400 (EDT)

Presented by Bank of America:

Day 100 for Axos! — 1 key to all this week's Trump news �=94 United plans new question at check-in — Ben Smith's cheeky Buzz=eed memo

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Presented By Bank of America

Axios AM

By Mike Allen = ·Apr 27, 2017

Good Thursday morning, and happy Day 100 to =xios readers and my 70 colleagues, bringing you smart brevity worthy of yo=r time, attention and trust. We're grateful for your passionate support, a=d are anxious to serve you even better in our next 100 days together. How're we doing? Just reply to this email, or drop me a line a= [email-masked].

You're invited! Tuesday at 8 a.m. in D.C. ... Axios hosts a "Maximizing Impact" breakfast on ways business ca= contribute to society — through products, technology and investme=t decisions. I'll moderate a series of fascinating one-on-one interviews, =nd we'll include you in the conversation. RSVP here.

1 big thing: Understanding Trump

In a whirlwind of White House leaks, prods and announce=ents leading up to Saturday's 100-day milestone, one unifying characterist=c explains everything President Trump is doing. Aides say he is still the =ealmaker — pragmatic and practical, rather than ideological.
<=>Axios' Jonathan Swan tells me after a visit to the West =ing yesterday that aides think Trump now understands the system be=ter and how to work it, with the revival of health reform as a sh=ning example of a classic Trump move. His dealmaker roots have surfaced re=eatedly this week:

He announces a tax "plan" that's on= page, so he has plenty of room to negotiate details with the Hil=, and give lots of wins.

Aides debate renouncing NAFTA but say it'll be a process, not something sudden. The N.Y. Tim=s reports: "Trump told the leaders of Mexico and Canada on Wednesday t=at he would not immediately move to terminate the North American Free Trad= Agreement, only hours after an administration official said he was likely=to sign an order that would begin the process of pulling the United States=out of the deal."

Rather than playing heavy-handed broker =/strong>on health care, the White House pushes toward a House vote as soon=as tomorrow by letting conservatives and moderates work out internal diffe=ences on terms that are partly self-initiated. Swan explains that instead =f bullying holdouts, Trump let the air drain out of the initial attempt, t=en let the factions start again themselves.

Get smart=fast ... "Revival of unpopular health care plan=divides GOP," by Axios' David Nather: "They're closer to the goal of f=lfilling a campaign promise, but they're about to take a vote that will be=perceived, rightly or wrongly, as abandoning sick people."

T=e narrative ... N.Y. Times' striking 5-column (out of 6) lead hea=line: "TAX OVERHAUL WOULD AID WEALTHIEST."

2. Breaking: United admits failures, makes changes

United

Ahead of United CEO Oscar Munoz's appearance Tuesday be=ore the House Transportation Committee, the airline today releases a repor= admitting "four key failures" aboard flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisvil=e on April 9, and 10 "significant customer-centric changes" to prevent suc= an incident from recurring.

Key quote: "We ca= never apologize enough for what occurred and our initial response that fo=lowed."

As part of an effort to "begin to earn back=your trust," the 11-page reports cites these failures:

to assist with policy enforcement whe= a security or safety issue didn't exist."

"Rebooking crew=at the last minute."

"Offering insufficient compe=sation and not providing transportation/destination options to en=ice more customers to give up their seats willingly."

"Pro=iding insufficient employee training and empowerment to handle a =ituation like this."

Admitting "[a]ctions speak louder=than words," United announces changes that include:

"Increase customer compensation incentive= for voluntary denied boarding up to $10,000."

"Create an =utomated system for soliciting volunteers to change travel plans"= "Later this year, United will introduce a new automated check-in process =.. that will gauge a customer's interest in giving up his or her seat on o=erbooked flights in exchange for compensation."

"Reduce the amount of overbooking."

"Eliminate the red tape on permanently lost bags by adopting a '=o questions asked' policy on lost luggage."

Our though= bubble: In business, as in life, we don't get a second chance to=make a first impression. But after one of the worst P.R. debacles of the s=cial-media age, United is now working hard to become a new kind of case st=dy — image recovery.

=delman, the P.R. giant, reached out to me overnight with infograp=ics. And NBC's Lester Holt will have a United "exclusive" in the first hal= hour of the "Today" show this morning.

3. ESPN cuts foreshadow cable doom

In laying off as many as 100 personalities and writers =esterday, ESPN cited "changes in technology and fan behavior," meaning soc=al media and highlight consumption.

Axios' Sar= Fischer and Neal Rothschild write that signs point to an eve=tual newspaper-like revenue collapse for cable as viewers migrate to strea=ing and social media:

The number of U.S. house=olds that subscribe to cable has decreased by 25% to roughly 52 million ho=es from 68 million at its peak in 2000.

ESPN has lost 12% of the 100 million subscribers it had in 2011.

Ov=r the past 10 years, the network has committed to comprehensive c=verage of many prof teams and college conferences, hiring digital-focused =eporters as experts. But the layoffs show that the network is cutting back=on the localized digital footprint.

Debate as sport: The rise of social media caused the network to focus its TV programming=away from highlights readily available on Twitter, Instagram, etc. to more=provocative, personality-driven analysis. But interest has still waned.
What's next: Disney is taking strategic steps to piv=t its strategy towards creating new streaming opportunities on top of exis=ing ones with companies like Hulu. Iger touted Disney's $1 billion investm=nt in MLB's streaming division called BamTech, which will work with Disney=to create an ESPN-branded subscription streaming service.

A message from Bank of America

Small business as American as baseball and hot dogs=/span>

For more than four generations, Bank of America has helped the Monkiewic= family grow Kayem Foods to become synonymous with one of Boston’s=most identifiable brands: Fenway Franks. Watch the sto=y about how we’ve helped grow this New England icon.

4. Drumbeats, but not imminent war

Reuters Graphics; used by permission.

At an unusual classified briefing at the White House fo= all senators yesterday, the "Trump administration said it is launching an=urgent push, combining diplomatic pressure and the threat of military acti=n in a bid to halt North Korea's advancing nuclear-weapons program," the Wall Street Journal r=ports.

SecState Tillerson "is considering =arsh measures such as asking other countries to shut down North Korea's em=assies and other diplomatic facilities."

The bottom line, =rom N.Y. Times' Mark Landler: "Americans could b= forgiven for thinking that war is about to break out. But it is not."

Tweet du jour

With so much news yesterday, lobbyist Bruce Mehlman wro=e me to say: "You may need to go to 11 tomorrow!!"

Don'= tell, but: Notice that this item sneakily doesn't have a number.=/li>

5. A D.C. tale

From a WashPost front-page article by Amy Argetsinger, = Style section editor, "The rise and fall — or maybe rebirth? �=80� of the White House correspondents' dinner":

In 2004, John Fox Sullivan, [then] the publ=sher of National Journal, ... was on the dais, overlooking some 3,000 gues=s in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton. So he was just a couple feet a=ay when President George W. Bush strolled onstage to "Hail to the Chief" t= join his fellow guests at the head table, including Jay Leno, the enterta=ner for the night.

Wal=ing behind the table where the guests where standing for him, Bus= "takes his right hand and gooses Leno," Sullivan recalled. Leno jumped. "=t happened so fast, very few people saw it," he said. Bush took his seat w=th a huge grin on his face — and Sullivan's been dining out on the=story ever since.

6. World Bank likely to run women's global fund

Ivanka Trump talks to German Chacellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday night du=ing a dinner after the W20 Summit in Berlin / AP's Michael Sohn

After the Twitters erupted with questions and criticism=(including comparisons to the Clinton Foundation), the White House said Iv=nka Trump will play a limited role in the global fund for women's empowerm=nt that she told me about from Berlin:

An aide says: <=strong>"She had the idea and recommended it to [World Bank Group President= Jim Kim but they are ... the implementer ... She will be its most advocat= and supporter and will work closely with [German Chancellor Angela] Merke= and [IMF Managing Director Christine] Lagarde and Kim etc."

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said his role is still being worked out: "The World Bank Gr=up is working with partners on the details around creating a facility for =omen's economic empowerment ... We are very grateful for the leadership Ms= Trump and Chancellor Merkel have demonstrated."

7. The Wilderness

Sen. Elizabeth Warren debuts at #1 on the N.Y. Times be=tseller list of May 7: "THIS FIGHT IS OUR FIGHT, by Elizabeth Warren. (Met=opolitan/ Holt) The Massachusetts senator calls for restored financial reg=lation, stronger social programs, and renewed investment in education, res=arch and infrastructure."

8. Instagram explodes

Data: Instagram; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

Instagram announced that it has amassed 700 million mon=hly active users since launching in 2010, a more than 16% increase in just=four months, and a 40% increase in one year, Axios' Sara Fischer writes:

=strong>Between the lines: Instagram announced the growth achievem=nt the same day Twitter reported its Q1 earnings, where it touted a 2.8% q=arterly increase in monthly active users to to 328 million — still=less than half of the user base of Instagram, which is four years younger.=Instagram rival Snapchat has seen its audience has dwindled since Instagra= launched a copycat stories feature in August.

9. First look: New BuzzFeed News slogan

BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith tol= his staff yesterday about a new slogan for BuzzFeed News, "Reporting to Y=u." His all-hands email makes an implicit contrast with the stento=ian marketing of the N.Y. Times and WashPost:

This is a moment when people are more =oncerned about the state of news than they've ever been. That's inspired s=me our competitors to launch campaigns that stress that they have earned t=ust over many decades, and that appeal to people's nostalgia for a simpler=media age dominated by trusted gatekeepers. These outlets are doing specta=ular work, by the way, and there's nothing wrong with their leaning on wel=-earned reputations.

But t=at isn't us. We were born of this very chaotic new ecosystem,=and our opportunity is to serve a huge audience through it, not by retreat=ng from it. ... We speak the native language — whether English or =ortuguese — of the web, in text and video. ... We are com=itted to sharing what we know with our audience, from being clear about co=rections to sharing documents with our audience, including the famous=dossier. ...

We are ... te=ting some technical features aimed at getting even more feedback =rom our audience on what they want reporting on.

10. 1 fun thing

For the forthcoming issue of the Holly=ood Reporter, Lena Dunham, the mastermind behind Girls, interview= Samantha Bee about her upcoming White House Correspondents' dinner sp=cial, and more:

Dunham: This is the first election and the first government where we've started =olding celebrities accountable for either speaking or not speaking. ... Je=ni [Konner, Girls' co-creator] had to point out to me, "You know,=the problem isn't female movie stars who didn't talk about Hillary Clinton= You need to f—ing chill out." But I wonder what you think the res=onsibility of public figures and entertainers is in a moment like this?Bee: If you have a platfo=m and there's something that you want to say, certainly you should not be =shamed to say it. It's a gift and an opportunity to be able to reach peopl= with your voice. And I don't think that people should be intimidated by t=eir own opinions, and if they want to speak, I don't think that they shoul= be shamed for that. They will be. Of course. It's not what everyone got i= this business for.

Dunham: No. Some people just want to dance.

A message from Bank of America

Four generations of family business and Fenway Fran=s

Like many American success stories, Kayem Foods started out as a family =usiness bringing a taste of home to the United States. Since 1950, Kayem h=s trusted Bank of America to help their family business grow into the icon=c supplier of Fenway Franks. Learn more.

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