cnn.com/fareed. to pass the test, you must get 6 out of 10. there is a 91% pass rate. let me know how you did by tweeting me @fareedzakaria, thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week, i will see you next week. hey, i'm brian stelter, it's time for ""reliable sources."" this is our weekly look at the story behind the story, of how the media really works and how the news gets made. right now the news media working overtime to find out what really happened in that pivotal meeting between presidents trump and putin. one big question hovering over all of it is, who should we believe? the russians shared their account on camera, first the foreign minister holding a press briefing then vladimir putin held a press conference at the conclusion at the g-20 summit. but we have no pictures to show you of trump's press conference

because he did not hold a press conference and secretary of state rex tillerson only held an offcamera audio only meeting. just a few hours ago trump tweeted i strongly pressed president putin twice about russian meddling in our election, he investmently denied it. it's time to move on here, maybe it's even time to partner with russia on a cyber security unit. is this a case of keeping your friends closing and your enemies closer? perhaps. trump also tweeted that sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with putin. rex tillerson told reporters at that offcamera briefing that trump did bring up the congressional push for more sanctions. so as we look at all this confusion, is the word of the day, it's hard to know who or what to believe about this meeting, and you have to wonder if anyone here has credibility on the matter.

but just taking trump at his own words and his own tweets, he's been harder on thatmegan kelly putin. thank you everyone for being here. john, first to you, who if anybody benefits from the kind of confusion that i'm describing, this kind of uncertainty about what actually happened in the meeting? >> not the american people, not the historical record. there's a question of whether donald trump intentionally sews seeds of doubt intentionally. i think that overstates the level of orchestration here. what's clear is that when vladimir putin and erdogan and other folks who make themselves available for questions and the

american president does not, that will not create confidence in the american president. and it's tragic when we can't know who's telling the truth. but the morning of the meeting, when he said everybody's talking about john podesta, it's only him. >> in this case it's not only confusion between what who says of state said in a meeting, okay, we have had that before, what's remarkable here is the confusion between secretary of state rex tillerson and the president of the united states, that's when we talk about not normalizing relations. we don't want to normalize this when we report and cover the trump presidency. this is something that has to be reported out, that the two

people on our side of the united states can't even agree on what happened and that is profound, not only as john said for history, but just enjoying the simple day to day reporting of what happened? >> should we take garry cohn, steve mnuchin and others that were in the room at their word that the president was strong on this matter? do we take them at their word? >> you never take anyone at their word independence you have something to back it up. there is no notes, there is no detailed readout. and this is what i hope our viewers understand that are very skeptical about what reporters do, a press conference helps you sort this out, it's where you ask questions. it think these are the people that should be joining us in callings for more press conferences because then they have the raw material to see for

themselves, you know, make your own assessment, let people ask questions and followup questions to try to get more information out about what happened in their meeting, and this one effort shows how hard it is to get the story straight when people who were there can't even have agreement in their versions of what happened. >> john, your a daily presence at the press briefings at the white house. >> as the person who raised the issue at the white house of why no president conferences have been held since the genesis of his presidency, when he introduced the secretary of labor and ---right back in february, yeah. >> that was the first, the last and everything of the trump press conferences. i do believe that he should have had a news conference at the end of the summit, and certainly should have at least a second

press conference by now with those of us who cover him. he has now gone the longest of any president without more than one news conference since the present format was established by franklin roosevelt and his press secretary steve early in 1933. >> i did not know that. where is that stat from? i didn't know that. >> that stas it issic is well known because if you read any accountings of the president at that time, there's usually a press conference in the first week, kennedy five days after taking office. barack obama within a week and then there's usually been one a month later. >> what do you think the motivation is for avoiding press conferences, megyn kelly was

last one to speak to donald trump in that kind of format. >> it's clearly a discomfort with transparency, and an constitution -- in that one interview with lester holt, he compounded all his problems, by contradicting his own administrations comments, saying that the he had nothing do to do -- the president himself is an erattic messenger, and the president doesn't want the kind of typical transparency and grilling that comes in a society with a free press, that's the bigger picture, that's even more troubling. >> that's an issue for the president and his credibility. but i wonder about the press's correct as well. sources had indicated that trump was not planning or not expected to bring up russian meddling.

both sides say he did bring up russian meddling. this could be a case of sources not having accurate information, but the white house perhaps delighting in the reporting that happened before the meeting, is this a press credibility issue. >> brian, i will say i can't answer your question, but i guarantee it's going to be raised at the white house when either sean spicer or his deputy sarah sanders meets the press next week, because we do not have a consistent answer, we have conflicting answers, and my colleagues and i will try to straighten it out, i assure you. >> we have talked before about off camera versus on camera briefings, seems like the new normal is one or two on camera televised briefings a week, is there any sense that that's going to change?

>> i will predict here and now brian on "reliable sources" that within a month it will change back to televised daily briefings. >> why, john? >> because the president likes ratings, here's a factoid for you, after going for a long period off camera, there was a day when cabinet secretaries came on with sarah sanders, rick perry one day and then mr. mnuchin the treasury secretary gary cohn on another day, on each of those days, the camera went on, the ratings went up. and guess what, networks besides cspan and fox ended up covering those press conferences live. you don't get that kind of coverage in normal circumstances. and i would say if the president

wants his voice heard, it would be wise to go back to on camera every day. >> lynne, back to you, last word on this topic, what should viewers know about press access at the white house for you and your colleagues? >> you have access if you mean by just getting physically into the west wing briefing area, you can get in. if you talk about access to different press people, to people who do policy briefings, you don't have it because they don't do these kinds of briefings in the multiplicity that other administrations did. they do some phone briefings. so if you talk about access means that you can get in to see people easier, faster, sooner, you don't have that now. we still have the access of seeing the people who work in the press apparatus and lower what we call lower and upper press, that sean and sarah and some other people who are part of the press workings of the west wing. so you physically have that, but

if that doesn't translate to getting information, and that, i think, brian is the important point. it's not just physical access, it's whether it's by phone or whatever, a meeting outside of the white house, you want to get people who can give you credible information. that's what you need more of out of the donald trump white house. >> we did ask a white house spokesman to come on the program today and they declined. thanks for being here, stick around, coming up later this hour, harassment threats against journalists, is it affecting how the news gets reported. and an iowa radio however standing by with an important message for the rest of the country. and a democratic congressman talking about the russia investigations in the house and the senate, what's going on and what's not going to be. an interview you've got to hear right after the break. -wip.

♪ reddi-wip. share the joy.

what in real time?stomer insights from the data wait, our data center and our clouds can't connect? michael, can we get this data to...? look at me...look at me... look at me... you used to be the "yes" guy. what happened to that guy? legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. so, you're saying we can cut delivery time? yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ problem is, you'reith neterrible with names. okay, this is the boss. you got this. anna!...yes! new clients? we've been there. and with breakfast on the run, we'll be there for you. book direct for a guaranteed discount. hampton by hilton. about to see progressive's new home quote explorer. where you can compare multiple quote options online and choose what's right for you. woah. flo and jamie here to see hqx.

flo and jamie request entry. slovakia. triceratops. tapioca. racquetball. staccato. me llamo jamie. pumpernickel. pudding. employee: hey, guys! home quote explorer. it's home insurance made easy. password was "hey guys." this weekend new developments in the russia investigations, even as president trump says it's all over. here's the "new york times" with a big scoop on saturday saying that trump's eldest son donald jr. met with a russian lawyer linked with the kremlin just weeks before his father clinched the nomination. and we have seen reports of don jr. being in such a meeting. the source was cited as confidential documents seen only by the "new york times."

and here comes the hand shake seen all around the world. that's about the only thing, speaking volumes about this two-hour meeting between the american and russian presidents. trump didn't hold a press conference at the end of the g-20 so his only comments have come via twitter. this is t-- so what really happened in the meeting and can the president play a crucial role? i think we know what president trump and his allies think about this story, this drip, drip, drip of stories involving the meeting. >> i we have seen an unprecedented amount of contact that trump's family, business associates et cetera had with russia before the election.

and is this a convergence or just a bunch of coincidences, and the other pattern that we see is that they're not disclosed and only when the media has brought them to light have they been known. >> we have seen a lot of criticism of the press by the president and his allies saying that this russia story was dramatically overcovered. he uses the word obsessed. >> we're not talking about contacts with the brits on the australians or the mexicans, these are contacts with a country that has not been our friend, so it does deserve scrutiny, and also to be fair, and if these consequences were p pre -- every time they're confronted with them, they just say it's fake news. yesterday the president's son tweeted out a picture of a pilot

shooting at a plane. it. >> this was a week after the president's original anti-cnn video. i do think it was notable to see one of his sons sharing this stuff, given how cnn said last week this encourages violence against reporters. >> what bothers me -- >> this is the meme that donald trump showed on twitter. >> we don't want an environment where it's permissible to -- >> are you sort of taking advantage of the media's interest in these topics, as a member of the minority party to keep attention on these issues? >> i really feel a responsibility after the election. if we don't talk about what we did and make sure that the american people understand that they will do this again, that the story will essentially not be as important because this is about our democracy.

and we have to secure the ballot box at the next election, so i think it's really important that the american people have the awareness of what russia and other countries have done, but we also understand the seriousness of the states keeping the ballot box -- >> i understand that there's concerns about the collusion investigation and are these just attacks on the president? look, let bob mueller conduct his investigation, regardless of what happens there, we know, though, that russia will go after us again, so i hope republicans understand that they could be the victims next time, whether it's russia or another country, but the unifying factor should be that we care about securing the ballot box. >> what about the release, republicans released a report involving one leak per day involving national security, of

course these leaks benefit cnn and other news outlets, but there's a lot of pressure for leak investigations, are you concerned that some of these leaks have hurt national security? >> we have also seen leaks coming out of the white house. and the white house has said they -- as a way to threaten the media. so we have seen the white house conduct leaks too. >> sure, there are different kinds of leaks, you bring up the att time-warner deal, time-warner owns cnn, it's being bought by at&t and this is a deal that's being reviewed by the -- i suppose in order to get cnn to try not to be so skeptical of the administration. what was your reaction to the times story? >> that's not how america works,

you don't get to threaten the press or bully the press by using your power in office to perfect what they do. >> it sounds like you do believe the report. >> i believe it was put out there not because the antitrust department will not allow it to go through, but this was just a chilling effect. this is the same as when the president tweeted out that he had tapes of james comey. this was to make james comey think twice about testifying. >> trump might try to threaten at & t/time-warner deal. >> i think the intent is to make the media think twice, the white house may use its power over the business side of media or just the access that it gives to me, if they don't get coverage that

they like, again, that's not america, that's taken us to a place we have never been. >> one of your colleagues on the senate size, this is a letter to jeff sessions, the justice department chief asking questions about the review of the at&t time-warner merger, do you have any plans as a commissioner in the house to slegt that? >> there are fair questions about whether this merger helps consumersor hurts consumers, and there are questions now about whether the white house is using this merger as a way to quiet the press. another attempt to suppress the threats, and seeing a rise of threats against journalists not just about cnn but other news outlets also.

when i can't do something, it makes me feel isolated. with aleve, you can stay strong longer because only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. tylenol can't do that. i get to be present and enjoy what i love. this is my pain. but i am stronger. aleve. all day strong. all day long. what in real time?stomer insights from the data wait, our data center and our clouds can't connect? michael, can we get this data to...? look at me...look at me... look at me... you used to be the "yes" guy. what happened to that guy? legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. so, you're saying we can cut delivery time? yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes.

we come into this world needi♪ others. then we are told it's braver to go it alone. ♪ but there is another way to live. ♪ a way that sees the only path to fulfillment- is through others. ♪ tame frizz-prone hair with smoothing care. whole blends by garnier. smoothing haircare with coconut oil and cocoa butter extracts. for naturally beautiful, shiny hair. coconut oil and cocoa butter formulas from garnier whole blends. over six million women have found their blend. find yours.

you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet... over six million women have found their blend. i love you, couch. ...backsweat and gordo's everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze fabric refresher with odorclear technology... ...cleans away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up... ...to 45 days. breathe happy with new febreze.

harassment. reporters usually experience some form of it at some point in their careers, but we're seeing more and more online threats against reporters, as well as issues in real life. like physical threats like what we saw in montana when a man was body slammed by -- i have a panel to talk through all this. john is back with us, cnn political analyst and editor and chief of the daily beast, and cnn political analyst. and political reporter for the guardian, thank you all for being here. >> good morning. >> i want to make sure that we

separate the two different kinds of issues that are on the table here, ben, something that happened to you in real life, i think we all remember that incident. greg gianforte is issued an apology for that. >> this is something that was a pledge he made to me in the courtroom in montana, so i'm fully confident we'll work out the logistics. >> and your glasses that were broken during this incident are now in the newseum. what do you think is the broader lesson about what happened to you, about this physical incident? >> i think the broader lesson is not just about what happened to me, it's what's happening to journalists all over the country right now, there's a growing atmosphere of hate and disdain towards journalists and my

situation was certainly an aberration, but reporters that are just doing their job in the united states of america are of concern. >> talking got journalists experiencing harassment and threats, kirsten, do you agree that there's a growing amount of this, that there's more and more hate than there used to be? there's no question, certainly there's been a noticeable uptick in the kinds of harassment or, you know, attacks online. now i would say since donald trump basically came on the scene, it's gotten worse since he's been president, and i think in particular, or for anybody who works in an outlet who has been in his crosshairs has experienced it more. there's just more comparison, i have never had anybody threaten to or actually post my address for example until now. and i have been doing this for quite some time, i have gotten a lot of hate mail, i have had a

lot of people upset with a lot of the things that i have said, but i have never had people saying i'm going to find out your parents' address, i'm going to harass your family, the things that are happening to other reporters. >> partly because of attacks on the president and his allies, we saw the anti-cnn video the president posted. then as a result, cnn dug into where it came from, andrew kaczynski was able to find the identity of the anonymous user who first posted a version of that video. there was a cnn story saying that we weren't going to share his identity, we weren't going to share his name, out of concern that he was going to get threats and cnn reserved the right to change that stance in the future. you thought he should be outed, why? >> except for the safety aspect,

certainly you want to protect somebody's safety and i understand that, so i said ultimately cnn did make the right decision, but my initial reaction is why are people who are posting racist things online in particular this person who did a roundup of all the jewish reporters at cnn and put stars of david around them and complained about too many jews in the media, why does that person have the right to stay anonymous. i'm not anonymous, none of those peop people -- what a lot of people were saying is like, well, you have to stay anonymous to express political views, that's not a political view, any more than the kkk was expressing political views and they needed to stay anonymous to do it. the reason they're anonymous, is

they know they're doing something wrong. if they were fearful that they were going to be outed, i think we will see a serious decline in this kind of behavior, and they're also scaring a lot of people off of opinions that are controversial because they don't want to be harassed or targeted. >> that awkward sentence saying that cnn might in the future reserves the right to reveal the identity. you had a reporter write about this issue, and what we saw the alt right do to criticize this video. >> what kirsten just explained, which is language added by an editor at the request of legal all of a sudden got made and turned into a fictitious vision of playing the victim, that is amplified, moral justification, saying that it was a 15-year-old boy. >> this anonymous user was a teenager when it was actually a middle aged man?

very important that that fundamental lie became part of the narrative that created an era of moral justification for a social media mob frenzy, that was amplified partially artificially, but it was part of a larger pattern which is trying to say, we're the real victims, we're going to swarm on social media with real threats to try to create an aura of confusion, and if it detracts from a fundamental lie which is a real issue, which is the president of the united states tweeting out a meme that is violent against a news outlet, we'll use social media tactics to do it. the whole purpose is to distract us from the real issue. >> kirsten, i hear you agreeing? >> what's important about this is they have cast this as their free speech being infringed

upon. which is not accurate. my free speech is -- if you suffer social sanction for that, that's not an infringement on your free speech, you are free to say whatever you wanted and you were held accountable for it. we're all held accountable for everything that we say because we're not anonymous. the irony is that they are actually -- they are trying to silence people and trying to keep people from saying things through the threat of actual violence. >> ben jacobs, do you see a connection between the virtual world, threats and harassment and all the investment online targeted at media spaces. >> i certainly, parts of -- but having been to 18 months of trump valeru rallies, to be cles

is a very small group of folks, this is not as john pointed out, this is amplified by bots, this is a small group of people that are just very dedicated for whatever reason to disparage journalists. and we're getting closer and closer to that line that is actually crossed between publish articles. >> a lot of this violent energy that's being sent out, is also being sent out by members of the president's family if not staff, and that complicates if not raises the stakes significantly. >> they say it's just a joke, they're just joking. >> the problem is when you have the responsibility of the presidency, your ability to tweet out jokes is government owned by decency instead of common sense. when it's hidden, at least a

complicating factor. when those things are intentionally amplified by positions of power, that's a major complicating factor that we need to confront. and the overall game that we really need to deal with, is it's designed to make civil discourse indecent. they don't see it as worthwhile. that's a real challenge that we need to confront, the press and its citizens. after the break, a local news leader which a powerful message to the so-called resistance to donald trump. this

this this this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis.

humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? ask your rheumatologist about humira. what's your body of proof? what in real time?stomer insights from the data wait, our data center and our clouds can't connect? michael, can we get this data to...? look at me...look at me... look at me... you used to be the "yes" guy. what happened to that guy? legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. so, you're saying we can cut delivery time? yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes.

beneful grain free is so healthy... oh! farm-raised chicken! mmm...that's some really good chicken. i don't think i've ever tasted chicken like this. what!? here come the accents. blueberries and pumpkin. wow. that was my favorite bite so far. not even kidding. i mean that was... ...oh! spinach! mmm. that's like three super foods. pretty, uh, well...super. now i got kind of a pumpkin, chicken thing going on... ...whoop! time to wrestle. (avo) new beneful grain free. out with the grain, in with the farm-raised chicken. healthful. flavorful. beneful. . welcome back to "reliable sources." robert leonard is sort of a trumpland translatotranslator. he occasionally writes op-eds for the "new york times." he had a message to the so-called resistance to donald trump. want to get rid of trump? only fox news can do it.

he's trying to remind the rest of the country about the powerful hold fox news has on its fans. first of all, your headlines about getting rid of trump, are you trying to get rid of trump? >> well, no, actually, this is just sort of a thought exercise and i certainly am not trying to provide advice to the republican party, but in conversations with -- over email with my editor at the "new york times," it was sort of like he asked me, what would sort of -- what would trump have to do to make people turn away, rural voters turn away from trump and it got me to thinking. but actually i didn't have to think very long, it would take fox news to turn, to take some -- something that trump has done and make it significant and then also for republicans to recognize that nothing that trump has done really couldn't

have been done by president pence without all the drama. >> so you're saying -- >> those two things. >> you're saying a lot of people are saying trump abused his power in ways that are impeachable. what you're saying is if sean hannity started talking about these abuses of power, then you would see a change in your community? >> maybe, and i certainly don't want to speak for all republicans, but fox news is a very powerful force here and it's something that a lot of conservatives trust, and their entire -- not their entire, but a lot of their news is interpreted through it. it's as much by what fox news doesn't cover as what it does cover. >> i noticed a politico piece where joanna weis spoke about the power of positive thinking,

pro trump messages, this is monday through friday of fox and friends. >> and market, stock market loves that this man is president, isis is on the run, jobs are being produced. >> all the pieces of legislation he signed, all the good he's done. >> i thought the speech was historic yesterday, i think the administration ought to bring it up again and again. >> trump's family, aides and friends praising him, showering him with praise, emphasizing the positive news right now. so you're saying the negative news downplays trump so much that it doesn't get through to folks in your community? >> let me give you an example. the first thing i do in the morning is i look through a bunch of news sites, read papers, look at what the different channels have to offer, and there was a general trend that everybody was talking about the g-20 summit, and a lot of it about trump failures and

gaffs, et cetera. fox news had nothing. it's like the g-20 didn't exist. it just wrapped up, there was one little small thing on putin, saying he had a good conversation with trump. but it was like the g-20 didn't exist to people that were at least looking at the website. >> i'm searching the website right now, looking for g-20. i think see something about the protests, the violent protests of the g-20, i see a positive headline about trump and putin, and i noticed on air this morning on fox and friends, it was all about the president showing strength at the g-20. a lot of the rest of coverage has been about the president tweeting to the world and now this is more like a g-19. >> we're all in our different news levels, and it re-enforces how we feel about the world and the fox news viewers, there's confirmation bias and the point

is i think we need a lot of different news conversations working out there putting out diverse opinions. >> thank you for being here. up next, my essay about the threats we were describing against journalists, media critics who aren't trying to make journalism better, they're trying to eliminate it. we'll be right back.

what in real time?stomer insights from the data wait, our data center and our clouds can't connect? michael, can we get this data to...? look at me...look at me... look at me... you used to be the "yes" guy. what happened to that guy? legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. so, you're saying we can cut delivery time? yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes. (flourish spray noise) (flourish spray noise) (flourish spray noise) (flourish spray noise) the joy of real cream in 15 calories per serving. enough said.

reddi-wip. (flourish spray noise) share the joy. ♪sweet, sweet st. thomas nice. ♪ so nice, so nice. ♪st. croix full of pure vibes. ♪ so nice, so nice. ♪ st. john a real paradise. ♪ so nice, so nice. book three nights and receive $300 in spending credits. only at visitusvi.com your strips are slippy... whiter than mine? ...mine are grippy. crest whitestrips stay in place. crest whitestrips professional effects... ...lock in the whitening for a whiter smile. these aren't going anywhere. these are. crest... ...healthy, beautiful smiles for life.

♪ [brother] any last words? [boy] karma, danny... ...karma! [vo] progress is seizing the moment. your summer moment awaits you, now that the summer of audi sales event is here. audi will cover your first month's lease payment on select models during the summer of audi sales event.

the solution to poor journalism is more journalism, but some want les of it or none of it. they want to stamp out journalism all together. we need to see this for what it is, and describe it clearly. there's a big difference between well meaning people who are skeptical of the press, i count myself among them, and then there are those who need to tear down the press, who don't want it to exist.

those anti-journalism voices are getting louder these days, because they are being amplified by so many prominent politicians. media outlets producing real news need to we need it. this is a pro journalism point of view. when i make a mistake, don't challenge a guest enough or cut them off, your e-mails, i get them. they help me improve but it's not constructive, pro journalism to promote resentment and hatefulness of journalists. not what the governor of maine said the other day. >> i just love to sit in my office and make up ways so they write these stupid stories. it's just so stupid, it's awful. i'm sorry. i tell you, the sooner the print press goes away, the better society will be. >> that is an anti-journalism mentality.

it's not new but it's getting worse now. when politicians disparage real news as fake or root for the death of newspapers or call reporters names or when they claim we make up stories and sources they're not trying to improve journalism. they're trying to get rid of it. they're giving cover to extremists who go even further. smears, lies, death threats against journalists, equating reporters to isis terrorists. you've probably seen this on your facebook page. these anti-journalism tactics are not aimed at errataderadici that's why newsrooms and media companies need to make media literacy seriously. constructive criticism, wholly accountable when we screw up, we need that. at the same time, newsrooms need

to defend the work we do day in, day out. right now these voices are insidious. they're rong but getting louder. that's my personal view. others may disagree. several prominent media critics stop obsessing over president trump's anti-media attacks. columbia journalism review says the media's response, quote, has become counterproductive and kyle is with me here now. kyle, i think these anti-media attacks then give cover to the extremists who promote hate online, they're a big deal, a really big story. you think we're spending too much time covering them? >> i think it's a big story, too. the president has probably tweeted 100 times that cnn is fake, "the new york times" is failing. the washington post makes up things. none of that is true. but he keeps saying it. if he says it the 101st time, do

we keep giving it the same amount of air play? i think it's time for us to think about recalibrate. how can we reach people with this critical message that there is a real threat to journalism? you have ben jacobs on. that was a real thing that happene happened. >> one thing i've learned in journalism, it's not about us. it's very rarely about us. in this case i think it's about president trump. what is his mind-set, his mentality and the mentality of the people around him when it comes to the first amendment and protecting the freedom of the press. we have to ask ourselves, as you point out, there needs to be some skepticism. we need to think about, are we doing what is most effective in terms of conveying this very important message? and there have been cases when

we have. >> you wrote the president is fully aware that this war against the press is one of the few things working for him. if journalists take that to be true and then avoid it, isn't this a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation? you shouldn't be making coverage decisions based on what benefits the president or not? >> that's true. we do have to question what is the value -- he's saying the same things over and over again, right? not a lot of new messages. there's new approaches, new videos, new outrages but the message itself is the same. it's time to take a step back and what is the value of the press and democracy? and what i think is happening is that the way we are covering and the volume in which we cover it is what we need to be worried

about. >> things undercovered? >> sorry? >> what is the biggest story that's being undercovered when we focus on the president's tweets about the media? >> everything is being undercovered. >> come on. >> epa is being dismantled, the bureaucracy is being entirely remade. there are a lot of threats against the media at the state and local level. this is happening all across the country. i'm not saying attacks on the press aren't a story. i'm saying every presidential tweet need not be a story -- >> not the lead story? >> not the story over and over and over again. >> kyle, thanks for being here. you can read the full column and while you're -- wait, what was it? >> cjr.org. while you're online, sign up for reliable sources.com.

all the day's media, news in your inbox. thanks for tuning in. i'll see you back here next week. ver to go it alone. ♪ but there is another way to live. ♪ a way that sees the only path to fulfillment- is through others. ♪ for color this bold are you ready... and hair this nourished? garnier nutrisse ultra color with avocado, olive and shea oils. it nourishes hair to boost color. from dull brown to our bluest black. nutrisse ultra color. nourished hair. bolder color.

now you drive 300to be fmiles to watch this. yes, nice pop toss! flag dancing? we've been there. and with free hot breakfast and a warm welcome, we'll be there for you. hampton by hilton. ♪ i love you, basement guest bathroom. your privacy makes you my number 1 place... ...to go number 2.

i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze air effects with odorclear technology cleans... ...away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up... ...to 30 days. breathe happy with new febreze. pain's kind of self-defining. not when it hurts, it hurts. when i can't do something, it makes me feel isolated. with aleve, you can stay strong longer because only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. tylenol can't do that. i get to be present and enjoy what i love. this is my pain. but i am stronger. aleve. all day strong. all day long.

face to face. trump and putin meet for the first time. >> it's going very well. >> did trump confront putin about russian meddling in the u.s. election? >> we had some very good talks. >> depends on who you ask. ambassador nikki haley will be here in minutes. plus, spies in our midst? spike of russian agents posing as businessmen to enter the u.s. why now and what are they up to? a top member of the house intelligence committee joins us, live. and first strike? >> have some pretty severe