“We Can’t Always Be in This Heightened State”

Press Freedom Worries • GOP’s Trump Devotion • Bad Boss DeSantis [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( “We Can’t Always Be in This Heightened State” Good morning from the Hive newsroom! Press freedom advocates are alarmed by the revelation that Donald Trump’s DOJ seized Washington Post journalists’ phone records—and want reassurance that the practice won’t continue under Joe Biden’s administration, Charlotte Klein [writes](. Meanwhile, Joe Pompeo [reports]( how cable news executives, producers, and hosts are trying to keep viewers tuning in post-Trump. “We can’t always be in this heightened state,” says CNN’s Abby Phillip, adding, “How do we make people feel like they understand better what’s going on in their country and not just be outraged by it all the time?” Subscribe to Vanity Fair [here](, and thanks for reading! [“You May Never See Those Numbers Again”: Can Cable News Pass the Post-Trump Test?]( By [Joe Pompeo]( [Four years of chaos turned Americans into TV addicts. A new crop of leaders and stars at CNN and MSNBC—and the old hands at Fox News—are trying to keep them tuning in. “I don’t think the days of the missing airplane are coming back,” says Abby Phillip. “There’s still a lot of interest in politics.”]( [Read more button]( [Trump DOJ’s Seizure of Washington Post Reporters’ Records Sounds Alarm on Press Freedom]( By [Charlotte Klein]( [First Amendment advocates are demanding answers and reassurance that sweeping up journalists’ records in leak investigations won’t be replicated under Biden.]( [Read more button]( [The Republican Party Is Only Getting More Attached to Trump]( By [Eric Lutz]( [The anticipated ouster of bedrock conservative Liz Cheney is the latest example of Republicans abandoning principles in their cultlike devotion to the former president, who may soon return to the rally stage.]( [Read more button]( [Report: Staffers Had to Lure Ron DeSantis to Meetings With Cupcakes]( By [Eric Lutz]( [The Florida governor, who has inspired whispers that he’s angling to take over the Republican party, is terrible to work for, former staffers say.]( [Read more button]( Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now]( [(image) Condé Nast Spotlight | The breaking news and top stories everyone is talking about. All in one place. The most popular stories from Vogue, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired, Architectural Digest and more. STAY INFORMED]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](newsletter=vf) Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2021 Condé Nast