SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

COVERING UP THE OBVIOUS – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:  The New York Times on Friday released new social media guidelines for its reporters, requiring them to avoid any actions that would lead to perceptions of bias or otherwise damage the paper's reputation.  The new guidelines apply to all social media platforms, public and private, and include stipulations about political objectivity, sharing stories in a one-sided manner, joining partisan groups, and more. The memo states that it only adds further detail to the policy that reporters do not damage the paper's credibility.  "If our journalists are perceived as biased or if they engage in editorializing on social media, that can undercut the credibility of the entire newsroom," the memo reads.  "We've always made clear that newsroom employees should avoid posting anything on social media that damages our reputation for neutrality and fairness," it adds. "This memo offers more detailed guidelines."  You may laugh now.

HOW MUCH HARM COULD SHE DO THERE? – FROM NY DAILY NEWS:  Hillary Clinton is testing the waters on a return to academia.  The former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee is in talks with Columbia University to take on a formal role at the Ivy League — and potentially house her archives there, multiple sources told the Daily News.  One option under discussion is an esteemed “University Professor” role that would allow Clinton to lecture across a range of schools and departments without the requirement of a strict course load, one source said.  A former law professor, Clinton could maintain the vaunted but vague role indefinitely or decide at a later date she wants to settle at Columbia's celebrated law school or maybe the School of International and Public Affairs, the source said.  Schoolmarm sounds just about right.  I wonder if she'll make Republicans stand in the corner.

JUICY, I CAN'T WAIT – FROM FOX:   Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch said Friday that the FBI has uncovered 30 pages of documents related to the controversial 2016 tarmac meeting between former President Bill Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  The newly uncovered documents will be sent to Judicial Watch by the end of November in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, a spokesman for the group told Fox News.  Judicial Watch originally filed a FOIA request in July 2016 -- which the Justice Department did not comply with -- seeking “all records of communications between any agent, employee, or representative” of the FBI for the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server use, and all records related to the June 27, 2016 meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton.   This is juicy.  That was not a social engagement. 

October 13,  2017