Top News:
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
In a letter to WBD shareholders, David Ellison says Paramount filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking information in its hostile takeover attempt — Paramount Skydance is suing Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav as its latest step in a hostile pursuit to acquire WBD …
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount, The Movie Blog, CNN, The Post Millennial, ANI News, Communicate Online, Times of India, Benzinga, Tech Times, Barron's Online, @cgasparino, Hypebeast, TVNewsCheck, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @lucas_shaw, Ars Technica, Los Angeles Business Journal, @johnhudgens.bsky.social, New York Sun, GameSpot, The Information, Deseret News, Gizmodo, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Variety, Engadget, New York Post, Front Office Sports, Awful Announcing, Axios, Associated Press, @stagewrite.bsky.social, Bloomberg and Irish Independent
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Reeves Wiedeman / Vulture:
A profile of David Ellison, who is trying to build a media empire that could dwarf even the Murdochs' with help from his father and Oracle founder Larry Ellison — One weekend in 2006, Dean Devlin, a movie producer, was driving across Los Angeles to deal with an emergency.
Discussion:
Deadline, Advanced Television, @mikeisaac, @film_girl, @dylanbyers, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, @reeveswiedeman, @nkulw, New York Post, @kimmasters.bsky.social, @benmullin, @pkafka, The A.V. Club, @joshsternberg.com, WebProNews, @beccalew.bsky.social, @tvaziri.com, Reuters, @kevdgrussing.bsky.social, @jakevk.bsky.social, @ericvb.bsky.social, @pbump.com, KYMA-TV, @ryuspaeth.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, Fortune and Barrett Media
New York Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss has privately been deeply frustrated by the negative reaction to her CBS tenure and has blamed subordinates for not stanching the criticism — Her reimagining of “CBS Evening News” is under heavy scrutiny, and even became a punchline on her own network on Sunday at the Golden Globes.
Discussion:
@jtes, @nkulw, @isaacgantwerkmayer …, @adamzherman.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @cavskermit.bsky.social, @mikecaulfield.bsky.social, @alexshephard.bsky.social, @bostonjerry.bsky.social, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @petestaiano.com, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @imnotahrhitter.bsky.social, @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social, @josephzucker.bsky.social, @gwbiscuit.bsky.social, @celebrityhottub.bsky.social, @snmrrw.bsky.social, @brendelbored.bsky.social, @katelynburns.com, @aklingus.bsky.social, @lons.bsky.social, @shuchancellor.online and @whoa-magic.lol
Yang Tian / BBC:
The BBC files a motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit over how his January 6 speech was edited in Panorama, saying the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” — The BBC will file a motion to dismiss Donald Trump's lawsuit over how his 6 January 2021 speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.
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CNN, The Guardian, The Hill, The Wrap, Fox News, Reuters, Variety, Associated Press, Newser, We Got This Covered, Financial Times, Politico, Advanced Television, UPI, CBS News, The Independent, The Scottish Sun, The American Bazaar, GB News, Insurance Journal, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Sky News and Mirror
Josh Dickey / The Wrap:
Penske Media sues Google for allegedly monopolizing the digital ad market and depriving publishers of billions in revenue, following a 2025 US court ruling — The publisher of Billboard, Rolling Stone, THR and others says the digital giant unfairly starves them of billions in ad revenue
Discussion:
Next in Media
Reuters:
Sources: French production company and MasterChef-owner Banijay is in advanced talks with All3Media-owner RedBird IMI to merge their TV production businesses — France's Banijay Group (BNJ.AS), owner of the “Big Brother” franchise, is in talks with All3Media owner RedBird IMI to merge …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Wrap, Variety, Livemint and Deadline
Richard Sandomir / New York Times:15 minutes ago
Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, syndicated to ~2K newspapers at its peak and dropped after he made racist comments in 2023, has died at 68 — His chronicle of a corporate cubicle dweller was widely distributed until racist comments on his podcast led newspapers to cut their ties with him.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rolling Stone, TMZ.com, People, Deadline, Washington Post, NBC Bay Area, Fox News, New York Post and Just Jared
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap:
NYT editor Joe Kahn says the paper didn't withhold a story on the US plan to capture Nicolás Maduro at Trump administration's request, citing unverified details — Joe Kahn's remarks follow reports that the Times held off publishing details of the raid to capture Venezuela's president
Discussion:
New York Times and @furtherexchange.bsky.social
Axios:
Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen reflect upon their 20 years as media entrepreneurs together and how the media landscape changed since Politico's 2007 launch — - The death of the “day”: In 2007, a big story or “scoop” lasted 24 hours or more. … - The newsletter is the new front page …
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:NEW!
HBO Max nears a complete Europe rollout after launching in eight countries, including Germany and Italy; the streamer is now available in 100+ territories — The hotly-anticipated launches of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)'s global streaming service in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, TV Tech, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News and Variety
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: OpenAI plans a 60-second Super Bowl ad during NBC's broadcast, the second straight year of doing so; ad buyers say clients pay $8M+ for just 30 seconds — AI companies are engaged in an expensive arms race to attract users and alleviate public anxiety about the technology
Discussion:
Variety, New Jersey Business News, Blockonomi, People, The Decoder, Crooks and Liars and Semafor, more at Techmeme »
Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
An investigation finds 50+ apparently fake experts who offered commentary to the UK press in recent years, getting featured 1,000+ times in various articles — Press Gazette today names more than 50 apparently fake experts who have offered commentary to the British press in recent years …
Discussion:
@ianbetteridge.com, @robinwigglesworth.ft.com, The Overspill and @petertl.bsky.social
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Chartbeat data: global Google search referrals to publishers fell by 33% in the year ending November 2025, with US-specific organic search traffic down 38% — Google search traffic to publishers declined globally by a third in the year to November, according to new Chartbeat data.
Discussion:
@chrisharihar, The Guardian, Search Engine Land, @timstevens.bsky.social and @mikeelgan.bsky.social
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Alison Herman / Variety:
Golden Globes review: the show tried to expand its reach and profitability in often clumsy ways, including distracting stunts like Polymarket projections — Over the last few years, the Golden Globes has made a concerted effort to improve its reputation. Once somewhat infamous …
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