Top News:
Axios:
Email: the White House orders the GSA to terminate “every single media contract” expensed by the agency and all contracts for Politico, BBC, E&E, and Bloomberg — - The discovery, made through a U.S. government spending database that has long been publicly available …
Discussion:
CNN, The Post Millennial, @nkLottery@shakedown.social, @mjnblack and @doge
RELATED:
Politico:
Politico's EIC and CEO say the company has never received any government funding, and agencies that subscribe to Politico Pro do so through standard processes — POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week. Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false.
Axios:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, answering claims that USAID spent millions on Politico Pro, says DOGE will cancel $8M in Politico subscriptions — - Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Nieman Lab, The Dispatch, CNN, The Wrap, The Guardian, Mediaite, New Jersey Online, HotAir, DNyuz, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, The Post Millennial, Daily Caller News Foundation, @billybinion, @repboebert, @kylenabecker, Daily Mail, The Verge, @ggreenwald, @davidstrom, Reason, @brianstelter, Raw Story, @timcast, @adamkinzinger, @binarybits, @billybinion, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @karilake, @joshuabenton.com, @billybinion, The Daily Caller, @brianstelter, @ike_saul, The Independent, @krassenstein, @jessicalessin, @tysonbrody, @joshsternberg.com, @disneyprincess.bsky.social, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @pt007.bsky.social, @ike_saul, @kylenabecker, @byrontau, @ike_saul, @willsommer, IJR, Newser, @scottnover, @_cingraham, @voberoi, @vtg2, Louder With Crowder, @ike_saul, Althouse, @knittingknots2@mstdn.social, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, freebeacon.com, New Republic, @SteveThompson@mastodon.social, TVNewsCheck, Yahoo News, New York Post, Shore News Network, Lead Stories, Ace of Spades HQ and The Gateway Pundit
Isabella Kwai / New York Times:
Trump amplifies a conspiracy theory that “billions” in USAID and other agencies' funds were stolen to pay Politico and others for positive coverage of Democrats
Discussion:
@realDonaldTrump …, @sanleekelly.bsky.social, Hollywood Life, @elonmusk, @jason, New Jersey Online, @stuartathompson.bsky.social, @rubinreport, @armanddoma, @billackman, @parkermolloy.com, @cabot_phillips, @mehdirhasan, @billybinion, Blaze Media, @lhfang, @cheetah.bsky.social, @stuartathompson.bsky.social, @krassenstein, @nancyscola, @elonmusk, @ryangrim, @ike_saul, @rikkiratliff, @mtaibbi, OpenTheBooks, Raw Story, @peterschiff, @armanddoma, @brianstelter, @jeremymbarr, @willsommer.bsky.social and Digby's Hullabaloo
David Folkenflik / NPR:
A look at Trump's assault on CBS, and more broadly, how he and allies seek to pressure the media to punish it and to inhibit its ability to check the president — The television news magazine 60 Minutes — the most storied and profitable show in the history of CBS News …
Discussion:
@npr.org, @bobbyallyn.bsky.social, The Floridian, @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social and The Hill
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Trump calls on CBS to “terminate” 60 Minutes, and says “CBS should lose its license”, amid his $10B lawsuit against CBS over the Kamala Harris interview — President Donald Trump called on CBS to cancel its long-running newsmagazine, “60 Minutes,” …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @realDonaldTrump …, New York Post, Mediaite, The Guardian, Louder With Crowder, Boing Boing, The Wrap, RedState, The Daily Beast, @robowentv.bsky.social, @mherskovitz, Townhall, Twitchy, @willharrisinva.bsky.social, Reason, @aidnmclaughlin, @mergerson.bsky.social, Fox News, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Mail
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr releases the CBS Harris transcript and seeks comment on a complaint about a CBS station; commissioner Anna Gomez calls the moves reckless
Discussion:
Reason, Megyn Kelly, Federal Communications Commission, @brendancarrfcc, Barrett Media, The Gateway Pundit, Deadline, Daily Mail, New Republic, Mediaite, Blaze Media, PJ Media, Fox News, The Federalist, NewscastStudio, Variety, Newser, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, Axios, Washington Post, @davidguilbault.bsky.social, UPI, TV Tech, freebeacon.com, New York Post, Federal Communications Commission, Voice of America, Washington Examiner, Twitchy, Associated Press, The Independent, CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Post Millennial, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, The Wrap, ZeroHedge News, Fox News, Reason and CBS News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon reports Q4 ad revenue up 18% YoY to $17.29B, vs. $17.4B est., and subscription services revenue up 10% YoY to $11.51B — Overall earnings for the period smashed Wall Street expectations. — However, the Q4 ad revenue figure fell short of analyst expectations of $17.4 billion, per StreetAccount.
Discussion:
Amazon.com, Inc., The Wrap, CNBC, Deadline, Media Play News, The Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo Finance and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
The Bulwark had its first profitable year in 2024, and its Substack, which has 76K paid subscribers, is gaining 700 to 1,000 paid subscribers every day or two — The explosive success of The Bulwark. — It was the day after Donald Trump's inauguration, and Tim Miller was struggling …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
News Corp says The Sun's global online audience fell from 143M monthly unique users in Dec. 2023 to 70M in Dec. 2024; NY Post fell 27% YoY to 90M in Dec. 2024 — Sun global website traffic has halved in the space of a year. — News Corp estimates that The Sun's global online audience more than halved in a year to the end of 2024.
Discussion:
@adavid@aus.social, Reuters and The Wrap
RELATED:
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
The British Film Institute: UK broadcasters slashed their spending on high-end TV shows to the lowest level since 2015, while US streamers increased spending — Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky also among UK broadcasters making cuts as Netflix, Disney and Amazon pile on pressure
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN and Deadline
RELATED:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Le Monde ends 2024 with 660K subscribers, of which 580K were digital, and expects digital subscriber revenue to cover editorial staff costs within two years — Digital subscriber revenue is expected to cover the costs of Le Monde's entire editorial staff within the next two years, according to chief executive Louis Dreyfus.
Mia Sato / The Verge:
StackCommerce, an online shopping platform creating affiliate marketing content, acquired Reviewed from Gannett on December 1 after its shutdown in August 2024 — Now, it's back from the dead under a new owner. … Now, it's back from the dead under a new owner.
Discussion:
The Information
Ernie Smith / Tedium:
WBD releases more than 30 movies on YouTube for free across five channels over the past month, apparently without DRM; some are gems, some are stinkers — A major studio is apparently treating YouTube as a place to drop some of its archive films that have lost their cinematic luster.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Variety, Engadget, @ernie.tedium.co, Cord Cutters News, @mlanger@mastodon.world, @simonowens.bsky.social, @scripting.com, @ernie.tedium.co, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @weinberg.social, @hitrewindpod.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, @ernie@writing.exchange, @nicktheandersen.bsky.social, @ernie@writing.exchange and Hacker News
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Spotify and Warner Music sign a multi-year deal that covers recorded music and music publishing and “delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans” — “This major agreement delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans, while unlocking further collaboration that expands the music ecosystem.”
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Warner Music Group Corp., The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, The Verge, Reuters, Music Business Worldwide, MusicRow.com, TechCrunch, Billboard, Music Week and Digital Music News
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Disney lowers its content spending estimate, including for sports rights, for FY 2025 by $1B to ~$23B; for FY 2024, Disney's content spend was $23.4B — As Wall Street analysts parse its earnings beat and stagnate streaming subscriber growth, the company revises its spending expectation …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @tvgrimreaper, @ballmatthew, @ballmatthew, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @eric_seufert and Benzinga
Consumer Tech Reporter, CA — 
Associate Editor, Remote US — 
Curation Editor (Contract), NY — 
Business Editor, CA — 
Executive Ed. - Tech & Electronics, AZ — 
Economy & Industry Reporter, TX — 
ESPN FC Associate Editor, CA/CT — 
Political Enterprise Editor, DC — 
Housing & Real Estate Reporter, ME — 
Associate Reporter - Yahoo Finance — 
Senior Editor, Remote — 
News Reporter, MA — 
Freelance Contributor, FL — 
Senior Reporter, CA — 
Managing Editor - State, CT — 
Sr. VP & Chief Content Officer, OR — 
Writer - Streaming (Temporary), GA — 
Data Graphics Reporter, CA — 
Data Reporter, TX — 
Town Reporter, CT — 
Weekend Audience Editor, VA — 
Managing Editor, FL — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Associate Editor, NY — 
Freelance Reporter, NC — 
Crypto/Markets Reporter - Europe — 
Education & Family Reporter, OR — 
Red Sox Reporter, MA — 
Cockburn Editor, DC — 
Investigative Reporter, NC — 
Writer - Women's Soccer, Remote US — 
Senior IP Correspondent, London — 
Computational Journalist, NY — 
