Top News:
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Source: more than 75,000 Washington Post digital subscribers have cancelled their subscriptions following Jeff Bezos' overhaul of the paper's opinion section — More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos …
Discussion:
Business Insider, ZeroHedge News, BBC, @jayrosen.bsky.social, The Wrap, The Atlantic, @sleavenworth.bsky.social, @ambientvisions.bsky.social, The National Pulse, New York Post, @kjephd.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, @qitty1.bsky.social, Celeste Headlee on LinkedIn, @proddev.bsky.social, @timkarr.bsky.social, The Hill, @hammbear2024.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @picardonhealth.bsky.social, @poohsdaddy.bsky.social, @amandabecker.bsky.social, @npr.org, @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social, @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social, Diane Ravitch's blog, Cele|bitchy, @jeffbezos, Talking Biz News and Althouse
RELATED:
Jaden Amos / Axios:
Trump says he had dinner with Jeff Bezos on February 26, the day Bezos announced that WaPo's opinion pages would focus on personal liberties and free markets — - “I never even understood it,” Trump said. … - In July 2024, Bezos privately urged Trump to choose Doug Burgum as his vice president …
Gene Weingarten / The Gene Pool:
Source: The Washington Post's media critic Erik Wemple wrote about the changes at its opinion section, but the piece was killed
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Jeff Bezos' opinion section changes contradict his October 2024 edict that WaPo won't endorse a presidential candidate because it can't be seen as taking a side
Jeff Bezos' opinion section changes contradict his October 2024 edict that WaPo won't endorse a presidential candidate because it can't be seen as taking a side
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Slate, The Wrap, Carly Rector on LinkedIn, The Daily Caller, @reimagineeuropa.bsky.social, American Press Institute, The Independent, Fox News, Cafe Hayek, New York Post, Dan Petegorsky on LinkedIn, Laura K. Smith on LinkedIn, The Index, @amerpie@social.lol, James Turk on LinkedIn, @Impish4249@mastodon.social, @Wileymiller@mastodon.social, The Washington Free Beacon, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @timkarr.bsky.social, Deseret News, @brizzyc.bsky.social, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Reason, NPR, The Message Box, @eduardosuarez.bsky.social, @GeoffWozniak@hackers.town, @kottke.org, @marklittle.bsky.social, JONATHAN TURLEY, @joshuabenton.com, @tcarmody.bsky.social and Poynter
New York Times:
Sources: VOA's parent opened probes into VOA journalists for reporting on criticism of Trump or for comments seen as critical; Steve Herman was placed on leave — The broadcaster placed a longtime journalist on leave amid growing concerns about its editorial independence.
Discussion:
NPR, @mattmihaly.com, @tomaskenn, @noupside.bsky.social, Raw Story, @kairyssdal.bsky.social, @acarvin.bsky.social, @gentlegardener@mastodon.scot, @lizzieohreally.bsky.social, @ampersine@mastodon.online, @pattyshea.bsky.social, @mho@social.heise.de, @kaedotcom, @taniel.bsky.social, @noupside.bsky.social, @mareikeohlberg.bsky.social, @davidenrich.bsky.social, The Daily Signal, @leahmcelrath.bsky.social and Voice of America
CNN:
A TASS journalist gained access to Trump's meeting with Zelensky, even as AP and Reuters were barred; the White House says he was unauthorized and escorted out — A member of Russia's state-owned news agency gained access to the Oval Office on Friday to cover President Trump's sit …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Reuters, The Bulwark, Mock Paper Scissors, @bruce_arthur, @nanditab1, The Hill, @altnatsecagency, @nedprice, Letters from an American, @rodericka, New York Post, @ukaussiep.bsky.social, Daily Mail, @passantino.bsky.social, @briantylercohen.bsky.social, @marymcnamara.bsky.social, Politico, The Post Millennial, @drewharwell.com, New Republic, The Wrap, Mediaite, Baltimore Sun, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @helenkennedy.bsky.social and @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Golden Globes President Helen Hoehne tells about 50 paid voting members that they will no longer get salaries; they'll be offered severance of $102,500 — President Helen Hoehne informed an estimated 50 members that they'd receive severance for their deal as the awards show brand aims …
Discussion:
Deadline, @mattbelloni, Variety, Los Angeles Times and The Wrap
Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:
LAT's De Los assistant editor Paloma Esquivel resigns, saying its leadership failed to address longstanding HR complaints against managing editor Hector Becerra — In a message on the Times' internal Slack Friday, Paloma Esquivel says she hopes the newsroom becomes a place where journalists …
Discussion:
New York Times
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBC News' digital newsroom union and its ~300 members, represented by the NewsGuild of NY, reach a tentative contract deal, its first since forming in 2019 — The union, first formed in 2019, is set to vote on a provisional deal covering issues of wages, layoffs and forced arbitration on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@nbcnewsguild, @kalhanr, @joemurph, @carlinmccarthy, Fox Business, The NewsGuild and @newsguild.org
Bailey Lipschultz / Bloomberg:
Connected TV ad platform MNTN files for a US IPO; the company, which has actor Ryan Reynolds as chief creative officer, raised a $119M Series D in 2021 — MNTN Inc., a connected TV advertising platform that counts Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds as its chief creative officer …
Discussion:
Reuters
Greg Bensinger / Reuters:
Amazon says it has cut “a small number” of jobs at its Wondery podcast unit; Wondery closed its operations in Brazil and Mexico earlier in February — Amazon.com (AMZN.O) cut “a small number” of jobs at its Wondery podcast unit, known for “Dr. Death” and “Business Wars,” …
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: in a tense meeting with journalists, Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell said he'll end the travel pool and implied reporters “trash the warfighter” — Inside a tense off-the-record meeting, the Pentagon's new press chief confronted reporters and indicated they will do away …
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCU Chair Cesar Conde says the company will launch a “mobile-first” news outlet in Q4 2025, featuring short- and long-form videos from NBC News talent and more — NBCUniversal is working on what its top news executive called a “mobile-first” news outlet that it expects to launch in the fourth quarter of this year.
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Semafor, Adweek, NewscastStudio and Deadline
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr says the Skydance-Paramount merger review is far from finished and defends his solicitation of comments on a complaint about 60 Minutes — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said that the agency's review of the proposed Skydance-Paramount Global merger is far from finished …
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
GB News wins a landmark broadcasting code case as a UK judge overturns an Ofcom ruling that said GB News broke impartiality rules with Jacob Rees-Mogg's show — In a High Court ruling, a judge found that Ofcom was unlawful in determining that GB News breached broadcasting rules …
Discussion:
@nigel_farage, @gbnews, TVNewsCheck, Press Gazette, Financial Times, Telegraph, @bubbaprog.lol, Variety, GB News, GB News and Mirror
