Top News:
Rei Nakafuji / Nikkei Asia:
Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki says the company has no intention of bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery, noting “right now, we don't want to do a big Hollywood M&A deal” — PALTO ALTO, California — Sony Group has no intention of bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery …
Discussion:
Push Square, Tech Times, r/boxoffice, r/PS5 and r/MediaMergers
Matt Karolian / 📰🤖:
RivalIQ: WaPo's YouTube channel's views fell 85% from April to September, after Dave Jorgenson, who led the channel, left to launch Local News International — Back in July I wrote the substack Can The Washington Post Make It Without Their “TikTok Guy” Dave Jorgenson?
Discussion:
Tristan Loper on LinkedIn, @jaredbkeller.bsky.social and @davejorgenson.bsky.social
Will Oremus / Washington Post:
A profile of Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, who left in 2002 and whose claims that Wikipedia has a liberal bias are fueling the right's campaign against it — Is the world's biggest online encyclopedia a bastion of wokeness? Co-founder Larry Sanger thinks so, and his claims of mismanagement are being embraced on the right.
Andrew Byrd / AdMonsters:
A look at Search.com, which is building an AI chatbot to be integrated into publisher websites, giving 60% of ad revenue back to its publisher partners — With the integration of its new AI tool, Search.com proposes to pay publishers for their content. — AI search is getting crowded.
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
State of Local News report: in the past four years, monthly pageviews at the 100 largest newspapers fell by 45%+, and only 11 experienced any readership growth — “Digital news sites don't come close to replacing the number of newspapers and journalism jobs being lost.
Discussion:
@niemanlab.org, @jayrosen_nyu and Straight Arrow News
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Sources: X's advertising chief John Nitti, who joined in January, has left; X's CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki left in early October after less than a year in the role — John Nitti was considered a contender for CEO of the social media platform after Linda Yaccarino quit in July
Discussion:
WinBuzzer, TechCrunch, Benzinga and @passantino.bsky.social
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
YouTube says it paid out $8B+ to the music industry in the 12 months to June 2025, up from $6B+ in 2022 and $4B+ in 2021 — YouTube has paid more than $8 billion to the music industry in the 12 months between July 2024 and July 2025, the company announced on Thursday.
Charles Gasparino / New York Post:
Sources: Trump administration prefers that Paramount Skydance buy Warner Bros. Discovery; a source says “who owns WBD is very important to the administration” — The Trump administration favors Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery - and a number of rival bidders …
Discussion:
Status, Breitbart, MSNBC, Deadline, @paultassi, @stanveuger, @sherman4949, @rodazurmendi, @miguelangeltoro, @sodutw, @jonathanmb32, @adamjohnsonchi, @saikatc, @therickwilson, @jordanzakarin, @dilanesper, @bjbetheltweets, @helaineolen, @mattgertz, @jnthngss, @mehdirhasan, @christinafaith, @ryangrim, @obsoletedogma, @cgasparino, @mpolymer, Wall Street Journal, @notjessewalker, Benzinga, New York Sun, @HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva …, @jeremymbarr, @matthewstoller, @rotopat, @mattyglesias, @franklinleonard, @rubengallego, The Wrap, @edeggans.bsky.social, @haroldfeld.bsky.social, @amykristinsanders.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, Raw Story, @saikatforcongress.bsky.social, CNN, @karlbode.com, Semafor, iDrop News, The Independent and The Information
RELATED:
Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
The WGA says a deal combining Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery would be “a disaster” and that it will press regulators to block any such deal
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Wrap, Cord Cutters News, The A.V. Club, Advanced Television, Deadline, Variety, Reuters, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Rant and The Verge
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
The American Journalism Project, known mostly for providing grants to US local news outlets, is offering a “field guide” to AI tools for local reporting — For many newsrooms, figuring out whether or not they want to bring generative AI tools into their editorial work is only the beginning of a conversation.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Disney is alerting viewers that its networks, including ABC and ESPN, could go dark on YouTube TV if the two sides don't reach a deal by 11:59pm ET October 30 — Just a month after reaching an agreement with NBCUniversal to avoid dropping its networks, YouTube TV has another potential blackout on its hands — this time with Disney.
Discussion:
Engadget, Cord Cutters News, Broadband TV News, Washington Times, BGR, Radio & Television …, Android Central, Android Police, UPI, Android Authority, Stuff, New York Post, The US Sun, Streaming Better, Cord Cutter Weekly, Barrett Media, 9to5Google, MLive.com, Benzinga, Deadline, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, TheDesk.net, Awful Announcing, YouTube Official Blog, TVNewsCheck, Bloomberg, Variety, Axios and The Hollywood Reporter
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The Daily Beast COO Keith Bonnici says the publisher has been profitable through the first nine months of 2025 and expects its first full year of profitability — For the first time since its 2008 founding, The Daily Beast is on track to close its fiscal year in the black.
Discussion:
Devin Rogerino on LinkedIn, @aerocles, @markstenberg3 and Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn
Harper's:
Jelani Cobb, Taylor Lorenz, Jack Shafer, and Max Tani discuss why trust in media has hit a record low, press freedom, AI, journalists on social media, and more — Anatomy of a credibility crisis … Trust in the press is at a record low, with only a quarter of Americans aged eighteen …
Discussion:
Matt Pearce on LinkedIn, @chuckrossdc, @alexanderrusso, @harpers, @scottnover and HotAir
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