Top News:
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
The Olivia Nuzzi comeback shows everything that is wrong with modern media, where personal branding, access trading, and controversy trump credibility — When news broke last September about Olivia Nuzzi's alleged relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., my first instinct—within minutes, actually—was sympathy.
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Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
Moral rot within journalism makes it hard for ethical practitioners to do their jobs, as they watch successful people in the field displaying malleable ethics
Moral rot within journalism makes it hard for ethical practitioners to do their jobs, as they watch successful people in the field displaying malleable ethics
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, @ryanlcooper.com, Atlanta Black Star, @wdlindsy@toad.social, @meghanbkelly.bsky.social, @lisafung.bsky.social, @ubiquity75.xyz, @dandrezner.bsky.social, @paulguinnessy.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @juliedicaro.bsky.social, @nytpitchbot.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social, People, @marisakabas.bsky.social and Telos News
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
TikTok is rolling out new digital well-being features like an affirmation journal and says it will also give users badges for limiting their daily screen time — TikTok is rolling out new digital well-being features like an affirmation journal and a background sound generator aimed at improving the mental health of its users.
Discussion:
Digital Trends, Tech Times, Dataconomy, 9to5Mac, Mashable and Engadget
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Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok plans to test letting users choose how much AI-generated content appears in their For You feed, and will add more advanced labeling tech for AI-content
TikTok plans to test letting users choose how much AI-generated content appears in their For You feed, and will add more advanced labeling tech for AI-content
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, iPhone in Canada, WeRSM, TikTok, CNET, Business Insider, Dexerto, Dataconomy, Android Headlines, PCMag, Digital Trends, KnowTechie, The Verge, RTÉ, Engadget, Mashable, PC Gamer and The Sun, more at Techmeme »
Emine Sinmaz / The Guardian:
NYT says it will not renew Larry Summers' contract as a contributing writer for its Opinion section, after the publication of his emails with Jeffrey Epstein — Publication said it will not renew former treasury secretary's contract in latest fallout after release of emails
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Bloomberg Media says it has added 100K+ subscribers over the past year and is nearing 700K paying readers and viewers, and reports revenue up 7% YoY in 2025 — Bloomberg Media chief operating officer Julia Beizer has explained how the business has used AI to create “synthetic characters” …
Vaibhavi Khanwalkar / The Economic Times:
AI video startup Luma AI raised a $900M Series C led by Humain, sources say at a ~$4B valuation — The firm's Indian-American CEO Amit Jain, an IITian who was formerly with Apple, told ET that the domain the company operated in is capital-intensive and requires sizable investments to scale.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Semafor, CNBC, Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Financial Post, @gravicle, @lumalabsai, Luma AI and Business Wire, more at Techmeme »
Ben Jacobs / Politico:
A look at Verdict with Ted Cruz, currently the most popular podcast of any sitting US politician, which puts Ted Cruz ahead of rivals in a potential 2028 WH bid — Three times a week, late in the evening, a middle-aged man pulls a microphone out of a Pelican briefcase …
Discussion:
Newser and @bencjacobs
Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
AI music platform Suno raised $250M led by Menlo Ventures at a $2.45B valuation, up from ~$500M in 2024, and says its annual revenue has reached $200M — Startup has raised $250 million and says annual revenue has reached $200 million — Suno, an AI music platform in which users …
Discussion:
Reuters, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Music Ally, FinSMEs, Music Business Worldwide and Bloomberg Law, more at Techmeme »
Krishani Dhanji / The Guardian:
ABC MD Hugh Marks criticizes attacks on the Australian broadcaster as “opportunistic” over claims its Four Corners program distorted Trump's January 6 speech — ABC managing director tells National Press Club comparisons between BBC program edit and Four Corners episode are not legitimate
Discussion:
Sydney Morning Herald
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Sources: Warner Music settles its suit with AI startup Udio, which is planning a service that lets users create songs from licensed tracks of artists who opt-in — Agreement with Udio could allow fans to create their own songs using licensed tracks if artists opt in
Discussion:
Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Music Group, Music Ally, Music Business Worldwide and Reuters
Emma Roth / The Verge:
A US federal judge denies Disney's request to block Sling TV's one-day pass that allows streaming of live content, saying Disney didn't prove “irreparable harm” — The entertainment giant failed to prove that Sling TV's temporary streaming passes caused it irreparable harm, according to the ruling.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Engadget, Pocket-lint, Variety, CNET, PCWorld, Cord Cutters News, Streaming Better, Media Play News and Dow Jones Newswires
Steven J. Horowitz / Variety:
Spotify expands Song Credits to include all contributors to a track, like engineers and mixers, and launches SongDNA, a map showing connections between songs — Spotify is providing users with deeper insight into their listening experience through the expansion of Song Credits …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Hypebot, Music Business Worldwide and Music Ally
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Christoph Schneider, Prime Video Germany's Country Director since 2022, is leaving Amazon after 13 years due to an internal restructure that eliminates his role — His exit is the result of an internal restructure that eliminates his Country Director post and sees several other executive assuming his duties going forwards.
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Roblox plans to require all users to undergo an age estimation process to access chat features, starting January 2026, in an effort to enhance child safety — After scrutiny over its ability to protect children on the platform, Roblox is making a big change.
Discussion:
Biometric Update, The Independent, GameRevolution, MediaNama, RTÉ, Digital Music News, nltimes.nl, The Guardian, Stevivor, Tubefilter, UPI, Los Angeles Times, KUSA-TV, The US Sun, BBC, ABC, Roblox, 9to5Mac, Engadget, TechCrunch and Associated Press
Variety:
Sources: Paramount Skydance formed a consortium with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds to bid $71B for WBD; Paramount denies the claim — UPDATED: Paramount Skydance has denied a Variety report that the company was forming an investment consortium with the sovereign wealth funds …
Discussion:
Axios, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Deadline, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, TVBEurope, TVNewsCheck, @homeofdcu, Media Play News, The Business Times, Status, Financial Times, Puck, @keepitweird.bsky.social, Capital Brief, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Yahoo Finance, @ryanhiggins.bsky.social, World of Reel, Reuters, @danielmcfee.bsky.social, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, r/MediaMergers and r/boxoffice
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Brian Stelter / @brianstelter:
Source: Paramount CEO David Ellison was set to attend a White House dinner Tuesday evening with President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Source: Paramount CEO David Ellison was set to attend a White House dinner Tuesday evening with President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Discussion:
The Hill, Yahoo Finance, Daring Fireball, NDTV Profit, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., @jakelahut, @davidclinchnews, Barron's Online, CBS News, Semafor and Mediaite
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
WHCA reporters raise concerns about Saudi's Al Arabiya being the sole foreign outlet at Trump's MBS meeting and no mention of Khashoggi in background info — Some internal tension on the White House Correspondents Association email listserv today. Some journalists are complaining that background info circulated to the group by a reporter working for Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya did not mention the murder of Jamal Khashoggi... [image]
Discussion:
Washington Post, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, Associated Press, The Wrap, HuffPost, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, Washington Examiner, NBC Bay Area, New York Post, Daily Mail, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, Salon, The Hill, Washington Times, Mediaite, The Independent, CBS News, Mirror, New Republic and Axios
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Trump calls for ABC to lose its broadcast license and says Brendan Carr “should look at that” after an ABC reporter asked questions about Khashoggi and Epstein
Trump calls for ABC to lose its broadcast license and says Brendan Carr “should look at that” after an ABC reporter asked questions about Khashoggi and Epstein
Discussion:
Poynter, National Press Club, Mediaite, Associated Press, NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, New York Times, UPI, @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, The Independent, New York Sun, Newser, @dbauder.bsky.social, MS NOW, Straight Arrow News, @westwingreport, @kaydeeartist.com, The Hill, PinkNews, All Rise News, Newsbusters, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Hollywood Gossip, Barrett Media, Fortune, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, Zeteo, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, Fox News, @timkarr.bsky.social, Politico, al.com, Mirror US, New Republic, The Guardian, TMZ.com, Fox News, People, Reuters, Daily Caller News Foundation, Time, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit, @klasfeldreports.com, Washington Examiner, @gbrandonffx.bsky.social, Mirror, TVNewsCheck, New Jersey Online, PBS NewsHour, ZeroHedge News, Financial Times, NOTUS, The Sun and CNBC
