Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Paramount Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix bid in the first round for WBD; Comcast and Netflix are seeking just the studio and streaming parts of WBD — The outcome of the sale could alter the trajectory of the entertainment business. — The heavyweights of Hollywood made their cases …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, @ndhapple.bsky.social, Quartz, Adweek, Axios, MediaPost and TVBEurope
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Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:
Sources: a White House official discussed with Larry Ellison cutting CNN hosts that President Trump loathes and running CBS shows like 60 Minutes on CNN — Senior officials indicated favorability toward Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros Discovery — Senior White House officials …
Discussion:
American Prospect, Nieman Lab, Washington Examiner, @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com, @jonathancohn.bsky.social, @freedom.press, @freedomofpress, @mmeadway.bsky.social, @punkonbuslives.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @brentosaur.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, @marklemley.bsky.social, The Wrap, @mattgertz, @rbreich, @callyson.bsky.social, TV Insider, @davidclinchnews, @zjmontague.bsky.social, @stevereddog.bsky.social, @keithboykin.bsky.social, @vidiot.bsky.social, Straight Arrow News, Raw Story, @karaswisher.bsky.social, Mediaite, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, Alternet.org, New Republic, Daily Caller News Foundation and The Hollywood Reporter
Financial Times:
A look at the WBD bidding process as first-round bids arrive; sources say Paramount CEO David Ellison and Larry Ellison enjoy an advantage in Washington — Father-and-son tech billionaires flash cash to overcome rivals Netflix and Comcast as they pursue a Hollywood empire
Discussion:
New York Post, @katiefallow.bsky.social, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, Benzinga and Washington Times
Lachlan Cartwright / Vanity Fair:
A look at Rupert Murdoch's California Post, which will focus on LA, Silicon Valley, and Sacramento when it launches in 2026; Ian Mohr will lead CA Page Six — California is a veritable news feast—politicians with national ambitions, climate disasters, the twin industries of Hollywood and tech.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
David Ingram / NBC News:
Cornell researchers: Grokipedia cites sources deemed “generally unreliable” or “blacklisted” by Wikipedia, including neo-Nazi sites Stormfront and VDare — An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
Discussion:
@hackingbutlegal, @hackingbutlegal, @hackingbutlegal, @hackingbutlegal, @dennycarter.bsky.social, @kolchak.bsky.social, @sarahposner.bsky.social, @socialmedialab.ca, @markfollman.bsky.social, @electproject.bsky.social, @theotherdude.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, @nrvscrcts.bsky.social and CleanTechnica, more at Techmeme »
Kayla Cobb / The Wrap:
IAB: ad spend in the creator ecosystem in 2025 is expected to rise 26% YoY to $37B, or four times faster than ad spend in media overall, set to grow 5.7% YoY — Investment has increased 26% year-over-year, a level of growth that is four times faster than growth in the overall media industry
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, IAB, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Deadline, TV Tech, Tubefilter, Marketing Dive and Business Insider
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
A look at the “explosion” of LA media upstarts, like the LA Local News Initiative, which has $18M in funding, SFGate's Southland, and nonprofit LA Public Press — A well-funded coalition building out neighborhood news, a new newsletter from an expanding for-profit site …
John Buckley / Capital Brief:
Sources: US officials raised concerns with Australia over its streaming content quotas that the government is trying to push through the Senate before year end — The US Embassy has directly raised concerns about the policy in Canberra, raising the stakes for the Albanese government as it pursues an aggressive tech reform agenda.
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Q&A with Variety's new publisher and co-president, Dea Lawrence, on her career, on AI and digital creators being “crucial” for the outlet, and more — Dea Lawrence has assumed the top business role at Variety, succeeding Michelle Sobrino Stearns as publisher and also becoming co-president …
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
An ex-Pentagon press corps member says Pentagon day pass requests now require an hour-by-hour activity summary and a list of people they plan to speak to — While veteran national security reporters can't get their calls answered, members of the new, MAGA-friendly press corps have a hotline to the Department of War.
Discussion:
@columjournreview.bsky.social
Nicholas Hune-Brown / The Local:
How a freelancer's suspicious pitch led an editor to dig into past work, finding inconsistencies and falsehoods, as tech makes falsifying writing trivially easy — A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work.
Discussion:
@mjanssen.bsky.social, @pbump.com, @inkfish.bsky.social, Nieman Lab, @dmain.bsky.social, @nickhunebrown.bsky.social, @brettmartin.bsky.social, @bengoldfarb.bsky.social, @ashwinrodrigues.com, @samthielman.com, @coreyatad.com, @ryanlcooper.com, @davelevitan.bsky.social and @jasonmcbride.bsky.social
Bloomberg:
Analysis: YouTube's top conservative podcasters are driving a boom in host-read ads targeting right-wing audiences; nearly 91% of 876 episodes had political ads — On YouTube's conservative airwaves, podcast hosts tout products that let people buy into the MAGA crowd: Republican Red Winery vintages …
Discussion:
NextDraft, @daveyalba, @daveyalba, @daveyalba, @daveyalba, @daveyalba, @daveyalba and Crooks and Liars, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
The FCC opens a review of agreements between national networks and local TV stations, including about rules controlling how stations preempt network programs — - FCC reviews network-affiliate agreements after Trump's ABC license comments — FCC to ask whether national broadcasters …
Discussion:
Federal Communications Commission, The Wrap, Inside Radio, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, PCMag, TV Tech, @michaelnaphys.bsky.social, Truth on the Market, Bloomberg, The Hill, @brendancarrfcc, TheDesk.net, @diversetechgeek.bsky.social, GB News, NewsMax.com and Cybersecurity Dive, more at Techmeme »
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