Top News:
Shane O'Neill / Washington Post:
Q&A with Christopher Anderson, who photographed Trump's inner circle for VF: “My job is to ... draw on my experience as a journalist and photograph what I see” — Every line, spot, blemish and blood vessel was captured by Christopher Anderson's lens. What was he thinking?
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, @susiewiles, @amy_siskind, @gerardtbaker, @becketadams, @jonfavs, @jkhomestead, @silvermanjacob, @shawnmccreesh, @kbandersen, @lulumeservey, @jaheale, @pkafka, @acnewsitics, @timodc, @esotericcd, @villgecrazylady, @nothoodlum, @nprinskeep, @kstrucks, @repluna, @benryanwriter, @repjackkimble, @lepapillonblu2, @richard_harambe, @jesusrodriguezb, @vanityfair, @shannonrwatts, @dieworkwear, Newsweek, @four4thefire.bsky.social, emptywheel, Cele|bitchy, @socialmedialab.ca, @juliannemcshane.bsky.social, @jonlemire, @edwardrow, @fraying.bsky.social, @cwarzel.bsky.social, @muellershewrote, NOTUS, @inaeoh.bsky.social, @petertwinklage, @vanityfair, IJR, @ronfilipkowski, Mediaite, Raw Story, Bloomberg and People
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CBS News and The Free Press announce Things That Matter, a series of town halls and debates, starting in early 2026, with Sam Altman, J.D. Vance, and others — The news division is also planning a town hall with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in the ‘Things That Matter’ series, with Bank of America lined up as a sponsor.
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Natalie Korach / Status:
Sources: Bari Weiss moved a planned internal CBS town hall, set to lay out her broader vision, from this month to 2026, after the Erika Kirk town hall flopped — In the days leading up to the holidays, Bari Weiss had planned to address CBS News staffers with a broader vision of where she sees …
Discussion:
@nataliekorach.bsky.social, The Independent and Mediaite
Axios:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tells a Senate committee the FCC “is not an independent agency”; the agency removed “independent agency” from its site as he testified — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, Poynter, Salon, Inside Radio, @acyn, @samstein, @bulwarkonline, @atrupar, CNBC, @cspan, @sarafischer, @lutherlowe, Newser, The A.V. Club, New York Times, Reuters, FedScoop, New Republic, Forbes, @kim.senate.gov, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, Free Press Action Fund Feed, @willoremus.com, NOTUS, Raw Story, @kim.senate.gov, The Guardian, New Republic, NBC News, The Hill, Mediaite, The Independent, Barrett Media, The Wrap, @patriotprogressive …, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, San Diego Union-Tribune, Pasadena Star News, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Alternet.org, Associated Press, @sarafischer and Washington Examiner, more at Techmeme »
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Steven Portnoy / ABC News:
Democratic Senate Commerce Committee members accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of making “mafia threats” and encroaching on broadcasters' First Amendment rights — Sen. Markey calls him “chairman of the ‘Federal Censorship Commission.’” — Brendan Carr, commissioner …
Financial Times:
Sources: Standard General hedge fund founder Soo Kim has been in talks with a major WBD shareholder over potentially buying or investing in the WBD TV networks — Standard General's Soo Kim is considering purchasing or investing in WBD's television networks
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Deadline and Reuters
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Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Filing: Comcast's offer to merge NBCUniversal with WBD valued Comcast's media and theme-park assets at about $81B; Comcast's overall valuation is about $111B
Discussion:
MediaPost
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Senators Warren and Blumenthal call on AG Bondi to recuse herself from reviewing the WBD deal due to her prior employment with lobbying firm Ballard Partners
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @brianstelter, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and Bloomberg Law
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SEC filing: WBD says the Ellisons offered David Zaslav a compensation package of several hundred million dollars, which Zaslav said was inappropriate to discuss
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount reaffirms its $30/share all-cash bid after WBD's board officially rejected it, saying its bid offers “superior value and certainty” for shareholders
Discussion:
The Indian Express, Semafor, International Business Times, CNBC, The Boston Globe, @sarafischer, @danprimack, The A.V. Club, @sarafischer, The Motley Fool, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., Forbes, IndieWire, Deadline, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Media Play News, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Streaming Better, Axios, Broadband TV News, Anadolu Ajansı …, Instapundit, Wall Street Journal and Wall Street Journal
John Rogers / Associated Press:
Peter Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent who covered the Vietnam War for the AP and the first Gulf War for CNN, has died at 91 — Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war …
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy signs a multiyear deal that gives YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033, streaming for free — The Academy announced on Wednesday: — LOS ANGELES, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed …
Discussion:
Variety, T3, Android Headlines, The Wrap, YouTube Official Blog, @disparutoo, @piersmorgan, @sydneybattle, @moorehn, @michaelcollado, @seanhannity, @812filmreviews, @mattbelloni, @ronnui_, @jayelharris, @offbeatorbit, @nealmohan, @clubchalamet, @nandovmovies, @awards_watch, @jasminelwatkins, @katiemiller, @mrbrianrowe, @brianstelter, israelhayom.com, Tech Times, @lucas_shaw, BMI, TheGrio, @unikunka, @brianstelter, @theacademy, TVREV, TV Tech, John Lustyan on LinkedIn, Tubefilter, @ckrewson.bsky.social, Barrett Media, Spyglass, Demetrius Bagley on LinkedIn, CNET, Ken Gibbs on LinkedIn, Baller Alert, Decider, Forbes, Sports Business Journal, UPI, TechCrunch, Deadline, Telecompaper, E! Online, Cord Cutters News, Showbiz411, Screen, Media Play News, Adweek, TheDesk.net, @kattenbarge.bsky.social, Billboard, Screen Rant, @joshsternberg.com, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, @mgsiegler.com, @jmrivera.bsky.social, Gold Derby, @riderbabe52.bsky.social, TVLine, New York Daily News, Associated Press, New York Times, KFMB, @johnspurlock.com, WPXI-TV, @azalben.bsky.social, Fox News, CBS News, The Verge, Oh No They Didn't! and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »
Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:
A study of 1,000+ marketing campaigns: host-read podcast ads on YouTube are up to 25% less effective at driving purchases than in audio-only podcasts — Ads that appear in video podcasts are alluring for visually-minded marketers but may perform worse on the whole than audio-only, according to a new study
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Podnews, Digiday, Tubefilter, Journalism.co.uk, The Athletic, TVNewsCheck, Inside Higher Ed and Oxford Road
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple says it will roll out more App Store ads in 2026 “to increase opportunity in search results”; Apple's website says 800M+ users visit the App Store weekly — Apple is expanding the number of ads that appear in App Store search results. In an update on its Apple Ads website today …
Discussion:
iPhone in Canada, Tech Times, AppleInsider, Apple Ads, MacRumors and MacTech.com
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Dow Jones hires ex-Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Havens as its first chief growth officer, overseeing subscription growth and other consumer revenue streams — Dow Jones has hired M. Scott Havens as its first chief growth officer and global head of consumer, a newly created role that underscores …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
NBCU plans to add Arrival Ads, live ads that play when users turn on Peacock, and use AI to search live sports events for the optimal moment to place ads — Forget the pause that refreshes — Peacock users will soon be greeted by a live commercial as soon as they sign on to the streamer.
Discussion:
Deadline, TVNewsCheck, Tom's Guide, StreamTV Insider and The Verge
Will Page / Pivotal Economics:
Analysis: music copyright's global value rose 5.2% YoY to a record $47.2B in 2024; the revenue split favored labels and artists at 62%, above songwriters' 38% — 11-MINUTE READ — TL;DR — Music copyright was valued at $47.2bn in 2024, nearly doubling in a decade
Discussion:
Music Ally and Music Business Worldwide
Laura Cress / BBC:
Netflix wins rights to a FIFA soccer simulation game, developed by Delphi Interactive and set for release ahead of the 2026 World Cup, for free to Netflix users — Fifa will finally release its much-anticipated return to video games in 2026, several years after its acrimonious split with developer EA.
Discussion:
Engadget, Advanced Television, Kotaku, T3, Tech Times, PocketGamer.biz, Eurogamer.net, Goal.com, Pocket Gamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Hypebeast, Digital Trends, Push Square, Arabian Business, Inside World Football, Business Standard, Video Games Chronicle, Aftermath, @devonheinen.bsky.social, DualShockers, MobileSyrup, TheSixthAxis, Metro.co.uk, Game Rant, The Sun, NDTV Profit, CNET, Agence France-Presse, CGMagazine, Dexerto, TechRaptor, NME, Reuters, The Wrap, Netflix Tudum, GameSpot, Press Start, iPhone in Canada, The Verge and GamesBeat
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix signs a deal with Barstool Sports to stream video versions of three podcasts, initially in the US; full video episodes will be removed from YouTube
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Barrett Media, The US Sun, @tvgrimreaper, Netflix Tudum, Daily Mail, Deseret News, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, @devonheinen.bsky.social, @devonheinen.bsky.social, New Jersey Online, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal, The Streamable, PodcastingToday, Digital Trends, TheGrio, Deadline, Media Play News, Podnews and Just Jared
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