Top News:
Washington Post:
Internal email: 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi told staffers Bari Weiss pulled the CECOT segment after the Trump administration refused an interview — The segment on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador's CECOT prison was postponed after the Trump administration refused to grant the network an interview.
Discussion:
Mediaite, NPR, Wall Street Journal, @conor64, CNBC, @ryangrim, @brianstelter, Los Angeles Times, @juliannemcshane.bsky.social, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @adamjohnsonchi, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @mattshuham.bsky.social, @brianschatz, @brianschatz, @ditzkoff.bsky.social, @barbaracomstock, @cmonstah.bsky.social, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social, @maryannefranks.bsky.social, @michaelsocolow.bsky.social, @annabower, @johngramlich.bsky.social, @benmullin, @cbctom, al.com, Axios, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @aaronparnas, @krystalball, @scottnover, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social, @thelincoln.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @freddydeknatel.bsky.social, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @michaelsocolow.bsky.social, @jillgeisler, @wajahatali, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social, @taliaotg, @sarahemcbride, @jeremymbarr and CBS News
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Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss asked 60 Minutes to add material to its CECOT piece, such as a Stephen Miller interview; Weiss says her job is to publish the “best” stories — Sharyn Alfonsi, a “60 Minutes” correspondent, criticized the network's decision to remove her reporting from Sunday's edition of the show.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Verge, HuffPost, CNN, Deadline, Crooks and Liars, @lopatto.bsky.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @blowryontv, @adamserwer.bsky.social, @jlazarus.bsky.social, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @kendrawrites.com, @mtsw.bsky.social, @mford.bsky.social, @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social, Raw Story, @wooftom57.bsky.social, @newsjennifer_schulze …, @jbz@indieweb.social, @deanbetz.bsky.social, @proptermalone.bsky.social, @lkimmasters@threads.com, @anildash.com, @adamserwer.bsky.social, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @annabower.bsky.social, @kattenbarge.bsky.social, @kenwhite.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, @chadloder.bsky.social, @deanbaker13, @ashtonpittman.bsky.social, Mediaite, @mtsw.bsky.social, @sethklamann.bsky.social, New York Post, @mattdpearce.com, @dachshuahuadad.bsky.social, @golikehellmachine.com, @kimmasters.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @msignorile@threads.com, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @grynbaum, @karaswisher@threads.com, @karaswisher@threads.com, @ndrew.bsky.social, Variety, Forbes and New York Sun
Julia Ornedo / The Daily Beast:
CBS postpones a 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador's CECOT prison, which houses people deported by the Trump administration, just hours before it was set to air — BE RIGHT BACK — The show announced a programming change just before its Sunday night timeslot.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Guardian, @60minutes, RedState, Showbiz411, @adamscochran, @kylekulinski, @marcofoster_, @petertwinklage, Mediaite, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @kelseytuoc, @phil_lewis_, @brendelbored.bsky.social, @thebluenami.is.democrat, @politicalamericans …, @ggreenwald, @yashar, @frankfigliuzzi.bsky.social, Newsweek, @edkrassen, @allenanalysis, @ggreenwald, @dylanbyers, @donwinslow, @dan, @seamus_malek, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, @pritzkerposting.bsky.social, @neonchinchilla.bsky.social, @bubblebathgirl, @richardhanania, The Hollywood Reporter and Fox News
Ali Watkins / New York Times:
Channel 4 says Jimmy Kimmel will share a message on Christmas Day as part of its Alternative Christmas Message show, emphasizing the importance of free speech — Mr. Kimmel will speak out against fascism and about the importance of free speech in the holiday address, according to a Channel 4 spokesman.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Advanced Television, Channel 4, Axios, Rolling Stone, Deadline, Mirror, Newser, LateNighter, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter
Mitchell Peters / Billboard:
Pirate activist group Anna's Archive says it scraped 86M music files and 256M rows of track metadata from Spotify, and releases them in ~300TB of torrent files — The scrape allegedly accessed 86 million audio files. Spotify is “actively investigating the incident.”
Discussion:
Anna's Blog, AIN, Digital Trends, Music Ally, @rasmusfleischer@tldr …, Android Authority and Doc Searls Weblog, more at Techmeme »
CNN:
A list of times the Trump administration tested the limits of the First Amendment during his second term, stoking alarm among civil rights experts and critics — Within weeks of retaking the White House, President Donald Trump boasted that he had “brought free speech back to America.”
Discussion:
@aclu.org, @brianstelter and The City
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A survey of 700 Hollywood insiders: 52% think Netflix will buy WBD, 80% say they use AI in their work, 30% predict Josh D'Amaro as Disney's next CEO, and more — We asked more than 700 industry experts to name the best streaming service, worst CEO and next big movie star.
Max Knoblauch / Sherwood News:
Morgan Stanley: ad tiers account for 30% of Netflix subscribers and 50% of Disney+ subscribers; ad tiers accounted for all US net subscriber additions in 2025 — As streaming prices climb, ad-free subscribers are becoming a rarity. — A mass digital migration is taking place …
Hanna Duggal / Global Investigative Journalism Network:
A look at the top data journalism projects of 2025, including stories on conflict, climate, AI, and social media and disinformation — News coverage in 2025 was dominated by several seismic events, with data journalism outlets closely tracking a world shaped by US trade hegemony …
Discussion:
The Hill, UPI, @reedfrich.bsky.social, The Moscow Times, Atlantic Council and Modern Diplomacy
Max Tani / Semafor:
Adam Mosseri says “maybe we'll need” premium longform video for Instagram, and that TikTok's US sale turmoil has given Meta time to retune algorithms — The News — A day before Instagram's new integration for Amazon Fire smart TVs was set to roll out, Adam Mosseri …
Discussion:
Moneycontrol
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Lou Cannon, a veteran Washington Post reporter who wrote several influential biographies of Ronald Reagan, has died at 92 — He was a foremost authority on the president, tracing his career in unvarnished accounts from his time as California governor through his years in the White House.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Wrap, The Santa Barbara Independent and Los Angeles Times
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
The TikTok deal is the worst of all possible outcomes, shifting ownership of TikTok to Trump's allies, while maintaining the supposed problematic links to China — There were rumblings about this for a while, but it looks like the Trump TikTok deal is done, and it's somehow the worst …
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Sources: ByteDance is on track for ~$50B profit in 2025 after generating a ~$40B net income in the first three quarters, surpassing its internal target for 2025
Financial Times:
Memo: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says ByteDance's US entities will retain direct control over core US revenue drivers, including ecommerce, ads, and marketing
Discussion:
The Indian Express, @confunctionist.bsky.social, Reuters, The Information, iPhone in Canada, Tom's Guide, Digital CxO, Inc, Gizmodo, BGR, Tech Times, Daily Sabah, Mobile World Live, TechWire Asia, RTÉ, The Hollywood Reporter, iClarified, China Economic Review, Telecompaper, CNN, Yahoo Finance, TRT World, UPI, NDTV Profit, TechRadar, CNBC, Sharecafe, Wall Street Journal, Cord Cutters News and NBC News
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Interview with WPP CEO Cindy Rose, who says AI puts pressure on the ad agency's pricing and WPP has 10K data scientists and software engineers and 12K creatives — Advertising group's new CEO plans restructuring and says traditional agency model is from a ‘bygone era’
Discussion:
Alex Brandstetter on LinkedIn and Semafor
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