Mediagazer: Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”; earlier CBS aired the Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by Trump (Todd Spangler/Variety)

3:15 PM ET, December 24, 2025

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”; earlier CBS aired the Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by Trump — U.S. president appeared to be responding to ‘Late Show’ Dec. 8 rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump …

Washington Post:

Internal email: CBS' standards department told staff to use the Kennedy Center name, saying the change to Trump Kennedy Center needs Congressional approval — The network kept the Kennedy Center's original name in its broadcast, and CBS News instructed staff to do the same, an email shows.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Guardian, @scottnover.bsky.social, @jwhardcastle.com, @scottnover, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Indian Express, The Daily Caller, The Independent, NewsMax.com, CBS News and TV Insider

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calls for CBS staff who “revolted” over Bari Weiss' decision to postpone 60 Minutes' CECOT segment to be fired — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called for CBS staffers engaged in a “revolt” over a 60 Minutes immigration report to be “fired” immediately.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Independent, HuffPost, The Hill and Axios

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss skipped five 60 Minutes CECOT screenings; after her edits were added on Thursday, she asked on Friday to add a Stephen Miller interview

Sara Fischer / Axios:
60 Minutes' CECOT segment, pulled by Bari Weiss, was mistakenly aired in Canada via an app owned by Global Television, which airs 60 Minutes in the country

Discussion: CNN, Yashar Ali, The Breakdown, 404 Media, Fox News, Variety, @scottjenningsky, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, American Thinker, DeLong's Grasping Reality, Drezner's World, The Nation, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, TheDesk.net, @cmclymer, @sethmpk, @jason, @nedryun, @bonchieredstate, @brianstelter, @ltthompso, @sarafischer, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Fox Business, NewsMax.com, Ace of Spades HQ, Mediaite, Reason, Deadline, HotAir, RedState, @klasfeldreports, Advocate, Wonkette, The Present Age, Canadian Press, NBC News, The Hill, @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social, Mediaite, Media Nation, Newser, Raw Story, @brianstelter, @amy_siskind, @cmclymer, @ianbremmer, @davidehrlich, @duanebratt, @reichlinmelnick, @brianstelter, @amyklobuchar.com, The A.V. Club, Crooks and Liars, CBC News, Newsbusters, @moved2italy.bsky.social, Showbiz411, @bradleyross.bsky.social, @dearsarah.bsky.social, All Rise News, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social, The Wrap, Globe and Mail, The Daily Beast, Boing Boing, TV Tattle, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @keeptherepublic.bsky.social, eoin higgins on YouTube, The Verge, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter and Washington Post

Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:

The US imposes visa restrictions on five Europeans, including Thierry Breton, accusing them of pressuring US tech companies to censor certain US viewpoints — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

Discussion: United States Department …, Reuters, New York Times, Associated Press, The Post Millennial, @secrubio, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, @amuse, Neowin, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, twitchy.com, Townhall, New York Sun, The Hill, France 24, ABC, @jtlonsdale, @jeremycliffe, @jurgen_nauditt, @felix_nuno, @kateruane.bsky.social, @tokyotom2020, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, NBC News, @andreasshrugged, Fortune, @emd_worldwide, @jason_kint, @shashj, @malinowski, @katiepavlich, @prestonjbyrne, The Indian Express, @tomhfh, @undersecpd, @andersonafdmdep, @aurorelalucq, Financial Times, Le Monde, @macaesbruno, @lilithwittmann, @ishaantharoor, @basedmikelee, CNBC, @sbarrettbar, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, @gavinwax, Al Jazeera, El País, @kareemrifai, @nicksortor, @mmagierowski, @ocho88888888 …, @prestonjbyrne, @jayinkyiv, @blakesneff, Washington Post, @marietjeschaake, @frenchresponse, @katiepavlich, @michaeldweiss, @senericschmitt, @brunotertrais, ZeroHedge News, @trussliz, Engadget, @undersecpd, @laszloan, @tokarski.bsky.social, American Greatness, Virginia Dignum on LinkedIn, New York Post, RedState, Benzinga, Mediaite, Althouse, @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social, Bloomberg, The National Pulse, @attorneynora.bsky.social, The Daily Signal and Semafor, more at Techmeme »

Adam Satariano / New York Times:

The Trump administration's travel ban on five Europeans includes researchers working to tackle online disinformation and abuse, like CCDH founder Imran Ahmed — The Trump administration said five regulators and researchers who work to tackle disinformation and abuse on the internet had been barred from entering the United States.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Travel And Tour World, Politico, @PrivacyDigest@mas.to, Axios, @signsanssignified.bsky.social, The Guardian, @airbagmoments.bsky.social, Reclaim The Net, @Nonilex@masto.ai and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026 — Michael Cavanagh, as he's set to assume the role of Comcast's co-CEO on Jan. 2, extended his employment contract with the cable …

Discussion: Philadelphia Business Journal and Deadline

John Koblin / New York Times:

YouTube dominates daytime TV streaming, with 6.3M viewers at 11am in October on average, above Netflix's 2.8M, per Nielsen; prime-time viewership is more even — At Nancy Ann Ling's house in Central Texas, the TV generally goes on around 5 a.m., and Mrs. Ling flips over to the same app each day: YouTube.

Discussion: @katherinemiller, @katherinemiller, @tvgrimreaper and @genetics56, more at Techmeme »

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Disney crosses the $6B milestone at the box office for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic; no other studio has managed to reach $6B since 2015 — All hail the Magic Kingdom. Disney notched a major box office milestone, surpassing $6 billion in global ticket sales.

Discussion: Screen Rant, Comic Book, UPI and Deadline

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:

A US judge denies WBD's bid to block Sling TV from selling short-term offerings that let users sign up for access to its bundles for as little as one day — Dish Network leveraged ambiguity around the term in licensing deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney to offer short-term Sling TV subscription passes.

Discussion: The Ankler, Cord Cutters News and @diversetechgeek.bsky.social

Lorcan Lovett / Nieman Reports:

A look at the state of independent media in Myanmar, which lost US and Swedish funding this year and where subscriptions aren't a dependable source of revenue — As U.S. funding vanishes, competitors turn collaborators to keep reporting alive — Journalists work in the Democratic Voice of Burma …

Discussion: Lorcan Lovett on LinkedIn and @w7voa@journa.host

Washington Post:

A look at DHS and ICE's social media efforts, which are propelled by the White House's demands to “flood the airwaves” and make use of right-wing influencers — Inside ICE's media machine … Across thousands of internal ICE messages reviewed by The Washington Post, this kind of celebration has become commonplace.

Discussion: International Business Times, The Independent, The Daily Beast, @joshsternberg.com, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, @mikaelthalen.bsky.social, Raw Story and Semafor

Advanced Television:

BBC Sounds reports more than 2.5B plays of radio, music, and podcasts between January and November, up 8% YoY; podcast listening alone is up 15% YoY — BBC Sounds has reported another record-breaking year with over 2.5 billion plays of radio, music and podcasts between January and November 2025 …

Discussion: BBC and Telecompaper

Max Tani / Semafor:

ActBlue, a payment platform for online donations, is increasing its investments in left-leaning media and content creators through grant-like sponsorships — THE SCOOP — A key organ of Democratic politics is starting to invest its money in building up a broader progressive media ecosystem.

Discussion: @inlayterms.bsky.social

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

WBD's board says it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount's revised offer, which includes a full backstop personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison — David Ellison submitted his revised tender offering, backed by his father Larry Ellison, Monday morning.

Discussion: MediaNews4U, The Wrap, Barrett Media, The Daily Upside, BMI, Times of India, Telecompaper and FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Sara Salinas / CNBC:
Paramount says Larry Ellison “agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4B” for its hostile WBD bid, but did not increase its $30-per-share bid

Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal: How Makan Delrahim, a top antitrust enforcer in Trump's first term, is helping Paramount buy WBD; sources say he told WBD investors the DOJ may reject Netflix