Mediagazer: Ezra Klein, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon, Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci, Puck's Matt Belloni, Verge's Nilay Patel, and others on what media leaders got wrong in 2025 (Max Tani/Semafor)

4:05 PM ET, December 29, 2025

Top News:

Max Tani / Semafor:

Ezra Klein, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon, Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci, Puck's Matt Belloni, Verge's Nilay Patel, and others on what media leaders got wrong in 2025 — Semafor asked journalists, content creators, and other media-watchers what they'd gotten wrong at the end of a wild year.

Discussion: @ettingermentum, @admcrlsn, @nick_field90, @readdanwrite, @maxwelltani, @semaforben and @scottnover

DataBreaches.Net:

A hacker published 2.3M Wired user records, and claimed to have downloaded all 33M Condé Nast users' information, including email, name, phone, and usernames — Over the years, DataBreaches has been contacted by many people with requests for help notifying entities of data leaks or breaches.

Discussion: The Register, @scottfromny.com, eSecurity Planet, Security Affairs, @haveibeenpwned, @marshacollier, Cyber Security News, BleepingComputer, Hackread and CyberInsider

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:

A profile of Pablo Torre, whose podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” became a 2025 phenomenon for aggressive reporting that uncovered seismic stories in US sports — NEW YORK — One day last month, Tom McMillen, a 73-year-old retired NBA player and former congressman, got an email.

Discussion: Sports Business Journal, @scottnover, @benjstrauss, @annahbackstrom, @jasonmurray117, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @scottnover.bsky.social, @royalpratt.bsky.social, @washingtonpost.com and Awful Announcing

Aisha Down / The Guardian:

A Kapwing study of the 15,000 top YouTube channels finds 278 of them have only posted AI-generated “slop” videos, amassing 63B+ views and 221M+ subscribers — Low-quality AI-generated content is now saturating social media - and generating about $117m a year, data shows

Discussion: eWeek, ZDNET, Mashable, Dexerto, @jonathancohn.bsky.social, @nixCraft@mastodon.social, The Decoder, MediaNama, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, PCMag, Metro.co.uk, WinBuzzer, The Indian Express and Notebookcheck, more at Techmeme »

Axios:

Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, goes viral with video reports about alleged fraud in Minnesota, provoking approving responses from the FBI and JD Vance — Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, lit up X during Christmas week with video reports from Minnesota alleging massive fraud …

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Ampere Analysis: UK streaming subscribers on ad-supported tiers will reach 26.5M by the end of 2025, surpassing the 23.1M ad-free subscribers for the first time — Viewers hoping to cut bills driving switch from once-normal advert-free subscriptions now charging a premium

Discussion: NZ Herald, @samuelwroberts.bsky.social, Miami Herald and Tom's Guide

Variety:

North American box office in 2025 will fall far short of the $9B most analysts expected, flat from 2024 levels and well below the pre-pandemic norm of $10B-$11B — Some comeback! — The past 12 months were supposed to turn things around for struggling cinemas.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and @stevenraymorris.bsky.social

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

In 2025, several books saw audiobook sales outperform hardcovers, even as digital audiobook growth slowed to 1% through October after 2024's ~24% jump to $1.1B — Though the pace of growth has slowed, audiobooks remain a bright spot in publishing — Author S.A. Cosby's southern crime novel …

Discussion: @dannygroner.bsky.social

Andre Revilla / Engadget:

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a law requiring social platforms with features like addictive feeds to show warning labels about mental health impacts on young users — The warnings will appear when users interact with a feature the state deems addictive. — The State of New York …

Eoin Higgins / The Flashpoint:

Journalist Eoin Higgins says Matt Taibbi is suing him for defamation over Owned, his book about tech billionaires and the left, and “I stand by my work” — Does that make me the realest free speech warrior? — As you probably now know, pundit Matt Taibbi is suing me for defamation …

Discussion: @dylangyauchl, @nathanjrobinson, @zaidjilani, @mehdirhasan, @vanguard_pod, @notouchthrow, @eoinhiggins_, @postleftwatch, @eoinhiggins_, @agoldmund, @leighbeadon, @hongpong.bsky.social, @zaidjilani, @mtaibbi, @nickyfrank30 and @jaredlholt

The Guardian:

FOI data: the UK has spent £500K+ since 2024 on 215 influencers to promote government campaigns, including £350K by the Department for Education — Figures from FoI request show increase in ministerial use of social media personalities to present campaigns

Discussion: @erinaceinae24.bsky.social, Rae McGrath on LinkedIn and @socialmedialab.ca

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

As the BBC fights Trump's $10B lawsuit and ITV plans to combine its broadcasting business with Sky in 2026, a look at the slow death of the UK's TV channels — Amid the rise of streaming, younger viewers barely watch the broadcasting that once dominated Christmas schedules

Discussion: The Guardian and Daily Mail

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:

Five FaZe Clan influencers exit after failed contract talks with new management; Matt Kalish, who invested $10M, calls FaZe's current structure “unsustainable” — The future of the popular influencer group FaZe Clan is in flux once again after several members announced …