Mediagazer: Kalshi and Polymarket have partnered with social media accounts purporting to be breaking news reporters, some of which have repeatedly posted false information (Jordy Fee-Platt/The Athletic)

2:55 PM ET, December 30, 2025

Top News:

Leaked letter: a group of “prominent journalists” at CBS News are preparing a petition urging David Ellison to uphold editorial independence at the network — CBS News journalists are preparing a petition urging Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to uphold editorial independence …

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, The Independent, @alexsteigrad, twitchy.com, Mediaite and The Hill

Michael Schneider / Variety:

Nielsen: CBS was 2025's most-watched network in primetime despite a 12% YoY drop in average viewers, followed by NBC, ABC, and Fox, up 10% due to the Super Bowl — Complete Broadcast, Cable and Pay TV Ratings Primetime Ranker for 2025 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 — What a difference a Super Bowl makes.

Discussion: @xpangler, TV Series Finale, @variety and The Daily Signal

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

The Trump administration helps Tenet Media's Lauren Chen return to the US; she lost her visa after a 2024 indictment alleging illicit funding from Russia's RT — Tenet Media's Lauren Chen is back—even though the illegal-influence and money-laundering investigation remains open.

Discussion: @zguz, @sarahlongwell25, @reichlinmelnick, @timodc, Raw Story, Lauren Chen on Instagram, @matthew_kupfer, @themainewonk, @hissgoescobra, @emptywheel, @willsommer, @scarylawyerguy, @overlord26, Alternet.org, @ryano_chosencoy, @luismorenolg, @jaynordlinger and @thelaurenchen

Zac Ntim / Deadline:

Angel Studios says Angel Guild, its program through which members are given a say on which projects the studio produces, has two million paid subscribers — The Angel Guild is the studio's grassroots membership program. Members pay a monthly fee and serve as virtual co-producers on every project …

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: Washington Examiner, @readdanwrite, @maxwelltani, @semaforben, @nick_field90, @ettingermentum, @admcrlsn, @scottnover, @bulwarkonline and Fox News

Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr:

A judge denies Fox's motion to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Oleksandra Kuvshynova, killed while working for Fox in Ukraine in 2022 — A New York judge today denied Fox's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of the Ukrainian journalist killed while working for the network (in 2022) despite the fact that her father signed a release to receive benefits. Judge: “When the Kuvshynovs signed the waiver

Jordy Fee-Platt / The Athletic:

Kalshi and Polymarket have partnered with social media accounts purporting to be breaking news reporters, some of which have repeatedly posted false information — Unknown just a few years ago, the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have gained wider recognition in recent weeks.

Discussion: New York Post, @cooperlund.online, Event Horizon, @benmullin, Decrypt and The Intercept

The Hollywood Reporter:

Among media stocks in 2025, WBD surged 172%, Fox jumped 47.3%, Paramount Skydance rose 29%, Netflix was up just 5.7%, and Disney was up 2.25%; Comcast fell ~20% — The M&A-boosted Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as Sphere Entertainment, Fox, and Imax were among the gainers, while Netflix moved little …

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: Semafor, Scott Dickey on LinkedIn and @dannygroner.bsky.social

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 …

Discussion: @nickshirleyy, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, NewsNation, KARE-TV, Fox News, @speakerjohnson, Townhall, @jdvance, KRCR-TV, Fortune, @danprimack, Newsweek, twitchy.com, @danprimack, The Post Millennial, @jonathanweisman, @chrisvanderveen, @richardhanania, @caolanreports, The Daily Caller, The Western Journal, @jonathanweisman, @hasanthehun, Raw Story, @jonathanweisman, Breitbart, @jessicatarlov, @daveweigel, @chrisvanderveen, El País, The Last Refuge, 77 WABC, @mollyjongfast, @jason_paladino, @brendankeefe, The Daily Wire, @cgasparino, NBC News, @deenafaywinter, @shipwreckedcrew, CNN, @guru_merc, @cathyyoung63, Twin Cities, @redsteeze, @donaldjtrumpjr, @tommysantos14, @jgebbia, @theomniliberal, @billackman, @jodambusta, @timurkuran, @brian_armstrong, @waitbutwhy, @alt-dol.altgov.info, @daveweigel.bsky.social, @daveweigel.bsky.social, The Independent, Blaze Media, Ace of Spades HQ, The Wrap, Matzav.com, New York Post, NewsMax.com, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun, Barrett Media, @jrobin.bsky.social, Reuters, Know Your Meme, CBS News, RedState, IJR and The Guardian

Tess Patton / The Wrap:

Job cuts across TV, film, broadcast, news, and streaming in the first 11 months of 2025 grew 18% YoY to 17K+; news suffered 2,254 job cuts, down about 50% YoY — A wave of consolidation, AI-driven change and cost-cutting pushed entertainment and media layoffs sharply higher in 2025

Discussion: New York Post

Deadline:

Streaming metrics underwent a rethink in 2025, as Netflix and Disney pivoted away from subscriber numbers to revenue per user, engagement, and other metrics — After more than five years of gushing red ink, 2025 was the year when streaming across the board started to turn a profit.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Page Six, Business Insider, Observer and Decider

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

Discussion: NZ Herald, @samuelwroberts.bsky.social and Miami Herald

Variety:

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

Discussion: @brentalang, Bloomberg, @stevenraymorris.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times and Instapundit

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More News:

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”

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

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

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

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

Earlier Picks:

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

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

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

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

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Meta is buying Manus for $2B+; Manus was raising at a $2B valuation when Meta approached it; Manus CEO Xiao Hong will report to Meta COO Javier Olivan

Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Sources: SoftBank has completed its $40B investment in OpenAI

Osmond Chia / BBC:
China's draft AI rules have measures to protect kids, like time limits and parental consent, ban gambling promotion content, and add suicide chats restrictions

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