Top News:
Max Tani / Semafor:
To avert layoffs, WaPo's White House correspondents, not considered at risk, write a letter to Jeff Bezos highlighting collaborations among the paper's sections — The Scoop — The Washington Post's White House reporters are making an effort to avert what are expected to be large cuts impacting …
Discussion:
CNN, The Wrap, @aaronwiener, @_hudsonc, @karyncaplan, @timmurtaugh, @tomfitton, @eugene_scott, @danpfeiffer, @ralph_grabowski, @jarvis_best, @chicoharlan, @mlcalderone, @chucktodd, @siobhan_ogrady, @bsoloway, @brianstelter, @ewong, @escarry, @mikesisak, @mediaevan, @maxwelltani, @kemettler and Washington Post
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Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
Sources: WaPo CEO Will Lewis floated several plans to make the company profitable again; some efforts failed to pan out, part of a pattern of fits and starts — It's been another terrible week for the Washington Post. The newsroom is bracing for a devastating round of layoffs with rumors flying …
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, Sports Business Journal, @sallyjenki, @ellenenders.bsky.social, Status, @niemanlab.org, @froomkin.bsky.social, @samlitzinger.bsky.social, New York Post, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @charlottetklein.bsky.social, @nymag.com and Fox News
New York Times:
Amazon's $35M marketing campaign for Melania is ~10x the budget for similar documentaries like CNN's RBG; some suggest Amazon is currying favor with Trump — The tech giant is spending $35 million to promote its film about the first lady, far more than is typical for documentaries.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, The Boston Globe, NBC News, Entertainment Weekly, National Enquirer, New Republic, Dexerto, New York Post, The Guardian, Mirror, @tomsteyer, @ronfilipkowski, @repjackkimble, @glen_mcgregor, Mock Paper Scissors, @bruce_arthur, The 19th, @covie_93, @jayblackisfunny, @patricia-ann.bsky.social, Nicki Swift, @pkafka, @nategilbert, @bmeiselas, @bmeiselas, @mikeisaac, @travisakers, NPR, @oldfriend99, @hearinladotcom, Los Angeles Times, @sundaedivine, Raw Story, Gamereactor UK, Daring Fireball, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, @6thsense4u.bsky.social, @markfollman.bsky.social, @tweetfrankie.bsky.social, The Cut, The Hollywood Gossip, Danielle Charles on LinkedIn, Newsweek, @ericgoldman.bsky.social, Consequence, @evansthecrime.bsky.social, @unrepentantpunk.bsky.social, Gizmodo, Variety, @pgkroegerbb.bsky.social, The Wrap, Florida's Voice, The Hollywood Reporter, MeidasTouch News, @alx-jxn.bsky.social, NewsMax.com, @johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz, Mercury News, Page Six, The Daily Beast, RADAR, The Hollywood Reporter, Mashable, Cele|bitchy and r/boxoffice, more at Techmeme »
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Wall Street Journal:
Brett Ratner, director of Amazon's Melania documentary, filmed President Trump for a planned documentary-style project about the 2020 Abraham Accords — How a former Hollywood player, ‘Rush Hour’ director Brett Ratner, found himself in the epicenter of global power
Discussion:
The Hollywood Gossip, Barron's Online, Variety, Associated Press, Raw Story and Just Jared
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Atlas Obscura reports $18.3M in revenue in 2025 and a $2.6M profit, the first annual profit in its 16-year history, in the first year under CEO Louise Story — This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Barry Diller expressed interest in buying CNN in H1 2025, before WBD said it would spin off cable networks; a WBD spokesman says CNN is not for sale — A Warner spokesman said CNN ‘was not and is not for sale’ — Billionaire media and tech investor Barry Diller approached Warner Bros. Discovery …
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Post, CNN, Reason, New York Times, Newser, @jeffreyt1, @brianstelter.bsky.social and @ellenenders.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
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Jake Kanter / Deadline:
A BBC-commissioned review of its content warns against “clunky” color-blind casting and “preachy” anti-colonial storylines that turn off viewers — The BBC has been urged to rethink color-blind casting “tokenism” and “preachy” storylines about the UK's colonial history …
Nieman Lab:
The Guardian, FT, NYT, USA Today Co., and others are blocking or limiting the Internet Archive's crawlers to prevent AI crawlers from using IA as a backdoor — Outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times are scrutinizing digital archives as potential backdoors for AI crawlers.
Discussion:
Pixel Envy
Ben Horney / Front Office Sports:
Source: the NFL won't allow prediction-market ads during Super Bowl LX on February 8, but sports betting ads are allowed, reportedly limited to six total ads — The rise of prediction markets over the last year has been impossible to ignore, with companies like Kalshi and Polymarket raising billions …
Discussion:
CNBC, Bloomberg, Ad Age and The Portland Press Herald
The Atlantic:
The Atlantic hires David Brooks as a staff writer and host of a new weekly video podcast, starting in February, after 22 years as an NYT opinion columnist — New home for his writing, and to launch a video podcast — The Atlantic is announcing that David Brooks, who for years …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @kungat108.bsky.social and @theatlanticpr
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Comcast reports NBCU's Q4 revenue rose 5.5% YoY to $7.62B and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $122M; Peacock had a $552M loss on $1.6B in revenue and 44M subscribers — Comcast posted mixed results for its fourth quarter on Thursday, beating analyst expectations on earnings but slightly missing on revenue.
Colin Moynihan / New York Times:
A US judge sentences a third person to jail for participating in a murder-for-hire plot, directed by Iran, targeting journalist and activist Masih Alinejad — Carlisle Rivera became the third person to be sentenced for playing a role in trying to kill Masih Alinejad, an activist and a critic of the Iranian government.
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