Top News:
New York Times:
Memos: Will Lewis has stepped down as WaPo publisher and CEO; former Tumblr CEO Jeff D'Onofrio, who joined WaPo last June as CFO, is acting publisher and CEO — His departure came days after the company cut 30 percent of the staff. He will be replaced in the interim by Jeff D'Onofrio, the chief financial officer, the company said.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Business Insider, Associated Press, NPR, @dlknowles.bsky.social, Variety, @jasonmurray117, @jamessurowiecki, @kgroetz, @sallyjenki, @scfilipowski, @yoda, @pbump.com, @shannonosaka.bsky.social, @bencollins.bsky.social, @sonnybunch, @aoxamaxoa, @davidleheny.bsky.social, @dylanbyers, @chelsea_janes, @grudgie.bsky.social, @washpostcomms, @richarddeitsch, @nataliekorach, @postguild, @mikesenters.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @katzish.bsky.social, @maxtani.bsky.social, @ruebenbvargas.bsky.social, @zandisussex, @sarahlongwell25, @dcsportsbog, @andrewmceo.bsky.social, @bencjacobs, @edokeefe, @wajali.bsky.social, @saraheschwartz.bsky.social, @penguinsix, @katzish.bsky.social, @autumnsan1, @jbillinson, @edroso.bsky.social, @johnmone.bsky.social, @sheltiedad.bsky.social, Deadline, @chrislhayes.bsky.social, @meredithshiner.com, @sallyjenki, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @dmnd.me, @edmundlee, CBS News, @mcbyrne, @jdawsey1, @chriscillizza, The Wrap, @jakeadelstein, @joshuajfriedman.com, @jamisonfoser.bsky.social, @sallyjenki, @jamesrball.com, @cfishman, @loudmouthjulia, @leferkins.bsky.social, @hshaban, @andersen.buzz, @karaswisher@threads.com, @admiralmpj.bsky.social, @maxtani.bsky.social, @benmullin.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @mattyglesias, The Daily Caller, @greatemuwarvet.bsky.social, @jekeep.bsky.social, @runwithskizzers.bsky.social, @bobbyallyn.bsky.social, @timmarchman.bsky.social, @profmisterlizzie.bsky.social, @katebevan.com, @joshuajfriedman.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @neontaster, @farhip, @jamesrball.com, @marlownyc, @johnshewchuk, @n__c__l, @melissaryan.bsky.social, @samuraiko.bsky.social, @kleinman.bsky.social, @judybattista, The Guardian, The Rebooting, @kimischilling.bsky.social, @mattressisland.bsky.social, @jerrybrewer, @eliasisquith.blog, @paulthedogman.bsky.social, @juliewestfall, @rhreid, @jeremymbarr, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @jeremymbarr, @jbenton, @kcoxdc.bsky.social, WLT Report, The Hill, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, NewsMax.com and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Jon Passantino / Status:
Sources: before the layoffs, a group of wealthy DC locals asked Will Lewis whether WaPo would sell them its local and sports sections, but never got an answer — Last month, just ahead of the devastating layoffs at The Washington Post, a group of wealthy D.C. locals approached Post publisher …
Financial Times:
A WaPo newsroom source says senior management was livid that Will Lewis attended Super Bowl festivities as news of layoffs broke, adding, “Bezos lost patience” — British journalist's tenure was controversial after Jeff Bezos appointed him to turn around the newspaper
Max Tani / Semafor:
WaPo squandered two precious years under Will Lewis' leadership, and his short resignation note and the lack of a succession plan suggest his exit was unplanned — It's easy to forget that Sir Will Lewis's arrival at the Washington Post in late 2023 provoked cautious optimism: He was an ex-journalist who charmed the newsroom.
Discussion:
Australian Financial Review, @maxwelltani, ZeroHedge News and The Post Millennial
Drew Lerner / Awful Announcing:
WaPo Publisher Will Lewis appeared at NFL Honors in San Francisco Thursday, after failing to show for a Zoom call in which WaPo announced historic layoffs — Will Lewis likes sports. He just doesn't like paying sports journalists. — The Washington Post publisher who presided over the axing …
Discussion:
@nickijhabvala, NBC News, NBC Bay Area, Fox News, @debbieegeorge, Puck, @dkthomp, @richarddeitsch, @dylanbyers, @farhip, @jdawsey1, @sallyjenki, @jadabird, @jstein_wapo, @bryancurtis, @ashleyrparker, @andrewhazlett, @bryancurtis, @awfulannouncing.bsky.social, The Daily Beast and The Wrap
Financial Times:
Sources: WaPo is losing about $100M per year but aiming to break even by the end of 2026, which could unlock fresh funding from Jeff Bezos — Billionaire hopes that culling hundreds of journalists will stem heavy losses and refocus the struggling newspaper
Discussion:
@realbobwoodward, @michaelscherer, @ashokdadhwal.bsky.social, The Gateway Pundit, American Thinker, The Wrap, @gregjaffe, @bencjacobs, @jeremymbarr, @hshaban, @dogmomager, @moorehn, @rachelbianca, @wapotechguild, @davidclinchnews, The Guardian, @francescaebel, @sarahellison, Democracy Now, Axios, Newsbusters, @jayrosen.bsky.social, Daily Caller News Foundation, @meredithfailson.bsky.social, Diane Ravitch's blog, Los Angeles Times, BIG by Matt Stoller, The Bulwark, Vanity Fair and The Atlantic
Aban Usmani / Newslaundry:
WaPo terminated the contract of its Delhi bureau chief Pranshu Verma; a source says “there is no clarity if the paper will continue with its bureau in Delhi”
Discussion:
@pranshuverma_, spiked, @supriyakmr, @lisagartner, @pavnimittal, The Verge and The Kyiv Independent
Hadas Gold / CNN:
Anthropic is running Super Bowl ads criticizing ads in chatbots, prompting a public response from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defending plans for ads in ChatGPT — A long-simmering rivalry between two of the world's biggest AI companies was on public display this week as Anthropic and OpenAI took swings at one another online.
Discussion:
@sama, Anthropic, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Guardian, Deadline, Fast Company, Reuters, The Economic Times, @hadas_gold, @nikitabier, @johncodes, @paulroetzer, @neo_antiquarian, @bcmerchant, Gabriel Nicholas on LinkedIn, Ruben Schreurs on LinkedIn, Kaitlyn McCann on LinkedIn, Nicolas Young on LinkedIn, Suzanne Vranica on LinkedIn, PC Gamer, BBC, PitchBook, Wired, @cameron.stream, CNBC, Mediaweek, Android Headlines, SFist, Adweek, The Verge, @tomwarren.co.uk, TVREV, Notebookcheck, MediaPost, Computerworld, MediaBrief, Observer, ZDNET, Variety, Techstrong.ai, PCWorld, WinBuzzer, Sherwood News, Futurism, Entrepreneur, Just Jared, Digital Trends and The Indian Express
C.J. Robinson / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the FOIA system, as right-wing media networks flood it with robo-requests, the number of FOIA agents stays flat, and states opt for higher fees — FOIA's systemic problems meet partisan robo-requests. — The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was designed to help keep …
Discussion:
Courthouse News Service, Columbia Journalism Review and Pixel Envy
Wall Street Journal:
A civil subpoena shows the US DOJ is investigating Netflix for potential anticompetitive tactics as DOJ probes the company's proposed acquisition of WBD — As it probes bids for Warner, the department is asking if the streamer has engaged in conduct that could make it a monopoly
Discussion:
Fortune, Engadget, Livemint, Bloomberg, @karlbode.com, Dow Jones Newswires, Financial Times, New York Post, Newsmax, Sherwood News, Benzinga, O'Dwyers PR and Cartoon Brew
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Netflix settles a 2022 defamation lawsuit brought by con artist Anna Sorokin's former friend, who claims she was falsely portrayed in its series Inventing Anna — Netflix has settled a defamation lawsuit brought a Vanity Fair staffer who claimed that she was falsely portrayed in the Shonda Rhimes series “Inventing Anna.”
Discussion:
The Wrap
Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
How journalism co-ops Defector, Hell Gate, Aftermath, Coyote, Sequencer, and Range practice horizontal governance, structure their newsrooms, manage ads, more — “If I was less self-directed, I'd probably be freaking out.” — Defector almost didn't exist.
Democracy for Sale:
Docs: a Labour thinktank run by a current UK minister hired a PR firm in 2023 to investigate journalists from the Guardian and other outlets to ID their sources — Labour Together put private investigators onto journalists writing about its funding. Starmer's right-hand man knew. — Peter Geoghegan
Discussion:
Telegraph, Breitbart, Lucas Amin on LinkedIn, The Guardian, @kathyodonnell.bsky.social, @pressgazette.co.uk, @indexoncensorship.org, @richardhull54.bsky.social, @andymcdonaldmp.bsky.social, @gerryhassan.bsky.social, @fkamiah17@syzito.xyz, @eddwilson.bsky.social, @glynmoody@mastodon.social, @andrewpurcell.bsky.social, @petergeoghegan.bsky.social, @pickardje.bsky.social, @natacha.bsky.social, @robinince.bsky.social, @declassifieduk.org, @kimjohnsonmp.bsky.social, Canary and National Union of Journalists …
