Mediagazer: Patrick Drahi's new ~15% stake in Channel 13 prompts questions about media independence in Israel; Drahi owns the outlet i24, which supports Benjamin Netanyahu (Financial Times)

5:30 AM ET, February 16, 2026

Top News:

Five regional newspapers in Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Philly, and Salt Lake offer examples of sustainability for the news business, as WaPo shrinks — The Washington Post's evisceration at the hands of its billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, didn't have to happen.

Discussion: The Guardian, @billspaced.com, @gerritb.bsky.social, @davew@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Foreign Policy and Fast Company

Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
While announcing its sports buildup, Banner EIC Audrey Cooper noted the civic value: “At a time when so much pulls communities apart, sports bring us together”

Discussion: @postguild, Nieman Lab, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @dankennedy.net, Poynter and The Verge

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Following Disney, Paramount sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging its AI-generated Seedance videos and Seedream images infringed Paramount's IP — Disney also sent a legal demand to Chinese internet company — Paramount Skydance accused ByteDance of engaging in …

Discussion: The Guardian, BBC, Benzinga, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, The Information, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Wrap, Motion Picture Association, Screen and Digit, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming it infringed on Disney's works to train its Seedance 2.0 video generation model without pay

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

In the nearly two weeks since his arrest, Don Lemon gained 300K+ Instagram followers, 140K YouTube subscribers, and his Substack soared 73% to 140K+ subscribers — The administration's attacks on Lemon and independent journalists have boosted their online attention and revenue.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly

CNN:
Don Lemon pleads not guilty to two federal charges stemming from his reporting at an anti-ICE protest in a Minnesota church

Bloomberg:

Sources: Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening sale talks with Paramount after receiving Paramount's most recent amended offer — Warner Bros Discovery Inc. is considering reopening sale talks with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance Corp. after receiving its hostile suitor's …

Will Oremus / Washington Post:

Former NPR host David Greene sues Google for allegedly replicating his voice in NotebookLM without permission; Google says the voice is based on a paid actor — NPR's David Greene says he was “completely freaked out” when he heard an AI voice that sounded just like his own, and he's suing over it.

Discussion: Neowin, Newser, @jeradwalker.bsky.social, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @jondmaas.bsky.social, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, @samthielman.com, @treblaw.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, @spennington.bsky.social, @acarv.in, @brutumfulmen.bsky.social and @annabookwriter.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

Patrick Drahi's new ~15% stake in Channel 13 prompts questions about media independence in Israel; Drahi owns the outlet i24, which supports Benjamin Netanyahu — Sale of stake in news channel critical of Israeli premier is latest move to prompt questions about media independence ahead of elections

Discussion: The Guardian

Henry Chandonnet / Business Insider:

A look at Sourcery, a podcast and newsletter from Molly O'Shea, which gets big-name guests including Palantir CEO Alex Karp and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey — - Sourcery host Molly O'Shea has a deep rolodex — one that's helped her land interviews with Palantir and Anduril leaders.

Nathan Taylor Pemberton / New York Times:

Conservative creators are increasingly posting “slopulism”, low-quality political content that prioritizes populist rage, aiming to provoke policy action — Social media has long been flooded with populist rage and discontent. What happens when the posts become policy?

Discussion: @cip.uw.edu and @cip.uw.edu

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with The Atlantic's Liz Bruenig on her hypothetical creative nonfiction measles essay, writing in second person, persuading parents about vaccines, and more — “We were attracted to the idea of providing a play-by-play of the progression of measles in granular detail.”

Discussion: The Guardian, @samjmintz.bsky.social, @michaelhobbes.bsky.social, @polgreen.bsky.social, @josie.zone, The Hill, MS NOW, GB News, @melodyschreiber.com, @juliametraux.bsky.social, @ehahnmd.bsky.social, @melodyschreiber.com and CBS News

Max Tani / Semafor:

Sources: Apple partnered with the UK's Daily Mail soon after the Mail complained to the UK CMA in 2025 that Apple was stonewalling attempts to join Apple News — The News — Apple maintained public silence in response to a pressure campaign from Trump administration officials …

Discussion: Above Avalon and Reason

Scott Shambaugh / The Shamblog:

A now-removed Ars Technica article, covering how an AI agent wrote a hit piece about an open source project maintainer, seems to have included AI hallucinations — Context: An AI agent of unknown ownership autonomously wrote and published a personalized hit piece about me after I rejected its code …

Discussion: Ars Technica, @peark.es, @keithng.bsky.social, OSnews, Pixel Envy, @mayintoronto@beige.party, @chucktowski.com, 404 Media, Andrew Morgan on LinkedIn, The Decoder, @mjp123.bsky.social, @shannonvallor.bsky.social, @berniethewordsmith …, @Linkshaender@bildung.social, @kazedkaz.bsky.social, @dahukanna@mastodon.social, @albertcardona@mathstodon.xyz, Tyler Adams on LinkedIn, Michael Dawe on LinkedIn, Ben Spargo on LinkedIn, @acdha@code4lib.social, @melissawm@pynews.com.br, @ehashman@cloudisland.nz, The Shamblog, @elfsternberg.bsky.social, GitHub, @davidcrespo.bsky.social, @antisomniac.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, Paul Ford on LinkedIn, Scott Shambaugh on LinkedIn, James Cuff on LinkedIn, Vijay Balasubramaniyan on LinkedIn, Abhinaba Naskar on LinkedIn, Kautuk Pandey on LinkedIn, Scott Shambaugh on LinkedIn, @ciphergoth, @googleoss, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @librarian.bsky.social, @maoltuile.bsky.social, @librarian.bsky.social, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @andybalaam@mastodon.social, @ironyuppie.com, I Am Completely Serious, @mordecwhy.bsky.social, @engineersneedart.com, @dancow.bsky.social, @larsmb@mastodon.online, @harld@masto.ai, Decrypt, Fast Company, @enikofox.com, @secretaboutbox.bsky.social, @alexhanna.bsky.social, @clauswilke.com, The Decoder, The Register and WinBuzzer

James Faris / Business Insider:

As Netflix, Disney, and Paramount add vertical clips to their streaming services, media analysts warn that short-form video isn't a cure-all — - Hollywood streamers are turning to short-form video as YouTube and TikTok take viewership time. — Netflix, Disney, and Paramount are adding …

Discussion: Cord Cutters News

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Hollie Richardson / The Guardian:
A look at the growth of Belfast in Northern Ireland as a home for producing TV shows, following the success of the comedy Derry Girls

Discussion: The Irish News, Mirror, @debbiemoon.bsky.social, Financial Times, Metro.co.uk and Forbes

Abbey White / The Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with PBS Kids' Sara DeWitt on the effect of cuts to the $112M Ready to Learn grant, including potentially partnering with ad tech companies

Discussion: @willmckinley.bsky.social and Cord Cutters News

Isma'il Kushkush / Nieman Reports:
A look at the dearth of media coverage of Sudan's civil war, started in 2023; report: 32 journalists have been killed and 90% of outlets damaged or destroyed

Discussion: arabnews.jp, @zidan.bsky.social and Los Angeles Times

Financial Times:
Sources: OpenAI is charging $60 per 1,000 impressions for ads in ChatGPT, a high price similar to Netflix's rate when it introduced ads

Discussion: Glossy, Digiday, Glenn Gabe on LinkedIn, Futurism, Enrico Zelocchi on LinkedIn, Communicate Online, HealthcareInfoSecurity.com, Semafor, Newsweek and AdExchanger

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Memo: LA Olympics Chair Casey Wasserman is putting his talent agency up for sale after his ties to Epstein surfaced and high-profile talent departed the firm

Earlier Picks:

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Paramount names former Trump administration attorney Rene Augustine as its senior vice president of global public policy, amid a takeover battle for WBD

Discussion: Deadline, TheDesk.net, @bselena.bsky.social, Reuters, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Source: New York Daily News is cutting six of 10 national desk staffers, one metro reporter, seven print production people, and two photo department staffers

Discussion: The Post Millennial, NewsGuild of New York, @simko-bednarski.bsky.social, @johnannese.bsky.social, The Wrap and @propublicaguild.org

George Winslow / TV Tech:
Cineverse says it is acquiring IndiCue, a profitable CTV ad tech company, for $22M plus up to $18M in earnout as Cineverse focuses on streaming infrastructure

Discussion: Pulse 2.0, Cineverse, TheDesk.net, Advanced Television and Deadline

New York Times:
A Q&A with NYT reporters on handling the Epstein files, including creating tools to make them searchable, prepping for the release, and dealing with redactions

Discussion: @filip-struharik.bsky.social, Francesca Donner on LinkedIn, @martyswant, @dylfreed, @dylfreed, @jfallows.bsky.social, @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social and @jswatz.bsky.social

Scott Nover / Washington Post:
The Richmond Free Press, a 34-year-old Black-owned weekly, shuts down due to falling ad revenue as the Black press suffers from the dispersion of its readership

Discussion: New York Daily News, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, LGBTQ Nation and @scottnover.bsky.social

From Techmeme:

Sam Altman / @sama:
Sam Altman says Peter Steinberger, creator of OpenClaw, is joining OpenAI “to drive the next generation of personal agents”; OpenClaw will remain open source

Bloomberg:
Sources: Sony is considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation console to 2028 or even 2029, as the AI boom fuels huge memory chip demand

Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Samsung releases an ad for the Galaxy S26 series that briefly shows a “Zero-peeking privacy” toggle to black out on-screen content for onlookers at an angle

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