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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers blocked an interview with Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico, citing the FCC's equal time guidance for TV talk shows — Colbert and ‘The Late Show’ posted the interview with James Talarico on the show's YouTube page to bypass the FCC's oversight.
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Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
By not airing Colbert's interview with Talarico, CBS bowed to FCC pressure preemptively as the agency hasn't formally eliminated talk show equal time exemptions — Stephen Colbert went public Monday night with a striking accusation against his own network: that CBS lawyers had barred …
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Financial Times:
WBD tells Paramount to make its “best and final offer” within seven days, or get out of the way of Netflix's agreed $83B deal; Netflix granted a weeklong waiver — Netflix grants weeklong waiver to rival bidder in high-stakes battle for control
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, CNN, CinemaBlend, The Post Millennial, Front Office Sports, CBC News, Daily Mail, Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, @brianstelter, City A.M., Associated Press, @brianstelter, Barron's Online, @tvgrimreaper, @sarafischer, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, New York Times, Reuters, @claytravis, Axios, Los Angeles Times, @sherman4949, Advanced Television, The Verge, EasternEye and International Business Times
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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD says Paramount informed WBD on February 11 that it would pay $31 per share, up from $30, if the sides engaged, and that $31 was not its best and final offer — Warner says that the Ellison camp had verbally agreed to boost its bid to $31 or higher if two the sides engaged, which WBD today has agreed to do.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Cord Cutters News, Straight Arrow News and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says Paramount has caused “ongoing distraction” and “mischaracterized the regulatory review process”, and its WBD bid raises national security concerns — The streamer said that its $83 billion deal is “the only certain path to delivering value to WBD's stockholders”
Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD sets March 20 as the date for a special shareholder meeting to vote on the proposed $83B Netflix deal, which its board “continues to unanimously recommend”
Discussion:
The Wrap, Advanced Television, The Streamable, The American Bazaar, Ars Technica, CNBC, Agence France-Presse, Benzinga, Washington Examiner, UPI, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones Newswires, Livemint, New York Times, Deadline, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, ZeroHedge News, Screen, Netflix, Inc., Channel NewsAsia, Deadline, Anadolu Ajansı …, Media Play News, Commercial Observer, Sherwood News, Screen Rant, The Guardian and Sharecast
Lachlan Cartwright / Breaker:
Anderson Cooper is leaving 60 Minutes after almost 20 years; sources say he has decided to pass on a renewal offer with CBS — Legendary Newsman Will Focus on CNN And Family … Welcome to a special edition of Breaker, as we mark our first birthday, we thought what better way to celebrate than to give all of our subscribers a scoop.
Discussion:
Reuters, Screen Rant, HuffPost, Breitbart, Variety, Associated Press, @brianstelter, People, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Insider, NOTUS, PinkNews, Poynter, @brianstelter, @petertwinklage, @keitholbermann, @brianstelter, @lachcartwright, The A.V. Club, Reuters, IJR, Newser, Daily Mail, Us Weekly, New York Daily News, Washington Post, TVLine, @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social, @edeggans.bsky.social, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., The Wrap, Advocate, Barrett Media, @olbermann.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, Mediaite, Fox News, Plain Dealer and Just Jared
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Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: Anderson Cooper grew increasingly uneasy with the rightward direction of CBS News under Bari Weiss, a factor in his decision to leave 60 Minutes — On Monday evening, as the media class wrapped up its three-day Presidents' Day weekend, a bombshell development sent shockwaves across the industry.
Discussion:
The Hill, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Breaker, LGBTQ Nation, Queerty, Mediaweek, USA Today, ROB SHUTER'S Naughty But Nice, Los Angeles Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, KING-TV, Financial Times, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, HELLO!, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, New York Post, @bubbaprog.xyz, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, RADAR, Business Insider, E! Online, Deadline and Just Jared
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Mediahuis is experimenting with AI agents for commissioning, writing, and more to “automate first line news”, which is reviewed by humans prior to publication — Belgium-based news publisher Mediahuis is experimenting with automating the production of its “first-line” news.
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Chris Quinn / Plain Dealer:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer says it has removed “writing” from some reporters' workloads; an “AI rewrite specialist” turns info gathered by reporters into drafts — A college student withdrew from consideration for a reporting role in our newsroom this week because of how we use artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
Media Nation, @hshaban, The Overspill, @richardwarnica, @bailardejesus, @kevinbankston, @fedsoccermom, @patrickdehahn, @mollytaft, @braden_keith, @meganmmenchaca, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @mikeisaac, @mikedrucker, @jaybsauceda, @fitzonsportsbsr, @arijitdsen, @newsmanben, @jacob_denobel, @raleighreporter, @ioangrillo, @alexbgault, @lionelbarber, @marybethgahan, @jeffarnold_, @aresef, @ben_baby, @phil_lewis_, @asymmetricinfo, @milligansusan, @christiancaple, @jeremymbarr, @lahavharkov, @moorehn, @benfritz, @adamjohnsonchi, @jmonkatthestate, @royalpratt, @stephenwhitty, @rickyreports, @pwoodreporter, @michaelsocolow, @alecmacgillis, @stenspin, @benfritz, @glennthrush, @scenesallard, @meganmmenchaca, David Cohn on LinkedIn, @mattrosoff.bsky.social, @mmorsch35.bsky.social, Michael Hewlett on LinkedIn, @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social, @joepatrice.bsky.social, @mikehixenbaugh.com, @amandabecker.bsky.social, @mcnees.bsky.social, @nkalamb.bsky.social, @4nsmiley.bsky.social, @meganmenchaca.bsky.social, @ryanjhaas.bsky.social, @janerosenzweig.bsky.social and @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Condé Nast names Adam Baidawi as GQ's global editorial director; Baidawi previously led British GQ and wants GQ to be a “North Star of masculinity” — Adam Baidawi recalls being enthralled by GQ magazine the first time he pored through an issue as a teenager in suburban Melbourne, Australia.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Condé Nast
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Hearst CEO Steve Swartz says 2025 revenue grew 3% YoY to $13.5B and the company hit record profit levels, with B2B business accounting for 60% of profits — Hearst, the 138-year-old media giant, saw record revenues and profits last year, CEO Steve Swartz wrote in an annual memo to employees Tuesday, obtained by Axios.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg and Deadline
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Talent agency Night Media, which represents social media celebrities and owns a podcast network, raised $70M to expand into gaming, sports, and music — Night Media Inc., the talent management firm that represents social media celebrities such as popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat …
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