Mediagazer: Snap says its direct revenue business has reached a $1B ARR, driven primarily by Snapchat+ surpassing 25M subscribers since its 2022 launch (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

11:25 AM ET, February 18, 2026

Top News:

Jack Dunn / Variety:

Stephen Colbert says CBS released its statement “without ever talking to me” and talk shows have long been exempt from “equal time” rules — On Tuesday night's broadcast of “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert slammed his home network, CBS, for releasing a statement denying …

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

Discussion: YouTube, The Wrap, YouTube, New York Times, Mediaite, MS NOW, LaineyGossip, Washington Post, The Guardian, HuffPost, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, Raw Story, TheJournal.ie, NOTUS, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, @mcbridetd.bsky.social, @jamestalarico, Deadline, LateNighter, The Wrap, The Verge, @sgmandanas.bsky.social, Benzinga, ZeroHedge News, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, @adamscochran, Variety, @adamscochran, @kurtbardella, @repdarrensoto, @davidsirota, @kylegriffin1, @schmittnyc, @mollyjongfast, @chrismurphyct, @adamwren, Talking Points Memo, @mikenellis, @reckless.bsky.social, @timodc, @chriso_wiki, UPI, @j_g_allen, @richardhanania, @terrymoran, @therickwilson, @nathanleamerdc, @yakhappy.bsky.social, @mehdirhasan, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Deadline, @ronfilipkowski, Business Insider, @meidastouch, CBS News, Washington Post, New Republic, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @hissgoescobra, @adamscochran, @redsteeze, @mdg650hawk.bsky.social, @redsteeze, Peter S. Henne on LinkedIn, Mediaite, New York Daily News, @wjcarter, @nick_field90, @farhip, twitchy.com, The A.V. Club, Techdirt, Forbes, Page Six, The Dean's Report, Rolling Stone, @eddiesheehy.bsky.social, NewsMax.com, @sev.yote.social, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, RedState, New Jersey Online, Straight Arrow News, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, New York Sun, The Hill, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Siren, @cat1957.bsky.social, The Status Kuo, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, Decider, KVIA-TV, Newsbusters, Endless Urgency …, @geneha.com, @drewharwell.com, The Nation, Mediaite, IJR, OutsideTheBeltway, Forbes, The Texas Tribune, MS NOW, USA Today, The Independent, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, Plain Dealer, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, Axios, @texassignal.bsky.social, Bloomberg Law, The Boston Globe, Us Weekly, Scripps News, The Daily Beast, TV Insider, Townhall, @gabrielmalor.bsky.social, The Wrap, Mediaite, Raw Story, TVNewsCheck, Just Jared, Eschaton, Mashable and Variety

Todd Spangler / Variety:
CBS says The Late Show was not prohibited from broadcasting a James Talarico interview and was given “legal guidance” that a broadcast could trigger an FCC rule

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

WBD joins Disney and Paramount in claiming infringement on ByteDance's AI video tool Seedance and demands ByteDance cease training AI on Warner Bros. characters — The studio's legal counsel fired off a letter on Tuesday to John Rogovin, the general counsel of ByteDance who happens …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Decoder, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, PetaPixel and MediaNews4U, more at Techmeme »

Dominic Patten / Deadline:

Netflix sends ByteDance a C&D letter over Seedance 2.0, joining WBD, Paramount, and Disney, saying “forensic evidence” shows “unauthorized derivative works” — With their two-page correspondence and potential legal action to follow, Netflix have linked arms …

Discussion: Comic Book, TechRadar, GamesRadar, primetimer.com, Variety and The Wrap

Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:

Sources: CNN restricted staff from using its platforms for self-promotion, after Jake Tapper pushing his Joe Biden book turned into a “rolling infomercial” — TURNING A PAGE — The anchor is said to be “very, very unhappy” at the network's new policy on self-promotion.

Discussion: Raw Story, @dankennedy.net, @lmarson05.bsky.social, @wehriskat.bsky.social, @optimisticdoomer.bsky.social, @xelahart.bsky.social and @billkuchman.bsky.social

The Keyword:

Google rolls out Lyria 3, a generative music model that can make 30-second tracks with Nano Banana cover art, in beta in the Gemini app in eight languages — The Gemini app now features our most advanced music generation model Lyria 3, empowering anyone to make 30-second tracks using text or images in beta.

Discussion: TechCrunch, PCMag, Bloomberg, Neowin, Tom's Guide, The Verge, Music Ally, iPhone in Canada, @_philschmid, @officiallogank, @geminiapp, Campaign Middle East, 9to5Google, EFTM and Android Headlines, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Snap says its direct revenue business has reached a $1B ARR, driven primarily by Snapchat+ surpassing 25M subscribers since its 2022 launch — Snap's direct revenue business has reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, the company announced on Wednesday.

Discussion: Reuters

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The New York Times wins three 2025 Polk Awards, including for its Trump coverage; The Boston Globe, ProPublica, AP, and Business Insider also won — The Times was honored for its coverage of President Trump, the abuse of housekeepers and nannies in Saudi Arabia and brutality in New York prisons.

Discussion: Business Insider, New Yorker and @jeremymbarr

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The Irish Times says it now has ~150,000 print and digital subscribers, and it has reached a milestone where subscriber revenue fully funds its journalism — Revenue generated by subscribers to The Irish Times is now fully funding its journalism for the first time.

Discussion: @metacurity.com

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:

Apple launches Apple Music Connect, a new resource for music labels and distributors to manage promotional assets, upload press photos, and more — Apple has launched Apple Music Connect, a new resource for labels, distributors, and partners to manage promotional assets, upload press photos …

Discussion: Cult of Mac, iClarified, iPhone in Canada, AppleInsider, The Mac Observer and MacTech.com

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

A US federal judge orders OpenAI to stop using the word “Cameo” for its Sora products and features, in a trademark lawsuit filed by celebrity video app Cameo — A federal district court in Northern California ruled in favor of Cameo, a platform that allows users …

Discussion: Engadget, Los Angeles Times, Tech in Asia, Reuters and Chicago Business Journal

Olivia Empson / Wall Street Journal:

A profile of women-focused conservative magazine Evie, founded in 2019 and named for a modern take on the Bible's original woman, with 192K Substack followers — Named for a modern version of the Bible's original woman, Evie aims to reach a new kind of conservative: the churchgoing, city-dwelling, working young mother

Discussion: Wired and Vanity Fair

Krystal Hur / Wall Street Journal:

Filing: Berkshire Hathaway reports that it purchased 5.1M shares of The New York Times during the December quarter; NYT rises 3%+ pre-market — In Warren Buffett's last quarter as CEO, his company further trimmed its holdings in iPhone maker — Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Bank …

Discussion: Proactive, The Hollywood Reporter, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, Sherwood News, Telegraph, MacDailyNews, Morningstar, Motley Fool, RTÉ, ZeroHedge News, Associated Press, Reuters, SEC.gov, Barron's Online and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Diane Sylvester / Editor and Publisher:
News Literacy Project survey: 84% of US teens describe news media negatively, and 94% think news or media literacy should be part of their education

Discussion: Erin Schneider on LinkedIn, Esther Wojcicki on LinkedIn and @dankennedy.net

Freddie Sayers / The Spectator:
The Spectator has 113K subscribers, a record, print is its fastest-growing type of subscription, and it is offering its subscription service to external clients

Discussion: City A.M., Advanced Television and The Streamable

Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:
Perplexity says it has no plans to further pursue ads, which it introduced in 2024, after phasing them out in late 2025 over fears they would erode user trust

Discussion: The Information, The Decoder, Search Engine Land, The Verge, @cszabla, MacRumors, @homemadehooplah, PYMNTS.com, Benzinga, @charlesmok.bsky.social and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Amnesty research: a government customer of spyware maker Intellexa hacked the iPhone of journalist Teixeira Cândido in Angola in 2024 via Predator spyware

Discussion: The Record, Reporters Without Borders, Metacurity, Amnesty International …, Amnesty International USA, Reuters, Bloomberg, @lorenzofb.bsky.social and Committee to Protect …

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Versant's MS Now signs a deal with Crooked Media to air highlights from Crooked podcasts such as Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It, at 9pm ET on Saturdays

Discussion: @jeremymbarr, Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, Brands, The Wrap, Mediaite, Deadline and Barrett Media

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Automattic adds an AI assistant to WordPress.com, enabling users to perform site-wide layout and style modifications via natural language commands

Discussion: Engadget, eWeek, TechRadar, WordPress.com News, @jameswlepage, @wordpressdotcom, @rafaltomal, @georgebaily@mastodon.social, TechEBlog, Tech in Asia, The Verge and @lauridonahue.bsky.social

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount says it is “prepared to engage” with WBD on takeover talks during a seven-day negotiating window, but doesn't say whether it will raise its bid

Earlier Picks:

John Stang / Columbia Journalism Review:
Three right-wing media figures, who were denied press credentials in WA because of political affiliation, sue to get permanent press passes to the statehouse

Discussion: @agomezfcc, @cjr, KUOW News and Information and @emilybell.bsky.social

Lucia Moses / Business Insider:
NBCU sues Group Black, a firm created to direct ad dollars to Black-owned and Black-led media, alleging $35.8M in unpaid invoices and guaranteed payments

Discussion: @businessinsider.com

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

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

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

Discussion: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Tubefilter, Aisha Counts on LinkedIn and The Hollywood Reporter

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”

Discussion: @nicolegelinas, Feed Me, The Business of Fashion, The Hollywood Reporter, Condé Nast and The Wrap

From Techmeme:

Todd Haselton / The Verge:
Google unveils the $499 Pixel 10a, with a Tensor G4 and 8GB of RAM, like the Pixel 9a, an 11% brighter screen, and 128GB or 256GB storage, shipping from March 4

Abu Sultan / Reuters:
Microsoft says it is on pace to invest $50B by 2030 to help expand AI across the Global South, after unveiling $17.5B worth of AI investments in India in 2025

Joe Miller / Financial Times:
How US citizens, clergy, and elected officials in conservative communities like Missouri are leading a grassroots rebellion against the Trump-backed AI boom

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