Top News:
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Paramount reports Q4 revenue up 2% YoY to $8.15B, a net loss of $573M, and DTC revenue up 10% YoY to $2.213B; Paramount+ subscribers rise 4% YoY to 78.9M — But the David Ellison-led media giant posted an overall loss of $573 million in its fourth quarter — Paramount+'s revenue grew 17% …
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Kayla Cobb / The Wrap:
WBD says it plans to expand its crackdown on HBO Max password-sharing around the world, after starting enforcement in August 2025 — The company announced the plan during its fourth quarter earnings call — HBO Max will be cracking down on password sharing around the world.
Discussion:
Media Play News and T3
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A record 129 press members were killed in 2025, the second consecutive YoY record; Israel was responsible for two-thirds of killings in 2025 and 2024 — Key findings — More journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 than in any other year since the Committee to Protect Journalists …
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Nagham Zbeedat / Haaretz:
Israel bans five Palestinian media outlets, alleging they operate as propaganda or media arms for Hamas without releasing evidence for the claim — The platforms were banned under Israel's Counter-Terrorism Law as security officials reportedly allege incitement and links to Hamas.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
The Athletic hires six former Washington Post sports reporters, including Candace Buckner, after the Post dismantled its sports section earlier in February — The Athletic is hiring a slew of sports reporters from the Washington Post to expand its coverage of D.C. teams.
Reuters:
Sources: CNBC is planning an overhaul which will result in nearly a dozen layoffs, including the website's managing editor, and the introduction of a paywall — CNBC is restructuring its newsroom to unify its TV and digital operations in a move that would result in nearly a dozen layoffs including …
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
The BBC, Sky News, FT, The Guardian, and The Telegraph form the Standards for Publisher Usage Rights coalition to tackle AI “scraping” of journalism — Coalition, including BBC, Sky News and FT, wants to establish shared standards and licensing frameworks for access
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Variety, The Guardian, Sky News, Telegraph, The Guardian, BBC and The Hollywood Reporter
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WaPo lost $100M+ in 2025, after losing ~$100M in 2024 and $77M in 2023; its publisher told staff that expenses surpassed revenue between 2022 and 2025 — The company recently cut staff by 30% as it looks to refocus its coverage — The Washington Post lost more than $100 million last year …
Discussion:
New York Post, @pkafka, @alexbruell and @michaelsavage.bsky.social
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
WPP says it plans to cut £500M per year in costs by 2028 and sell non-core businesses, as part of a sweeping overhaul to restore growth after a difficult period — New chief executive Cindy Rose outlines strategy to restore advertising group to profit growth
Discussion:
Marketing Dive, Adweek, Business Insider, RTÉ, The Guardian, BMI, Telegraph, Bloomberg, The Times and campaignlive.co.uk
The Guardian:
A Hong Kong appellate court overturns fraud convictions against Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, a rare legal victory for the prominent pro-democracy activist — Appellate court quashes convictions linked to lease violations but Lai may still spend rest of his life in prison
Discussion:
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, NewsMax.com, UPI, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Reuters, WTOP News and New York Times
Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Ann Godoff, a top Random House and Penguin Press editor who cultivated the careers of dozens of novelists and nonfiction authors over 30+ years, died at age 76 — Considered an “author's publisher” at Random House and then Penguin, she cultivated the careers of dozens of celebrated novelists and nonfiction writers.
Discussion:
@tylerpager, @davidaxelrod, @philiprucker, @gavinnewsom, @katzish.bsky.social, Variety and Deadline
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap:
At Semafor's media summit, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said too much of the national news media is “drastically out of touch with where the American people are” — The FCC chairman speaks at Semafor's “Restoring Trust in Media” summit in Washington, D.C.
Yasmin Khorram / Politico:
Sources: Netflix's Ted Sarandos plans to attend White House meetings Thursday, amid the WBD bid battle and after Trump's demand that Netflix fire Susan Rice — The Warner Bros. board of directors said on Tuesday that no final decision has been made. If Paramount gets the nod …
Discussion:
The Ankler, Variety, Barron's Online, Reality Tea, Cord Cutters News, Bloomberg, The Hill, Forbes, Benzinga, The Daily Beast, New York Post, NOTUS, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Deadline, Livemint, Washington Times, Media Play News, The Wrap, @chadbourn.bsky.social, New Republic, Reuters, Channel NewsAsia, CNBC and New York Post
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