Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King signed a new deal, providing some stability at CBS News; source: King's current contract is worth ~$15M and runs through May — The ‘CBS Mornings’ co-host dispelled rumors of a possible departure, staying with the network amid broader overhaul
Discussion:
Status, Fox News, Reuters, Daily Mail, The Guardian, Variety, New York Post, Sandra Rose, Awful Announcing, DNYUZ, Mediaite, CNN, New York Daily News, The Wrap, Entertainment Weekly, HELLO!, Los Angeles Times, TMZ.com, Us Weekly, RADAR, E! Online, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Insider, @bariweiss, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @jeremymbarr, The Cut, Baller Alert, Barrett Media and Deadline
Max Tani / Semafor:
AP Senior Product Manager for AI Aimee Rinehart told staff that many editors preferred an AI-written article to a human one, and resistance to AI is “futile” — The Scoop — One of The Associated Press' leaders on AI had a blunt message for the publication's staff: Resistance to AI is “futile.”
Discussion:
@nwilborn19, The Wrap, @creativeboulder, @fuadxiv, @tszzl, @alexandrascaggs, @maxwelltani, @yashalevine, @jarjour.bsky.social, @dinfontay.com, @dowellml, @kylebrussell, @michaeljlev, @peterhamby, @timgrieve, @scottnover, @corbinsmithnfl, @hshaban, @andrewcurran_, @semaforben and @ernie.tedium.co
Chris Arrant / Popverse:
Dark Horse Comics founder Mike Richardson is out after 40 years at the publisher; Embracer Group, which bought Dark Horse in 2021, names Jay Komas interim CEO — Embracer replaces Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson with Middle-earth Enterprises exec in leadership shakeup. — Popverse's top stories
Discussion:
Graphic Policy, The Hollywood Reporter and The Beat
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SEC filing: David Zaslav is selling ~4M shares of WBD stock, with an aggregate market value of just over $114M; Zaslav's 2024 pay rose 4.4% YoY to $51.9M — His sale of the shares comes less than a week after WBD clinched a deal to sell itself to Paramount Skydance for $31 per share …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, @scottdagostino.ca, Awful Announcing, @alexweprin, @mattbelloni, World of Reel, The Wrap, Screen and The A.V. Club
Lara O'Reilly / Business Insider:
The Media Trust report: online ads surpassed email as the primary malware channel in 2025, accounting for 60%+ of all observed malware and phishing campaigns — Follow Lara O'Reilly … - Online ads leapfrogged email as the primary channel for malware in 2025, per a new report.
Discussion:
@BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io, more at Techmeme »
Yuval Halevi / Growtika:
Analysis: 10 major tech publications lost 58% of their Google traffic since early 2024, falling to a combined 65M monthly visits in January 2026; some lost 90%+ — We tracked the organic search traffic of CNET, Wired, The Verge, TechRadar, and six others from early 2024 to today.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Jim Brady on LinkedIn, Cautious Optimism, @johnloeber, @alexeheath, @angustpaterson, @yashalevine, @apzonerunner.com, @firstadopter, @neilcybart, @dgisserious, @tomfgoodwin, @bradonmessage, @noahpinion, @tati_wm, @teroterotero, @jhweissmann, @mattsheffield, @docmjp, @dannycrichton, @nicktsergas.ca, @frankritter.bsky.social, @mattrosoff.bsky.social and Hacker News
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
An interview with Reach CEO Piers North about traffic from Google Discover falling ~50% in H2 2025, potential deals with AI companies, and more — Reach has not been overly reliant on Google Discover but took “advantage of opportunities as they come”, chief executive Piers North said after traffic …
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, A Media Operator and @jim.londoncentric.media
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Myanmar releases at least four journalists as part of an amnesty of 7,300+ prisoners convicted of terrorism after the military's 2021 coup — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release in recent days of at least four journalists in Myanmar as part of an amnesty …
Discussion:
DVB, DVB and JURISTnews
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Trump added between $600K and $1.25M in Netflix bonds to his portfolio in January; he also bought between $600K and $1.25M of SiriusXM bonds — New financial disclosures released Wednesday show that the President acquired Netflix bonds as Paramount was trying to pry WBD away from the streaming giant.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @croyle@wandering.shop and Just Jared
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
A survey of 80 UK journalists: minority ethnic TV journalists feel excluded from influential posts and face a backlash after being seen as “diversity hires” — Exclusive: Survey suggests journalists from minority ethnic backgrounds feel excluded from influential posts and seen as ‘diversity hires’
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk
Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
The University of Missouri starts a program allowing students to live in DC and report on Missouri politicians for publications affiliated with the school — Last Tuesday evening, Tyler Kirwan put on his blue suit and knotted his red tie. He was heading to the US Capitol Building …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sinclair's Tennis Channel is selling its streaming service on the Prime Video Channels store, as part of a streaming push that will include other distributors — The Tennis Channel is looking to take a bigger swing at the online TV market. — The company, owned by broadcaster Sinclair Inc. …
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal
