Top News:
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
President Trump told reporters “it's imperative” for CNN to be sold: “Any deal it should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it or sold separately” — President Trump indicated he'd like to see CNN be sold off as its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery …
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Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: some WBD investors warm to David Ellison and his top team, after they were reassured that Paramount's Middle Eastern financing is secure — THE SCENE — Paramount CEO David Ellison spent Tuesday morning and afternoon meeting with major shareholders in Warner Bros. Discovery …
Discussion:
Status, CNN, Poynter, Variety, The Wrap, Screen, @semaforben, Wall Street Journal, Benzinga, @maxwelltani, Breaking the News, Axios, Business Insider, Daring Fireball and TVNewsCheck
Emily Graffeo / Bloomberg:
A look at Netflix's funding plan for WBD: $59B of debt financing via Wall Street banks, to be eventually replaced with bonds, term loans, and revolving credit — Netflix, a company that built its business on junk bonds, is looking to borrow heavily again. — The streaming company once known as …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @devonheinen.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Rant, The Hill and Barron's Online
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CBS names Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor of CBS Evening News as part of a major overhaul under Bari Weiss; Dokoupil is currently an anchor on CBS' morning show — Dokoupil, currently an anchor on the CBS morning show, will lead an overhaul of the evening newscast under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York Daily News, The A.V. Club, The Post Millennial, RADAR, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Variety, Washington Post, TV Insider, The Guardian, The Hill, Forbes, Newsbusters, Adweek, National Enquirer, The Wrap, HELLO!, Breitbart, Deadline, Mirror US, WWL-TV, Wall Street Journal, @dannygroner.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, TVLine, Barrett Media, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Showbiz411 and The Independent
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Google tests AI-powered overviews on some publications' Google News pages; publishers like Der Spiegel, El País, and WaPo in commercial partnerships get paid — Google is testing AI-powered article overviews on participating publications' Google News pages as part of a new pilot program, the search giant announced on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Information, The Verge and 9to5Google
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Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google rolls out Preferred Sources globally, letting users customize “top stories” in Search, and launches highlighted links from users' news subscriptions — Table of Contents — Spotlighting subscriptions are coming to Gemini first and then AI Mode and AI Overviews within Google Search.
Discussion:
Android Police, Android Central, Search Engine Journal, @glenngabe.bsky.social, The Keyword, KnowTechie and Phandroid
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV plans to launch over 10 genre-specific, cheaper YouTube TV Plans in early 2026, including a Sports Plan featuring ESPN Unlimited and Fox Sports 1 — YouTube TV's base package currently costs $82.99 per month. But early next year, the streaming service will roll out a range …
Discussion:
Engadget, Deadline, TheDesk.net, Awful Announcing, YouTube Official Blog, Los Angeles Times, Sports Business Journal, TechCrunch, The Athletic, Android Authority, Thurrott, The US Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Droid Life, 9to5Google, Sportico, Business Insider, Front Office Sports, Pocket-lint, The Streamable, Chrome Unboxed, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, Wall Street Journal, Cord Cutters News, Streaming Better, Bloomberg, Media Play News and BGR, more at Techmeme »
David Bauder / Associated Press:
The NYT says it won't be deterred in its work after Trump posted on Truth Social that reporting by The NYT and others about his health was “seditious” — The New York Times, attacked by President Donald Trump for reporting about his physical condition, said on Wednesday …
Kara Voght / Washington Post:
A profile of Brian Glenn, Real America's Voice WH reporter and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's boyfriend, who is giving up his WH gig after the Trump-MTG split — The day before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting Congress, her boyfriend was outside the White House.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New Jersey Online, Daily Mail, @juliannemcshane, @kelliemeyernews, @patcaldwell, @ddiamond, @patcaldwell, The Independent, @brianglenntv, The Hill, @tvietor08, @murphyajc and CNN
Joe Wilkins / Futurism:
McDonald's Netherlands pulls an AI-generated Christmas ad, made by ad agency TBWA\NEBOKO with film production company The Sweetshop, after social media backlash — There's just one issue: pretty much everybody hates it. — This year, McDonald's decided to get in on the corporate slopfest …
Discussion:
Ad Age, Mashable, BBC, Entertainment Weekly, @joncomms, Instapundit, PC Gamer, Times of India, Breitbart, Interesting Engineering, @richarderoeper, @aishamadeit, @bcmerchant.bsky.social, @disabilitystor1.bsky.social, @spookycutewitch.bsky.social, @chatgpt21, @lukemiani, Wagner James Au on LinkedIn, @writerofscratch, @mattwalshblog, @cinephiliabeyond.org, @lucian_armasu, eWeek, @mutantastronaut.bsky.social, @echotrx, New York Post, @gnoofiest, Newser, @peterwildeford, Wil Reynolds on LinkedIn, @octanesam, @girldrawsghosts, ZeroHedge News, @saberspark, The Sun, @erulez_23, @andymasley, @jacksfilms, @ronaldmannak, @yfcherries, @firagawalkwthme, WinBuzzer, WCNC-TV, TheJournal.ie, @culturecrave, Los Angeles Times, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Forbes, Digital Trends, The Verge, Kotaku, IJR and Creative Bloq, more at Techmeme »
Lauren Johnson / Adweek:
Shopify launches Product Network, an ad tool that lets merchants recommend and advertise products on other merchants' storefronts — Shopify is taking a big step forward in its much-watched advertising business. The e-commerce firm is formally rolling out a product that allows its merchants …
Discussion:
Lauren Johnson on LinkedIn, AdExchanger and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Australia's under-16 social media ban excludes Discord, GitHub, LEGO Play, Roblox, Steam, Google Classroom, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and YouTube Kids — Young teenagers in Australia have been barred from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in one of the toughest crackdowns …
Discussion:
HotAir, Forbes, @nvbinder.io, @davezatz, Blaze Media and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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Emma Roth / The Verge:
The RSL Collective, backed by Ziff Davis, Yahoo, and others, launches RSL 1.0, which lets publishers set licensing and compensation rules for AI web crawlers — RSL 1.0 helps publishers outline how AI companies should pay for the content they scrape across the web.
Discussion:
The Register, RSL Internet Collective and Search Engine Journal

