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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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Two representatives on the US House Financial Services Committee warn WBD CEO David Zaslav of national security concerns about the financiers of Paramount's bid
Discussion:
Axios, Variety, No Film School, Associated Press, Proactive, Financial Post, The A.V. Club and Reuters
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
Discussion:
Status, CNN, Poynter, Variety, @semaforben, The Wrap, Screen, Wall Street Journal, Benzinga, @maxwelltani, Breaking the News, Axios, Business Insider, Daring Fireball and TVNewsCheck
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.
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CBS News, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, RADAR, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, TV Insider, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Forbes, Newsbusters, Adweek, National Enquirer, HELLO!, Breitbart, WWL-TV, The Guardian, The Post Millennial, TVLine, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, New York Daily News, @dannygroner.bsky.social, Variety, Deadline, Mirror US, Barrett Media, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Showbiz411, New York Post 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
Discussion:
Android Central, Search Engine Journal, @glenngabe.bsky.social, The Keyword, Android Police, 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, YouTube Official Blog, Sports Business Journal, Livemint, AppleInsider, @willmckinley.bsky.social, MacRumors, The Shortcut, TheDesk.net, The US Sun, The Athletic, Android Authority, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Droid Life, 9to5Google, Thurrott, Sportico, Business Insider, Front Office Sports, Pocket-lint, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Chrome Unboxed, @lucas_shaw, Los Angeles Times, @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 …
Discussion:
Deadline, @nytimespr, Raw Story, @gregmorosoff.bsky.social, MS NOW, @trumpwarroom, @brunojnavarro.bsky.social, CNN, Straight Arrow News, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @karyncaplan, @mariopro.bsky.social, The Wrap, @atrupar.com, Suggest, Mediaite, The Hill, New Republic, New Jersey Online, Alternet.org, HuffPost, Mirror US and The Independent
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify will begin testing a feature that lets a user write a prompt for a playlist and receive a unique set of songs based on the user's earlier behavior — Spotify announced on Wednesday that, for the first time, it's giving users more control over the streaming service's algorithm.
Discussion:
Billboard, Spotify, Bloomberg, Anna Lundström on LinkedIn, Rasmus Zwickson on LinkedIn, The Verge, Engadget, @techcrunch.com, How-To Geek and T3
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.
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:
HuffPost, Fox Business, Ad Age, SiliconANGLE, @yfcherries, @joncomms, BBC, Entertainment Weekly, @culturecrave, Mashable, @richarderoeper, @aishamadeit, @bcmerchant.bsky.social, Breitbart, @disabilitystor1.bsky.social, @spookycutewitch.bsky.social, @chatgpt21, @lukemiani, Wagner James Au on LinkedIn, @writerofscratch, @mattwalshblog, Times of India, @cinephiliabeyond.org, @lucian_armasu, eWeek, @mutantastronaut.bsky.social, @echotrx, @gnoofiest, Newser, @peterwildeford, Wil Reynolds on LinkedIn, @octanesam, @girldrawsghosts, ZeroHedge News, @saberspark, @erulez_23, @andymasley, @jacksfilms, @ronaldmannak, @firagawalkwthme, WinBuzzer, New York Post, WCNC-TV, TheJournal.ie, Interesting Engineering, The Sun, Orlando Sentinel, Instapundit, PC Gamer, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Forbes, Digital Trends, The Verge, Kotaku, IJR and Creative Bloq, more at Techmeme »
Reece Rogers / Wired:
Instagram launches Your Algorithm, which shows users an AI analysis of their activity to let them customize the topics shaping their Reels recommendations — In the battle for your attention, Instagram is betting that more control over the algorithm could keep you scrolling on Reels.
Nick Vivarelli / Variety:
The UK's Channel 4 names Priya Dogra as CEO, starting March 2026, replacing Alex Mahon, who stepped down after eight years; Dogra currently works for Sky — Priya Dogra has been appointed as the next chief executive of U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4, replacing Alex Mahon who stepped …
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Reddit starts a limited test of verified profiles, an opt-in feature that places a gray checkmark beside the usernames of notable people or businesses — Reddit is starting a limited test of verified profiles, which places a grey checkmark beside the username of a notable person or business.
Discussion:
Social Media Today, WeRSM, Android Police, @techcrunch.com, Reddit Upvoted, Engadget, The Verge and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon plans to let authors offer their DRM-free ebooks in the EPUB and PDF formats through Kindle Direct Publishing, starting January 20, 2026 — Amazon says it will allow authors to offer their DRM-free e-books in the EPUB and PDF formats through its self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing.
Discussion:
Thurrott, Pocket-lint and Android Authority, more at Techmeme »
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, Search Engine Journal, European Commission and 9to5Google
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, @davezatz, Forbes, Blaze Media, @nvbinder.io and CNBC
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