Mediagazer: How Larry Ellison is helping his son David build a media empire, including making the case to Trump for why Paramount, not Netflix, should acquire WBD (Theodore Schleifer/New York Times)

3:00 PM ET, December 25, 2025

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”, after CBS aired a Late Show rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump — U.S. president appeared to be responding to ‘Late Show’ Dec. 8 rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump …

Washington Post:

Internal email: CBS' standards department told staff to use the Kennedy Center name, saying the change to Trump Kennedy Center needs Congressional approval — The network kept the Kennedy Center's original name in its broadcast, and CBS News instructed staff to do the same, an email shows.

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, @scottnover, The Wrap, The Guardian, People, Mediaite, @jwhardcastle.com, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Indian Express, @scottnover.bsky.social, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, CBS News and TV Insider

Henry Blodget / Regenerator:

Bari Weiss' 60 Minutes decision may have been a way to both signal that she's serious about shifting CBS' sensibility to the right and “improve” a story — Bari Weiss and a real-time course in change-management … Let's speculate about what's really going on at CBS...

Discussion: The Daily Caller, @hblodget, The Atlantic, The Borowitz Report, CNN, Mediaite, Notes From The Circus, New York Magazine, Semafor, MS NOW, The Intercept and Variety

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite: White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calls for CBS staff who “revolted” over Bari Weiss' decision to postpone 60 Minutes' CECOT segment to be fired

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Discussion: Axios, Townhall, @sarafischer, Newsbusters, @grynbaum, NewsMax.com, RedState, @hammbear2024.bsky.social, Mediaite, @warmonitor.net, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @jonastraxler.bsky.social and Breitbart

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss skipped five 60 Minutes CECOT screenings; after her edits were added on Thursday, she asked on Friday to add a Stephen Miller interview

Sara Fischer / Axios:
60 Minutes' CECOT segment, pulled by Bari Weiss, was mistakenly aired in Canada via an app owned by Global Television, which airs 60 Minutes in the country

Discussion: Yashar Ali, CNN, The Breakdown, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Fox News, Townhall, 404 Media, Mediaite, DeLong's Grasping Reality, @scottjenningsky, Drezner's World, @cmclymer, @sethmpk, Variety, @jason, @nedryun, @bonchieredstate, @brianstelter, @ltthompso, @sarafischer, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, TheDesk.net, Fortune, @klasfeldreports, Fox Business, NewsMax.com, Ace of Spades HQ, Reason, HotAir, RedState, Advocate, Salon, The Hollywood Reporter, Wonkette, The Present Age, Canadian Press, The Hill, @brianstelter, @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social, @amy_siskind, @cmclymer, @ianbremmer, @davidehrlich, @duanebratt, @reichlinmelnick, @brianstelter, NBC News, Deadline, Media Nation, Newser, Raw Story, @amyklobuchar.com, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, Crooks and Liars, CBC News, Newsbusters, @moved2italy.bsky.social, Showbiz411, @bradleyross.bsky.social, @dearsarah.bsky.social, All Rise News, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social, The Wrap, Globe and Mail, The Daily Beast, Boing Boing, TV Tattle, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @keeptherepublic.bsky.social, eoin higgins on YouTube and The Verge

Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:

How Larry Ellison is helping his son David build a media empire, including making the case to Trump for why Paramount, not Netflix, should acquire WBD — When David Ellison became a teenager, his father, Larry, bought him a gift not usually bestowed on a 13th birthday: his own Katana stunt plane.

Alex Ritman / Variety:

In Channel 4's 2025 Alternative Christmas Message, Jimmy Kimmel addressed his suspension by ABC, saying “We won, the President lost and now I'm back on the air” — Jimmy Kimmel has delivered a scathing — and typically comical — attack on president Donald Trump in a special Christmas Day address to the U.K. on Channel 4.

Discussion: Mirror, TV Insider, Deadline and TV Tattle

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Disney crosses the $6B milestone at the box office for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic; no other studio has managed to reach $6B since 2015 — All hail the Magic Kingdom. Disney notched a major box office milestone, surpassing $6 billion in global ticket sales.

Discussion: Deadline, Entertainment Weekly, Ruben Lawrence on LinkedIn, Comic Book and UPI

Adam Satariano / New York Times:

The Trump administration's travel ban on five Europeans includes researchers working to tackle online disinformation and abuse, like CCDH founder Imran Ahmed — The Trump administration said five regulators and researchers who work to tackle disinformation and abuse on the internet had been barred from entering the United States.

Discussion: The Guardian, HuffPost, Amy Spitalnick on LinkedIn, Ace of Spades HQ, @airbagmoments.bsky.social, Reclaim The Net, @Nonilex@masto.ai, @signsanssignified.bsky.social, @PrivacyDigest@mas.to, Politico and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:

The US imposes visa restrictions on five Europeans, including Thierry Breton, accusing them of pressuring US tech companies to censor certain US viewpoints — The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

Discussion: United States Department …, Reuters, Metro.co.uk, New York Times, @secrubio, American Thinker, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Post Millennial, @amuse, @felix_nuno, @jason_kint, @frenchresponse, @michaeldweiss, @aurorelalucq, @shashj, @lilithwittmann, @ishaantharoor, @malinowski, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, twitchy.com, Washington Examiner, Townhall, New York Sun, Neowin, @ocho88888888 …, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Indian Express, France 24, The Hill, ABC, American Greatness, @kateruane.bsky.social, NBC News, ZeroHedge News, Virginia Dignum on LinkedIn, The Guardian, Washington Post, Fortune, NewsMax.com, @kareemrifai, Engadget, Le Monde, @tokarski.bsky.social, Financial Times, @katiepavlich, @mmagierowski, @brunotertrais, El País, @jeremycliffe, @prestonjbyrne, @laszloan, Mediaite, Benzinga, @andreasshrugged, @sbarrettbar, @gavinwax, @blakesneff, @marietjeschaake, @katiepavlich, @tokyotom2020, @prestonjbyrne, @tomhfh, @andersonafdmdep, @macaesbruno, @jayinkyiv, @senericschmitt, @jtlonsdale, @jurgen_nauditt, @basedmikelee, @emd_worldwide, @trussliz, @nicksortor, @undersecpd, CNBC, @undersecpd, Althouse, Al Jazeera, New York Post, RedState, Mediaite, @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social, Bloomberg, The National Pulse, @attorneynora.bsky.social, The Daily Signal and Semafor

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026 — Michael Cavanagh, as he's set to assume the role of Comcast's co-CEO on Jan. 2, extended his employment contract with the cable …

Discussion: Philadelphia Business Journal and Deadline

Washington Post:

A look at DHS and ICE's social media efforts, which are propelled by the White House's demands to “flood the airwaves” and make use of right-wing influencers — Inside ICE's media machine … Across thousands of internal ICE messages reviewed by The Washington Post, this kind of celebration has become commonplace.

Discussion: @jessdkant.bsky.social, @monik222.bsky.social, International Business Times, The Independent, The Daily Beast, @joshsternberg.com, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, @mikaelthalen.bsky.social, Raw Story and Semafor

John Koblin / New York Times:

YouTube dominates daytime TV streaming, with 6.3M viewers at 11am in October on average, above Netflix's 2.8M, per Nielsen; prime-time viewership is more even — At Nancy Ann Ling's house in Central Texas, the TV generally goes on around 5 a.m., and Mrs. Ling flips over to the same app each day: YouTube.

Discussion: NDTV Profit, @tvgrimreaper, @genetics56, Podnews, @katherinemiller and @katherinemiller, more at Techmeme »

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:

A US judge denies WBD's bid to block Sling TV from selling short-term offerings that let users sign up for access to its bundles for as little as one day — Dish Network leveraged ambiguity around the term in licensing deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney to offer short-term Sling TV subscription passes.

Discussion: The Ankler, Cord Cutters News and @diversetechgeek.bsky.social