Top News:
New York Post:
Leaked letter: a group of “prominent journalists” at CBS News are preparing a petition urging David Ellison to uphold editorial independence at the network — CBS News journalists are preparing a petition urging Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to uphold editorial independence …
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState, The Independent, @alexsteigrad, twitchy.com, Mediaite and The Hill
RELATED:
Michael Schneider / Variety:
Nielsen: CBS was 2025's most-watched network in primetime despite a 12% YoY drop in average viewers, followed by NBC, ABC, and Fox, up 10% due to the Super Bowl — Complete Broadcast, Cable and Pay TV Ratings Primetime Ranker for 2025 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 — What a difference a Super Bowl makes.
Discussion:
@xpangler, TV Series Finale, @variety and The Daily Signal
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
The Trump administration helps Tenet Media's Lauren Chen return to the US; she lost her visa after a 2024 indictment alleging illicit funding from Russia's RT — Tenet Media's Lauren Chen is back—even though the illegal-influence and money-laundering investigation remains open.
Zac Ntim / Deadline:
Angel Studios says Angel Guild, its program through which members are given a say on which projects the studio produces, has two million paid subscribers — The Angel Guild is the studio's grassroots membership program. Members pay a monthly fee and serve as virtual co-producers on every project …
Max Tani / Semafor:
Ezra Klein, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon, Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci, Puck's Matt Belloni, Verge's Nilay Patel, and others on what media leaders got wrong in 2025 — Semafor asked journalists, content creators, and other media-watchers what they'd gotten wrong at the end of a wild year.
Discussion:
@readdanwrite, @maxwelltani, @semaforben, @nick_field90, @ettingermentum, @admcrlsn, @scottnover, @bulwarkonline and Fox News
The Hollywood Reporter:
Among media stocks in 2025, WBD surged 172%, Fox jumped 47.3%, Paramount Skydance rose 29%, Netflix was up just 5.7%, and Disney was up 2.25%; Comcast fell ~20% — The M&A-boosted Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as Sphere Entertainment, Fox, and Imax were among the gainers, while Netflix moved little …
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:
In 2025, several books saw audiobook sales outperform hardcovers, even as digital audiobook growth slowed to 1% through October after 2024's ~24% jump to $1.1B — Though the pace of growth has slowed, audiobooks remain a bright spot in publishing — Author S.A. Cosby's southern crime novel …
Discussion:
Semafor, Scott Dickey on LinkedIn and @dannygroner.bsky.social
Axios:
Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, goes viral with video reports about alleged fraud in Minnesota, provoking approving responses from the FBI and JD Vance — Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, lit up X during Christmas week with video reports from Minnesota alleging massive fraud …
Discussion:
@nickshirleyy, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, KARE-TV, The Daily Caller, 77 WABC, Fox News, Townhall, @speakerjohnson, KRCR-TV, Fortune, @jdvance, @danprimack, Newsweek, twitchy.com, @redsteeze, @danprimack, The Post Millennial, @alt-dol.altgov.info, @jonathanweisman, @chrisvanderveen, @richardhanania, @caolanreports, @donaldjtrumpjr, The Western Journal, @daveweigel.bsky.social, Blaze Media, @jonathanweisman, @hasanthehun, Raw Story, @jonathanweisman, Breitbart, @jessicatarlov, @billackman, @jodambusta, @waitbutwhy, @daveweigel, @chrisvanderveen, El País, @daveweigel.bsky.social, The Last Refuge, @tommysantos14, @mollyjongfast, @jason_paladino, @brendankeefe, The Daily Wire, @cgasparino, NBC News, @deenafaywinter, @shipwreckedcrew, @jgebbia, CNN, @theomniliberal, @guru_merc, @cathyyoung63, @timurkuran, Twin Cities, @brian_armstrong, Ace of Spades HQ, The Independent, The Wrap, New York Post, Matzav.com, NewsMax.com, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun, @jrobin.bsky.social, Barrett Media, Reuters, Know Your Meme, CBS News, RedState, IJR and The Guardian
Tess Patton / The Wrap:
Job cuts across TV, film, broadcast, news, and streaming in the first 11 months of 2025 grew 18% YoY to 17K+; news suffered 2,254 job cuts, down about 50% YoY — A wave of consolidation, AI-driven change and cost-cutting pushed entertainment and media layoffs sharply higher in 2025
Discussion:
New York Post
Deadline:
Streaming metrics underwent a rethink in 2025, as Netflix and Disney pivoted away from subscriber numbers to revenue per user, engagement, and other metrics — After more than five years of gushing red ink, 2025 was the year when streaming across the board started to turn a profit.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Page Six, Business Insider, Observer and Decider
RELATED:
Variety:
North America's box office in 2025 will fall far short of the $9B most analysts expected, flat from 2024 and well below the pre-pandemic norm of $10B to $11B — Some comeback! — The past 12 months were supposed to turn things around for struggling cinemas.
Discussion:
@brentalang, Bloomberg, @stevenraymorris.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times and Instapundit
Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
A profile of Pablo Torre, whose podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” became a 2025 phenomenon for aggressive reporting that uncovered seismic stories in US sports — NEW YORK — One day last month, Tom McMillen, a 73-year-old retired NBA player and former congressman, got an email.
Aisha Down / The Guardian:
A Kapwing study of the 15,000 top YouTube channels finds 278 of them have only posted AI-generated “slop” videos, amassing 63B+ views and 221M+ subscribers — Low-quality AI-generated content is now saturating social media - and generating about $117m a year, data shows
Discussion:
KnowTechie, Fortune, Android Headlines, Digital Trends, eWeek, @kagihq@mastodon.social, The Rundown AI, The Indian Express, MediaNama, Moneycontrol, Mashable, NDTV Profit, International Business Times, ZDNET, The Hans India, Dexerto, The Decoder, @nixCraft@mastodon.social, @jonathancohn.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, PCMag, Metro.co.uk, WinBuzzer and Notebookcheck
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