Mediagazer: A profile of NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who has taken an unyielding approach to NPR's biggest battles, causing rifts with the right and her public media allies (Benjamin Mullin/New York Times)

4:05 PM ET, December 30, 2025

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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: Washington Examiner, @readdanwrite, @maxwelltani, @semaforben, @nick_field90, @ettingermentum, @admcrlsn, @scottnover, @bulwarkonline and Fox News

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

A profile of NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who has taken an unyielding approach to NPR's biggest battles, causing rifts with the right and her public media allies — Katherine Maher knew that running NPR was going to be difficult. But since taking over as chief executive last year, she has confronted one crisis after another.

Discussion: New York Post, @dankennedy.net, @billscher.bsky.social, @notjessewalker, @dicktofel.bsky.social, @gshans.bsky.social, @benmullin and Los Angeles Times

Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr:

A judge denies Fox's motion to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Oleksandra Kuvshynova, killed while working for Fox in Ukraine in 2022 — A New York judge today denied Fox's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of the Ukrainian journalist killed while working for the network (in 2022) despite the fact that her father signed a release to receive benefits. Judge: “When the Kuvshynovs signed the waiver

Jordy Fee-Platt / The Athletic:

Kalshi and Polymarket have partnered with social media accounts purporting to be breaking news reporters, some of which have repeatedly posted false information — Unknown just a few years ago, the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have gained wider recognition in recent weeks.

Discussion: Front Office Sports, New York Post, @cooperlund.online, Event Horizon, Decrypt and The Intercept

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 …

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

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 …

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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

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Ampere Analysis: UK streaming subscribers on ad-supported tiers will reach 26.5M by the end of 2025, surpassing the 23.1M ad-free subscribers for the first time

Discussion: NZ Herald, @samuelwroberts.bsky.social and Miami Herald

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