Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers blocked an interview with Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico, citing the FCC's equal time guidance for TV talk shows — Colbert and ‘The Late Show’ posted the interview with James Talarico on the show's YouTube page to bypass the FCC's oversight.
Discussion:
YouTube, YouTube, New York Times, Deadline, LateNighter, Mediaite, Forbes, UPI, The Guardian, @jamestalarico, The Wrap, Steady, Mediaite, @yakhappy.bsky.social, The Wrap, Business Insider, New Republic, CBS News, Page Six, Variety, Washington Times, RedState, New Jersey Online, @repdarrensoto, @schmittnyc, @kurtbardella, The A.V. Club, @therickwilson, @chriso_wiki, @cat1957.bsky.social, @wjcarter, @adamscochran, @mollyjongfast, Mediaite, @sev.yote.social, TV Insider, The Nation, Straight Arrow News, @terrymoran, The Boston Globe, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, @gabrielmalor.bsky.social, @timodc, Townhall, USA Today, Axios, The Status Kuo, @meidastouch, @mehdirhasan, Raw Story, MS NOW, @nathanleamerdc, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @adamscochran, Us Weekly, The Independent, Washington Post, @drewharwell.com, @adamscochran, @mdg650hawk.bsky.social, @j_g_allen, @nick_field90, The Daily Beast, @kylegriffin1, @texassignal.bsky.social, NBC News, @geneha.com, @richardhanania, @hissgoescobra, @ronfilipkowski, @eddiesheehy.bsky.social, @davidsirota, @chrismurphyct, @adamwren, @mikenellis, Mediaite, @farhip, @redsteeze, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, @redsteeze, Peter S. Henne on LinkedIn, The Hill, TVNewsCheck, NOTUS, The Dean's Report, The Siren, IJR, Plain Dealer, Mashable, Bloomberg Law and Eschaton
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
CBS says The Late Show was not prohibited from broadcasting a James Talarico interview and was given “legal guidance” that a broadcast could trigger an FCC rule — CBS said it did not force “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to pull an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico …
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
By not airing Colbert's interview with Talarico, CBS bowed to FCC pressure preemptively as the agency hasn't formally eliminated talk show equal time exemptions — Stephen Colbert went public Monday night with a striking accusation against his own network: that CBS lawyers had barred …
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Times, TV Tech, Mediaite, Australian Financial Review, @jmery1985@threads.com, @notcapnamerica@threads.com, RADAR, TV Insider, The Hill, Reuters, New York Post, Blaze Media, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, New York Daily News, Time, Forbes, Wonkette, Rolling Stone, Fox News, Gizmodo, New York Sun, Washington Examiner, Entertainment Weekly, KVIA-TV, The Guardian, Polygon.com, Decider, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Newsbusters, @jeremymbarr, The Texas Tribune, Newsweek, CinemaBlend, Scripps News, New York Magazine, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Techdirt, Washington Times, @jefftiedrich@threads.com, Daily Mail, Raw Story, @coryupdate@threads.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, Newser, @notjessewalker, Wall Street Journal, twitchy.com, everyone is entitled …, Straight Arrow News, Baller Alert, LateNighter, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, The Verge, HuffPost, Politico, New Republic and Just Jared
Financial Times:
WBD tells Paramount to make its “best and final offer” within seven days, or get out of the way of Netflix's agreed $83B deal; Netflix granted a weeklong waiver — Netflix grants weeklong waiver to rival bidder in high-stakes battle for control
Discussion:
CNN, Al Jazeera, Sharecafe, Awful Announcing, The Independent, @brianstelter, Daily Mail, Telegraph, City A.M., James Faris on LinkedIn, @brianstelter, Barron's Online, @tvgrimreaper, @sarafischer, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, New York Times, Joe Flint on LinkedIn, Reuters, @claytravis, Axios, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Post Millennial, Business Insider, @sherman4949, New York Post, The Verge, Advanced Television and EasternEye
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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD says Paramount informed WBD on February 11 that it would pay $31 per share, up from $30, if the sides engaged, and that $31 was not its best and final offer — Warner says that the Ellison camp had verbally agreed to boost its bid to $31 or higher if two the sides engaged, which WBD today has agreed to do.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Cord Cutters News, Straight Arrow News and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount says it is “prepared to engage” with WBD on takeover talks during a seven-day negotiating window, but doesn't say whether it will raise its bid
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says Paramount has caused “ongoing distraction” and “mischaracterized the regulatory review process”, and its WBD bid raises national security concerns
Discussion:
New York Post, Proactive, Economic news, Spyglass, Screen, @brianstelter, Deadline, CBS News, The American Bazaar, Barrett Media, TVBEurope, Blockonomi, The A.V. Club and Broadband TV News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD sets March 20 as the date for a special shareholder meeting to vote on the proposed $83B Netflix deal, which its board “continues to unanimously recommend”
Discussion:
The Wrap, Screen, CNBC, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Benzinga, Deadline, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, The American Bazaar, New York Times, @serrata.org, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Examiner, Livemint, ZeroHedge News, Advanced Television, Netflix, Inc., Dow Jones Newswires, Channel NewsAsia, Deadline, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Media Play News, Commercial Observer, Sherwood News, Sharecast and The Guardian
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Automattic adds an AI assistant to WordPress.com, enabling users to perform site-wide layout and style modifications via natural language commands — WordPress.com, the website hosting platform from Automattic, will now include a built-in WordPress AI assistant, the company announced on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Engadget, WordPress.com News, TechEBlog, The Verge, @lauridonahue.bsky.social and Tech in Asia
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Condé Nast names Adam Baidawi as GQ's global editorial director; Baidawi previously led British GQ and wants GQ to be a “North Star of masculinity” — Adam Baidawi recalls being enthralled by GQ magazine the first time he pored through an issue as a teenager in suburban Melbourne, Australia.
Discussion:
Feed Me, The Hollywood Reporter, Condé Nast, The Wrap, @nicolegelinas and The Business of Fashion
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Talent agency Night Media, which represents social media celebrities and owns a podcast network, raised $70M to expand into gaming, sports, and music — Night Media Inc., the talent management firm that represents social media celebrities such as popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat …
Discussion:
Tubefilter, Aisha Counts on LinkedIn and The Hollywood Reporter
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Snapchat launches creator subscriptions in alpha, available to some creators in the US starting February 23; creators set custom monthly pricing — Social network Snapchat announced today it's launching creator subscriptions in alpha with select people in the U.S. starting on February 23.
Discussion:
CNBC, MediaPost, Snap Newsroom, Android Headlines, Yahoo Finance, Fast Company, Mashable, Engadget, iPhone in Canada and PCMag
Krystal Hur / Wall Street Journal:
Filing: Berkshire Hathaway reports that it purchased 5.1M shares of The New York Times during the December quarter; NYT rises 3%+ after hours — In Warren Buffett's last quarter as CEO, his company further trimmed its holdings in iPhone maker — Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Bank …
Discussion:
Reuters, SEC.gov, The Hollywood Reporter, Barron's Online and Bloomberg
John Stang / Columbia Journalism Review:
Three right-wing media figures, who were denied press credentials in WA because of political affiliation, sue to get permanent press passes to the statehouse — In Olympia, Washington, a few right-wing media figures have been trying to get credentialed to cover the statehouse.
Discussion:
KUOW News and Information, @agomezfcc, @emilybell.bsky.social and @cjr
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Versant's MS Now signs a deal with Crooked Media to air highlights from Crooked podcasts such as Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It, at 9pm ET on Saturdays — In a notable video podcast pact, highlights from Crooked shows such as ‘Pod Save America’ and ‘Lovett or Leave It’ will air Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET.
Discussion:
Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, Brands, The Wrap, @jeremymbarr, Mediaite, Deadline and Barrett Media
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