Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The AP plans dozens of US staff cuts with the goal of reducing global staff by <5%, amid a shift from hyper-local print coverage to video and national topics — The Associated Press plans dozens of U.S. staff cuts as part of a broader restructuring away from hyper-local print coverage …
Discussion:
The Hill, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, Inside Radio, @juliedicaro.bsky.social, @johnvoelcker.bsky.social, The Wrap, @natebowling.com, @sarahweinman.com, @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social, @mimarek@universeodon.com, @ncstories.bsky.social, @climatebrad.hillheat.com, @bymichellersmith.com, New York Post, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @lawrencehurley.bsky.social, @karenattiah.bsky.social, TheDesk.net, @megherbst.bsky.social, @mattsheffield@mastodon.social, @casmudde.bsky.social, @hackintimseeley.bsky.social, Michael Sisak on LinkedIn and Reuters
Discussion:
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: Associated Press cutting dozens of staffers
M.H. Williams / @mhwilliams.bsky.social: Hyper-local coverage is part of the thing folks come to the AP for! — That's you and Reuters' bread-and-butter! I go to you when I want the orange, not the just the juice! — www.axios.com/2026/04/06/a...
Julie DiCaro / @juliedicaro.bsky.social: There is so much news right now, and all we see are outlets cutting staff. We don't have enough journalists to give stories the attention they need already - this is just bananas.
John Voelcker / @johnvoelcker.bsky.social: Any news organization moving AWAY from local coverage is a bad thing. This one from @apnews.com seems particularly bad because it's respected + broad-based. — AP plans dozens of U.S. staff cuts as part of a move away from hyper-local print coverage toward video + national topics.
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap: AP Offers More Than 120 Staffers Buyouts as It Restructures Toward National, Visual-First Coverage
Nate Bowling / @natebowling.com: If you think the US media environment is bleak now, think about how many local papers are dependent on the AP to provide coverage for national and international news. — apnews.com/article/news...
Sarah Weinman / @sarahweinman.com: What is happening to the AP is extremely alarming and weirdly under the radar.
Sonja Drimmer / @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social: Every single paragraph from this story contains worse news than the one that preceded it. — apnews.com/article/news...
Michael Marek / @mimarek@universeodon.com: The Associated Press, long known for providing news to newspapers and broadcasters, is changing its mission. — “We're not a newspaper company and we haven't been for quite some time,” said Julie Pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP. — #Journalism — https://apnews.com/...
@ncstories.bsky.social: The Associated Press, one of the world's oldest and most influential news organizations, said Monday it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists — The News Media Guild said more than 120 staff members received buyout offers on Monday. — apnews.com/article/news...
Brad Johnson / @climatebrad.hillheat.com: Reading between the lines, @apnews.com is moving to AI-generated stories
Michelle R. Smith / @bymichellersmith.com: I have many thoughts today, but mainly thinking about my former colleagues at AP and how they overcome incredible challenges every day to get the news out. — Not sure what the plan is here, and I'm not sure management knows either.
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post: Associated Press to trim global staff amid restructuring of US business
Nolan Hicks / @ndhapple.bsky.social: Journalism business keeps getting worse, today it's the AP — www.axios.com/2026/04/06/a...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: NEW: AP plans staff cuts, restructuring amid broader business shift - Revenue from newspaper groups has fallen 25% in last 4 years, while revenue from Big Tech has increased 200% - Cuts will impact fewer 5% global staff https://www.axios.com/...
Lawrence Hurley / @lawrencehurley.bsky.social: People should actually be very alarmed that while AP's business model is shot to bits, Americans are still very much reliant on the news it delivers. The alternatives in some cases are inferior or non-existent. — apnews.com/article/news...
Karen Attiah / @karenattiah.bsky.social: “Once the lion's share of AP's revenue, big newspaper companies now account for 10% of its income.” — I think journalism and original newsgathering will increasingly become side gigs for individuals and organizations. — We will get paid to work with machines, not humans. — apnews.com/article/news...
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net: Associated Press trimming staff amid new focus on video, digital platforms
Meghan Herbst / @megherbst.bsky.social: The Associated Press is pivoting away from... journalism. We're well and truly cooked folks.
Matthew Sheffield / @mattsheffield@mastodon.social: A sad day for more than 120 #AssociatedPress employees as the organization announced that it is having to close down its newspaper-focused business, which represents only 10% of its revenue and is shrinking. More buyouts are expected. …
Cas Mudde / @casmudde.bsky.social: This is very disturbing news. AP has long been a very important and solid source of information about the rest of the world for US media, most of which have little real expertise abroad (and heavily diminished their number of foreign reporters).
@hackintimseeley.bsky.social: Sounds like I'm pivoting away from @apnews.com then. I've had to ditch SO MANY journalism sources the past two years. What's left? apnews.com/article/news...
Michael Sisak / Michael Sisak on LinkedIn: Well, I might be really Open to Work soon! I'm still loving what I'm doing at AP, but new challenges are fun too. …
Kritika Lamba / Reuters: The Associated Press to cut under 5% of global news staff
RELATED:
David Bauder / Associated Press:
The News Media Guild says more than 120 of the AP staff members it represents received buyout offers on Monday — The Associated Press, one of the world's oldest and most influential news organizations, said Monday it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists …
Discussion:
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: Newspapers—now only 10% of AP revenue—have been dropping the service as the AP turns to AI and prediction markets. News is commodified. Mass media are dying. — AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper journalism https://apnews.com/...
Faine Greenwood / @faineg.bsky.social: The Associated Press pivoting away from outdated and lame products like “actual reporting” in favor of “visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence”:
Amy Woolsey / @amywoolsey.bsky.social: Have to say every media company/organization “pivoting” to being a tech company is bleak as hell. (h/t @redporchremnant.bsky.social) apnews.com/article/news...
Chris Burt / Chris Burt on LinkedIn: Is one of the most significant of all pillars of real US journalism about to fall? The Associated Press is offering “buyouts” to at least 120 people …
Bob Cronin / Newser: Turning From Newspapers, Associated Press Cuts Jobs
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Trump threatens to find and jail the journalist who reported that a US officer was awaiting rescue in Iran last week, unless the journalist reveals their source — Two crew members of the F-15E Strike Eagle had self-ejected from the cockpit on Friday after Iranian military forces struck their plane.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Post, @esaagar, CNN, New York Post, Raw Story, Bloomberg, NBC Los Angeles, The Sun, @ryangrim, @atrupar, Mirror, @ryangrim, Deadline, Reuters, The Indian Express, @jeremymbarr, Meidas+, New Republic, The Daily Wire, @scottnover, Newsweek, Straight Arrow News, Freedom of the Press …, The Wrap, The Daily Caller, New York Times, @mlcalderone, Metro.co.uk, National Enquirer, GB News, NBC News, Alternet.org, Mediaite and Washington Examiner
Discussion:
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian: Trump threatens to jail journalist to find source of second missing airman report
Scott Nover / Washington Post: Trump threatens to jail reporters if they don't turn over Iran source
Saagar Enjeti / @esaagar: Trump said today he wants to jail the reporter who broke the story of a second downed airman It appears that was Israeli journalist Amit Segal. Let's see if Trump sticks to his promise
New York Post: Trump vows to catch ‘leaker’ who revealed US could not initially reach F-15 pilot in Iran: ‘Give it up or go to jail’
Alexander Willis / Raw Story: ‘Give it up or go to jail’: Trump issues open threat to journalist at White House event
Bethan Moss / The Sun: Furious Trump vows to find ‘sick leaker’ who put pilot rescue ‘at great risk’ as he reveals new details of Iran mission
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: We are about to see Trump's promise to find and imprison whoever leaked the info about the second pilot vanish into the ether. It came from the Israeli government:
Aaron Rupar / @atrupar: Trump: “We have to find that leaker, because that's a sick person. It's national security. And the person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn't say.” [video]
Anders Anglesey / Mirror: Donald Trump takes another swipe at UK as he brags about airman rescue
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: As @AmitSegal just acknowledged on his Telegram channel, he was the first to publish details about the missing second airman. Segal is an Israeli journalist known for his immediate proximity to Netanyahu. Trump has threatened to jail the journalist who first reported on the [image]
The Indian Express: ‘Give it up or go to jail’: Trump threatens to jail journalist to find source of second missing airman report
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Trump says his administration plans to go to the media company that reported on the missing pilot and demand the name of their source on national security grounds. He says they are also pursuing the name of the person who leaked the information.
Ron Filipkowski / Meidas+: Today in Politics, Bulletin 343. 4/6/26
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic: Trump Threatens Media After Admitting His Team Leaked Downed Pilot
Zach Jewell / The Daily Wire: Furious Trump Threatens Jail For Reporters, Targets ‘Sick Leaker’ Who Risked Rescue
Scott Nover / @scottnover: Trump threatened to jail reporters if they don't turn over a source who disclosed details about the U.S. airman previously missing in Iran. Trump didn't specify which reporters from what news organization he was talking about. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Devin Pavlou / Straight Arrow News: ‘Iran will be decimated,’ Trump says as deadline for Strait's reopening nears
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap: Trump Threatens to Jail Journalist Over Alleged Leak on Missing Airman in Iran
Harold Hutchison / The Daily Caller: Trump Vows To Find ‘Sick Person’ In Iran Rescue Leak, Warns Media Could Face Jail For Not Divulging
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: And Trump press conference ends without any journalist asking about his threat to jail a journalist and go after an unspecified media company
Barney Davis / Metro.co.uk: Donald Trump vows to hunt down ‘leaker’ who put US airforce rescue mission in danger
Tyler McCarthy / National Enquirer: President Trump Threatens to Jail Journalist If They Don't Give Up Their Source Regarding Missing Officer
Jack Walters / GB News: Donald Trump threatens journalist with prison sentence if they don't name ‘sick Iran leaker’
Sarah K. Burris / Alternet.org: Defense editor busts Trump's threat to jail reporter if they don't turn over ‘source’
Nate Silver / Silver Bulletin:
How social media became a “freak show”: X punishes external links and most top accounts, such as Catturd, are very low-quality but get more engagement than NYT — The ecosystem is unhealthy, especially on Twitter, and that's producing some strange beasts among the most influential accounts.
Discussion:
Jay Van Bavel, PhD on LinkedIn, @petersavodnik, @catturd2, @alanmcole, @nikitabier, @devahaz, @blueboxdave, @elonmusk, @mikeisaac, @robbysoave, @mikeisaac, @micsolana, @ryanburge, @timcast, @natesilver538, @davidafrench, @kirkegaardemil, @davidu, @jason_koebler, @christopherrufo, @micsolana, @besttrousers, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, Barrett Media, @paulnovosad, @kareem_carr, @alx, @natesilver538, @asymmetricinfo, @esjesjesj, @cesifoti, @jaybaxter, @richardhanania, @nntaleb, @nikitabier, @stefanfschubert, @notjessewalker, @natesilver538, @literaryeric, @richardhanania, @natesilver538, @yimbyland, @datarepublican, @nikitabier, @david_ingram, @juliangough, @clairlemon, @jason_kint, @ryanburge, @ddiamond, @soncharm, @neeratanden, @bretdevereaux, @nikitabier, @catturd2, @nateduncannba, @akarlin, @elonmusk, @richardhanania, Reason, @modeledbehavior, @mattvanswol, @ryanradia, @yacinemtb, Adam Shapiro on LinkedIn, @natesilver538, @natesilver538, @jason_kint, @nikitabier, @jeremiahdjohns, @bing_chris, @jaredlholt, @moultano, @natesilver538, @nikitabier, @benryanwriter, @natesilver538, @modeledbehavior, @alx, @alicefromqueens, @alanmcole, @micsolana, @nkulw, @noahpinion, @haroon, @catturd2, @crazy_stephen_i, @buccocapital, @phl43, @razibkhan, @zerohedge, @jayvanbavel.bsky.social, @mikeisaac, @katiemiller, @jamessurowiecki, @konstantinkisin, @elonmusk, @raharrisonpa, @phl43, @david_ingram, @asymmetricinfo, @jonatanpallesen, @aricohn, @richardhanania, @elonmusk, @richardhanania, @tha_muser, @jamessurowiecki, @kasparov63, @christopherrufo, @akoustov, @natesilver538, @modeledbehavior, @timbray@cosocial.ca, @leavex@mastodon.social, @sundersays.bsky.social and @carnage4life.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Jay Van Bavel, PhD / Jay Van Bavel, PhD on LinkedIn: “The content that gets “engagement” on Twitter is mostly complete crap” — Most social media sucks these days, but Twitter/X has taken the worst downturn. …
Peter Savodnik / @petersavodnik: This is the same story you find at every institution that has had its own right-wing insurrection: in response to “progressive” censorship, the new guard blows up the guardrails, leading to an influx of unserious but dangerous people who transform the institution into a joke.
Alan Cole / @alanmcole: Do you know how I know users value NYT/WSJ/Bloomberg? Because the engagement maxxing accounts (I'm not a fan, but they know what works on here) still cite them for credibility. But you have “trained” them to not provide the link because they know that harms their engagement. [image]
Deva Hazarika / @devahaz: Everyone is focusing too much on the rightward lean of X. That's not because big left posters left, it's because the center of gravity here is Elon and content he engages with. But that bias isn't the real problem, it's how many of the biggest posters are pure garbage content.
David Marcus / @blueboxdave: I don't think it's the front page, we still compose that, X reacts to it. But it was the water cooler, or maybe the watering hole where all the animals of the media agreed to meet in peace. It's not that anymore.
Rat King / @mikeisaac: i mean look twitter never really drove significant traffic so it's not exactly something to fixate on. Google and Facebook are more important and they basically turned all traffic off over the past few years. but people (media) care about twitter b/c they stare at it daily
Robby Soave / @robbysoave: Such lazy takes. That's not even an example of Nate Silver being wrong, let alone intellectual dishonesty. The models did show Clinton “probably” winning. Not definitely, not certainly, just probably.
Rat King / @mikeisaac: i dont think it's right to say tech writ large hates traditional media, but an enormously influential swath of it does influencers and non-traditional media produce real, valuable stuff. but a lot of it is based on information being dug up by old school reporting. it's symbiotic
Mike Solana / @micsolana: seems true that quality has degraded across the social internet, which is partly a structural issue. but it's also true that huge media brands like the NYT are just really bad at social. when they aren't boosted, they fail. they have the resources, they should adapt.
Ryan Burge / @ryanburge: In April of 2023, I was getting a third of my Substack traffic from Twitter. By August it was 1-2%. A quick Google search reveals that Elons first major algorithm tweak was in the Spring 2023. I saw the impact of that in real time. [image]
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: It's not my data. The source is Cluvio, which is linked to in the article. I'd link to it in this tweet, but ironically, that would kill engagement. And I know that traffic is hard to count. Especially for a private company. But if you have more accurate data, then publish it.
David French / @davidafrench: One of the reasons why no one should pay any attention to Twitter pile-ons is that you can know with absolute certainty that the vast majority of people yelling at you over a piece did not, in fact, bother to click on the piece. You can see the numbers.
Emil Kirkegaard / @kirkegaardemil: Good post on social media now and then. It's easy to complain but hard to come up with a viable business model. Twitter in its more golden years of less slop and partisanship wasn't making money.
David Ulevitch / @davidu: Some of the recipes are okay, and wordle is cool, but their Middle East coverage is an absolute dumpster fire. Maybe @x knows more than Nate.
Jason Koebler / @jason_koebler: this is how the vast majority of new subscribers are (or were) obtained, yes
Christopher F. Rufo / @christopherrufo: This is correct. Twitter's long-term value is the perception, and, ultimately, the reality, that this is the front page of the news writ large. It should be the place where writers, editors, producers, bookers, policymakers, and artists *have to be* to remain in the discourse.
Mike Solana / @micsolana: for example, given we know links are deboosted (this is denied but like, come on lol) why is the NYT posting a link to a paywalled article and calling it a day? yes, links are great... but we are also all free to produce native content. https://x.com/...
Matt Darling / @besttrousers: @AlanMCole @aarmlovi Especially insofar as the worst engagement maxing accounts cite them and then I am unable to find a specific article where the claim originated.
Jason Lefkowitz / @jalefkowit@vmst.io: This chart Nate Silver made of the X accounts with the most engagement in 2026 seems like it might be useful to show decent orgs who resist moving their primary online presence off X. Is this really the company your org wants to keep? — https://www.natesilver.net/... [image]
Barrett Media: Fox News, Candace Owens, Dan Bongino, Scott Jennings, Clay Travis Dot List for Highest Engagement X Accounts
Paul Novosad / @paulnovosad: it is just the algorithm, but it does show clearly the algorithm is designed to reward friends and punish enemies like the legacy media. 53m followers, obviously people want nyt in their feed.
Dr Kareem Carr / @kareem_carr: @NateSilver538 I suspect what's happpening is they fired all their people with social science backgrounds, and therefore no longer have the in-house expertise needed to construct a scalable mathematization of the concept of “high-quality” content.
@alx: These are the Twitter/X accounts with the most engagement so far in 2026. I suppose I had some intuition for how bad it was, but jeez, this is what you get when the ecosystem is broken. [image]
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: It seems e.g. like lots of people clicking on a link would be an unambiguous signal of engagement. It's *off-platform* engagement, and you guys have the right to deprioritize that. But that's what Facebook did, and it made them literally completely irrelevant to the news convo.
Megan McArdle / @asymmetricinfo: @micsolana It's not that they can't figure out how to go viral on social media, it's that they can't figure out how to do that without cannibalizing their business model. X has every right to deboost links but the result will be lower-quality content because given the low margins of
César A. Hidalgo / @cesifoti: @NateSilver538 The algorithm could definitely use some improvement. It is unbalanced by prioritizing the worse content of popular accounts over the best content of more modest accounts. We have lots of smart people in here that could help at least find a better heuristic for this attention
Jay Baxter / @jaybaxter: @NateSilver538 More context for how it used to work (before Nikita launched the new better link UI):
Richard Hanania / @richardhanania: Once again, smarter conservatives simply are unable to comprehend that quality actually matters. They see a chart that is dominated by Eric Daugherty, Gunther, and Catturd, and go “libs all left, that's why there's no intellectual diversity.” What distinguishes these accounts
Nassim Nicholas Taleb / @nntaleb: Nate Silver is a fraud, clueless about probability. But the fellow claiming that those who debunk him are grifters and idiots is at the intersection of a grifter and an idiot. BTW Forecasting means “not trading against yourself” https://arxiv.org/...
Stefan Schubert / @stefanfschubert: This is a great point. Revealed preferences show that people trust MSM more than much of the discourse suggests. There's a reason people don't use “per catturd” in the same way.
Jesse Walker / @notjessewalker: “Portal to the rest of the Internet” is key. For years, this site was the front page of a morning paper whose articles were spread all over the web. That isn't *gone*, but management now tries to suppress it & replace it with..."Gunther Eagleman"? “Wall Street Apes”? Come on.
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: In what sense is it intellectually dishonest, Nikita? The context is clear. My thesis is: I think your algo surfaces too little quality. And I think your excuses in these back-and-forth exchanges have been validating of that. To your credit, it's clear enough you agree with me.
Eric Nelson / @literaryeric: I keep a spreadsheet of influencers (who might write books) and one tab is “will say literally anything for clicks.” Over the last two years, that tab and the most popular accounts on Twitter have become almost the same list. [image]
Richard Hanania / @richardhanania: Elon Musk: The best evidence that the X algorithm pushes low quality info is that it gives us Nate Silver tweets. Not that Gunther and Jackson Hinkle dominate the algorithm. How can someone so smart in some areas be this stupid? https://www.richardhanania.com/ ... [image]
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: There's nothing organic about it; it's deliberate choices you and the team are making. And although those choices may have been defensible in the abstract, they're clearly resulting in low-quality content rising to the top. You're a smart dude, you can build a better algo!
@yimbyland: They don't even try to fix X anymore. They just look at you like this and ask you to stop using it the way it's designed. [image]
@datarepublican: @NateSilver538 Your entire argument collapses if the underlying data is wrong. And here, it is. When accounts are omitted or mislabeled, any ratios derived from them become meaningless. You're analyzing a distorted sample and presenting it as signal. This isn't a debate where competing
Nikita Bier / @nikitabier: @NateSilver538 It's paywalled. If only 0.1% of users can derive value from the content, it will organically rank lower.
David Ingram / @david_ingram: @nikitabier @MikeIsaac There's no one left at X who works on content partnerships? That's surprising if so, because I see people online who say they work on content partnerships at X. I also see X announcing content partnerships with specific publishers.
Julian Gough / @juliangough: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 It's by far the most-subscribed-to paper in the US, and its account's followers are disproportionately likely to be subscribers. Your “people won't be able to read it” argument is completely inapplicable in this case.
Claire Lehmann / @clairlemon: The sad reality is that “shaping elite thought” is an aesthetic preference, not a business model. Only Fans has zero cultural prestige yet it makes about $US37M per employee. Yet when Twitter was the front page of the internet, it rarely turned a profit. https://x.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: Welcome to this discussion, Nate. You could do a lot of good breaking down the velocity and reach suppression. Note, your inclusion of a handle in your post should also result in less visibility for your own post. Intentional design changes post-Elon.
Ryan Burge / @ryanburge: When I first started my Substack, it was before Elon changed the algorithm. About 1 in 4 clicks on my posts would come from Twitter. If I post a link this morning to my newest post, 1 in 1500 or 2000 clicks will come from Twitter. They are absolutely still deboosting.
Dan Diamond / @ddiamond: X can still be useful during breaking news. But the changes to the algorithm, the throttling of links, the sale of blue checkmarks have all made it much less valuable and cluttered with bad info. 1K+ retweets and 2M+ views on a claim that's easily debunked.
@soncharm: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 hi Nikita quick question, can you help me find the quote-tweet-but-with-the-context button
Neera Tanden / @neeratanden: Elon Musk's X is lower in quality in every way than Twitter was pre Musk takeover. You could get reliable breaking news on this site, learning about situations all around the world. Now misinformation and information are indistinguishable. It's a Musk failure.
@bretdevereaux: The idea that only paywalled links get deprioritized here does not fit my experience. ACOUP is not paywalled at all, but click-through from here basically collapsed post-Musk as the algorithm changed. A part of why I am on here less and bluesky more - it doesn't hide links.
Nikita Bier / @nikitabier: @NateSilver538 Can you stop quote tweeting without the context? It's intellectually dishonest.
Nate Duncan / @nateduncannba: Great points here. One thing I'd add is Twitter really got worse when the default view was no longer just tweets of people you follow in chronological order. Once it got algorithmized as the default view it got worse. I use exclusively lists to avoid this, but avg Joe doesn't.
Anatoly Karlin / @akarlin: There was a strong elite consensus that Hillary would win in 2016. Silver was way more skeptical than the mean in that class! Perhaps even more so @elonmusk himself - who donated to Hillary's campaign. Why would he do that if he thought Trump was going to win? [image]
Elon Musk / @elonmusk: @NateSilver538 It's surfacing you to me right now, which is evidence for your argument
Richard Hanania / @richardhanania: These people are actually happy to be part of a movement where Catturd is their intellectual leader. Why doesn't the New York Times become more like him! Huh, libs? Afraid of open debate?
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason: Sex Educators Say They're Being Harmed by Age Verification Laws
Adam Ozimek / @modeledbehavior: @NateSilver538 They could publish the algorithms like Elon promised and clear a lot of this up.
Matt Van Swol / @mattvanswol: @NateSilver538 I was going to stay out of this, but I'll jump in here. The only reason I am big on X is because “the media” literally left an entire open lane for me to fill in 2024. After the first initial days of Hurricane Helene, nearly all MSM packed up and left. I continued to share the [video]
Ryan Radia / @ryanradia: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 About 1 in 12 U.S. households has an NYT digital subscription [image]
Kache / @yacinemtb: >tweet data >data is incorrect >"its not my data! someone else got the data" isn't this like the famous betting guy
Adam Shapiro / Adam Shapiro on LinkedIn: No one disputes marketers and publishers must own audience relaionships because the socials aren't your friend. People do dispute if this is a “nice to have” or “need.” …
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: A (super cute!!) pet photo from Catturd™ gets literally 50x the engagement of a link to incredibly important original reporting from the NYT on Iran. According to your own on-site numbers @nikitabier. Do you consider this to be a desirable outcome? [image]
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: And yes, I have criticisms of pre-Elon Twitter and obviously Bluesky, too. But things tend to get especially broken when you suppress outbound traffic and break links to the rest of the web, as with Twitter now or mid/late-2010s Facebook.
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: This is all bad, if it's not filtered beyond engagement. Yes, a whole lot of toxic sludge surfaces from those big red bubbles in the middle but many of those smaller bubbles both red and blue spend their time focused on velocity and reach over accuracy.
Nikita Bier / @nikitabier: @David_Ingram @MikeIsaac We don't have a “relationship” with anyone. It's a social media platform, where everyone has an equal opportunity to participate. Elon's opinion on the publication has no impact on their ranking in the algorithm.
Jeremiah Johnson / @jeremiahdjohns: “I think Nate is dumb because his election forecast was wrong” is one of the single best predictors for someone being an absolutely brainless idiot I've literally never seen it said by someone who wasn't a grifter, completely brain-poisoned, or a total moron. 100% hit rate. [image]
Chris Bing / @bing_chris: Something I can't get past is that the rig is so obvious on twitter yet they haven't really had a significant insider event, going to the press or congress or really any oversight body.
Ryan Moulton / @moultano: Despite its much smaller userbase, bluesky typically drives much more traffic when I post a link. And I can't emphasize enough how much more dignified it is to just be able to post instead of hiding them away like you're embarrassed about it.
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: The NYT published a link to critical original reporting on Iran 45 minutes ago. A good, fair story. They have 53m followers. The engagement metrics you display say they got 94 likes and 33 retweets out of that. Is that accurate? And if so, shouldn't you work on a better algo? [image]
Nikita Bier / @nikitabier: @MikeIsaac For what it's worth: NYT has not experimented with their captions on posts in 20 years since the launch of Twitter. While the entire world has evolved their posting style to convert people to their newsletters (e.g., threads, etc), NYT still has their social media manager
Benjamin Ryan / @benryanwriter: Paying for high-quality journalism is good.
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: That isn't really what the tweet you're self-quoting says. It says it's hard to establish the quality signal associated with a link and so each tweet should “stand alone”, and also the platform design makes it hard to engage with such tweets. Maybe fix that? [image]
Adam Ozimek / @modeledbehavior: Nominate Nate to lead the Twitter user guild and negotiate with the platform on our behalf
@alx: Did you know that @nikitabier and @elonmusk are so powerful, that they made NYT suck at social media on Bluesky and Threads too?🤣 [image]
Alice / @alicefromqueens: Anyone with a brain who sees @NateSilver538's graph of most engaged Twitter accounts sees the problem. There's no on-the-one-hand / on-the-other-hand over the prominence of, say, @GuntherEagleman. The accounts are unadulterated shit and only morons try to defend them.
Alan Cole / @alanmcole: Dumb. The value of the link is in backing up the claim. The claim can often be backed up from a NYT/WSJ/Bloomberg headline alone. But it's also a signal you're willing to let the many power users who do have subscriptions investigate the story further. Dumb dumb dumb.
Mike Solana / @micsolana: I have criticized the link embargo for years, but this from bier is just obviously true. if you know the platform punishes links and rewards native content, and you persist in posting links with no native content, you can't be surprised when your posts don't perform.
Noah Kulwin / @nkulw: When I'm winning an argument
@haroon: Cmon @nikitabier you should know better than this. The people who FOLLOW the @nytimes account are far more likely to have a subscription and be able to read past the paywall. Also people can read a certain number of articles for free. The .1% number you are citing is nonsense.
@catturd2: “Hey Nate Silver. If you've got a problem with Wiggles and Monkey, you've got a problem with me.” - Pedro [image]
@crazy_stephen_i: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 CAN YOU STOP USING MY PRODUCT ACCORDING TO THE WAY ITS DESIGNED IT BREEDS DISHONESTY
@buccocapital: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 The algorithm destroyed the reach of replies, so why would he respond to you that way? Can't be mad at people responding to the incentives of the system
Philippe Lemoine / @phl43: This is so annoying. X is being criticized for deliberately throttling links, but instead of addressing that criticism (because he can't), Bier tries to reverse the accusation by criticizing the NYT for not being creative enough in promoting its content, unlike I guess the dozens [image]
Razib Khan / @razibkhan: everyone on substack noticed that
@zerohedge: Wait till you see what engagement the Economist, WaPo, Time and others who bought “millions of followers” get
Jay Van Bavel, PhD / @jayvanbavel.bsky.social: “The content that gets “engagement” on Twitter is mostly complete crap” — The reason is simple: The incentive structure and algorithm have been designed to amplify incendiary nonsense and throttle content with links to evidence. www.natesilver.net/p/social- med...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: even if i werent a journalist who worked at the outlet he's referring to, this is such a reductive way to look at the internet and news if you choke out the sources that produce new information, over time that goes away and the void is filled with crap (pushed by paid accts)
James Surowiecki / @jamessurowiecki: De-boosting links made this site much less useful for both writers and readers. A big chunk of Twitter's value was that it was a one-stop shop where you would find links to a host of new and interesting pieces. These pieces were outside Twitter, but connecting readers to them
Konstantin Kisin / @konstantinkisin: @christopherrufo @micsolana As a huge fan of this platform, I can't help noticing that the noise to signal ratio here has deteriorated. Monetisation has created an incentive structure that is conducive to neither authentic discussion nor quality content.
Richard A Harrison / @raharrisonpa: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 I'll never understand the media tweeting articles behind a paywall. Has anyone in the history of X ever clicked to read an article, hit the paywall, and then said “Oh yes, let me subscribe immediately to this media that I'm not subscribed to”? @nikitabier it would be fascinating
Philippe Lemoine / @phl43: This was such a dishonest post. Bier was pretending that, if tweets containing a link tended to get lower reach, it was because of some UI problem, but to the extent that this problem was real it had always existed and tweets with links only started getting less reach after the
David Ingram / @david_ingram: @nikitabier @MikeIsaac I wonder if there are any reasons why the NYT-X relationship isn't stronger... Oh, that's right https://x.com/...
Megan McArdle / @asymmetricinfo: Rarely happens the first time, but over time, yes, if people keep clicking on links they want to read, and can't because it's paywalled, eventually some number of them decide to subscribe.
Jonatan Pallesen / @jonatanpallesen: Nate Silver literally just made a normal quote tweet. The site features are so badly designed that when the X management interacts with normal use of them, they see this use as dishonest. X could easily design quote posts so that they have two posts in them, giving us more
Ari Cohn / @aricohn: Imagine working for Elon Musk and having the unmitigated chutzpah to lecture anyone else on intellectual dishonesty.
Richard Hanania / @richardhanania: Excellent point. Rightists love a NYT source when they can cite one as much as anyone. They themselves know the “other side” has higher quality, more credible work.
Richard Hanania / @richardhanania: The problem with Twitter isn't a lack of “viewpoint diversity.” We have plenty! Nazis and Jackson Hinkle and Tucker have differences between them. The problem is that the new X is dominated by trash. What a bizarre blind spot to not see lack of quality as the problem.
@tha_muser: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 I would get more value from seeing just a New York Times headline even without a subscription, than from seeing another low effort ragebait take from a MAGA engagement farmer.
James Surowiecki / @jamessurowiecki: @nikitabier @NateSilver538 Come on. How does an account have 53 million followers, post a tweet about the biggest news story of the day, and get only 33 retweets?
Garry Kasparov / @kasparov63: MAGA & conspiracy crap. The monster is a reflection of its creator, or, in this case, its buyer and owner. I hope no one was so foolish as to think Musk bought Twitter for any reason other than to make it over in his image and pursue his political and commercial goals.
Christopher F. Rufo / @christopherrufo: The quality of the X feed will improve if it rewards sharing and discussion of substantive articles, rather than copied-and-pasted short-form video, which, to be fair, will require sacrificing some on-timeline user minutes, in favor of X's long-term value as a public forum.
Alexander Kustov / @akoustov: The dumb craziness of Twitter and the complete self-imposed ideological capture of Bsky in one picture. Neither is good for substantive or academic discussion, but Bsky is especially bad for anything challenging left-wing ideas. And no, folks, NYT is not right-wing. [image]
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: These are the Twitter/X accounts with the most engagement so far in 2026. I suppose I had some intuition for how bad it was, but jeez, this is what you get when the ecosystem is broken. [image]
Adam Ozimek / @modeledbehavior: This is what @elonmusk said before he bought twitter. Actually doing this would help clarify this debate. [image]
Tim Bray / @timbray@cosocial.ca: Nate Silver, in his capacity as a publisher looking for an audience, on Social Media generally and X specifically: https://www.natesilver.net/... Tl;dr: He sees social media, as a whole, as a declining force. — #socialmedia — [image]
@leavex@mastodon.social: Social media is turning into a freak show — https://www.natesilver.net/... The ecosystem is unhealthy, especially on X/Twitter, and that's producing some strange beasts among the most influential accounts. — 1/3 — #LeaveX #FarRight #BigTech #SocialMedia
Sunder Katwala / @sundersays.bsky.social: X is likely to be holding up a bit better in America (because one of the partisan tribes is into it) than in Britain, but overall attention to it is down 20% in 2 years — www.natesilver.net/p/social- med... [image]
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life.bsky.social: Nate Silver pens an essay about how social media is dead as a way to build an audience because Twitter is now a right wing cesspool where Catturd gets more engagement than the New York Times. — Weird that it never occurs to him that Twitter is the problem and there's more to social media l. 🤷🏾♂️
Michael Schneider / Variety:
CBS is selling its 11:35pm ET timeslot to Byron Allen, who will air episodes of Comics Unleashed starting May 22, after The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ends — As “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” ends its run next month, CBS has opted to turn its 11:35 p.m. ET post-local news timeslot …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Deadline, TheDesk.net, Forbes, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The A.V. Club, @rickporter.bsky.social, WUSA, @tomleykis.bsky.social, Reuters, @matthewkeyslive, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @corbinbolies, @alexweprin, @jbflint, NewsMax.com, @nemalki.bsky.social, The US Sun, @bdomenech, HotAir, @alexweprin, Hollywood Life, E! Online, LateNighter, @variety, @jeremymbarr, Consequence, New York Daily News, Fox News, New York Post, Daily Mail, @jessehawken.bsky.social, TV Insider, TV Insider, ScreenRant, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Barrett Media, The Post Millennial, The Wrap, @adamrose.bsky.social, IJR and ME
Discussion:
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter: CBS Sets ‘Late Show’ Replacement: Byron Allen's ‘Comics Unleashed’
Liam Reilly / CNN: CBS will hand Colbert's late-night time slot to ‘Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen’
Peter White / Deadline: CBS Unveils Late-Night Plans Following ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Cancellation
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net: CBS gives “Late Show” time slot to Byron Allen
Warner Todd Huston / Breitbart: CBS Reveals Stephen Colbert's Replacement Months After ‘Late Show’ Cancelation
Eboni Boykin-Patterson / The Daily Beast: CBS Reveals Who Is Getting Colbert's Time Slot
Rick Porter / @rickporter.bsky.social: Literally one day after “The Late Show” ends, CBS will start airing “Comics Unleashed w/Byron Allen” at 11:35 p.m. Allen is buying airtime from the network & his company will sell ads for the show.
Megan Divers / WUSA: CBS reveals what will fill ‘Late Show’ time slot after Colbert's final sign-off
Tom Leykis / @tomleykis.bsky.social: Soon as Colbert is gone, I am deleting CBS from all of my apps. I will never, EVER see this show.
Matthew Keys / @matthewkeyslive: @alexweprin Viewership figures aren't available for either shows, because they're pay-to-play programming, which Nielsen doesn't rate. https://thedesk.net/...
Justin Baragona / @justinbaragona.bsky.social: Notably, this show was already airing on CBS affiliates after Colbert's show, and will now just move up an hour. — Also, Byron Allen pays the network to air this program and another game show on its stations, with his company selling ad space. — www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ c...
Corbin Bolies / @corbinbolies: Paramount/CBS' Stephen Colbert replacement is Byron Allen's “Comics Unleashed.” Allen, who tried to buy Paramount for $30 billion in 2024, is paying for his time on the network. (by @Lmanfredi7) https://www.thewrap.com/...
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: Allen, it is worth noting, is paying CBS to run Comics Unleashed in the timeslot, guaranteeing the network a tidy profit. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Was the Wilton North Report not available? CBS Seals Deal With Byron Allen to Lease All of Late Night After Stephen Colbert Exits in May https://variety.com/... via @variety
Solange Reyner / NewsMax.com: CBS Replacing Colbert With Byron Allen Comedy Block
Jeff Harris / @nemalki.bsky.social: I'm still trying to figure out Byron Allen's endgame here and how these media types really see him. — He now has 10 hours of late-night real estate on a major broadcast network. Low-risk, low-cost & much lower ratings than Colbert. CBS will drop him easily within a year because affiliates will balk.
Courtney Ciandella / The US Sun: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's replacement revealed as CBS late-night series to end in just weeks
Benjamin Domenech / @bdomenech: He's paying to run it, which is the most hilarious thing about it.
Christian Toto / HotAir: Good News! Comedy Returns to Late-Night TV
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: CBS has found the show that will take over the 11:30 timeslot after Stephen Colbert exits “The Late Show.” It's “Comics Unleashed,” the stand-up show from Byron Allen.
Elisabeth McGowan / Hollywood Life: Who Is Byron Allen? All About Stephen Colbert's ‘Late Show’ Time Slot Replacement
Brett M Malec / E! Online: CBS' Replacement for Late Show With Stephen Colbert Revealed
@variety: CBS has sold the time slot for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to Byron Allen, who will move back-to-back episodes of his “Comics Unleashed” series down an hour. “I created and launched ‘Comics Unleashed’ 20 years ago so my fellow comedians could have a platform to do what [image]
Eddie Fu / Consequence: Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Moved Up to Replace The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Theresa Braine / New York Daily News: Colbert ‘Late Show’ time slot to be filled by Byron Allen comedy showcase
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post: CBS reveals ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ replacement
Alex Hammer / Daily Mail: CBS reveals VERY pointed replacement for Stephen Colbert's money-losing, woke talk show as it limps towards its final show
Jesse Hawken / @jessehawken.bsky.social: Ooof, low energy programming decision — www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ c...
Erin Maxwell / TV Insider: Who is Byron Allen? Meet the Media Mogul Replacing Stephen Colbert at CBS
Alyssa Norwin / TV Insider: Stephen Colbert's ‘Late Show’ Replacement Revealed by CBS
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost: CBS To Fill ‘Colbert’ Time Slot With ‘Comics Unleashed’
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times: Byron Allen's ‘Comics Unleashed’ will replace CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert
Garrett Searight / Barrett Media: With The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Going Away, Did CBS News Miss a Golden Opportunity?
Hannah Nightingale / The Post Millennial: CBS to fill Colbert's late night spot with Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap: CBS' Late Night Future: Byron Allen's ‘Comics Unleashed’ to Take Over ‘Late Show’ Timeslot After Colbert Finale
Adam Rose / @adamrose.bsky.social: CBS is replacing the #1 show in late night TV with a program paid for like an infomercial. — No shade on Byron Allen, who may be a good person and business mind, but he's literally paying for this air time. CBS would rather do that deal than be blamed for making #1 shows that hurt Trump's feelings.
Andrew Powell / IJR: CBS Ditches Late-Night Staple for New Comedy Block After Colbert Exit
Mark Evanier / ME: The Old Order Changeth
Max Tani / Semafor:
Email: WSJ EIC Emma Tucker praised Fortune's use of AI in its journalism, saying anyone who “thinks it is ‘wrong’, should get out of journalism fast!” — In today's edition: Media battles in Baltimore.
Discussion:
@forensicfilms, @mediaevan, @david_slotnick, @nathanheller, @doog, @ethangach, @taylorlorenz, @jamesvgrimaldi, @davidsirota, @nancyayoussef, @tanyachen and @maxwelltani
Discussion:
Scott Macaulay / @forensicfilms: For all those tweeting about the EW job last week.... 👀
Evan DeSimone / @mediaevan: You can almost feel the downward pressure on people to say things like this.
David Slotnick / @david_slotnick: It makes the days of human aggregated news slop seem quaint
Nathan Heller / @nathanheller: It's interesting that production volume—"600 stories," etc.— is seen to be the value hill to climb in journalism right now. I know of few people who feel they're running out of news to read.
Patrick Dugan / @doog: The type of person who still subscribes to legacy media absolutely does not want this. The failure here to realize that - with almost no effort - anyone can aggregate, summarize, and even lightly editorialize journalism on their own is astonishing.
@ethangach: If AI can do it it's either junk or a commodity and anyone who thinks they can out AI the AI should get out of running a newsroom fast!
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: 🫠
@jamesvgrimaldi: Seems clear enough: AI-written and -edited stories coming very soon to @wsj — something @IAPE1096 opposes. Those not on board should “get out”
David Sirota / @davidsirota: the media industry absolutely worships clickslop produced at mass scale
@nancyayoussef: I noticed that several of Lichtenberg's pieces are abt AI. Ex: “AI angst mutates into ‘FOBO’ as Fear of Becoming Obsolete takes over American workforces.” If AI is helping craft the stories, should AI be allowed cover itself?
@tanyachen: Amazing, cool to know. And what happens when mass readership uses their click and consumption power to not read or support your newsroom's work because they are rightfully and principledly against AI? What happens when it affects the bottom line?
RELATED:
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
An independent journalist argues against using AI to help journalists write, saying “the process is the purpose” even if you don't always enjoy it
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring: Journalists should use A.I. more
Simon Owens / Simon Owens on LinkedIn: The independent journalist Marisa Kabas wrote about her steadfast refusal to use AI in her writing. — I'll start by saying I don't think AI writing will fully replace human writing anytime soon. …
Richard Moss / @mossrc.bsky.social: This essay about refusing genAI in journalism is fantastic. Great reporting—and great writing, broadly—is irreducibly human. And not just the final prose, but rather the whole process that leads there—ideation, research, 1st draft, *every* phase of editing + more www.thehandbasket.co/p/refusing- t...
Jovi Ho / Jovi Ho on LinkedIn: “AI may help you construct content, but it will not create memories. It will, at best, rehash ones you already made, and at worst, create false ones. …
Mike Monteiro / Mike Monteiro on LinkedIn: This, from Marisa Kabas, is worth your time today: — “Some AI-loving journalists appear to believe that if they're clear enough with the AI program they're using …
Celeste Headlee / @celesteheadlee.bsky.social: “I take umbrage with the idea that because we have fewer resources we're forced to plagiarize. It undermines the respect for which so many of us have fought for—and continue to fight for— in this industry, and creates a permission structure for cheating.” — www.thehandbasket.co/p/refusing- t...
April Roach / CNBC:
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square offers to buy Amsterdam-listed UMG for ~$64.4B in cash and stock; Pershing plans to list the merged company on the NYSE — Activist investor Pershing Square said Tuesday it is planning to buy Universal Music Group in a cash and stock deal worth about 55.8 billion euros ($64.4 billion).
Discussion:
Variety, Telegraph, The Irish Times, Proactive, The Times, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reuters and Business Wire
Discussion:
Cynthia Littleton / Variety: Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Unveils Takeover Bid for Universal Music Group
Martin Strydom / The Times: Billionaire Bill Ackman offers €56bn for Universal Music
Lauren Almeida / The Guardian: Universal Music receives takeover offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square
Aimee Look / Wall Street Journal: Ackman's Pershing Square Offers to Buy Universal Music Group for More Than $63 Billion
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter: Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Offers to Acquire Universal Music Group for $63.5 Billion
Charlotte Hughes-Morgan / Bloomberg: Ackman's Pershing Square Offers to Buy Universal Music Group
Gnaneshwar Rajan / Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square offers to buy Universal Music for nearly $65 billion
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Netflix launches Netflix Playground, a games app for kids aged eight and under, in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand — It's called Netflix Playground, and it's out now. … Netflix has made family-friendly titles a key part of its current games strategy …
Discussion:
Netflix Tudum, Mumbrella, Netflix Press Site, Business Standard, Communicate Online, Reuters, MediaNews4U, Mediaweek, Telecompaper, Kidscreen, iThinkDifferent, Variety, Tech Times, iDrop News, Neowin, USA Today, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Just Jared, Tech in Asia, iClarified, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, MobileSyrup, Mashable, The Next Web, Digital Trends, CNET, 9to5Mac, The Wrap, The Mac Observer, How-To Geek, Fast Company, Cord Cutters News, Ukrainian National News, Media Play News, Thurrott, The Asia Business Daily and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Timothy J. Seppala / Netflix Tudum: Netflix Playground: Everything Parents Need to Know
Netflix Press Site: Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App for Games, New Shows & Returning Favorites
Sweta Kumari / Business Standard: Netflix launches Playground app for kids with ad-free games: What's it
Harshita Mary Varghese / Reuters: Netflix debuts new ‘Playground’ gaming app for kids
Ryan Tuchow / Kidscreen: Has Netflix found its solution for kids game discovery?
Jennifer Maas / Variety: Netflix Orders More ‘Ms. Rachel,’ ‘Sesame Street’ Episodes, Launches Kids Gaming App
Isaiah Richard / Tech Times: Netflix Playground Debuts New Ad-Free Gaming App for Kids on iPhone, iPad
Jesse Hollington / iDrop News: Netflix Playground Offers a Safe Space for Tiny Gamers
David Uzondu / Neowin: Netflix is launching a new app for kid-friendly games
Kelly Lawler / USA Today: Netflix debuts new ‘Playground’ app with games for preschoolers - exclusive
Just Jared: Netflix Launches Interactive Playground App for Kids to Play Games & Explore with Beloved Characters
Aiko Gao Ishida / Tech in Asia: Netflix debuts ad-free kids game Netflix Playground
Shalom Levytam / iClarified: Netflix Launches ‘Netflix Playground’ Kids App on App Store With No Ads
Cerys Davies / Los Angeles Times: Netflix launches new gaming app for kids called Netflix Playground
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter: Netflix Launches Kid-Friendly ‘Playground’ Games App as Part of Push for Young Viewers
Julian Stewart / MobileSyrup: Netflix Playground is a standalone gaming app for kids
Cristian Dina / The Next Web: Netflix launches Playground, a standalone games app for children aged eight and under
Manisha Priyadarshini / Digital Trends: Netflix has a new gaming app for kids that gets rid of ads and payments
Aaron Pruner / CNET: Netflix Introduces New Ad-Free Gaming App for Kids
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac: Netflix now includes an iPhone and iPad games app for kids, here's what it includes
Moulik Mathur / How-To Geek: Netflix's new gaming app for kids is a missed opportunity
María José Gutierrez Chavez / Fast Company: Netflix just added free games for kids to your subscription. Here's how to access them
Ukrainian National News: Netflix released the Playground gaming app for children under eight years old
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: Netflix Expands Children's Programming, Launches Dedicated ‘Netflix Playground’ App
Roh Kyungjo / The Asia Business Daily: Netflix Expands Availability of Kids-Only ‘Netflix Playground’ App
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: three Gulf sovereign-wealth funds have agreed to commit a total of ~$24B to back Paramount's $81B WBD deal; Saudi Arabia's PIF agreed to provide ~$10B — Commitments from Middle East entities will help offset costs for Ellison family — Paramount has received signed equity commitments …
Discussion:
TV Tonight, The American Bazaar, The Wrap, Yahoo Finance, Baller Alert, Cautious Optimism, New York Post, Variety, The Daily Upside, The Movie Blog, The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, Awful Announcing, The A.V. Club, Blockonomi, Media Play News, Benzinga and @newsjennifer.bsky.social
Discussion:
Vishnu Kaimal / The American Bazaar: Paramount eyes $24 billion Saudi backing for Warner Bros. Discovery takeover
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap: Paramount Secures $24 Billion Commitment From Middle East Sovereign Wealth Funds for Warner Bros. Deal
Aaron McDade / Yahoo Finance: Paramount Is Getting Closer to Buying Warner Bros. Discovery. Investors Haven't Loved The Deal So Far.
Iesha / Baller Alert: Middle Eastern Money Floods Hollywood... $24 Billion Backs Paramount-Warner Deal
Alex Wilhelm / Cautious Optimism: Can't beat the power of free
Taylor Herzlich / New York Post: Paramount secures $24B from Gulf wealth funds as Warner Bros. deal seeks regulatory approval: report
Todd Spangler / Variety: Paramount Skydance Secures $24 Billion From Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi Funds for Warner Bros. Deal: Report
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: Middle East Sovereign Wealth Funds Will Back Paramount's Final Deal for Warner Bros.
Drew Lerner / Awful Announcing: Middle East to fund $24B of Paramount's Warner Bros. Discovery takeover
Drew Gillis / The A.V. Club: Paramount has $24 billion in Middle East sovereign wealth funds for WBD purchase
Trader Edge / Blockonomi: Paramount Skydance (PSKY) Stock Gains as Gulf Sovereigns Pledge $24B for Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: Middle East Sovereign Wealth Funds Pledge $24 Billion to Paramount's Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
Mia Sato / The Verge:
A look at the gold rush for firms claiming to help brands get cited by AI search tools, using tactics like memory manipulation via “Summarize with AI” buttons — Let's pretend you work in IT and you're looking for a new digital service desk platform to help your employees reset passwords or onboard new hires.
Discussion:
Chris Green / Search Engine Land: SEO in 2026: Higher standards, AI influence, and a web still catching up
Allison Smith / Modern Retail: Google says its AI-powered ads help some brands lift online sales by 80%
Nilay Patel / @reckless.bsky.social: Remember that viral report about Google traffic to tech sites plummeting? It was massaged data from a firm selling “AI SEO” which just wanted attention - and search referrals! — @miasato.bsky.social reports on the shady new ways SEO hustlers are trying to game search www.theverge.com/tech/900302/ ... …
Mia Sato / @miasato.bsky.social: When ads came to ChatGPT, users were mad — those who had been using it as an editor or therapist suddenly saw ChatGPT as vulnerable to manipulation by brands and marketers. — The reality is that it was happening the whole time. I wrote about the new SEO gold rush: — www.theverge.com/tech/900302/ ...
Washington Post:
Some CNN staffers are worried about mismanagement, along with political interference, if CBS News' current leadership takes control following Paramount takeover — Amid a public bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, President Donald Trump in December addressed a key asset of its media empire: CNN.
Discussion:
Ashok Dadhwal / @ashokdadhwal.bsky.social: As Paramount Skydance—led by Trump ally David Ellison—moves to acquire CNN's parent company, concerns are rising over political pressure on the network. Trump has repeatedly attacked CNN and publicly pushed for its sale, intensifying fears about media independence.
David Satin / The Streamable:
Fubo CEO David Gandler announces long-term financial targets following the company's merger with Hulu + Live TV, aiming for $300M in adjusted EBITDA by FY 2028 — The streamer has a solid roadmap to achieve its financial goals, according to CEO David Gandler. — What does the future hold for Fubo?
Discussion:
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net: Fubo updates investors on financial targets, charts course toward profitability
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News: Fubo Eyeing Strong Fiscal Future on Hulu + Live TV Wholesale Fees
Bevin Fletcher / StreamTV Insider: Fubo discloses updated financial targets
Joe Tenebruso / Yahoo Finance: Why FuboTV Stock Popped Today
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