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New York Times:
Bari Weiss appoints longtime tech journalist Nick Bilton as the executive producer of 60 Minutes, replacing Tanya Simon, a 30-year veteran of the show — Bari Weiss, CBS's editor in chief, named Nick Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker, as the show's executive producer.
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Bari Weiss ousted two senior 60 Minutes executive producers, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega — CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss shook up the TV-news industry's most-watched and best-regarded property Thursday …
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Max Tani / Semafor:
An interview with Nick Bilton on working in TV news for the first time, building 60 Minutes' digital presence, having support from David Ellison, and more — The News — “My job is going to be rethinking how we tell stories in a completely new way,” Nick Bilton, who was tapped …
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New York Magazine, @justin_vogt, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, CBS News, @jakelahut, @tvgrimreaper, @jeffjarvis, @maxwelltani, @davidfolkenflik, @benshapiro, @neeratanden, Variety, @neeratanden, @lulumeservey, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @holmesjosh, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Mediaite, Business Insider and CinemaBlend
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ABC submits license renewal applications for its eight local TV stations to the FCC as ordered by the agency but says FCC's order violates the First Amendment — Disney's ABC has submitted its license renewal applications for its eight local TV stations to the FCC as ordered by the agency — but said it is doing so “under protest.”
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The Wrap, Politico, Reuters, TV Tech, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Raw Story, Radio & Television …, CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News, Newser, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, @brendancarrfcc, Deadline, KTVZ-TV, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, TheDesk.net, Bloomberg and The Hill
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George Winslow / TV Tech:
In a public note, the FCC reminds broadcasters of public interest obligations and stresses that the agency can enforce rules and possibly take away licenses — Public notice says the government could get ‘billions’ by auctioning broadcast spectrum and asserted its the power to yank licenses for ‘engaging in news distortion’
Discussion:
@agomezfcc, FCC, fcc.gov, Radio World, @brendancarrfcc, @jonathanuriarte, New York Magazine, Inside Radio, TVNewsCheck and Radio & Television …
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The New York Sun publisher Dovid Efune revives The Washington Star on Substack and sues NOTUS, which plans to rebrand as The Star, for trademark infringement — First, The Star was born. Now, The Washington Star is reborn. Both are hoping to win readers ceded by recent layoffs at The Washington Post.
Discussion:
City Cast DC, The Washington Star, Washington Examiner, @kararowland, @katie_robertson, @grahamstarr, @katie_robertson, @mctothstl, @emmauber7, @scottnover, @thewashstar, @_alibianco, @ericfingerhut, @mradamtaylor, @anthonyadragna, @timothy_cama, @grahamstarr, @efune, @semaforben, @jesweet2022, @francisxrocca, @davidplotz, @harrymccracken.com and Nieman Lab
Kari McMahon / A Media Operator:
Lookout Local, which launched in 2020 and now has two sites, expects its Santa Cruz, CA, site to be profitable by year-end and plans to have five sites by 2028 — Lookout Local launched as a local news outlet in Santa Cruz, Calif., during the pandemic. This year, it's expected to hit profitability.
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
Insiders say the nonfiction book publishing industry lacks contractual standards for AI use, leaving it vulnerable to copyright infringement and hallucinations — Steven Rosenbaum started writing his book The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality in 2022, around when ChatGPT launched.
Financial Times:
UK-based Iran International, a prominent broadcaster for anti-regime voices, completed a £650M debt-for-equity swap in December; it employs 700 people globally — Finances of UK-based broadcaster Iran International, a leading platform for opposition to regime, shored up by shareholders
Discussion:
Robert Smith on LinkedIn
Bloomberg:
Sources: TikTok is cutting music label-facing jobs to focus on its music distribution arm SoundOn and other projects that connect it more directly with artists — Music has been core to TikTok's identity since its inception. What started as a lipsyncing app called Musical.ly morphed …
Discussion:
AfroTech and Billboard, more at Techmeme »
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
A podcast industry taskforce, including Spotify, SiriusXM, and YouTube, has been meeting since 2025 to define what a podcast is and share info on ad measurement — Without a set definition “advertisers are deciding whose budget this is to come out of, there's oftentimes a tug of war …
Discussion:
Barrett Media and Daniel Granger on LinkedIn
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CBS says it now expects to turn a $15M profit on late night, thanks to Byron Allen's time buy of the former Late Show time slot, which was losing $40M annually — A network rep said that late night was “cost prohibitive” to keep programming itself. Allen's ‘Comics Unleashed’ debuted to 1.1 million viewers.
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