Bonus chat at the end: Why Charlie has reluctantly returned to posting over at...

Very belated news: Last week I talked to the Atlantic's excellent @cwarzel.bsky.social about all the things: Why AI slop may not be inevitable; why Charlie jumped face-first into YouTube; working in old media, then Substackland and back to old media, and more. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

On the one hand, Byron Allen is paying $120 million for half of BuzzFeed, and Wall Street thinks all of BuzzFeed is only worth $30 million. On the other hand, Allen is only paying $20 million today. Last hand: The 2010s were great until they weren't. www.businessinsider.com/buzzfeed-why...

MURDOCH: I'm publishing a story about your birthday note to Epstein. TRUMP: I'm suing you for $10 billion. MURDOCH: Cool. Hey I need a favor: Can you help me squeeze the NFL? www.businessinsider.com/murdoch-trum...

Who's going to buy into the gigantic IPOs of companies with no profits and questionable paths to profitability, such as SpaceX and OpenAI? You will, through your employer's retirement plan, writes @jmackin2.bsky.social www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...

I talked with the excellent @ftrain.bsky.social about the revolution in coding, why you (me, really) shouldn't feel bad about not vibe coding - and what all this means for normals. Excerpts: www.businessinsider.com/ai-code-vibe... Whole pod on Channels: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Donald Trump owns Truth Social. But when his wife wanted to use the power of the White House to silence Jimmy Kimmel, she relied on Elon Musk's X. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/melania-trum...

The New Yorker's excellent Sam Altman profile asks if Altman can be trusted. I had another question: Why is Altman always described as having Steve Jobs-like persuasive powers, when he doesn't project that way in public? Ronan Farrow's take, on Channels: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Hundreds of millions for a tech bro podcast with a small audience? Yes. And I can even squint and see the logic: www.businessinsider.com/why-openai-b...

Excellent @pkafka.bsky.social Channels podcast about prediction markets. Don’t call it the Wild West but it’s definitely the Wild West. overcast.fm/+AAQL2d_OUY8

Prediction markets are going to change the world. Or they're just going to be a way to do legal-ish sports betting in places where sports betting isn't legal. Or both? Wired's excellent @knibbs.bsky.social helps me think through it all on this week's Channels. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

"Please expect a very high rate of change from us" Sam Altman told us six months ago. But OpenAI isn't a plucky startup. It's a giant, deeply tied to our current and future economy. Maybe take a breather on the changes for a bit. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-a...

Periodic reminder that Twitter has one owner and one CEO and one head of product and they are all the same person. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-...

I talked to @mattbelloni.bsky.social about Sunday's Oscars, the future of Hollywood, and why he thinks David Ellison wants to build a new Fox News: Excerpts here: www.businessinsider.com/oscars-predi... Full chat on Channels: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

THREAD: I got laid off from NYMag/Vulture after 14 years. The family lost 75% of income + medical. Now mzs.press bookstore, once a side project. is do-or-die for Judith & I. I feel weird telling you this because others are doing much worse. But if you could like or share this, we'd be so grateful!

Paramount won't say if it's using $24 billion in Gulf money to help buy WBD. If that *did* happen? Just part of being a "global company", says RedBird's Gerry Cardinale, the Ellison family's favorite private equity guy: New from me via Puck's Matt Belloni: www.businessinsider.com/paramount-gu...

Last year the Ellisons were going to use $24 billion in Gulf state money to help Paramount buy WBD. Is that still happening? Paramount won't say. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/paramount-wb...

Two months ago Trump said it was "imperative" that CNN get new owners. But Netflix boss Ted Sarandos says Trump's statement (or anything else he said in public) had nothing to do with Netflix backing away from its Warners bid. www.businessinsider.com/netflix-sara...

New on Channels: A year ago David Ellison ran a "borderline irrelevant film studio." Now he's going to run a media empire. CNBC's Alex Sherman walks us through how we got here and what's next. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Ding ding

We can guess why Netflix bailed. But we know the outcome. By me: www.businessinsider.com/why-netflix-...

A chat with CNN's @brianstelter.bsky.social about Trump's power when it comes to media deals. Which of course includes the future of WBD, which owns CNN: If Trump really wants new ownership for CNN, that means he'll favor Paramount over Netflix.... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Saying the obvious: If the pro AI argument - this brings massive change! - pans out, that means doomer argument - this brings massive change! - pans out, too. www.businessinsider.com/ai-economy-j...

It's extraordinary for the President of the United States to tell a company to fire someone he doesn't like. But it's not unusual for Donald Trump. New from me, on the new normal we shouldn't get used to. www.businessinsider.com/trump-netfli...

Larry and David Ellison have a week to submit a new offer for WBD; then Netflix can respond. WBD says they expect the Ellisons to bid more than $31 a share. www.businessinsider.com/ellisons-war...

Buzzy tech CEOs: Ads are gross. Certainly we can do better. Buzzy tech CEOs, a few years later: The thing about ads is that they're great. Welcome to the ChatGPT ads era: www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ads-...

Fun, and correct, to dump on Will Lewis. But if you're not doing the same for Jeff Bezos - the man who owns the business, hired Lewis and made the business worse through his own decisions... www.businessinsider.com/will-lewis-j...

Hard to remember now but Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post used to get along just great. I talked to longtime Post vet @ErikWemple about what happened to his old paper, and his old owner. Excerpts: www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-w... Whole thing: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Blame Jeff Bezos! And, also: We need a business plan for news that doesn't rely on benevolent billionaires. From me: www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-b...

The big box office winner from the weekend wasn't "Melania"- $75mm costs, $7mm sales. It was @markiplier, whose "Iron Lung" cost ~ $3 million and grossed $22mm. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/youtube-mark...

These are times when you have to do what's needed, not what you want. So I went to see Melania. www.businessinsider.com/melania-movi...

Launching a media startup is hard. One way to make it easier is by targeting Washington, where there's a lot of ad money around the industry/policy complex. My interview with Semafor CEO @Justin_B_Smith. Excerpt: www.businessinsider.com/semafor-just... full audio podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Jerome Powell says Trump's dubious, transparently leverage-seeking investigation into the Fed is unprecedented. That's true for the Fed. Very standard for Trump, and we see it every day. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/trump-jerome...

truly what could a satirist make up that would be dumber and funnier than the White House East Wing sponsored by Roblox and defense contractors

Sometimes Donald Trump actively meddles with media companies - a reality we've already gotten numb to in the last year. Sometimes the *idea* of Trump is enough to mess with media companies. Which bring us to Bari Weiss and the Ellisons. From me: www.businessinsider.com/bari-weiss-6...

In a single day, three of old media's most treasured assets have been acquired by digital usurpers — internet services that used to be dismissed by media giants, and are now giants themselves. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/oscars-youtu...

The Ellisons were using $24 billion from Saudi, Qatar and Abu Dhabi in their WBD bid. That was an issue - but not the main one. New from me: www.businessinsider.com/paramount-wb...

Lachlan Cartwright worked for the National Enquirer when it was functionally an arm of the Trump campaign in 2015/2016 - he was part of the catch-and-kill activities. Now he dishes super insidery NYC media gossip. Our chat here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Last week Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi were going to put (at least) $24 billion into WBD - the company that owns HBO, CNN and a big movie studio. The petrostates are part of the new hostile bid Larry Ellison and his son are making, too. www.businessinsider.com/paramount-wb...

What is the point of being the world's second richest man if you can't get the President of the United States to kill a deal?https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-wbd-warner-paramount-larry-david-ellison-trump-doj-antitrust-2025-12

A scenario we couldn't imagine a few years ago, now quite plausible: Larry Ellison, backed by $ from Saudi and other petrostates, controlling a huge American media conglomerate. www.businessinsider.com/paramount-wa...

Wrote about the very plausible scenario where Saudis (or another petrostate) end up owning a chunk of major American film studios, streaming services and news outlets. www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia...

Bubble popped! SoftBank just sold all of its Nvidia shares. Bubble still bubbling! SoftBank is putting another $22 billion into OpenAI. A real @edzitron.com special. Let's discuss. www.businessinsider.com/softbank-nvi...

"I don't want to be reliant on any of the platforms. I don't want people to say, oh, you're a Substack company or oh, you're a YouTube company. Nope. We're The Bulwark." @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social talks media strategy with @pkafka.bsky.social on Channels:

Catch @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social talking the Bulwark's big success on Channels with @pkafka.bsky.social: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Talked to former Republican strategist Sarah Longwell about supercharging The Bulwark by turning on the laptop cameras. + why Gavin Newsom's fake Trump is less effective than JD Vance's fake Trump. Exceprts; www.businessinsider.com/bulwark-sara... Full chat: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

100 percent agree with Will. I use AI more and more each day. Never going back.

The thing about the "Larry and David Ellison are tilting Paramount to please Trump" theory is that it's true. But it's not always true. www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-...

Well, this is one hell of a pop-up:

Mark Thompson used to be Bari Weiss' boss's boss at the NYT. Now he runs CNN. www.businessinsider.com/cnn-ceo-mark...