Your occasional reminder that we have Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch to thank for the fact that this man is running the world’s single biggest government agency, with the power to kill millions of people in a few moments’ time.

“Yeah, not great news. In fact, if I may quote anyone who’s ever accidentally sat on their Roku remote, ‘Oh shit, I’m in Paramount now, how the fuck do I get out of this?’” —John Oliver, on news that Paramount is on track to become his new “business daddy.”

As U.S. and Israeli forces launch deadly strikes on Iran, the inherent challenges of covering the country are exacerbated by recent newsroom cuts, social media distortion, and a White House prone to telling lies. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/iran-war-m...

One of these headlines is not like the other (and it’s the one from the network whose owner still needs to close a major acquisition deal)

In case you were wondering, Polymarket had yet another spate of likely inside traders betting that the US would strike Iran by February 28. Per the due diligence investigation service Bubblemaps, the wallets used were created 24 hours earlier. The Pentagon Pizza Index has been replaced.

In other words, “bias” is for thee, not for me.

Half of this is true* (*for now).

After years of branding Donald Trump as the anti-war “peace president,” much of MAGA Media erupted in cheers as he launched an unauthorized war on Iran—though not everyone is happy. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/iran-trump...

Seems like a good time for TCM to show “Wag the Dog.”

A special edition of Power Lines has landed. We break down how Donald Trump delivered Warner Bros. Discovery to David Ellison, the panic inside CNN as staffers brace for Bari Weiss, and how the news network will be reshaped under MAGA-friendly ownership. Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/nWEG5jUrP2Q?...

Veteran Warner Bros. producer Chuck Lorre joked on his vanity card that working for the studio is like having a single mom “who keeps bringing home strange men.” Like a bad marriage, for employees mergers are usually toughest on the kids.

Plus: “DTF St. Louis” should make you “DTW” (Down to Watch), “Scream 7” serves old wine in an old bottle, and “Marshals” is basically just “Montana Five-O.”

After the "who won” part of the Paramount-Netflix-WBD sweepstakes, it's time to turn to the human toll of a proposed deal with a “Noah’s Ark problem,” with thousands of jobs that will be lost as the new owners reduce people to “efficiencies.” www.status.news/p/paramount-...

With David Ellison poised to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery, a chill has settled over CNN as staffers fear for the future. "The panic at CNN right now is off the charts," an insider tells Status. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/cnn-david-...

A senior CBS News staffer expressed sympathy for employees at CNN who are frustrated and upset over the Paramount news. "I need to keep reminding myself it can - and will - always get worse," the staffer told me, adding that CNN staffers "should" be freaking out since "it's hell over here."

Getting this out of my system now but the Transformers-Justice League crossover is going to suuuuuck.

Media consolidation is bad for democracy. A combined Netflix-WBD would have been bad. A combined Paramount/Skydance-WBD is even worse given Ellison's pattern of offering to censor viewpoints that Trump doesn't like in exchange for regulatory favors. www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/w...

This really feels like an Orban/Erdogan situation in which the aspiring dictator is making sure his friendly oligarchs control as much media as possible www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/w...

This is from @status.news, and it is gross. FCC chairman Brendan Carr sat down with Ben Smith of Semafor so he could "shower praise" upon David Ellison and Bari Weiss, and then hint around at who he might sue next. www.status.news/p/politico-e...

Your tax dollars at work.

Spoke with @jonallsop.bsky.social @newyorker.com about the politics of the Nexstar-Tegna merger -- yes, a "media merger you should actually care about" -- and the dangers for local journalism and democracy as the FCC's Brendan Carr performs for Donald Trump, America's most dangerous channel surfer.

Axel Springer is closing in on POLITICO’s next editor-in-chief, as staffers brace for how John Harris’ successor could steer the publication’s next chapter. The full story in @status.news: www.status.news/p/politico-e...

Welcome to the life of a TV critic.

The man does not believe in the legitimate opposition and he never has, and never will.

Yep. Dude born with silver spoon in his mouth lacks practice in the art of subtlety.

Big challenge for political pundits: Discuss the speech the president actually gives tonight, and not the one you maybe thought you might have seen if you squinted just right. Compare that real speech to the real world around us.

As Bari Weiss works to put her stamp on CBS News, her aggressive recruiting push is running up against a difficult reality: top talent keeps turning her down. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

Will never get used to the fact that I can't tell the difference between a Super Bowl pregame show and the State of the Union/presidential debate pregame show.

A week after Stephen Colbert’s on-air claim of censorship, the fallout has moved from late-night television to Capitol Hill, where Status has learned Democrats are demanding answers from Paramount and the FCC. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/stephen-co...

Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank: “I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.”

Every time an actor sings my fear is another singer is going to feel compelled to make a movie.

Two things here. One, Peter Attia is the one stepping aside. So this allows Bari Weiss to say she never bowed to the woke cancel culture mob. Two, no CBS News programs were ever going to book Attia after the Epstein files disclosure www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

The US Women’s Olympic Hockey team declines Trump’s invitation to attend the SOTU speech. meidasnews.com/news/trump-s...

To quote Apollo Creed's trainer in "Rocky": ""He doesn't know it's a damn show! He thinks it's a damn fight!"

A Who's Who of destroyers of American media...wtf, Semafor?

Netflix Boss Ted Sarandos Brushes Off Trump’s Demand He Fire Board Member Susan Rice or ‘Pay the Consequences

Setting everything else aside, pretty sure there are parts of the country that would impeach Kash Patel for calling hockey “the greatest sport on Earth.” And most of ‘em voted for Trump.

After The Washington Post’s retreat from local news and sports, rival outlets are racing to fill the void, scooping up displaced talent and capitalizing on the opportunity. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/washington...

Picked a good time to leave.

"So much of what’s happened at CBS – the back-of-the-hand treatment of Colbert and the rightward drift of the news division – are ways of signalling that the Ellisons are more than willing to serve Trump’s interests." —Margaret Sullivan www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Anderson Cooper saw that.

When you put it like this, a $75 million bribe to Melania and gutting the Washington Post seems like a small price to pay.

David Ellison's coziness with Trump is making some in Hollywood do the unthinkable—root for Netflix in the war for Warner Bros, with some producers privately expressing disdain about the way Paramount has curried Trump’s favor, @brianlowry.bsky.social reports www.status.news/p/paramount-...

This, in reverse.

A high-stakes trial is putting Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures on the stand, opening the door to the prospect that the courts, not lawmakers, will finally rein in Big Tech. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/left-to-th...

Top story tonight on: ABC World News Tonight: Trump tariff defeat NBC Nightly News: Trump tariff defeat PBS NewsHour: Trump tariff defeat CBC The National: Trump tariff defeat Sky News The Wrap: Trump tariff defeat CBS Evening News: Bomb cyclone might hit

The Supreme Court, like every time they've bucked Trump before, will quickly fall back in line with a massive decision in his favor. Anyone writing a take this naive must not have mastered object permanence.