First in @semafor.com: NYT, WaPo learned of the secret US raid on Venezuela soon before it was scheduled to begin but held off publishing what they had at the administration's request to avoid endangering US troops www.semafor.com/article/01/0...

The Washington Post editorial board comes out in favor of the Venezuela attack/operation to capture Maduro

CBS News EIC Bari Weiss had concerns about the CECOT piece, I’m told. The network decided to hold the segment pending, among other things, comment or an interview with White House officials next year…

A month ago, NYT columnist David Brooks wrote a column decrying the media and political fixation on the Epstein story. This afternoon, House Democrats released a new tranche of photos of an event that Brooks attended with Epstein.

New: When the Washington Post ran tests on its AI personalized podcasts, the paper found that between 68% and 84% (!!) of the pods had potential issues. Still, the paper decided to release the product anyway, saying it would “iterate through the remaining issues” www.semafor.com/article/12/1...

New: WaPo staff are fuming about the new AI personalized pods, noting they have errors like misattributing/inventing quotes, inserting commentary. WaPo's standards editor privately called the mistakes "frustrating," another editor said "if we were serious we would pull this tool immediately."

American Canto sold 1165 physical copies in its first week, per bookscan.

New: Democratic lawmakers warned WBD in a letter that their party may try to block or unravel any acquisition of WBD by Paramount, citing nat sec concerns around financing...

The Washington Post is launching a personalized AI podcast, saying users will be able to "shape their own briefing, select their topics, set their lengths, pick their hosts and soon even ask questions using our Ask The Post AI technology."

Amazing tidbit: I'm told that Politico is putting Donald Trump at the top of its upcoming annual Most Influential People in Europe list. Trump participated in an interview for the series with Politico's Dasha Burns…

New: The Chicago Tribune is suing Perplexity alleging the AI company has been “unlawfully profiting off of the newspaper's content in building its AI-driven search engine.”

In a note to staff, Business Insider EIC Jamie Heller says the publication is launching a pilot program called Business Insider AI News Desk that will use AI to “help publish quick news stories.” Several stories a day will now be “created by AI and edited by a person.”

New in tonight's @semafor.com media newsletter: Trump is using his new connections at Paramount for an important cause: Lobbying Larry Ellison to revive the Rush Hour franchise www.semafor.com/article/11/2...

Per a note to staff, Business Insider is joining Microsoft’s publisher content marketplace program. BI CEO Barbara Peng says the program will “compensate publishers when our trusted journalism is used in its Al-generated results.”

Some internal tension on the White House Correspondents Association email listserv today. Some journalists are complaining that background info circulated to the group by a reporter working for Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya did not mention the murder of Jamal Khashoggi...

My piece for @semafor.com on the launch of MS Now. The strategy, so far: - New pods - YouTube explainers, “simulcasting" on YT - Live MS Now events across the country - Paid subscription products - An expanded role for Pablo Torre - Collaboration, potential deal w/Crooked Media

From last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: @vox.com is joining Patreon www.semafor.com/article/11/1...

Yahoo Finance is launching a prediction markets hub with Polymarket to “help investors better follow prediction markets and the forces shaping them.”

NY AG Tish James is expected to speak at union protest later today outside Conde Nast HQ. Union members are protesting the firing of four staffers last week.

Axios CEO Jim Vandehei emailed staff today saying the company has "beaten our ambitious revenue goal for the year"

New York Post editor-in-chief Keith Poole emailed “New York Pravda” staff thanking them for their coverage of “Supreme Leader Chairman Zohran,” joking that they would be rationed an extra potato for their election night coverage. (He also noted the Red Apple cover sold out).

New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.

During a meeting today with media reporters to discuss MSNBC's rebrand, Joe Scarborough said he's trying to arrange a "peacemaking lunch" between himself, Zohran, Al Sharpton, and Jonathan Greenblatt from the ADL...

Döpfner also said media companies should be like music labels for journalists, treating journalists like artists to be supported and grown individually. He also alluded to Substack, saying he considers creator platforms to be competitors to Axel’s media brands.

During a town hall with staff today, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner was pressed about the company’s use of AI. “Does it replace jobs here and there? No doubt about it,” he said. He noted that he hopes embracing AI will grow the company and allow journalists to focus on reporting.

Inbox: Biden foreign policy/nat sec advisors Jon Finer and Jake Sullivan are launching a podcast with Vox Media…

NYMag blew up its story about ICE's increased presence at 26 Federal Plaza, and pasted it on a wall a few blocks away on Broadway

New: Turns out the Times of London reporter who wrote the since-retracted Bill de Blasio story accidentally emailed the wrong Bill de Blasio, I'm told www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

Layoffs are hitting CBS News today. On CBS' morning editorial call, Bari Weiss said it was a "enormously difficult day" for the network.

From last night’s @semafor.com media newsletter: With the support of owner Jeff Bezos, WaPo publisher Will Lewis tried to hire The Free Press's Olivia Reinvold for the Post's new opinion section…

Where we’re at: Prominent Media analyst Rich Greenfield argues that to get regulatory approval from the Trump admin in a WBD acquisition, Comcast should bring in TPUSA’s Erika Kirk to serve as the editor-in-chief of a combined CNN/NBC News

CBS Evening News co-host John Dickerson says he's leaving the network at the end of the year

pretty much what wapo/lat discovered last year. giving a win to trump is meaningfully damaging to business when enough of the current paying audience leans left.

one of those east coast media bias stories. if new jersey shut down 95 after the military wanted to fire artillery over the highway despite safety concerns from the governor and then some of it accidentally blew up, i think it'd be a bigger story.

🟡 This week on Mixed Signals, @semaforben.bsky.social and @maxtani.bsky.social bring on @govpritzker.illinois.gov to talk about Chicago, ICE, and how he’s navigating a messaging battle against the Trump White House in the new media landscape. Listen here: link.chtbl.com/JFyoOZmb

Notably, NBC News' diversity teams/verticals are definitely among those facing steep cuts today, I'm told...

Joint statement from the networks declining to agree with the Pentagon's new press policy. Fox News, Pete Hegseth's former employer, is a signatory.

The Guardian won’t sign the Pentagon’s new press policy, a spokesperson tells me

Great kicker. Marc Benioff’s PR team wanted him to do an interview about philanthropy. Instead he sounded off on a bunch of Trump policies he supports and called for the White House to send troops to SF. Doesn’t seem like the comms team was pleased with how the interview went..

New: The WGAE, which represents some parts of CBS News including its social team, sent a note to members today advising its members not to respond to Weiss’ request for an email by next week. The union also said it asked CBS for more information about Weiss’ request.

New: In a note to staff this morning, New CBS EIC Bari Weiss asked everyone across CBS News to send her a memo by next Tuesday explaining how they spend their workday and what’s working/not working…

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS. Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."

David Ellison’s note to staff on Paramount’s acquisition of the Free Press

catching up on some articles in the paper of record

First in @semafor.com: Just a few months after settling his lawsuit with Paramount, Trump is in talks to appear in an interview on 60 Minutes. Interview was supposed to take place last Friday, got postponed, but the network and the White House are still in talks. www.semafor.com/article/10/0...

WNYC/Gothamist EIC Audrey Cooper is out at the station, per a note to staff this morning shared with me

First in @semafor.com : A group of Disney shareholders represented by attorney Roberta Kaplan are demanding that the company turn over documents related to its decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel www.semafor.com/article/09/2...

In a note to staff, WaPo says it is introducing video comments for staff, allowing WaPo journalists to engage in the comments section of their articles (while using AI to block “hateful” comments and surface interesting comments)

From last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: Wrote about how independent left-of-center media outlets/personalities are capitalizing on liberal anger at corporate media companies like Paramount, Disney, the Washington Post, and others... www.semafor.com/article/09/2...