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...

Related: movie selection on planes is too good now. They've got auteur cinema on some long flights, there's no guilt-free way to watch Jurassic World: Rebirth or Godzilla x Kong if the guy next to you is watching like Drive My Car or a Kurosawa film...

Inbox: Kamala Harris joins Substack. Her first post is an excerpt from her new book

Statement from a Times spokesperson: "We welcome the judge’s quick ruling, which recognized that the complaint was a political document rather than a serious legal filing."

Inbox: Jennifer Pastore, Olivia Nuzzi, Lindsey Underwood, Aidan McLaughlin to join Vanity Fair

The union representing the musicians from Jimmy Kimmel’s band releases a statement calling the FCC’s pressure on Disney “state censorship.”

thinking back on this..

Times response to Trump’s lawsuit: “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.“

From last night’s @semafor.com media newsletter: Nika Soon-Shiong, the daughter of LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, is the new publisher of @dropsitenews.com www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

In a note to staff yesterday shared with me, NBC News said it would be offering buyouts to staff who are unwilling to participate in the company’s new mandatory four-day a week RTO. Buyout offer includes 8 weeks of salary, several months healthcare, vacation payout.

First reported in last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: @zeteo.com aiming to take on Playbook from the left, creating a progressive daily newsletter authored by @petertwinklage.bsky.social and @mehdirhasan.bsky.social. In an ominous sign, the company is also bringing on @swin24.bsky.social...

Paramount is appointing Kenneth Weinstein to be CBS News' ombudsman

From last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: Bari Weiss has discussed bringing on former New York Times Opinion editor James Bennet to serve in a major editorial role if Paramount acquires the Free Press www.semafor.com/article/09/0...

New: CBS News has changed its interview format in reaction to complaints from DHS. According to a statement from a network spokesperson, Face The Nation will now only broadcast live or live to tape interviews

Per a note to staff, the Times is shutting down its standalone audio app

Andy Beshear is launching a podcast

the problem with the idea that a beat reporter's word-choice is going to get everyone killed is that basically no one who doesn't already dislike trump on some level regularly watches/reads mainstream news anymore

In a note to staff today, Business Insider EIC Jamie Heller says the company removed several first person essays over concerns that the authors misrepresented their identity. BI says it has implemented new verification protocols to prevent this from happening again.

fox chyron writers hard at work today

From last night’s @semafor.com media newsletter: My look inside the new editor of Vanity Fair’s plans for the mag, which include a more exclusive Oscar party, ditching aggregation, bringing on Olivia Nuzzi, and putting Melania on the cover (if she’ll do it). www.semafor.com/article/08/2...

First in @semafor.com’s media newsletter: The Argument is launching tomorrow. The new publication from @jerusalem.bsky.social @jhweissmann.bsky.social and others raised $4 million and wants to change the conversation on the left www.semafor.com/article/08/1...

this is pretty much the plot of the movie clear and present danger

Fascinating piece by Lilly Kaplan on how the podcast manosphere became obsessed with Internal Family Systems, a style of therapy being marketed to bros and exploding in popularity open.substack.com/pub/realityt...

With @themediaclub.com on our holls, if you fancied something to fill the gap, @maitlis.bsky.social is on @semafor.com's Mixed Signals with @semaforben.bsky.social and @maxtani.bsky.social - a good chat about UK vs US news, the rise of podcasts, Prince Andrew and more. A good listen! pod.fo/e/30b5d2

On News Corp's earnings call, CEO Robert Thompson makes a pretty unsubtle appeal to Trump to rein in AI, saying AI companies are 1) too woke and 2) ripping off Trump by stealing his "many successful books"...

Tidbit from last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: The day after the Coldplay incident, Astronomer brought on Blake Lively's crisis comms guy, former Obama admin NatSec/CIA official Nick Shapiro, to help manage PR

From last night's @semafor.com media newsletter: New York Times culture staff last week pressed the paper's leadership over the reassignment of four critics and what the changes mean for the future of arts criticism at the Times www.semafor.com/article/08/0...

New reporting from @semafor.com on what led to the NYT statement on its Gaza image last week www.semafor.com/article/08/0...

The New York Times is hiring longtime WaPo media critic Erik Wemple, I'm told.

Two new Atlantic hires today: Jake Lundberg, the Atlantic's new in-house historian, and Drew Goins, the former Washington Post Today’s Opinions newsletter author

WaPo is creating new reporter roles for YouTube and TikTok, per an internal note

Democratic senators criticize the FCC's approval of the Skydance-Paramount merger, interestingly citing the $36 million figure that Trump has asserted Paramount and Skydance are paying him to settle the 60 Minutes lawsuit

In an email to staff today, the New York Times announced that it is ending its New York Times for Kids monthly print section.

In a meeting with NPR staff happening this afternoon, leadership is sharing what it did to try and save federal funding. NPR is also telling staff that it is currently meeting with top donors, including an unnamed billionaire and wealthy donors on the West Coast.

During a staff meeting today, one Fortune employee asked the company's CEO why she deserves to remain in charge: "After last year's profit miss, questionable revenue allocation, and now multiple rounds of painful layoffs, many employees are openly questioning the strength of Fortune's c-suite."

It’s over

In an email to employees, Fortune says it has cut 10% of staff, the result of a decline in traffic, and rise of audio/video. The company says its new strategy is "to cultivate our premium franchise communities and deliver premium editorial content to them."

the fastest growing political youtube channel is benny johnson's account, he grew more last quarter than the next four highest accounts combined... via @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social

‘Founders Films’ aims to remake Hollywood with patriotism, Palantir and Ayn Rand

. @fortune.com is laying off staff this morning, I'm told.

New: Palantir's CTO and several early employees are raising money to launch Founders Films, a film and TV production studio that aims to "say yes to projects about American exceptionalism, name America’s enemies, back artists unconditionally, take risk on novel IP.” www.semafor.com/article/07/2...

NPR CEO statement on congress' decision to claw back $1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Substack announces $100 million Series C fundraise

Per a note to staff, WaPo Supreme Court reporter Ann Marimow is leaving the paper (for the New York Times, I’m told)

During today's Axel Springer all-hands meeting, CEO Mathias Döpfner was asked about the company's pro-Israel stance: "If you say 'we support the right of existence of Israel,' it doesn't mean you don't criticize the settlement policy or so-called legal reform in Israel. You are encouraged to do so."

Per a note to staff today shared with me, the Washington Post is restructuring some of its newsroom, creating a new "Futures" team "focused on the forces shaping life in the 21st century." A pretty notable and smart way of rethinking some beats/topics imo...

From the @semafor.com media newsletter: Donor-backed Democratic-aligned digital media orgs worry that donors aren't funding at the speed/volume necessary to push back against Trump. In an email shared with me, Courier Newsroom said it had its worst 6 months of fundraising on record.

The leader of a Democratic news organization sent out an urgent plea to donors as Republicans raced to pass their “big, beautiful bill.” www.semafor.com/article/07/1...

An up-and-coming Democratic admaker is warning Democrats in key 2026 battleground districts that they’re “failing” to reach Americans online. www.semafor.com/article/07/1...