Economic News

More Gloming Up Media?

by


Article in Reuters by Milana Vinn & Dawn Kopecki, 2/17/26

Headline:  “Warner Bros rejects revised Paramount bid, but remains open to a final offer”

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab on Tuesday rejected Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY.O), opens new tab latest $30-a-share hostile bid, but gave the rival Hollywood studio seven days to submit a “best and final” offer to top an existing agreement to sell its businesses including HBO Max and “Harry Potter” franchise to Netflix.

“Paramount informally broached an even higher per-share price of $31, Warner Bros said, apparently enticing the board to the table. But its response to Paramount indicates Warner Bros prefers its deal with Netflix, and the odds of a switch are long. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/warner-bros-rejects-paramounts-revised-offer-gives-studio-week-negotiate-better-2026-02-17/

CBS Still Shrinking

by

Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 2/13/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Buyouts signal growing fracture inside CBS News“

Subhead:  “Recent departures sharpen scrutiny of Bari Weiss’ vision”

“Unrest continues at CBS News.

“As I linked to in the newsletter earlier this week, the New York Post’s Alexandra Steigrad reported that about a quarter of ‘CBS Evening News’ staffers eligible for buyouts have chosen to take them ahead of possible impending layoffs under new CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/buyouts-layoffs-cbs-news-bari-weiss/

Snipping at CBS?

by

Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 2/12/26

Headline:  “The Coming CBS News Cuts”

Subhead:  “As CBS News staff quietly brace for another round of layoffs, Status has learned key new details about the cuts executives are planning behind the scenes.”

“Last month, when Bari Weiss hosted her inaugural town hall with CBS News staffers, one topic was clearly on the minds of her anxious workforce: the prospect of more layoffs. CBS News had already made cuts in October as part of a broader workforce reduction at parent company Paramount. Dozens of staffers—though fewer than 100—were affected by that round.

“ ‘Are there more CBS News cuts coming?’ a CBS News staffer asked the new editor in chief at the town hall.

“Weiss did not answer directly. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-layoffs-bari-weiss

Surprise! – Layoff 1/3 of News Staff is Traumatic?

by

Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 2/11/26

Headline:  “Washington Post editor acknowledges ‘genuine trauma’ over mass layoffs”

Subhead:  “Matt Murray defends paper’s strategy as ‘demoralized’ staffers ask tough questions in contentious town hall”

“Top Washington Post editor Matt Murray acknowledged “a widespread sense of loss, of genuine trauma” in a contentious town hall meeting with staff on Wednesday after the company laid off nearly a third of its employees a week ago – though he expressed confidence that the Post was now on a path to success.

“There’s no doubt that just the sheer depth of the cuts – and also, with that, the reality of what we face at the Post – has been a very hard thing to wrap our heads around and to grapple with,” Murray said, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by the Guardian. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/11/washington-post-layoffs-matt-murray

WaPo Twisting Slowly. . .

by


Article in Status by Natalie Korach, 1/28/26

Headline: “The Post’s Audience of One”

Subhead:   “As Jeff Bezos continues to snub The Washington Post, the mood inside the newsroom has darkened—though staffers are pressing on with not only public, but behind-the-scenes appeals to the billionaire, Status has learned.”

“Over the past several days, as reports about The Washington Post’s looming layoffs have reverberated throughout the industry, staffers on the newspaper’s sports desk have quietly begun receiving phone calls from the section’s leadership. In the private conversations, according to people familiar with them, management has all but encouraged journalists to start looking for jobs elsewhere. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/washington-post-staffers-cuts-jeff-bezos-campaign

Rt. Wing Media Doubting?

by

Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 1/13/26

Headline:  “The right-wing media backlash against the Jerome Powell probe”

“The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell drew swift pushback from across right-wing media on Monday, as pundits typically aligned with President Donald Trump savaged the move as “lawfare for dummies” that would ‘make a martyr’ of its target. The widespread criticism emphasized the lack of a constituency for strong-arming the Fed into endorsing Trump’s policy agenda with apparent pretextual legal threats. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-backlash-against-jerome-powell-probe

Even More Duopoly Rules Discarded?

by


Article in Free Press by Staff, 12/31/25

Headline:  “Labor Unions and Media Justice Groups File Petition Urging the FCC to Reject Nexstar’s Proposed Takeover of Tegna“

“The petition to deny the transfer of broadcast licenses from TEGNA to Nexstar was filed by Free Press, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians—Communications Workers of America (NABET-CWA), The NewsGuild—Communications Workers of America (TNG-CWA), the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry and Public Knowledge. In their filing the petitioners state that the merger would result in an illegal broadcast conglomerate, exceeding the 39-percent audience-reach ‘National Cap’ set by Congress.

“Though Nexstar and TEGNA seek a waiver of this limit, the commission is prohibited by law from waiving, altering, or eliminating this National Cap. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/labor-unions-and-media-justice-groups-file-petition-urging-fcc-reject-nexstars-proposed

Unlimited Coverage?

by

 


Article in AP by Bill L Barrow, 12/19/25

Headline:  “Trump gave an unusually partisan White House address. Should networks have given him the TV time?”

“ATLANTA (AP) — When Donald Trump delivered the first White House address of his second presidency Wednesday night, all major U.S. networks beamed his image and voice onto their airwaves, cable feeds and online platforms.

Americans ended up watching the Republican president stand in the Diplomatic Reception Room and deliver 18 minutes of aggressive, politically motivated arguments that misstated facts, blamed the nation’s ills on his predecessor, exaggerated the results of his nearly 11 months in office and amplified his characteristically gargantuan, immeasurable promises about what’s to come. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-address-tv-networks-c9704130f09f607f82f9e0054dfc3c02

Media in Crisis?

by

Interview in The New Republic by Perry Bacon, 12/17/25

Headline:  “Transcript: America’s Three Media Crises and How to Fix Them”

Subhead:  “University of Pennsylvania media scholar Victor Pickard says that a robust system of public-funded media is essential for America democracy. “

“Victor Pickard: . . .’So I would identify the three major problems facing the U.S. today in terms of our media system and how it functions within a democratic society would be the collapse of local journalism, the defunding of our public media, and the what we might think of as runaway consolidation of our news media’. . .”

Read the full interview at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/204495/transcript-america-three-media-crises-fix

No Room in the Basket?

by

Article in New York Times by John Koblin, 12/25/25

Headline:  “CNN, Unwanted by Netflix, Is Excluded From a Sale, for Now”

Subhead:  “The prospect of Paramount buying Warner Bros. Discovery had led CNN journalists to wonder if the channel might be combined with CBS News. Instead, CNN will remain in a separate corporate entity.”

“Netflix’s mega $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery has major implications for the entertainment industry, as well as the Warner Bros. film and TV studios and HBO.

“The fallout, at least for now, will be far less significant for CNN.

“The 24-hour news channel is conspicuously absent from the media entities that Netflix said on Friday it planned to acquire in its proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. . . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/business/media/cnn-netflix-warner-bros-discovery-deal.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6U8.DPP4.1A8q34iR9fB9&smid=url-share