 David Pecker |
David Pecker, CEO of American Media, the company that publishes the National Enquirer, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in the investigation surrounding Michael Cohen
Pecker, a longtime friend of the president, met with prosecutors to describe Cohen’s involvement in the hush money schemes brokered before the 2016 election, the Wall Street Journal reported today. He said that not only did Cohen make payments to two women who allegedly had sexual encounters with Trump while he was running for president, but that the then-presidential candidate had knowledge of those payments.
The hush money was paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, who received $130,000, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who got $150,000 as part of a “catch-and-kill” setup, in which American Media bought the rights to her story and then withheld it from publication.
The New York Times reports that Pecker and American Media chief content officer Dylan Howard informed Trump that McDougal was looking to tell her story as early as June 2016 and that Cohen finalized a deal for the catch-and-kill operation in August 2016.
Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts—including tax fraud, making false statements to a bank and campaign violations—on Tuesday.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
