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Donald Trump’s campaign got a sneak preview of the questions for a Fox News town hall in January 2024, according to an upcoming book from POLITICO national political reporter Alex Isenstadt. “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power” claims that “about thirty minutes before the town hall was due to start, a senior aide started getting text messages from a person on the inside at Fox.” Those messages allegedly included images of all the questions that Trump would be asked, along with the planned follow-ups. Trump had initially been hesitant to participate in the town hall, due to coverage from Fox that was deemed to be “antagonistic.” A Fox spokesman said that no evidence has been obtained for the allegations, claiming that there is a “sophisticated and extensive digital footprint of all editorial material.” Isenstadt counters that his reporting was based on multiple people with direct knowledge of what took place. Another revelation to be found in the book’s pages: Before JD Vance entered the picture, former CNBC “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo was high on Trump’s list of potential VP candidates.
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The Washington Post laid off roughly 100 employees across its business division on Jan. 7. Although newsroom employees were not affected, the cuts will result in the loss of about 4 percent of the paper’s staff. The Post’s financial and staff-related woes have been piling up since owner Jeff Bezos blocked its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Following that decision, about 250,000 WaPo subscriptions were cancelled. The paper suffered another black eye on Jan. 3, when Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced her resignation after it refused to publish a cartoon showing Bezos on bended knee before President-elect Trump. “The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are,” a Post spokesperson told CNN. “Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future.”
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Getty Images and Shutterstock plan to merge under the corporate name of Getty Images Holdings, Inc. While the merger awaits regulatory approval, as well as a thumbs-up from Getty Images and Shutterstock stockholders, each company will continue to operate independently. In an email to customers, Getty CEO Craig Peters says that “we expect this merger to allow for simplified access across our combined offerings and increased investment in new content and coverage.” Shutterstock, which was founded in 2003 by programmer and photographer Jon Oringer, has a library of around 200 million royalty-free stock photos and vector graphics. Getty’s holdings of visual assets number close to 500 million items.
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.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
