 |
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.
 |
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.”
 |
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.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
