 Sumner Redstone |
The legal struggles over the control of 94-year-old Sumner Redstone’s fortune were kicked up another notch by a suit filed Oct. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In the suit, Manuela Herzer, ex-companion of the former Viacom and CBS executive chairman, charges Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, and grandson, Tyler Korff, with “systematic, criminal and illegal infiltration into the private affairs of Sumner, Herzer and others around them without any care about his medical or legal privacy.” In addition to illegally accessing Herzer’s computer and spying on her by manipulating the elder Redstone’s security cameras, the suit charges that Shari Redstone and her son were involved in “an illegal pattern of racketeering” in their quest to control Sumner’s property as well as his personal life. Because of this, Shari Redstone and Korff are being prosecuted under the RICO Act, which is directed towards acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Herzer is seeking $100 million, as well as the treble damages provided for under RICO and punitive damages.
 Ben White |
Politico has launched “Politico Money,” a weekly podcast which will interview key figures in money, finance, and banking, focusing on politics and the practical implications of often complex policy. The podcast will be hosted by Ben White, Politico’s chief economic correspondent. "My goal is to break down all of the economic and financial issues dominating the conversation on Wall Street and in Washington with leaders in business and politics,” said White. The premiere episode features Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who draws a line in the sand for members of Congress: Failure to pass a big tax cut bill, he says, could blow up the stock market.
 Laura Barrón-López |
The Washington Examiner is bringing on Laura Barrón-López as a political reporter. Barrón-López comes to the Examiner from The Huffington Post, where she covered Congress. Before that she was a reporter at The Hill, covering energy and environment policy. At the Examiner, she will cover the Democratic Party and Democratic lawmakers in Congress. “Laura is a great reporter whose work I’ve followed and admired for years,” said Hugo Gordon, the paper’s editorial director. “Her excellent sources on Capitol Hill will bring extra power to our coverage of the Democrats as they try to claw their way back to power.”
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. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
