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Thursday, October 16, 2025 |
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Good morning! Here's the latest from the Pentagon press corps, Astead Herndon, Clare Duffy, Jeffrey Goldberg, NBC News, "Stranger Things," and much more... |
📅 CNN sets streaming date |
CNN's plans for a full-fledged subscription news service are being closely watched across the media industry, since none of the major TV networks have achieved (or even really attempted) a New York Times-type pivot yet.
And now we know when it's happening. This morning, CNN announced that its "All Access" subscription tier – featuring several live streams of CNN's US and international programming – will roll out on October 28. And more importantly, CNN set the price: $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
Starting in the US, the new subscription product "will deliver the most complete way to experience CNN within its existing suite of digital products across web, mobile and connected TV apps," the network says. It's a lot like the product ESPN introduced over the summer: An easy, all-encompassing way to watch and read CNN's news coverage and other programming whether you have cable or not. Here are a few more details:
>> If you don't subscribe to cable, you'll finally have a simple way to live stream CNN's TV channels. The "All Access" tier will also include the library of CNN Originals, new on-demand programming, and "exclusive live events."
>> If you have a cable/satellite/YouTube TV subscription, you'll be able to log in and live stream at no additional cost.
>> If you already subscribe to CNN.com's existing subscription service, for full access to articles and web content, you'll be able to upgrade from that "Basic" tier to the "All Access" tier.
>> And if you want to save some money, there will be a "special introductory price of $41.99 for the first year," CNN says. (Here's the press release.)
Have other questions? Email me. I'll be writing more about this subscription rollout, and what it represents for the news business more broadly, later this month.
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Furloughed workers take to TikTok |
TikTok "has become both a forum for federal workers in limbo and a source for the general public seeking information about the shutdown," CNN's Clare Duffy writes in this insightful new story this morning.
The story got me thinking about how user-generated content provides a very different, and sometimes more valuable, perspective about ongoing news stories. It's bottom-up, rather than top-down; authentic, rather than artificial.
The shutdown fight has "largely played out among lawmakers on Capitol Hill and across TV screens," Duffy notes, but these personal, emotional videos by furloughed employees show the actual "human impact." Some hope "the videos might earn them a bit of extra cash, as they have no timeline for their next paycheck." Read on...
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Reverse image searches reveal Trump WH deception |
Fact-checking the president's claims is important, but it's not sufficient. Newsrooms also need to be reality-checking the social media content that comes from Trump officials and agencies. AFP's Bill McCarthy showed how to forensically do it in this fact-check titled "White House's Chicago 'chaos' video uses footage from other cities."
McCarthy found that a Trump White House video about Chicago "is littered with outdated footage highlighting drug busts, arrests and deportation raids in other states, including Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska." He used "reverse image searches and a review of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service's (DVIDS) video archive" to prove it. Check it out here...
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The media's 'collective North Star goal' |
This week's confiscation of Pentagon press passes was on the minds of many at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press dinner in NYC last night. "It's so important to stand together in times like this," RCFP chairman Stephen Adler said.
This year's RCFP awardees were The Baltimore Banner, Terry Baquet, Brad Kutrow, Amanda Bennett, and Jeffrey Goldberg. Bennett, the former director of VOA, spoke passionately about the "overpowering hunger of people around the world to know the truth." While VOA and its peer organizations are "all but gone now," she said, "we hope and pray that those voices won't be silenced forever."
Goldberg capped the night with some wisecracks about his career and a critique of some media owners' "anticipatory obedience" in the Trump era. Some owners and leaders are "losing sight of our collective North Star goal: to put as much truth into the universe as possible," he said. "For every story of preemptive cowardice, though, there's a story of steadfastness."
Goldberg described the intense preparations to publish his first "Signalgate" story, noting the legal risks, and revealed that The Atlantic owner Laurene Powell Jobs was given a heads up about the story ahead of time. Her response, as relayed by Goldberg, was, "I don't get involved in editorial decisions, and I'm not about to start."
"Her message was clear," he said: "If the reporting is true, and the journalists think it's important to publish, then publish. It's simple, it's straightforward, but also in this climate it's noteworthy and particularly admirable."
>> Goldberg's conclusion: "We live in dangerous times, and because they're dangerous, they're also filled with journalistic opportunity. I tell my colleagues every day, let's do things now that you will one day brag about to your grandchildren."
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'A dark day for press freedom' |
At the dinner last night, WaPo exec editor Matt Murray showed me that today's front page featured "the Fourth Estate's Pentagon exodus:" |
"The nation's military and defense journalists exited the Pentagon in unison Wednesday afternoon" after refusing to accept Pete Hegseth's new restrictions, WaPo's Scott Nover wrote. "The press corps spent the day clearing their desks, in some cases carting out remnants of years in the building." TV crews "tore down their broadcast booths, full of technical gear and soundproofing equipment," while reporters "lugged out boxes and rolled suitcases."
Reminder: The Pentagon's sudden policy change was completely unnecessary. The Pentagon Press Association called it "a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all."
"Current and former Pentagon correspondents who spoke with the Guardian said that coverage would undoubtedly suffer from a lack of proximity to administration decision-makers," Jeremy Barr wrote, "though many are intent on proving that the restrictions won’t stop the work, with some even saying they plan to take a more aggressive tack."
The Atlantic's Nancy A. Youssef said sources are more than happy to help: "In recent days, mid-level troops have been reaching out to me, unsolicited, and promising that they would keep providing journalists with information, not to snub their civilian leaders but to uphold the values embedded in the Constitution."
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The Federalist appears poised to join fellow MAGA outlet One America News in signing off on the Pentagon's restrictions. "If the new guidelines result in fewer professional con artists and media hoaxers roaming the halls looking for new lies to peddle, so be it," the site's EIC Mollie Hemingway and CEO Sean Davis wrote with trademark hyperbole.
Conservative newsrooms like The Daily Caller and the Washington Examiner have rejected Hegseth's attempt to criminalize routine reporting, however. And Gabrielle Cuccia, the ex-OAN reporter who was fired after criticizing Hegseth in a Substack post, explained to fellow MAGA loyalists why they shouldn't support the new rules. "Government controlling what you can/can't say (propaganda)," she posted on X. "I'm still MAGA, but even I know that any govt, no matter the admin, will always use 'in the name of national security' as the end all be all reason to rewrite rules."
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Trump expects Ellisons to be 'fair' |
When CNN's Jake Tapper got Trump on the phone yesterday, the president talked about Middle East peace, the Russian war against Ukraine — and Larry and David Ellison. Quoting Tapper's summary: "The president also spent some time in this brief call criticizing the news media — specifically taking issue with a recent interview of VP JD Vance by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos — while expressing hope that CBS News will now become 'fairer' with new management. 'I don't expect them to become like Fox,' he said, 'just fair.'"
>> Tapper's story noted that "CNN requested a one-on-one, sit-down interview with Trump in person — something he has not agreed to do since 2016 — and he said he would consider it." |
...and Bernie Sanders does not |
Bernie Sanders invoked the CBS management change at last night's CNN town hall. "I think the Republicans are effective," he said in response to an audience question. "They have learned a lot about social media. And by the way, it doesn't hurt that their friends own all of the major social media platforms."
He named Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos (accidentally saying Bezos rather than Elon Musk owns X) and then said to Kaitlan Collins, "Mr. Ellison's going to own you pretty soon, I think he's going to take over CNN, not to mention CBS." He was, of course, alluding to the reports about Paramount's pursuit of WBD, CNN's parent. And as we noted the other day, it is far from clear if Paramount will succeed.
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📺 Mamdani talks to Trump through the TV |
Zohran Mamdani took full advantage of his Fox News appearance yesterday, using the afternoon segment to "speak directly to the president," since "he might be watching right now." The Fox hit was a precursor to tonight's main event, the first general election debate of the NYC mayors' race, co-hosted by Politico, NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47, starting at 7 p.m. ET...
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NBC News eliminated "about 150 jobs" yesterday across the News Group, THR's
Alex Weprin reported. "The cuts were driven by the fact that NBC News will no longer be providing newsgathering capabilities for CNBC and MSNBC, as well as broader concerns around the overall economic environment for the media sector," he wrote, citing a source.
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Diversity teams eliminated |
This fact about the layoffs is causing a lot of chatter — and concern — in media circles: "NBC News eliminated its teams dedicated to covering issues affecting Black, Asian American, Latino and LGBTQ+ groups as part of its layoffs," TheWrap's Corbin Bolies wrote. The NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT websites will continue to publish stories, but "will no longer have dedicated teams bolstering their coverage." As Bolies wrote, the cuts "come amid a broader shift in media away from diversity efforts..."
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>> Astead Herndon is leaving the NYT and joining Vox as host and editorial director. "Our new politics requires different reporting. Time to stretch," he wrote. (Vox)
>> "CBS News head of standards Claudia Milne is leaving the network, staffers were just told in the morning meeting," Jeremy Barr reports. "She spoke and gave thanks but didn't say why she’s leaving. Bari Weiss is not on this particular call, I’m told." (X)
>> OpenAI is starting to let people make longer videos with Sora 2. Initially the limit was 10 seconds; now, for free users, it's 15 seconds, and for pro users, 25 seconds... (TechRadar)
>> Related: Check out Winston Cho's new piece for THR about entertainment industry alarm about Sora, titled "How Sam Altman Played Hollywood." (THR)
>> Speaking of Altman, he professed to be surprised by the eruption of interest in his announcement that ChatGPT will allow erotica. "It was meant to be just one example of us allowing more user freedom for adults," he said in a follow-up. (X)
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'South Park' starts a new season |
"In an abrupt turn of events, the short-lived Season 27 has ended after just five episodes, instead of the previously determined 10," Variety's Jack Dunn wrote. "No details were provided as to why." So last night's "South Park" episode was the start of Season 28, with more presidential penis references, Peter Thiel jokes, and more...
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>> TIME is out with a new cover story this morning about the final season of "Stranger Things." (TIME)
>> Jim Carrey "is zooming toward a live-action feature version of The Jetsons." (THR)
>> Diane Keaton's family revealed her cause of death to have been pneumonia. An unnamed family rep continues to give People mag exclusive info while declining to engage with other outlets, raising eyebrows among entertainment journos. (People)
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