TGIF! Here's the latest from CNN, CBS, The AP, Axios, NY1, BuzzFeed, Disney, Substack, and Universal Pictures. But first… |
Hegseth's airing of media grievances |
Last night, after at least four Americans were killed in an Air Force refueling plane crash in Iraq, the Pentagon announced another Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine press conference.
Since Hegseth was widely criticized for complaining about the press before acknowledging the deaths of service members last week, I figured he'd handle things differently this time.
Instead, he followed the same script. Before speaking about the tanker crash, Hegseth attacked CNN and said, "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better."
Hegseth was saying the quiet part out loud, bluntly stating what other Trump officials have said privately — that they view Ellison as an ally and they want him to reshape CNN's coverage to be friendlier to the Trump administration.
For now, it's just wishful thinking on Hegseth's part. Paramount's takeover of WBD won't take effect for at least six months. But as CNBC's Carl Quintanilla wrote on X, Hegseth's comment raised "a good question for Ellison's next interview."
Knowing Paramount a bit, I think Ellison would answer that his news operation is in the truth business. Journalists try to establish the truth, while officials like Hegseth try to attack the messenger. So let's dig into it some more…
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Once a Fox host, always a Fox host |
Hegseth's denunciation of CNN wasn't off the cuff. It was part of his prepared remarks; viewers could see him looking down and turning from one page to another, voicing a wish for Ellison to take charge. I'm told by someone who attended the briefing that several journalists in the back rows (where traditional news outlets are now seated, with MAGA media outlets up front) grumbled or gasped when Hegseth said it.
I also heard from veteran journalists outside CNN who were astounded and dismayed by Hegseth's behavior. "He’s acting like he's back on the Fox & Friends couch," one former Fox colleague of Hegseth's said to me via text.
Indeed, Hegseth acknowledged he "used to be in that business," and said he wanted to make "a few suggestions."
Instead of an on-screen banner or web headline that says, "Mideast War Intensifies," Hegseth said, "What should the banner read instead? How about 'Iran Increasingly Desperate,' because they are. They know it and so do you."
Then Hegseth decried a CNN scoop from yesterday titled "Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz."
He called it "patently ridiculous" and a "fundamentally unserious report" before invoking Ellison's name.
In response, a CNN spokesperson told me the network stands by its reporting on the matter. You can read the story for yourself here.
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If Hegseth sounded familiar... |
President Trump taped an interview with Brian Kilmeade yesterday that's being dribbled out on Fox's platforms this morning.
And just like Hegseth, Trump continues to bash independent news coverage of the war. In what Mediaite's David Gilmour called a "social media outburst" just after midnight, the president launched "a furious broadside on The New York Times coverage."
And, as the AP's David Bauder noted here, "the Trump administration denounced CNN" yesterday for "airing a portion of the new Iranian supreme leader’s public statement." It was "the second time in three days that he's targeted the network for reporting on how the regime is responding to the American attacks."
>> CNN's response: "The world is watching with anticipation which direction this war will take. Purported remarks from Iran's new supreme leader are a critical component in helping audiences understand where this conflict is heading and were aired for their obvious news value."
>> As David Axelrod said just now, "it feels like a decision has been made that if the war news isn't better, better to attack those who report news of the war. They're envious. Putin doesn't have to put up with this!"
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Is the truth getting through? |
Before the Pentagon presser, NBC alum Chuck Todd asked on X, "Anyone else fear that the Commander in Chief isn't getting the full picture of the war's impact out of fear by those around him of telling him something he doesn’t want to hear?"
Then, when Hegseth went after CNN, Todd said, "This answer only reinforces my fear that not only aren't we, the taxpayers, getting the truth about this war, but it's highly likely he and others aren't being honest with the Commander in Chief either."
Especially in times of crisis, GZERO Media founder Ian Bremmer observed, "loyalty means telling your leader what they need to hear not what they want to hear. The United States is failing badly on this count at the moment."
Agree or disagree, but I think we can all sense that the pressure on the press is rising.
>> WaPo's Scott Nover, who broke the news about a prohibition on press photographers at Pentagon briefings earlier this week, noted on X that there's been "no change" to the policy as far as he could tell. "Still photographers still barred" today, he wrote.
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White House tries to squash CBS hire? |
Turning back to Paramount now: Another example of Trump admin pressure was evident yesterday when Axios published a story about Jeremy Adler joining the CBS News comms team, titled "White House outraged over new CBS News hire."
It was odd because... Adler's appointment hadn't been announced yet. His name hadn't even been floated publicly until Axios reported it, quoting a White House official objecting to Adler because he was "Liz Cheney's flack." The official said, "What the hell is Bari Weiss thinking?"
Of course, this strongly suggested that someone leaked news of Adler's potential appointment to stop it from happening. Does the Trump White House think it can now veto CBS News hires?
Maybe it thinks so, but I'm told Adler is joining the comms team. Much like CNN saying it's standing by the reporting that Hegseth assailed, CBS is forging ahead, tuning out the anonymous Trump official's attack…
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Cali AG vows Paramount scrutiny |
One more Paramount note: At a conference in Beverly Hills yesterday, California AG Rob Bonta "called out the federal government for largely vacating its role as antitrust regulator," and repeated his vow to "vigorously" review the Paramount deal at the state level, the LAT's Meg James reports. Bonta said, "Paramount and Warner Bros. haven't cleared regulatory scrutiny."
>> At the same conference, Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim said the takeover "would not reduce competition and instead would be 'a huge win for the creative community.'" |
Trump names new CEO of USAGM |
In accordance with a federal judge's recent ruling against Kari Lake and the US Agency for Global Media, Trump has nominated State Department culture warrior Sarah B. Rogers to be USAGM's new chief executive, with Michael Rigas acting as CEO temporarily, The Guardian's Jeremy Barr reports.
>> Rogers says she'll hold both jobs. "The moves suggest blurring the State Dept aims and Voice of America's newsroom independence," NPR's David Folkenflik noted. For a taste of what to expect, check out Ben Smith and Max Tani's recent Semafor sit-down with Rogers here...
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Reimagining morning TV for the TikTok era |
How can morning TV be rebuilt for the YouTube, Instagram and on-demand era? I've been kind of consumed by this question for a while because, as some of you know, my wife Jamie is a TV host at Spectrum News NY1 in NYC. So I'm conflicted on this, but I think they've figured out an answer.
This week, the channel launched "Morning People," a 15-minute production led by Jamie and Pat Kiernan. It sounds like a podcast, but it also airs on NY1's cable channel, streams on YouTube, and gets cut up into clips for TikTok and other platforms. That's why it feels like a model for morning TV in 2026, and one we're going to see others adopt, because many news outlets need to meld live-TV urgency with on-demand convenience...
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BuzzFeed has 'substantial doubt' about its business |
With its stock now trading well below the $1 mark, BuzzFeed says it has "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a business. In an earnings report last night, the company said it "has engaged in 'strategic conversations' about relieving its liquidity issues," CNN's Ramishah Maruf reports.
Jonah Peretti sounds ready to sell some brands: "We believe there is a gap between the value of our individual assets and our market capitalization that suggests significant unrecognized upside." Peretti also said that "in 2026, our focus is demonstrating the value of our brands, Studio IP, and new AI apps to the market." Maruf has more here...
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Inside that Bezos meeting with WaPo: |
Jeff Bezos met with the Washington Post's masthead and a select group of reporters yesterday at his DC mansion. Status reporter Natalie Korach has more details on what went down: Attendees, she writes, "were able to press Bezos directly on everything from his relationship with Donald Trump to his commitment to the newspaper's future." Evidently he said all the right things about wanting the Post to grow, but he's said all of that many times before, too...
>> The NYT's Ben Mullin reported that "at the meeting, Jeff Bezos also said he had spurned seven (!) offers to sell The Post."
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>> This tweet from Lulu Garcia-Navarro got a lot of attention yesterday: AG Sulzberger says the NYT newsroom now has 2,300 journalists, and over 3,000 when divisions like Opinion and The Athletic are counted. (X)
>> Matt Brittin, Google's ex Europe chief, "is closing in on becoming the BBC's next director general," Michael Savage reports. (The Guardian)
>> Disney has named Paul Roeder its new chief communications officer. (Variety)
>> In other Disney news, Disney+ "is launching its short-form vertical video product this week." (THR)
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>> TikTok and iHeartMedia have struck a "big new audio and podcast partnership." (Variety)
>> "TikTok in Canada has reached a settlement with the federal government to continue operating north of the U.S. border." (THR)
>> Wow: Google "is using old news reports and AI to predict flash floods." (TechCrunch)
>> Substack "is continuing to invest in video content as it launches the Substack Recording Studio, a built-in mechanism for creators to pre-record and publish videos." (TechCrunch)
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Happy Oscars weekend! If you haven’t watched all the nominated films yet, you still have a couple of days. CNN will feature special red-carpet coverage on Sunday, starting at 4 p.m. ET, while the big show begins on ABC at 7 p.m.
>> Variety’s Owen Gleiberman reminds us that "the Oscar Best Picture winners have long been a sign of the times. This year even more so."
>> "As unit or set photographers, Eli Joshua Adé, Agata Grzybowska and Merrick Morton were tasked with capturing the action and atmosphere on the sets of three of this year's Oscar-nominated films: 'Sinners,' 'Hamnet' and 'One Battle After Another,' respectively," CNN's Dan Heching writes for a striking new piece accompanied by the photographers' work. Check it out here...
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A few more Hollywood headlines |
>> "Spring break is still in session with 27% colleges off and K-12 schools on break at 20% per Comscore," which Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro argues “will keep Disney's 'Hoppers' in a continued spring with a second weekend around $27 million after posting the best start for a Pixar original since 2017's 'Coco.'"
>> Meanwhile, a conservative estimate has "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," which opens on April 1, "headed for a $160M+ 5-day domestic opening over the Easter stretch," D'Alessandro writes. (Deadline)
>> A big statement by Universal Pictures: It "is lengthening the time that its movies will play exclusively in theaters," promising "a minimum of five weekends in 2026 and seven weekends in 2027 before a film moves to home entertainment," Rebecca Rubin reports. (Variety)
>> And last but definitely not least: "Just days before 'KPop Demon Hunters' is expected to be golden at the Oscars, Netflix has closed deals for directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans to return for the sequel as part of a new multi-year writing and directing pact," Aaron Couch reports. (THR)
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