Twin meetings with Trump
Amid Paramount CEO David Ellison’s ongoing hostile takeover bid for CNN and the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery, Ellison returned to the White House last week to meet privately with President Trump.
Ellison and Trump had two wide-ranging conversations, according to sources with knowledge of the meetings.
The timing of the meetings — early last week — is intriguing because Trump was asked by NBC’s Tom Llamas on Wednesday about Paramount and Netflix’s battle, and he said, “I haven’t been involved.”
Trump seemed to marvel at the attention he’s been getting from both Ellison and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who has also met with Trump in recent months: “I must say, I guess I’m considered to be a very strong president,” he told Llamas. “I’ve been called by both sides. It’s the two sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.”
That was a major shift for Trump, who had previously said he would be involved and signaled his preference for Paramount.
Paramount declines to comment |
In the interview with NBC, Trump also alluded to the Paramount side’s argument that Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. would be monopolistic: “There’s a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else. They’re beating the hell out of each other — and there’ll be a winner.” Two days later, the WSJ reported that the DOJ is investigating whether Netflix “has engaged in anticompetitive tactics.” A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment on the White House meetings. The WH press office did not respond to a request for comment. Ellison has been a repeated visitor to the White House during Trump 2.0, as has his father, Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally. Last December, the WSJ reported that David Ellison “offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he’d make sweeping changes to CNN.” A few days after that story hit, Trump publicly said, “It’s imperative that CNN be sold” and called the news organization’s current leaders a “disgrace.” Of course, as you know, the pending Netflix-Warner deal is currently being reviewed by Trump administration regulators. The deal on the table does not involve any change of ownership at CNN. |
CBS producer blasts ‘new vision’ |
”CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey left the network yesterday, but she didn’t do so quietly, as the NYT’s Ben Mullin reported on X. In a farewell note, Hastey slammed the news division’s new boss, Bari Weiss, though not by name. Hastey criticized the “sweeping new vision” and said stories may be evaluated “not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures producers and reporters to self-censor or avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines.” >> Alexandra Steigrad reports that roughly 1/4th of eligible “Evening News” staffers, or 11 employees, have accepted buyout offers. |
Conservatives get FTC to target Apple News |
Conservative activists have been claiming for months that Apple News doesn’t link to right-wing media outlets. This week, the complaints reached Trump and prompted a swift response from FTC chair Andrew Ferguson — opening yet another front in the Trump administration’s attacks on the media. In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday, Ferguson suggested Apple might be violating consumer protection laws and urged him to “review” the matter. Key quote: “The First Amendment protects the speech of Big Tech firms. But the First Amendment has never extended its protection to material misrepresentations made to consumers, nor does it immunize speakers from conduct that Congress has deemed unfair under the FTC Act, even if that conduct involves speech.” Is this just another instance of the government jawboning a media company? Probably. But it’s one to monitor. Full disclosure: I’m a producer on Apple TV’s “The Morning Show,” and I guest-hosted a handful of Apple News podcast episodes back in 2024. |
It’s worth taking a closer look at how this claim bubbled up, because it shows who and what gets the government’s attention right now. MRC Free Speech America, an arm of the Media Research Center, says it has been tracking the sources that are promoted by the app. Here’s an example from last November: “Apple News Censors Right-Leaning Media for Entire Week.” In December, Fox News amplified the conservative org’s concerns. In January, the group got even louder. “Apple, you need to stop hating half of America,” MRC VP Dan Schneider wrote on X, in one of dozens of tweets about this topic. On Tuesday, the New York Post published a story about conservative outlets being “shut out,” citing MRC’s “study,” and quoting Schneider saying, “it could be illegal.” Trump shared a link to the Post on Truth Social at 1:23 a.m. Wednesday, and Ferguson weighed in that afternoon. Apple has not commented on Ferguson’s letter, but the company previously said that the news app includes a vast array of sources, “including the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Bloomberg, USA Today, Washington Examiner, New York Post, CBS News, local outlets, and more.” And others have pointed out glaring weaknesses in the “study.” >> The awkward part: MRC wants more links to “right-leaning publications,” but the reality is that those publications rarely break big stories. Right-wing media is mostly reactive, meaning regurgitating and opining on news reported from elsewhere. |
Judge lets Trump’s BBC suit go to trial |
A favorable ruling for Trump in Florida: US district judge Roy Altman has “rejected the BBC’s application to delay the process of discovery” in Trump’s lawsuit against the network. The judge set a February 2027 trial date, according to court documents that hit the docket this morning… |
WaPo’s town hall tensions |
“Top Washington Post editor Matt Murray acknowledged ‘a widespread sense of loss, of genuine trauma’ in a contentious town hall meeting with staff” yesterday, The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr reports. Murray’s stab at positivity: “The company has been a mess in lots of ways for a long time, but I’m confident stars are aligning in a positive way.” Per Barr, Murray also “played down the number of Post customers who have cancelled their subscriptions in protest against last week’s cuts,” saying, “it’s been not very heavy, and it’s been completely within predicted models and expectations, and completely baked into the plan.” >> Post veteran Gene Weingarten says ex-publisher and CEO Will Lewis was paid $3 million last year. |
Guthrie’s Tucson neighbors asked to help |
CNN’s latest from Tucson: “Residents in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood have been asked to check their security camera footage from two days in January, according to an alert posted on the Neighbor App by Ring.” Here are all the newest updates. KVOA, the city’s NBC affiliate, is encouraging locals to come by and sign this banner: |
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A delicate ratings question |
Morning TV is incredibly competitive, so yes, there has been some curiosity about the ratings for the “Today” show in the week and a half since Nancy disappeared, even though it’s an awkward question to ask. Variety’s Brian Steinberg has the answer here: Last week, “Today” viewership was “up 23%” compared with the same week last year. “Season to date, ‘Today’ leads both its main competitors in overall viewers and the audience between 25 and 54…” |
About that Gallup news… |
Gallup “will no longer track presidential approval ratings after more than eight decades doing so,” as The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo reports here. It’s a “huge loss for journalists,” NYT chief White House correspondent Peter Baker said. Vox’s senior politics editor Benjy Sarlin called it “extremely disappointing.” Skeptics immediately suggested a connection between Trump’s threats against pollsters and Gallup’s many contracts with federal agencies. Trump is, after all, still suing pollster J. Ann Selzer. Gallup said the change merely “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.” |
AI researchers ‘sounding the alarm on their way out the door’ |
☝🏻 That’s the headline from CNN’s Allison Morrow, who writes that AI researchers and executives quitting their jobs are “loudly ringing the alarm bell on the way out, calling attention to what they see as bright red flags … explicitly warning that the companies they worked for are moving too fast and downplaying the technology’s shortcomings.” One ex-OpenAI researcher, who wrote about her exit in a NYT guest essay, cited “deep reservations” about the company testing ads in ChatGPT. Another researcher, who resigned from Anthropic’s safety team, cautioned that “the world is in peril.” >> Axios CEO Jim VandeHei this morning: “In 30 years of journalism, I’ve never witnessed a bigger gap between the most consequential story — insane AI advancements and investment — and Washington and mainstream media attention.” |
IG boss says you can’t be ‘addicted’ to social media |
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri testified yesterday that he does not think users can be “clinically addicted” to social media, CNN’s Samantha Delouya and Clare Duffy report. “It’s relative,” Mosseri said during the landmark social media addiction trial. “Yes, for an individual, there’s a such thing as using Instagram more than you feel good about.” Read their full story here. >> Looking ahead: Duffy tells us the trial is on break today and will resume tomorrow with Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is scheduled for Monday… |
>> OpenAI is using ChatGPT to try to catch leakers within the company. (The Information) >> TikTok is launching “a new ‘Local Feed.’” (TechCrunch) >> Local efforts to save the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “appear to have stalled” as the paper’s owner, Block Communications, appears unwilling “to talk with any prospective new owner.” (CBS News) >> Disney has “settled the streaming data suit brought about by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, with the entertainment conglomerate set to make a $2.75 million payout.” (TheWrap) |
Casey Wasserman got a “show of faith statement” yesterday from the 2028 L.A. Olympics Committee, THR’s Erik Hayden reports. An outside review found that his “relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.” Nevertheless, the L.A. Times reports, some artists and staff at Wasserman’s agency want him gone. The Times spoke with talent managers and touring execs who expect Wasserman to exit. One artist manager “said agents there informed them that Wasserman plans to step down from the music agency and spin it off into a separate company with a new name.” >> Pro-soccer icon Abby Wambach is the latest high-profile exit, writing on Instagram yesterday: “I will not participate in any business arrangement under [Casey’s] leadership.” |
Entertainment notes and quotes |
>> “Apple has acquired ‘Severance’ — the IP and all rights — from Fifth Season,” meaning Apple will now produce the Emmy-winning series in-house. (Deadline) >> “Bad Bunny had the second-largest streaming day of his career Feb. 9, the day after his halftime show performance at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium.” (Billboard) >> And saving the best for lsat: The Puppy Bowl reached 15.3 million viewers across all its available platforms — its best numbers in eight years. (Deadline) |