Elise Shae

Penske's Pay-to-Play Pushback Behind the scenes, Penske Media staffers are privately fuming over pay-to-play podcast pitches sent to right-wing podcasters and outright extremists, Status has learned.

There is internal concern at Penske Media publications—Variety, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter—about the company's pay-to-play Golden Globes pitches made to right-wing podcasters last month.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/jay-penske...

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

No other agency of the U.S. government has saved more lives per dollar than U.S.A.I.D.—it supplied medicine, food, and staffing for some of the most desperate and vulnerable. A new short documentary shows the impact of its dismantling. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/2a5Jm5

Murdoch’s California Dream The Murdochs are staking a claim to the West Coast, courting advertisers and setting up shop on the Fox studio lot for the launch of the California Post, Status has learned.

Scoop: News Corp’s California Post will court advertisers on the Fox studio lot next week, where the NY Post’s offshoot has quietly set up shop

The Murdochs are planting a flag out West, aiming to exploit the vacuum left by a hollowed-out LAT

www.status.news/p/california...

Netflix’s Podcasting Play The streamer is quietly plotting a major push into podcasting as it looks to take on its chief living-room rival, YouTube—and Status has learned details of what to expect at launch.

Netflix is quietly plotting a major push into podcasting as it looks to take on its chief living-room rival, YouTube—and @status.news has learned details of what to expect at launch.

Details here: www.status.news/p/netflix-po...

Here’s how Fox News and the establishment news media reacted to Zohran Mamdani winning

Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/mXDu-1OPTcM?...

Or listen wherever you get podcasts: link.chtbl.com/PowerLines_S...

Axel Springer Boss to Staffers: 'Embrace A.I. Or You Die' Axel Springer staffers confronted chief Mathias Döpfner over the publishing giant’s rapid embrace of A.I., which many fear could cost them their jobs, according to a video of the meeting leaked to St...

Inside Axel Springer’s Weds town hall, where editorial staffers pressed execs on AI, leaving with no real answers and a confirmation that more pain is coming

“The truth is, you either embrace A.I. or you die,” CEO Mathias Döpfner said

status.news/p/axel-springer-ai-business-insider-mathias-dopfner

'GMA' at a Crossroads Ahead of the ABC morning show’s 50th anniversary, executive producer Simone Swink sat down with Status to discuss the show’s legacy and its “multiplatform” future.

This week I sat down with GMA executive producer Simone Swink at ABC News’ new digs, ahead of tomorrow’s 50th anniversary show

“We're not just competing with another show,” Swink acknowledged, looking to the future of the brand. “We're competing with your phone”

www.status.news/p/gma-50th-a...

Paramount’s Eye Strain It was a “traumatic” day at CBS News, as David Ellison’s Paramount unleashed a fresh wave of layoffs across the company, hitting the news division hard.

Inside another “traumatic” day at CBS News, where cuts spanned from Johannesburg to LA

“It’s getting harder to show up to this place with your head held high, and even harder some days to leave with it held the same,” one person familiar tells me.

www.status.news/p/cbs-news-l...

Scoop: CBS News’ "Evening News Plus," the streaming companion show hosted by John Dickerson, has been canceled and the team was eliminated amid Paramount layoffs, I'm told.

More in tonight's edition of Status.

Hot Weather is Killing More than Half a Million People a Year Authors of a new Lancet report warn that parts of the world could become unlivable, as climate change drives a surge in heat deaths.

Extreme heat now kills roughly one person every minute, and about 550,000 a year, finds @lancetcountdown.bsky.social's new report. And scientists warn parts of the world may soon hit limits where it’s too hot and humid for people to survive.

My latest for @bloomberg.com (free 🎁 link):

SNAP Shutdown Pause and New Work Rules: What You Need to Know A Nov. 1 pause on SNAP benefits threatens food assistance for 1.7 million New Yorkers, just as new work requirements also take effect.

As the government shutdown stretches on, more than 1.7 million New York City residents who rely on SNAP benefits will not receive them as soon as Nov. 1.

Hollywood’s Ellison Fear Factor An Ellison family takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery could have profound consequences for the entertainment industry—and Trump appears to be putting his thumb on the scale.

Halloween has arrived early in Hollywood, as the Ellisons' buying spree - with Trump's thumb potentially on the scale - is fueling fears about deep job cuts and a shrinking roster of buyers
www.status.news/p/ellison-wa...

Pain at The Post As morale sinks and top talent exits, staffers at The Washington Post are bracing for more pain ahead of the holidays—raising questions about Will Lewis’ leadership, nearly two years into his tenure a...

Scoop: WaPo head of visuals Greg Manifold is leaving for other opportunities, according to an internal memo

It’s the latest gut punch to the WaPo newsroom, which is anticipating significant cuts to audio, sports and metro divisions ahead
www.status.news/p/washington...

Trying Times in L.A. The Los Angeles Times Guild is eager to avert an unprecedented strike by capitalizing on Patrick Soon-Shiong’s fixation with an IPO—but will the strategy pay off?

The LA Times Guild has proposed a deal to management that could avert an unprecedented strike, @nataliekorach.bsky.social reports.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/los-angele...

Trying Times in L.A. The Los Angeles Times Guild is eager to avert an unprecedented strike by capitalizing on Patrick Soon-Shiong’s fixation with an IPO—but will the strategy pay off?

The Los Angeles Times Guild is eager to avert an unprecedented strike by capitalizing on Patrick Soon-Shiong’s fixation with an IPO—but will the strategy pay off?

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/los-angele...

The Malone Delusion From an imagined conversation with Jeff Zucker to more Fox News worship, John Malone’s latest media appearance reveals a billionaire who has a warped view of journalism and reality.

John Malone said Jeff Zucker once told him he had CNN go hard on Trump "because it gets me audience."

But there's a major problem with his anecdote. Zucker's spokesperson says the former CNN boss has never spoken to Malone.

The scoop via @passantino.bsky.social: www.status.news/p/john-malon...

CBS’ Standards Deduction In her farewell note, CBS News’ standards chief alluded to the reason for her departure—but in private, she was more blunt about the motive behind her exit, Status has learned.

CBS News' standards chief, who resigned on Thursday, privately expressed unease with Bari Weiss' appointment as editor in chief and the overall direction of the network.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/cbs-news-c...

Rattled at 30 Rock NBC News is reeling from its biggest round of cuts in years, cutting about 150 staffers as it divorces itself from MSNBC and CNBC.

Scoop: Vox poached Astead Herndon from NYT to host a new video podcast and serve as editorial director starting on Oct 20. Herndon’s move is a significant loss for The NYT, which only just published his extensive magazine cover story about the rise of Zohran Mamdani

www.status.news/p/nbc-news-l...

MSNBC's Future is NOW A live event this weekend in NYC showed off MSNBC’s connection with its viewers. But bigger challenges lie ahead.

It’s Sunday so I’m back in your inbox:

MSNBC’s Future is NOW

Fans turned out in droves for MSNBC’s marathon event this weekend but backstage, the network was bracing for what lies ahead

www.status.news/p/msnbc-new-...

'We Just Got Elon Musk-ed' Bari Weiss’s first major move as CBS News chief has staffers on edge—ordering every journalist to submit a written memo justifying their work, in an apparent Elon Musk-style loyalty test.

“It is a little bit like singing for your supper," one CBS News staffer told @status.news about Bari Weiss' demand the entire workforce produce her a memo explaining what they do at the company.

More from @passantino.bsky.social here: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

Status Status is the definitive nightly briefing that informs readers about what is really happening in the halls of media power.

Inaugurating my Status.news newsletter, with some broad observations about the state of the industry (spoiler: gloomy) and a review noting that in "Tron: Ares," the letters that matter aren't AI, but IP www.status.news/p/hollywood-...

Hollywood’s Critical Crossroads From political pressure to A.I. to streaming, the entertainment industry is under assault and facing wrenching changes, with implications that don't end at Sunset Blvd.

From political pressure to A.I. to streaming, the entertainment industry is under assault and facing wrenching changes, with implications that don't end at Sunset Blvd. www.status.news/p/hollywood-...

Sickos Baseball Character

TO THE 15TH

A Bari Trying Time While Bari Weiss faces skepticism inside CBS News, former colleagues describe her management style to Status as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most stori...

While Bari Weiss faces skepticism inside CBS News, former colleagues describe her management style to Status as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most storied newsrooms.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

A Bari Trying Time While Bari Weiss faces skepticism inside CBS News, former colleagues describe her management style to Status as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most stori...

Scoop: Samantha Henig, who was appointed as the general manager of venture projects for WaPo, tasked with the strategy of now-defunct "third newsroom,” is departing, according to people familiar

A WaPo spokesperson declined to comment on the departure.
www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

A Bari Trying Time While Bari Weiss faces skepticism inside CBS News, former colleagues describe her management style to Status as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most stori...

“It's chaos. She would admit that she can be difficult to work with. Even for people who totally agree with her.”

@nataliekorach.bsky.social speaks to former Bari Weiss colleagues about her management style.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

A Bari Trying Time While Bari Weiss faces skepticism inside CBS News, former colleagues describe her management style to Status as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most stori...

Who is CBS News getting with Bari Weiss? Former colleagues describe her management style to @nataliekorach.bsky.social as chaotic and abrasive—raising questions about how she’ll lead one of America’s most storied newsrooms. Details in @status.news www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...

My first edition for @status.news

A Bari Trying Time; Another WaPo Departure; Pentagon’s Press Warfare

Want the real tea on how the whole "My nepo kid boss gave me a real news network to ruin" epoch at CBS is going for Weiss? Subscribe to @status.news. If actual journalism is going to survive, we have to pay for it, and I can think of no better place for your $$ to go than there.

Weiss and Shine The Bari Weiss era has begun at CBS News, and David Ellison’s push to reshape the storied network has staffers holding their breath about the future of the outlet—especially as the mogul's talking poi...

Inside CBS News, there is a mood of wary resignation as the long-awaited Bari Weiss era begins. “Trepidation,” in the words of one staffer.

Meanwhile, David Ellison's news philosophy is showing major cracks under scrutiny.

My full report in @status.news: www.status.news/p/bari-weiss...