Brian Stelter

Today's Reliable Sources lead: The TikTok deal is a top story almost everywhere — a testament to the app's extraordinary growth and extremely addictive algorithm. cnn.it/49T5Hsu

Judge rejects Justice Department’s initial attempt to bring charges against Don Lemon | CNN Politics A federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department’s initial attempt to bring charges against journalist Don Lemon for appearing alongside protesters who breached a Minnesota church over the w...

CNN: "A federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to bring charges against journalist Don Lemon for appearing alongside protesters who breached a Minnesota church over the weekend" www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/p...

SCOOP: Substack Is Launching a TV App Today CEO Chris Best tells me about the new platform’s bid to grab some of YouTube’s living-room audience

Substack is launching a TV app today. "With Substack TV, which has been in the works for some time, Substack is further cementing itself as a video platform," @natjarv.bsky.social writes theankler.com/p/scoop-subs...

“It can be disorienting — destabilizing, even — when a man who governs like he's producing a reality-TV show forces the rest of the world, including longstanding allies, to play along.”

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert "Lines Are Being Crossed, And It's Enough!" - Jane Fonda On America's Slide Into Authoritarianism

Jane Fonda highlighted her restoration of the Committee for the First Amendment on "The Late Show" last night. She said "authoritarianism has made its way into every single nook and cranny of our government." youtu.be/YKtA7lxh7BA?...

Today's Reliable Sources lead:

"The Apprentice," Davos edition

Once a reality TV host, always a reality TV host. Trump puts the SHOW in showmanship. It helps audiences to analyze him accordingly. 🔗 cnn.it/4r1vgyw

A federal judge has blocked the Justice Department from examining Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s phone and computers for the time being. Our full story here: www.cnn.com/2026/01/21/m...

This just in: One week after the FBI executed a search warrant at Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's home, the Post has filed two motions in the Eastern District of Virginia, asking the court "to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use." Full Post statement:

Lots of media news today: A Zohran Mamdani film is in the works. Gayle King is weighing her future at CBS. The NYT is launching its first two-player game. Plus much more here >>> cnn.it/4jUfljg

“Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Trump is now confusing Greenland and Iceland: "They're not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you. Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money."

Good morning. A Zohran Mamdani film is in the works. Gayle King is weighing her future at CBS. The NYT is launching a two-player game. Michelle Obama is on "Call Her Daddy." But first...

Trump is "doing his briefing room bit again, but for a room full of world leaders and CEOs," @andrewkirell.bsky.social says

Today's Reliable Sources digest 🔗: cnn.it/4jUfljg

At one point, sounding frustrated with media coverage, Trump bemoaned his own WH communications operation: "Maybe I have bad public relations people, but we're not getting it across." His recent interviews with the NYT and WSJ also seemed like attempts to do his own PR.

Trump's appearance in the WH briefing room today began at 1:49pm and ended at 3:33pm ET, so, 104 minutes.

Excellent installment of Reliable Sources by @brianstelter.bsky.social -- There's a lot to pack in, but the "Last But Not Least" bit includes a direct link to Bruce Springsteen's surprise gig on Saturday. Good stuff. 👏👏

One year since President Trump's second inauguration, writers and activists are drawing attention to the authoritarian climate in the US, including the impacts on news media and culture.

Today's Reliable Sources lead: One year since Trump's second inauguration, writers and activists are drawing attention to the authoritarian climate in the US, including the impacts on news media and culture. cnn.it/4r4owQx

Netflix revises its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, it’s all cash | CNN Business In an ongoing struggle over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix says it is now prepared to pay all cash for Warner Bros. and HBO, rather than a mix of cash and stock.

Breaking: In the ongoing struggle over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix says it is now prepared to pay all cash for Warner Bros. and HBO, rather than a mix of cash and stock. www.cnn.com/2026/01/20/m...

Trump seemingly recognizing that videos of ICE looking like an occupying force in Minnesota are turning public opinion against the operation

"I have covered civil wars in countries across the globe. Not so long ago, I would have rolled my eyes at the notion that one could erupt anywhere in America, much less in my once placid home state of Minnesota. And yet..."

The "Inside CECOT" report caused something of a standoff inside CBS News, with correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi saying she didn't want to change a single comma. Here's my recap

"She brings the sometimes chaotic energy and work ethic of a startup, but she also realizes she needs to work on having more executive discipline," the pro-Bari Weiss "sources" said in a quote to The New Yorker.

Inside Bari Weiss’s Hostile Takeover of CBS News The network’s new editor-in-chief has championed a press free from élite bias, while aligning herself with a billionaire class more willing than ever to indulge Donald Trump.

The New Yorker is out with a profile of Bari Weiss. There's a notable quote attributed to "sources close to Weiss and Ellison" saying "readily realizes and admits that she was not as knowledgeable as she should have been about the timing of the marketing and promo process at '60 Minutes.'"

A very good thread on 60 Minutes, still the best investigative reporting on television.

Here's my latest reporting: bsky.app/profile/bria...

‘60 Minutes’ is finally airing the shelved ‘Inside CECOT’ segment | CNN Business Nearly a month after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss triggered a scandal by shelving a “60 Minutes” story about Venezuelan men deported by the US to a hellish prison in El Salvador, the story is a...

So now the "Inside CECOT" report has aired.

But there's definitely going to be fallout at CBS.

For one thing, Alfonsi's contract is up in just a few months.

Hard to imagine she'll be staying at "60."

Lots more in my story here:

With the new "tag," plus an updated intro, the finished product "has more context for viewers," a CBS source said.

But keep in mind: These were some of the critiques of the piece that Weiss leveled back in December. She could say the same things now.

The backstage drama came to a head on Friday and Saturday. The ultimate solution: Alfonsi taped what's known in TV as a "tag," a new ending to the report that included the points Weiss wanted. But the original report stayed as-is, just as it was in December.

As I reported earlier today, Weiss also tried to book a Trump admin official for Alfonsi to interview, but no interview materialized. Some inside CBS said this showed that Alfonsi was right about the "kill switch."

But Alfonsi could (and did) always fall back to this: The report had already been subjected to the rigorous "60 Minutes" process. After all, the other people involved in the production thought the piece was done before Weiss suddenly shelved it. Most importantly, the piece was accurate.

Weiss felt Alfonsi was being overly stubborn. Here's an example of what Weiss wanted: She wanted the report to address the fact that one of the deportees interviewed has two tattoos, one of which is a swastika.