Meredith Klein / Meredith & The Media:
Q&A with Josh Sternberg, executive editor at Morning Brew, about leading Morning Brew's editorial strategy, the ever-changing media landscape, and more  —  This week, I sat down with Josh Sternberg, executive editor at Morning Brew.  — Did you always want to be a journalist?

Committee to Protect Journalists:
How Pakistan's government is increasingly using in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living overseas, starting in late 2025  —  Pakistan's government has stepped up the use of in absentia convictions and arrest warrants against Pakistani journalists living …

Saahil Desai / The Atlantic:
As news outlets treat prediction markets like news, especially heading into US elections, every dip and swing in the odds may end up wildly misleading people  —  Why is the media obsessed with prediction markets?  —  For the past week, I've found myself playing the same 23-second CNN clip on repeat.

Yue Stella Yu / Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Newsom's 2026 budget proposal contains no funding for the California Civic Media Fund, despite a 2024 deal to provide $175M to newsrooms over five years  —  - 6 min Click here to listen to this article  —  Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal includes no money for a fund formed last year …

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nexstar's NewsNation overhauls its nightly schedule by debuting a new 10pm show with Katie Pavlich, including an interview with President Trump on Tuesday  —  At an earlier time, Pavlich, then working for the conservative site Townhall.com, was trying to network at an annual CPAC conference …

Olivia Solon / Bloomberg:
The UK Gambling Commission says Meta is letting illegal gambling sites advertise on Facebook and Instagram, calling its ad library a “window into criminality”  —  Meta Platforms Inc. is turning a blind eye to illegal gambling sites that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, according to the UK's Gambling Commission.

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
India's JioHotstar restructures its subscriptions, adding monthly options and raising prices on some tiers, in response to a shift toward large-screen viewing  —  Indian streaming giant JioHotstar has unveiled a restructured subscription model that introduces monthly payment options across …

Reuters:
A UK privacy lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John, and others against Associated Newspapers begins, with allegations of phone hacking and illicit data collection  —  Prince Harry, Elton John and other public figures were victims of systematic phone hacking and other unlawful acts …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Similarweb: Threads had 141.5M DAUs on iOS and Android as of January 7, driven by Instagram promotions, while X had 125M DAUs; X continues to lead on the web  —  A report from market intelligence firm Similarweb suggests that Meta's Threads is now seeing more daily usage than Elon Musk's X on mobile devices.

Clare Malone / New Yorker:
A profile of Bari Weiss and an in-depth look at her hostile takeover of CBS News; a source says Weiss has said she is pursuing a “de-Baathification of CBS”  —  The network's new editor-in-chief has championed a press free from élite bias, while aligning herself …

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Chris LaCivita, a Trump campaign manager in 2024, settles his libel lawsuit against The Daily Beast, filed in March 2025; The Beast says he received no payment  —  As part of the settlement, The Daily Beast was not required to apologize or issue any payment to Chris LaCivita, who sued the outlet last year.

Jack Dunn / Variety:
On Joe Rogan's JRE, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck discuss Hollywood and AI; Damon says Netflix wants movies to restate the plot because viewers are on their phones  —  Matt Damon and Ben Affleck recently appeared on the “Joe Rogan Experience” to promote their new Netflix film “The Rip,” …

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Study: local broadcast TV supported 1.5M+ US jobs in 2025 and had a $748B annual GDP impact, with advertising accounting for the largest share at $628B  —  The local television broadcast industry saw another year of strong contributions to the American economy, with more than 1.5 million jobs supported …

Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
An interview with Semafor's Justin Smith on growing its events business around tentpoles and how DC-focused media benefits from the corporate affairs market  —  - Semafor, the high-profile news startup founded in 2022, says it's now profitable — a rarity for a new media company.

Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Gerry Cardinale, head of RedBird, Paramount's second-largest shareholder, as he lobbies regulators and shareholders to accept Paramount's WBD bid  —  RedBird's Gerry Cardinale will tell anyone who will listen why the hostile $77.9 billion bid is superior