Mediaite One Sheet: AC No 60, Bannon’s Very Bad Week, CBS Vs. Colbert

The Big Picture

Anderson Cooper is leaving 60 Minutes after nearly two decades — and the newsletter class isn’t buying that it’s just about family time. Elsewhere, Steve Bannon’s week goes from bad to worse as the Epstein files and a memecoin lawsuit pile up simultaneously. Warner Bros. Discovery officially reopens deal talks with Paramount, giving David Ellison seven days to make his best offer. And CBS disallowed Late Night host Stephen Colbert from interviewing Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, citing the FCC’s equal time rule.

Today’s sources: Status | Breaker | Politico Playbook | Axios | Poynter | Page Six Hollywood | The Bulwark | Barrett Media | Newsbusters | CJR | Simon Owens | The Desk | Media Voices | Awful Announcing

Top Story

ANDERSON COOPER EXITS CBS NEWS — DID BARI WEISS PUSH HIM OUT?

Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright got the scoop Monday evening: Anderson Cooper has declined to renew his contract with CBS News, ending a nearly 20-year run at 60 Minutes. Cooper will finish the current season but won’t return in the fall.

His official statement was gracious and family-focused — he has young kids, he wants to be present, the usual off-ramp language. Playbook flagged the departure as a “major media move” and left it there. CBS’s own statement was warm, saying 60 Minutes “will be here if he ever wants to return.”

But Status’s Oliver Darcy wasn’t buying the Hallmark card version. Darcy reported that Cooper had “grown increasingly uneasy with the rightward direction the network has charted” under Bari Weiss’s leadership and David Ellison’s ownership of parent company Paramount. One insider told Status that Cooper “wasn’t comfortable with the direction the show was taking under Bari, and is in a position where he doesn’t have to put up with it.” A second source confirmed the exit was related to discomfort with Weiss.

Darcy connected the departure to a pattern: a 60 Minutes piece Cooper had been working on about Trump’s decision to accept refugees from South Africa — rooted in the debunked “white genocide” conspiracy theory — had been “subjected to an intense level of editorial scrutiny” from both Executive Producer Tanya Simon and Weiss. That prolonged review process left veteran producer Michael Gavshon “exasperated,” Status had previously reported.

Status framed the departure as a wholesale indictment of Weiss’s tenure. Darcy noted that Weiss had initially tried to poach Cooper as anchor of the CBS Evening News — an overture he declined — meaning she “not only failed to persuade Cooper to grow his footprint at the network, but ultimately helped chase him away from it entirely.” One industry observer told Status: “This is another black eye for Bari.”

Poynter’s Tom Jones synthesized the broader newsletter reaction. Jones, citing the Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio, noted that Cooper’s exit “could be the first of a number of changes” as Weiss is expected to substantially overhaul the newsmagazine. Jones also cited the New York Post’s Ariel Zilber, who framed it as a departure during “a period of internal tension surrounding editorial decisions and leadership changes,” and Variety’s Brian Steinberg, who offered a more personal angle — people who know Cooper say one of the great joys of his career was the ability to step away from breaking news and focus on longer-form storytelling.

Jones himself noted the obvious: Cooper “doesn’t need” the gig. He has CNN’s AC360, the hit grief podcast “All There Is,” The Whole Story, and a renewed CNN contract signed late last year. The 60 Minutes exit was a choice made from a position of strength.

Darcy went further, raising the specter of a full exodus. Without Cooper, 60 Minutes is down to six correspondents. Given Weiss’s reported displeasure with Sharyn Alfonsi — whose CECOT prison piece Weiss held before it ultimately aired — and the outspokenness of Lesley Stahl and Scott Pelley about the state of affairs at CBS News, the bench could thin further. “I think this is the end of ’60’ as we know it,” a television news executive told Status. Darcy also flagged that a number of CBS Evening News producers have recently taken buyouts, with one outgoing producer writing that stories are now “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”

Meanwhile, Newsbusters‘ Jorge Bonilla spent the weekend arguing that CBS Sunday Morning injected climate change into a segment on the nation’s founding — calling the “MAGA-friendly” label the chattering class keeps slapping on Weiss’s CBS “a shameless exaggeration.” The conservative media watchdog’s framing stands in direct tension with Darcy’s: is Weiss steering CBS right, or is the newsletter class overreacting?

TAKEAWAY: Cooper’s statement said “family.” The newsletter class heard “Bari.” The real story may be that both are true — Cooper could afford to leave precisely because the Weiss era gave him the excuse. The question isn’t whether 60 Minutes survives losing Cooper. It’s whether anyone at CBS notices the difference between a departure and a stampede.

Three Takes

STEVE BANNON’S TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD WEEK

The Bulwark (False Flag): Will Sommer went deep on the part of Bannon’s troubles that has nothing to do with Epstein: a class-action lawsuit filed by a Missouri investor who lost nearly $59,000 on Bannon and Boris Epshteyn’s “Fuck Joe Biden” memecoin. Sommer detailed how the coin’s 8 percent transaction fee was supposed to fund charity and promotion, but $2.7 million allegedly disappeared. Internal Discord messages from coin administrators called the financial management “worse than I ever imagined.” A failed rebrand to “Patriot Pay” stumbled when they couldn’t even secure the trademark. Sommer framed the lawsuit as the latest chapter in a pattern — from the “We Build the Wall” fraud to the contempt conviction — and noted the irony that crypto regulation might have prevented this, “if not for the fact that the White House has shown a general indifference to regulating this market.”

Politico Playbook: Playbook wove the Bannon thread into its broader Epstein coverage, noting that the NYT reported Bannon advised Epstein on how to respond to allegations and that Epstein sent Apple watches to Bannon and his son. Playbook flagged the War Room audience pushback — you can “check out the comments under any War Room post on X to find plenty of MAGA fans who aren’t convinced” by Bannon’s claim he was only communicating with Epstein as a documentarian. Playbook also linked to the Bulwark’s memecoin story, treating the crypto lawsuit as a second front in Bannon’s credibility crisis. Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie told Politico Magazine he’ll keep pushing DOJ to undo Epstein file redactions, and both Trump and Hillary Clinton insisted they have “nothing to hide.”

Newsbusters: The conservative media watchdog didn’t directly address Bannon’s Epstein troubles this cycle — a notable absence given how aggressively liberal outlets are covering the story. Newsbusters’ Curtis Houck was instead focused on attacking Status for its reporting on NewsNation, calling Darcy’s outlet a purveyor of “smears” against conservative media. The silence on Bannon from the right’s most prominent media critic speaks volumes about how uncomfortable the Epstein revelations are for outlets that have treated him as an ally.

TAKEAWAY: The newsletter set seems to be waking up to the narrative that the once-mightily influential former senior advisor to Trump is in a world of hurt, and the underlying schadenfreude is not well hidden.

📰 Top Reads 📰

Politico Playbook
CBS BLOCKS COLBERT FROM AIRING TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE INTERVIEW, BLAMING FCC EQUAL TIME RULE: Stephen Colbert told his audience that Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was denied a slot on The Late Show after CBS cited the FCC’s equal time rule — even though, as Colbert noted, longstanding exceptions have applied to talk shows. Colbert directed a blunt “FCC You!” at Chairman Brendan Carr. The interview was posted to Colbert’s YouTube page instead, where it racked up more than 340,000 views by publishing time. Talarico leaned into the controversy, calling it “the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.” Only Playbook jumped on the story. … QUOTE (Colbert to Carr): “FCC You!” … QUICK TAKE: CBS is now blocking its own late-night host from airing political interviews that used to be standard fare. Whether this is legal caution, FCC anxiety, or something else entirely, the result is the same: Colbert’s YouTube page just became a freer platform than his own network.

Axios, Sara Fischer
WBD OFFICIALLY REOPENS DEAL TALKS WITH PARAMOUNT AS NETFLIX GRANTS SEVEN-DAY WAIVER: The bidding war is on. Warner Bros. Discovery announced Tuesday it will engage with Paramount Skydance after Netflix granted a narrow seven-day window ending February 23. A Paramount financial advisor told a WBD board member the company would pay $31 per share — up from its previous $30 bid — while also covering the $2.8 billion termination fee WBD would owe Netflix. Netflix called Paramount’s moves “antics” and said it remains “confident that our transaction provides superior value.” A shareholder vote on the Netflix deal is set for March 20. … QUOTE (David Zaslav): “We are engaging with PSKY now to determine whether they can deliver an actionable, binding proposal that provides superior value and certainty for WBD shareholders through their best and final offer.” … QUICK TAKE: Seven days, $31 a share, and two media giants playing chicken. John Oliver still doesn’t know who his new business daddy is — and after this week, he might have even more options.

Simon Owens
DON LEMON’S ARREST BACKFIRES SPECTACULARLY ON THE WHITE HOUSE: The White House took a victory lap when Don Lemon was arrested covering an immigration protest, tweeting his photo with a chains emoji. But the Washington Post reports that Lemon has since gained 300,000 Instagram followers, 140,000 YouTube subscribers, and that his Substack has soared 73 percent to over 140,000 subscribers. Owens called it “the Streisand Effect in action.” … QUOTE (Owens): “In the US, any arrest of a media figure will simply result in them growing more popular — especially if they operate their own independent channels.”  … QUICK TAKE: The administration thought they were making an example. They made a media mogul.

CJR, John Stang
WHO COUNTS AS A JOURNALIST? WASHINGTON STATE CREDENTIALING FIGHT HEADS TO COURT: Three right-wing media figures — podcaster Brandi Kruse, talk radio host Ari Hoffman, and freelancer Jonathan Choe — filed a lawsuit seeking permanent press passes to the Washington statehouse after being denied access over their ties to political advocacy. The Capitol Correspondents Association, which had managed credentialing for fifty years, transferred authority to legislators rather than litigate. All three plaintiffs have accepted payment from political organizations and spoken at Republican events … QUICK TAKE: The question of who qualifies as press used to be answered by press passes. Now it’s answered by lawyers — and the answer matters more than ever.

Newsbusters, Jorge Bonilla
SUNDAY SHOWS SKIP THE POTOMAC SEWAGE DISASTER AND RUBIO’S MUNICH SPEECH: Bonilla flagged two glaring omissions from the Sunday shows: no coverage of the massive Potomac River sewage spill — one of the largest environmental disasters in D.C. history — and no analysis of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich Security Conference address, which Bonilla noted was “warmly received and met with rapturous applause.” … QUICK TAKE: If a pipe bursts in the Potomac and the Sunday shows don’t cover it, does it still stink? Yes. Yes it does.

The Desk, Matthew Keys
SMALLER-MARKET NBC AFFILIATES PULLING BIGGEST WINTER OLYMPICS RATINGS: Independently owned NBC affiliates in mid-sized markets like Fort Myers and Minneapolis are outperforming the network’s own stations during the 2026 Winter Games. All top 20 stations by viewership are outlets not owned by NBC, and none are in top 10 TV markets. … QUICK TAKE: The Olympics remain one of the last things Americans watch together — but apparently more so in Fort Myers than Manhattan.

Awful Announcing
NBA ALL-STAR GAME DRAWS 8.8 MILLION VIEWERS — AND THE SPORTS MEDIA DISCREDITS IT: The revamped USA vs. World format nearly doubled last year’s audience on TNT and posted the best All-Star Game numbers in 15 years. But Awful Announcing argued that a chunk of the sports media discourse quickly pivoted to explaining why the numbers don’t actually mean anything — the Olympics lead-in inflated it, the Sunday afternoon slot helped, NBC’s scheduling deserves the credit. The piece pushed back, noting that no other sport faces this level of scrutiny when it benefits from a strong lead-in. … QUOTE: “Only the NBA gets the ‘well, actually’ treatment, where every success requires context explaining why it doesn’t really count.“ … QUICK TAKE: The NBA improved the product, NBC gave it the platform, and viewership responded. Only in sports media does a win need a footnote.

🎬 SHOWBIZ 🎬

Page Six Hollywood, Ian Mohr & Peter Kiefer
CASEY WASSERMAN SELLING HIS AGENCY AS EPSTEIN FALLOUT CLAIMS ANOTHER SCALP: The embattled talent agency boss was mixing with Comcast’s Brian Roberts and ESPN’s James Pitaro at an NBA All-Star party Thursday night — 24 hours before announcing the sale of his 4,000-employee firm. Providence Equity Partners, which took a controlling stake in 2022, is reportedly furious, and rival agencies are circling. Status, citing TheWrap‘s Sharon Waxman, reported that Providence demanded Wasserman sell his 40% stake. Insiders say the timing was strategic: stop the bleeding before more music acts flee. … QUOTE (Knowledgeable source): “They are going to have to take control of the company and then figure out what to do, which is probably sell it all.” … QUICK TAKE: When your party guest list includes the CEO of Comcast and your Monday to-do list includes “sell entire company,” you’ve had a weekend.

Status, Oliver Darcy
APPLE PODCASTS ADDS VIDEO TO TAKE ON YOUTUBE AND SPOTIFY: Apple announced it will add video podcast support to its Podcasts app this spring. Services chief Eddy Cue said the addition of video marks “a defining milestone” in Apple’s podcasting journey. The move pits Apple against YouTube’s dominance in the video podcast space, with Netflix and Spotify also making plays. Simon Owens argued every news outlet should have a video podcast offering, calling it “a relatively light lift” that creates new entry points to existing journalism. Owens also flagged, via Semafor, that the Guardian is launching a daily video podcast with a staff of ten. … QUICK TAKE: Three platforms, one Guardian, and an entire industry realizing that the Joe Rogan model isn’t going away. The question is whether legacy outlets can compete for attention spans they’ve already lost.

Page Six Hollywood, Ian Mohr
INDIE SPIRIT AWARDS MOVE TO THE PALLADIUM, NETFLIX WINS BIG: The 41st Independent Spirit Awards relocated from Santa Monica to Hollywood’s Palladium, with Netflix’s Train Dreams taking best feature. Rose Byrne won best lead performance for A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Fellow nominee Kirsten Dunst was reportedly in the bathroom when her category was announced. … QUOTE (Host Ego Nwodim): “We don’t have a permit.” … QUICK TAKE: An awards show for indie filmmakers joking about not having permits feels almost too on the nose.

👀 What Got Missed? 👀

The Sunday shows apparently had nothing to say about millions of gallons of raw sewage pouring into the Potomac River — one of the largest environmental disasters in D.C. history. Newsbusters‘ Jorge Bonilla flagged the omission over the weekend, and Playbook covered the political blame game extensively on Tuesday. But the broader newsletter class largely treated the spill as a partisan football rather than a public health crisis. Meanwhile, Bonilla also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s Munich Security Conference speech — “warmly received and met with rapturous applause” — went entirely unanalyzed on the Sunday shows, even as those same programs melted down over JD Vance‘s appearance at the same conference. When the chattering class picks which Munich speeches to cover based on which ones confirm its priors, that’s not media criticism. It’s sorting.

🏆 Newsletter of the Day 🏆

Breaker / Lachlan Cartwright — You can’t give Newsletter of the Day to anyone else when the outlet lands the biggest media scoop of the week on its first birthday. Cartwright broke the Cooper exit, forced every other newsletter — from Status to Poynter to Playbook — to chase it, and wrapped it in a victory lap that was earned rather than obnoxious. Media Voices, linking to Press Gazette, noted that Breaker has hit profitability within its first year with 40,000+ subscribers. Not a bad birthday present.

The Bottom Line

Anderson Cooper’s departure from 60 Minutes is being covered as a Bari Weiss story — and it is one. But zoom out and it’s really a story about leverage. Cooper could leave because CNN gave him a home, a podcast empire, and a renewed contract. The journalists who can’t leave CBS — the mid-level producers, the field correspondents, the people who took buyouts because they couldn’t afford to wait — don’t get sympathetic Status write-ups or Poynter eulogies. The newsletter class loves a big name walking out the door. It’s less interested in the people who got pushed.