Mediaite One Sheet: Trump Vs NY Times, Face the Nation Drama, Bezos Silence and More!

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The Big Picture

Bari Weiss is reportedly targeting Face The Nation’s Margaret Brennan while CBS stays silent on a freelancer killed in an Israeli airstrike … Business Insider insiders say “the wheels are starting to come off” as revenue leadership bleeds out … Vox Media cut staff and eliminated its DEI team … The FCC is floating that talk shows no longer qualify for equal time exemptions … Jeff Bezos remains silent nine days after the FBI raided a WaPo reporter’s home … The NYT rejected its Guild’s AI protections request … Don Lemon won’t be charged but AG Pam Bondi is “enraged” … Trump threatened to sue over unfavorable polling … TikTok finalized its U.S. spinoff … And Substack launched a TV app.

Today’s sources:Status | Breaker | The Ankler | TheDesk | Poynter | CJR | Tubefilter | Simon Owens | Feed Me | Nieman Lab | Barrett Media | NewsBusters | Politico Playbook | Punchbowl | False Flag

Top Story

CBS CIVIL WAR EXPANDS AS NETWORK STAYS SILENT ON KILLED FREELANCER

Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright 🚨 SCOOP: Bari Weiss is now targeting Face The Nation moderator Margaret Brennan for replacement, looking externally rather than promoting internally. Brennan has hosted since 2018 … This follows Weiss blowing up the Evening News by ousting John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois for Tony Dokoupil.

NY Post’s Alexandra Steigrad reports 60 Minutes correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley have their “jobs on the line after pushing back against Bari Weiss’ CBS News shakeups” … CBS “willing to buy out contracts of talent and executives” … Alfonsi’s contract is up in a few months.

Reliable Sources’ Brian Stelter reports Weiss is pausing her Free Press podcast “Honestly” for “a few short months” to focus on CBS, calling it an “extraordinary opportunity to bring the values that drive this show and that drive The Free Press into a much bigger arena.”

Status’s Oliver Darcy flags that CBS News has not issued a public statement after an Israeli military strike killed three journalists Wednesday, including Abdel Raouf Shaat, a freelance cameraman who worked for CBS and AFP … AFP demanded “a full and transparent investigation” … CBS — “now run by the stridently pro-Israel Bari Weiss” — has remained institutionally silent … “For an organization led by a figure who rarely hesitates to weigh in loudly and publicly on matters involving Israel, the quiet here is notable.”

The Ankler’s Sean McNulty on ratings: Tony Dokoupil’s Week 2 averaged 4.2M viewers, down 20% YoY … ABC got 8.2M, NBC got 6.7M … Notes that “Bari Weiss’ dumping of the ‘Inside CECOT’ piece had its desired effect — 60 Minutes got only 4.9M viewers against the NFL playoffs.”

QUICK TAKE: When correspondents are fighting for their jobs after pushing back, the anchor’s ratings are cratering, and the network won’t acknowledge a freelancer killed in an airstrike, you’re not watching editorial disagreements — you’re watching an institution decide what it actually values. The answer appears to be: not the journalism.

Three Takes

FCC PUTS TALK SHOWS IN THE CROSSHAIRS

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