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Dylan Byers & Julia Alexander
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Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (Wednesday is an Inner Circle exclusive)
Ace media reporter Dylan Byers brings readers into the C-suite as he chronicles the biggest stories in the industry: the future of cable news in the streaming era, the transformation of legacy publishers, the tech giants remaking the market, and all the egos involved. Also featuring a weekly dispatch from Puck’s crack streaming/media analyst, Julia Alexander.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Dylan Byers
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July 6, 2026
One Flew Over the Comcast Nest
Versant (a Comcast spinoff) and Sky (a future orphan) both just announced bold acquisitions that may offer a strategic blueprint for how to survive outside the mothership—and amid an ever-consolidating mediaverse.
Between 30 Rock and a Hard Place
The Comcast–NBCUniversal breakup is raising a familiar, possibly existential question about the historic yet vulnerable NBC News: Who really wants to own a linear news operation in an era of declining profits, increasing political risks, and a wide web of new competitors?
Dylan Byers
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June 29, 2026
Comcast Away
Brian Roberts’s plan to spin off NBCUniversal opens up an array of tantalizing strategic possibilities for a number of competitive suitors—from Netflix to Amazon and beyond. And while the theme park business is solid, who can really make the most of the linear assets that Roberts is casting off?
Ben on a Wire
The Daily Wire is pitching investors on the dream of a conservative media empire in growth mode—but the company’s declining revenue, disappearing audience, and executive turmoil tell a very different story. Is anyone buying Ben Shapiro’s narrative that the Wire is 18 months from a $2 billion I.P.O.?
Dylan Byers
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June 22, 2026
MacCallum of Duty
Amid all the Sturm und Drang at CNN as it shifts under the purview of the Ellisons, everyone inside the WarnerMount mothership seems to agree on one thing: Alex MacCallum, the C.O.O. of CNN, may be the one person with a vision for how to drag the global news network into the future.
Dylan Byers
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June 19, 2026
MS NOW & Later
Six months post-Comcast spinoff, Versant C.E.O. Mark Lazarus is working to turn the company’s portfolio of declining cable assets into a legit growth business. He’s got cash, and some time, but what’s the plan?
The Big Cibrowski
David Ellison’s search for the right executive to help Bari Weiss run her two-headed CNN–CBS News monster might require a unicorn—someone with solid television news experience, a pliable journalistic backbone, and the willingness to play the loyal number two. In other words, he needs a supersized Tom Cibrowski.
Dylan Byers
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June 15, 2026
The Times’ Ruemmler in the Jungle
Weeks after the Kristof vs. Bibi kerfuffle, the Times newsroom is again in an uproar over an Opinion story, this time allegedly attempting to rehabilitate the reputation of an Epstein associate. Big deal? Little deal? No deal?
Dylan Byers
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June 10, 2026
The Bari Matchmaking Sweepstakes
By all accounts, Bari Weiss could use some help running CBS News. But hiring the right executive with the right skills will be tricky, especially when the usual suspects are probably too cautious, myopic, or smart to join the gang.
Dylan Byers
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June 5, 2026
Lesley Stahl & The ‘60 Minutes’ Guys Are Staying
In a brief manifesto, Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim acknowledged deep frustrations with the new leadership of the show, but worried that leaving now would make things even worse. An earlier draft of the memo was even more critical.