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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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March 4, 2026
Bari Goes to War
Over the past week, the CBS News chief dispatched Tony Dokoupil to the Middle East, scored exclusives on the back of her pro-Israel bona fides, and is finally making progress on shoring up her staff. All while the Ellisons, and the other news network they’re suddenly lined up to own, have been watching.
Dylan Byers
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February 27, 2026
Bari Apparent & Politico Animals
The WBD–PSKY post-merger dread hit CNN immediately yesterday, as its journalists and producers pondered life under Bari—but only if her CBS misfires haven’t disqualified her from running the combined operation. Plus, the voracious Mathias Döpfner’s global talent hunt.
Dylan Byers
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February 25, 2026
The WaPo Shiva Begins
Just when the slow-motion Telegraph sale finally seemed ready to close, Mathias Döpfner entered the chat. Does Axel Springer’s dark horse bid have any real chance? And why does anyone want the headache of owning a newspaper in 2026 anyway?
Dylan Byers
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February 20, 2026
The Colbert Market
While Trump sics the F.C.C.’s attack dog on the late-night shows, he’s giving Colbert, Kimmel, and Meyers the relevance they’ve been steadily leaching over the past decade or so. While democracy’s defenders will correctly cry foul, you have to ask: Where would late-night comedy be without Trump?
Dylan Byers
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February 18, 2026
Anderson of Anarchy
CBS News was abuzz in all the wrong ways again this week as Anderson Cooper announced his departure from ’60 Minutes.’ But the real story at CBS is not Cooper’s martyrdom (Colbert has that covered), it’s what his exit portends for the show’s future and the coming exodus of news talent.
Dylan Byers
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February 13, 2026
Bari’s Bootcamp
Last week, CBS News offered buyouts to 40 or so employees, some of whom seized the moment to attack Bari Weiss’s “heterodox journalism” and a culture of self-censorship on their way out the door. But legacy media’s challenges run far deeper than mere credibility—the industry is also losing its connection to the audience, itself.
Dylan Byers
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February 11, 2026
Last Will and Testament
The final days of The Washington Post’s publisher and C.E.O. were more cowardly and craven than even the newsroom imagined—with elevator closures and a stealth flight from town. Now that he’s gone, the staff is thoroughly demoralized… and wondering how Jeff Bezos will avoid making the same mistake again.
Dylan Byers
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February 6, 2026
Good Will Hunting
While its executive editor, Matt Murray, was overseeing the fallout of the devastating layoffs on K Street, The Washington Post’s absentee leader and C.E.O., Will Lewis, was pregaming with friends at the Super Bowl. Yes, the optics are terrible, but is an aloof and often remote C.E.O. the right guy to save the Post?
Dylan Byers
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February 4, 2026
For Whom Will Tolls
When Bezos bought the ‘Post’ in 2013, he said, “You can’t shrink your way to relevance.” Today, however, his newspaper is attempting to do just that and then some—shuttering entire sections, laying off 300 reporters, and pulling back on crucial reporting. Is a comeback possible, or has K Street officially entered its late Ottoman era?
Dylan Byers
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January 30, 2026
Who Will End Up With CNN?
Speculation that Barry Diller had considered buying CNN has set off another wave of panicked fever dreams surrounding the future of the network if or when WBD’s cable portfolio is severed from the Studios and Streaming mothership. Is it all just industry psychobabble, or has Zaz enlisted a pal to help close his deal with Netflix?