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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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May 14, 2025
The Hunter Biden-Tapper Face-Off
Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, Bidenworld’s cover-up, and the dire consequences for the Democratic Party, as reported in ‘Original Sin,’ have stirred up the Beltway blame game and dragged the former president out for a sad redemption tour, while raising the question of what exactly went down between Jake Tapper and Hunter Biden at Super Bowl LII.
Dylan Byers
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May 9, 2025
The CNN Endgame
The latest news regarding Zaz’s desire to spin out his cable assets, including CNN, raises all kinds of existential questions for the iconic news network as it prepares to walk the plank. Plus, news and notes on Tapper’s battle with the Bidens.
Dylan Byers
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May 7, 2025
A New ESPN Chapter & Versant Notes
At next week’s upfronts, NBCU’s Mark Lazarus will be selling the synergistic post-linear potential of Versant, formerly known as SpinCo, while ESPN prepares Flagship for its maiden voyage.
Dylan Byers
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May 2, 2025
Passing Redstones
Facing a Trump lawsuit, massive debts, and a $400 million kill fee if the Skydance sale falls through, Redstone has privately discussed settling with the president for as much as $20 million. In fact, according to sources close to the company, she’ll likely have to pay much more. “Shari has to make this deal,” said one source close to the principals. “There is no plan B.”
Dylan Byers
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April 30, 2025
The Righteous Redstone
Amid Trump’s legal torture of CBS, Shari Redstone has played the role of a spineless placater—a desperate seller eager to settle and liquidate her position in the family heirloom. But her annoyance over CBS News’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict seems to be real—and so are her attempts to meddle with the newsroom’s independence.
Dylan Byers
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April 25, 2025
Scott Pelley’s Cri de Coeur & Owens Exit Theories
News and notes on the aftermath of the ‘60 Minutes’ saga.
Dylan Byers
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April 23, 2025
Life of Ryan
In the dun-colored afterglow of Nuzzi-gate, Ryan Lizza is trash-talking his former employer and striking out on his own with a Substack and a notable disregard for nondisparagement clauses—while Nuzzi knuckles down on a book of her own.
Dylan Byers
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April 18, 2025
Dude, Where’s My Carr?
News and notes on F.C.C. chairman Brendan Carr’s legacy media blitzkrieg and the many meanings of “public interest.”
Dylan Byers
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April 16, 2025
Wendy’s Double Jeopardy
CBS News C.E.O. Wendy McMahon’s tenure was already beset by controversies that have antagonized both the network’s current owner, Shari Redstone, and its future owner, David Ellison. Now, she’s taking heat for a ‘Wheel of Fortune’/‘Jeopardy!’ miscalculation that could cost Paramount eight-figure annual profits.
Dylan Byers
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April 11, 2025
Home Malone
Master of the cable universe John Malone is giving up his seat on the board of Warner Bros. Discovery, where he’s been an unwaveringly patient, big-picture strategist. What does his departure mean, if anything, to the future of WBD or his mentee, David Zaslav?