Dylan Byers • May 27, 2026

Last Action Shapiro

Apart from the many distractions and side projects of The Daily Wire’s now former co-C.E.O.—cigars, a D.T.C. razor business, and a big-budget fantasy series—his biggest business obstacle at Ben Shapiro’s media empire might have been Shapiro himself.

Dylan Byers • May 25, 2026

Life of Byron

Byron Allen, the stand-up comic turned consummate media-deal hunter, defends his post-Colbert CBS late-night deal, his investing philosophy, and his ambition to somehow make BuzzFeed a YouTube competitor.

Julia Alexander • May 22, 2026

Call My Agentic!

Agentic search will, at least in theory, spell doom for many of the billions of sites on the open web, and usher in a strange back-end micropayment marketplace where agents trade commissions piecemeal. But is that theory undervaluing the power of people and the publishers who know how to connect with them?

Dylan Byers • May 20, 2026

The Wolf of Broad Street

James Murdoch’s acquisition of Vox Media’s prime cuts is now official and the end result is far more favorable than it might have been: Eater, The Verge and other Vox sites will get spun off; Bankoff and Wasserstein will stay on; and New York and the podcast networks get an owner who, thankfully, has something to prove.

Dylan Byers • May 18, 2026

Bari My Heart at 57th Street

As it closes in on its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount leadership has had informal discussions about changing Bari Weiss’s mandate at CBS News (and, eventually, CNN) in ways that would give her less control over TV.

Dylan Byers • May 15, 2026

Will There Be “Blood Libel”?

Nick Kristof’s exposé on Israeli prison abuse has brought the threat of a potential “blood libel” case from Netanyahu and another epic internal schism on Eighth Avenue, once again pitting the Opinion section against the newsroom. Here’s how it’s playing on the inside.

Dylan Byers • May 13, 2026

Byron’s BuzzFeed Mercy Play

Byron Allen is betting $20 million that he can resuscitate the faded quiz-and-listicle destination with a… wait for it… pivot to video. Is this the most foolhardy investment since Rupert’s bet on Vice, or does Allen know something we don’t?

Dylan Byers • May 8, 2026

The Ben Commandments

The sudden, precipitous decline of Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire—with its sweeping layoffs and a steep drop-off in audience—has actually been a long time coming. And while it’s easy to point to MAGA’s shift away from Israel, its co-C.E.O.’s dream of producing an Arthurian fantasy series isn’t helping either.

Dylan Byers • May 6, 2026

James Murdoch’s School of Hard Vox

The least objectionable of Rupert’s sons is closing on a deal to buy much of Vox Media in order to complement his current holdings—Art Basel and Tribeca Enterprises—as well as his ambition to build a global TED-meets-Burning Man events brand. Is this the first step toward real cultural influence, or simply his own Penske-esque captive investment?

Dylan Byers • May 1, 2026

World War Alfonsi

After going toe to toe with Bari Weiss over her “Inside CECOT” story, veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi became the face of fourth-estate resistance at 60 Minutes. But as she prepares a heroic exit, a mass exodus is unlikely to follow. After all, where’s a well-paid TV journalist to go?

Dylan Byers • April 29, 2026

Teflon D’Onofrio

Months after another round of deep cuts and Jeff Bezos’s overdue jettisoning of Will Lewis, ‘The Washington Post’ is grappling with the harsh realities of rebuilding the brand—beginning with naming Lewis’s permanent successor.

Dylan Byers • April 24, 2026

Bari’s Post-WHCD Purge

After partying with the president, Pete Hegseth, and Stephen Miller at an event ostensibly celebrating a free press, Weiss will return from Washington with immediate plans to further overhaul 60 Minutes—and to implement another round of layoffs at CBS News.

Dylan Byers • April 22, 2026

The Weiss House

While fourth-estate purists bemoan the diminishment of press freedoms under Trump, CBS’s Bari Weiss and David Ellison will be breaking bread over White House Correspondents’ Association weekend with two of the administration’s most visible press antagonists. Cue the outrage… but that’s the point.

Julia Alexander • April 17, 2026

Doomsday Prepping for the A.I. Media Apocalypse

The already shell-shocked media business is bracing for yet another existential disruption: a future in which many readers are replaced by A.I. agents summarizing their work—and cutting out the advertisers that are the lifeblood of the industry.

Dylan Byers • April 15, 2026

The Approval Matrix Revolutions

News, notes, and all the scuttlebutt pertaining to Jim Bankoff’s admirable, atom-splitting attempt to sell off Vox Media in parts: ‘New York,’ its various digital assets, and the podcast network that powers the business.