Good morning,

Yes, I know I say this all the time, but it was another really amazing week here at Puck: Matt Belloni delivered the definitive assessment on Hollywood’s summer from hell; Dylan Byers got behind the latest shake-up at Politico; Tina Nguyen entered the DeSantis surveillance state; Lauren Sherman detailed the executive switcheroo at Kering; Teddy Schleifer penetrated a D.C. S.B.F. scandal; and Julia Ioffe reported that it’s decision time in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Julia Alexander offered Bob Iger some streaming advice, Eriq Gardner provided him an M&A legal loophole to exploit, and Bill Cohan found him a deal partner for ESPN.

Check out these stories, and others, via the links below. And stick around for the backstory on how it all came together.

WALL STREET:
Bill Cohan runs the numbers on a hypothetical ESPN sale to Comcast.
and…
Eriq Gardner explores a legal precedent that could facilitate dealmaking in Burbank.

MEDIA:
Dylan Byers reports on a major shakeup atop Politico’s masthead.

HOLLYWOOD:
Matt Belloni breaks down Hollywood’s civil war.
and…
Julia Alexander figures out Disney’s gaming strategy.

SILICON VALLEY:
Teddy Schleifer has the latest on the humbling of S.B.F.’s boy in D.C.

WASHINGTON:
Julia Ioffe details how Ukraine’s spring offensive is going to lead to the fall’s big question.
and…
Tina Nguyen reveals the inner anxiety from within the DeSantisverse.

PODCASTS:
Matt and research analyst Michael Pachter ask whether Netflix has officially won the streaming war on The Town.
and…
Peter Hamby and Abby Livingston explain Ted Cruz’s latest political pickle on The Powers That Be.

This was an age, of course, when so many women were deprived of career opportunities, and yet my grandmother decided that she wanted to be a journalist—and that, by hook or by crook, she was going to elbow her way into the smoke-filled, martini-at-lunch profession teeming with men. She set her reportorial sights on the sprawling industry that was then metamorphosing in her very backyard—Hollywood—and began working at the earliest industry magazines and journals devoted to the screen trade.

Then we’d go for a walk to what was then known as the Century City Mall, on the other side of Santa Monica from the gorgeous L.A. Country Club. She’d regale me with stories about the town’s early days: the powerful players and executives that she had interviewed, and the incredible films that they had made; the time Elvis had stayed at The Beverly Hilton, and so forth. She worked till her very last day as an entertainment reporter at The National Enquirer, by then in its last gasp of dignity, before it became the supermarket province of details on Burt Reynolds’ divorce from Loni Anderson.

I’ve been thinking about those walks recently, both as the calendar strikes mid-summer, and as thousands take to L.A.’s streets for decidedly different reasons. We are living through Hollywood’s longest summer, as my partners have noted. The industry’s history is scattered with examples of labor unrest and economic uncertainty, and yet this moment seems unique: the writers and actors are simultaneously on strike for the first time in some sixty-five years; the media industry’s most powerful C.E.O.s, David Zaslav and Bob Iger, have both signaled that they are focused on doing more with less (and perhaps selling historic assets in the process); everything about A.I. seems weird and potentially scary. Unlike the old days, few companies or creatives seem immune to the transformations.

Of course, this topic has become a profound infatuation of ours at Puck. Matt Belloni, the bard of Hollywood, has led the charge. His latest dispatch, Can Anyone Win Hollywood’s Labor Summerslam?, offers the Boschian view of the competing factions and their objectives. Meanwhile, in a series of pieces, Bill Cohan has captured the agita in and around Disney: Iger, Ego & Superego details how the historic media company can manage its debt journey; The ESPN-to-Comcast Deal Thesis offers one very material possibility. (Dylan Byers’ Panic Inside Bristol has the other side of this story.)

And in The Iger Streaming Beta Blocker, Julia Alexander explains what the future of the company’s streaming assets might look like. For a comprehensive view of the battle lines and the stakes across town, I’d turn your attention to Matt’s absorbing conversation with Jonathan Handel, Burning Questions on Hollywood’s Summer From Hell.

Hollywood’s Summer From Hell is perhaps the most captivating story of our moment—a multi-disciplined hydra of a tale that involves the biggest players in our space, high emotions, and a truly unknowable ending. It’s the story of our time, and precisely what you should expect to be reading about religiously in Puck.

Have a great weekend,
Jon