Swalwell Aftershocks & CinemaCon Civil War

Wall Street’s $50B Paradox, Bryanboy on Chanel, Media’s A.I. Botpocalypse

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know…

In the Room: Following Google’s introduction of A.I. summaries, nearly 60 percent of searches now result in zero clicks—and that’s not the only stat keeping media executives up at night. Julia Alexander breaks down how publishers can optimize their content for the “zombie internet,” in which human web traffic is replaced by bots. [Read More]
Dry Powder: Despite the war in Iran, rising inflation, and Trump’s various beefs with the pope and Fed chair, Wall Street just posted its most profitable quarter in history. Bill Cohan convenes top financial analysts to dissect the Big Five banks’ nearly $50 billion first-quarter profit. [Read More]
The Best & The Brightest: In the week since Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned in disgrace, Hill insiders have been wondering how his alleged misdeeds remained hidden for so long. Leigh Ann Caldwell investigates what the wreckage reveals about the broader dysfunction within congressional office culture. [Read More]
Wall Power: After Artsy and Artnet announced their merger last Wednesday, the latter’s editor-in-chief was summarily defenestrated, writers in Asia and Germany were put to pasture, and the art world was buzzing with speculation. Marion Maneker gets Artsy C.E.O. Jeff Yin on the record about the cuts, the combined company’s A.I. ambitions, and the market’s digital future. [Read More]
Line Sheet: While Chanel’s 2026 results won’t be public until June of 2027, the Matthieu Blazy phenomenon is already undeniable. Lauren Sherman goes deep with uber-influencer Bryan “Bryanboy” Yambao on the brand’s chokehold on the industry, and whether it offers a blueprint for luxury’s recovery. [Read More]

Meanwhile, on the pods…

The Town: Matt Belloni is joined by The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins from The Big Picture to recap their trip to CinemaCon and rank the presentations from the major movie studios. [Listen Here]
The Powers That Be: Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly chew over the lingering threads of The Athletic’s Dianna Russini scandalette, before discussing the Hollywood stars trying to undo David Ellison’s WarnerMount megadeal. [Listen Here]

Finally…

Thanks to the Association of American Railroads for their partnership on the latest Puck Power Breakfast, in which Leigh Ann sat down with Indiana Sen. Todd Young to discuss Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East, his views on Congress’s attempts to rein in the president, his beefs with various loudmouthed colleagues, and much more. Read here or listen here.

MEDIA

Julia Alexander

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.

WALL STREET

William D. Cohan

The Wall Street Iran Bounce

The economy is slowing and the Middle East is on fire, but the Big Five banks are printing record profits and stock markets keep hitting new highs. Is this the last song before the music stops, or were the bears wrong all along?

WASHINGTON

Leigh Ann Caldwell

The Swalwell Files

Eric Swalwell’s implosion, as sudden as it was overdue, is less a scandal than a reminder that Washington’s old boys’ club still confuses proximity to power with immunity from consequence.

ART

Marion Maneker

The Artnet of the Deal

The combination of Artsy and Artnet has placed Jeff Yin in charge of a combined art-market platform with new potential—an A.I.-powered auction database, merged gallery networks, and a slimmed-down newsroom. Can his vision survive contact with reality?

FASHION

Lauren Sherman

The Week in Shopping: The Chanel Spell

The open question hanging over every analyst call and drinks huddle is whether Blazy’s first ready-to-wear collection is signaling a broader reset for luxury—or just purring along in its own rarefied lane.

HOLLYWOOD

Matthew Belloni

Nolan, Spielberg, Ellison, Cruise (!) & The CinemaCon Studio Power Rankings

Matt is joined by The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins from The Big Picture to recap their trip to CinemaCon in Las Vegas and rank the presentations from the major movie studios. They discuss the trailers and footage that wowed people the most, announcements that fell flat, who brought the most star power, David Ellison’s surprise appearance and commitment to movie theaters, and much more.

MEDIA

Peter Hamby

Jon Kelly

The Powers that Be Daily, Starring Peter Hamby

Media Monday: The Times’s Russini Subplot & Ellison’s Antagonists

Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby pick over the lingering threads of the Dianna Russini scandalette and why it’s driving some people at the Times nuts. Then the duo turn their attention to David Ellison’s aborted Warners victory lap and all the stars trying to undo his megadeal.

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