The Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Skydance merger is complete, and Julie Roginsky and Jeff Jarvis break down what it means when the Ellison family, Trump-friendly money, and financing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE end up controlling so much of America’s soft power. They dig into the debt load, the hedge fund and private equity playbook that already hollowed out newspapers and radio, and the open question of whether CNN, CBS, and HBO can still tell stories that challenge the powerful.

Then it’s Fox News at thirty years old, and Julie shares what she saw from the inside about how “debate” gets framed before anyone goes on air. Plus Barry Weiss’s future at CBS, the 2028 Democratic wish list (Ossoff, Ro Khanna, AOC, Rahm Emanuel, and more), whether broadcast ads still move voters or field operations matter more, a Steve Hilton campaign ad that has to be seen to be believed, Karoline Leavitt’s move to Fox News, and Don Lemon’s talk of a presidential run.

This week’s episode was pre-recorded on Thursday. Michelle Kinney is producing, because the construction in her apartment is so loud that putting her on mic would have been a hostage situation for your ears.

Jeff’s new book, Hot Type, is out now, and he’s speaking Saturday at 10 a.m. at Historic New England in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Details and signed copies are at www.jeffjarvis.com.

Breaking the News is a weekly conversation about the stories shaping American politics and media, with Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis. Part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture.

Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day.

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0:00 Opening 1:10 Welcome 2:25 The deal is done 3:43 Gulf money 5:49 Debt and the distressed-debt playbook 8:01 Fox News turns 30 16:37 CNN, CBS, and Barry Weiss 21:06 Soft power and the next Bond villain 26:15 The 2028 wish list 32:37 Do TV ads still work? 39:23 The Steve Hilton ad 47:18 Don Lemon for president? 51:44 Jeff’s book, Hot Type 53:51 Why Mayday exists

Student journalists at The Cornell Daily Sun did what far bigger newsrooms wouldn't. They stayed on the Cornell 7 story for two years, named the seven accused men, protected the woman who came forward, and refused to soften the details. Michelle Kinney, Julie Roginsky, and Jeff Jarvis open Breaking the News by honoring Cereese Qusba and Sophia Dasser, the two young women who broke the story, and by talking about the failures of Title IX, New York's lack of an NDA ban, and the institutions built to look away.

From there, the three turn to the media landscape those students are walking into. The Ellisons are about to take over CNN, Mark Thompson is staying on, and the open question is what comes next: layoffs, a heavy debt load, Trump's leverage over broadcast licenses, and an audience that has already moved on. Along the way, they get into why trending on Twitter was always a myth, what Condé Nast's latest move says about print, the wave of tech oligarch films from Aaron Sorkin and Alex Gibney, a Paramount documentary deal the panel reads as a possible catch and kill, how NDAs sank Julie's own documentary at the streamers, and why Somebody Feed Phil moving to YouTube may signal where independent work is headed.

This episode was pre-recorded, so news may have moved since taping.

Part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture.

0:00 Cold open 1:10 Welcome 1:49 The Cornell Daily Sun students who broke the Cornell 7 story 3:34 Jeff on fearless student journalism 7:04 Julie on Title IX failures and the cover-up culture 9:40 Hochul, NDAs, and the special prosecutor 11:15 Michelle on storytelling and the Cornell Sun's independence 12:44 Cornell Student Journalists Qusba and Dasser on CNN 15:58 The Ellisons, CNN, and Mark Thompson 24:30 Who still watches cable news? 28:12 Jeff's book plug and the myth of mass media 31:38 Condé Nast, Vogue, and Sex and the City -- Dinosaurs of the Past 35:00 The tech oligarch films 36:30 Paramount's Lindsey Graham documentary 37:30 How NDAs (About NDAs!) killed Julie's documentary 41:37 Distribution, open source, and the future of independent media 45:42 Somebody Feed Phil goes to YouTube, and award season campaigns 50:18 Women's basketball and Jack Smith, signoff

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Recorded live Friday September 25, 2026 Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis break down a brutal week for the free press. Axel Springer chief Matthias Döpfner publicly honored Trump megadonor Peter Thiel in Berlin — with Bari Weiss delivering the tribute — while dismissing his own Politico and Business Insider staffers who objected. Jeff, who's spent real time around Döpfner (at Davos! lol), explains exactly what kind of provocateur he is and why the timing (and his AI ambitions for the newsroom) should worry anyone who reads Politico's Playbook.

Plus: California AG Rob Bonta signs off on the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger, and what that means for CNN, HBO, and the studios going forward. And Alex Gibney's nearly three-hour Elon Musk documentary is headed for domestic release next month — while Musk reportedly tries to block the film and choke off its international distribution.

Breaking the News airs live — new episodes every week on The Mayday Network YouTube channel, wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 Spotify: search "The Mayday Network" Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com

Timestamps: 0:00 Cold open 1:20 Rob Bonta signs off on Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger (teased) 2:01 Bari Weiss's tribute to Peter Thiel in Berlin 5:43 Who is Matthias Döpfner? 19:09 Peter Thiel on his upbringing, pressed on his "German" identity 56:40 Back to Rob Bonta and the merger fallout 1:06:42 Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary — Musk reportedly trying to block release