Breaking the News

Recorded live Friday October 23, 2026 -- Christiane Amanpour is leaving CNN after 42 years, and it is no coincidence that she’s walking out the door just as the Ellison-Skydance takeover closes in. Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis follow the money behind the deal: Gulf sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE financing the acquisition, the same UAE sheikh now tied to a reported slush fund that funneled money to Jared Kushner through an Azerbaijani bank, and a Kremlin meeting where Putin offered a sanctioned oil company to the very same investors. Jeff lays out why Larry Ellison’s debt load makes CNN and CBS a risk to the whole economy, and why Paramount’s reported eight-figure bid for an unreleased Lindsey Graham documentary looks like a catch and kill.
Then Trump melts down on the South Lawn when an NBC reporter asks whether the sexual abuse allegations against Amy Acton’s stepfather mean anything to him, and the three draw the through line nobody in legacy media will: the Ramaswamy ad, the Epstein files, the Lindsey Graham allegations, and a Republican Party that keeps asking women to look the other way. Julie, who worked alongside Graham to pass the Ending Forced Arbitration Act and the Speak Out Act, explains why two things can be true at once.
Plus: YouTube now takes 15 percent of all American TV time, an indie filmmaker is selling his movie for $4.99 straight to fans https://lonelyfeaturefilm.com, and Jeff gives Julie and Michelle homework with You Can See Everything, the Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim film about Elizabeth Holmes. https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/you-can-see-everything-box-office-huge-second-weekend-clayface-leads-1236930604/
Breaking the News is 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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Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis break down the turmoil at CBS and 60 Minutes, Lisa Kennedy Montgomery’s Daily Mail column about Kimberly Guilfoyle, and The New York Times coverage they say is failing readers, from Elizabeth Bumiller’s Guilfoyle profile to Tom Friedman’s “democracy for diesel” column and a video debate between Times standards editor Patrick Healy and critic Mark Jacob. They also talk about the independent media filling the gap.
Breaking the News airs live Fridays at 11am ET on YouTube and Substack.
Breaking the News is a weekly conversation about the stories shaping American politics and media, hosted by Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis. Every Friday, the three break down the week’s biggest headlines with the sharp, unfiltered perspective of people who’ve spent careers inside politics, journalism, media criticism, and entertainment — no both-sidesing, no false balance, just a clear-eyed read on what actually happened and why it matters.
Timestamps: use the same list as the YouTube version above.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 | Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork | Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com
Part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture.

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.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nEYLKKfOvZyIdGCLNiraQ Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork  Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com
 
0:00 Opening1:10 Welcome2:25 The deal is done3:43 Gulf money5:49 Debt and the distressed-debt playbook8:01 Fox News turns 3016:37 CNN, CBS, and Barry Weiss21:06 Soft power and the next Bond villain26:15 The 2028 wish list32:37 Do TV ads still work?39:23 The Steve Hilton ad47:18 Don Lemon for president?51:44 Jeff’s book, Hot Type53:51 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 open1:10 Welcome1:49 The Cornell Daily Sun students who broke the Cornell 7 story3:34 Jeff on fearless student journalism7:04 Julie on Title IX failures and the cover-up culture9:40 Hochul, NDAs, and the special prosecutor11:15 Michelle on storytelling and the Cornell Sun's independence12:44 Cornell Student Journalists Qusba and Dasser on CNN15:58 The Ellisons, CNN, and Mark Thompson24:30 Who still watches cable news?28:12 Jeff's book plug and the myth of mass media31:38 Condé Nast, Vogue, and Sex and the City --  Dinosaurs of the Past35:00 The tech oligarch films36:30 Paramount's Lindsey Graham documentary37:30 How NDAs (About NDAs!) killed Julie's documentary41:37 Distribution, open source, and the future of independent media45:42 Somebody Feed Phil goes to YouTube, and award season campaigns50:18 Women's basketball and Jack Smith,  signoff
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Recorded live Friday September 25, 2026Julie 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/id6754000270Spotify: search "The Mayday Network"Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetworkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetworkThreads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetworkWebsite: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com
Timestamps:0:00 Cold open1:20 Rob Bonta signs off on Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger (teased)2:01 Bari Weiss's tribute to Peter Thiel in Berlin5:43 Who is Matthias Döpfner?19:09 Peter Thiel on his upbringing, pressed on his "German" identity56:40 Back to Rob Bonta and the merger fallout1:06:42 Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary — Musk reportedly trying to block release

This week on Breaking the News, Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis dig into a stacked week: a surprisingly solid Emmys night, AI's growing shadow over Hollywood and publishing, Sydney Sweeney's sports-betting ad and whether it's actually a shrewd business move, and the slow unraveling of CBS's 60 Minutes under Barry Weiss. And yes, Michelle gushes about Matthew Rhys's three-Emmy sweep, because we love him and always will. They also break down the widely panned Pete Hegseth pilot-rescue interview, the buried New Yorker report on Jared Kushner and Trump-world's business dealings with Putin, and why the New York Times just hired its fourth white guy in a row to cover media. Plus, a preview of the JD Vance Vanity Fair deep dive still to come.
00:00 – Cold open01:10 – Show intro, Substack frustrations02:51 – Emmys recap begins03:59 – The Emmys' big sweep, discussed05:54 – Diversity critique of this year's winners06:30 – Female winners all over 50, Mariska Hargitay's big year07:34 – Matthew Rhys wins three Emmys — "we love him here for other reasons" 🥰09:09 – Paramount threatens to leave California over blocked Warner Bros. Discovery merger10:36 – AI's effect on Hollywood economics; auditions on tape now13:07 – Daniel Silva's novels and the "AI could write the sequel" thought experiment16:33 – Jeff's AI-phishing scam story (a fake publisher impersonation)18:19 – Julie's unpublished #MeToo book19:40 – The vanishing gatekeepers debate21:11 – Jeff's own publishing horror story23:55 – Practical Magic 2 and "did AI write this script?"24:09 – Sydney Sweeney's sports-betting ad26:52 – Is this actually a smart business move?29:17 – The American Eagle "good genes" ad backlash, revisited30:07 – Sports betting and the youth gambling problem31:57 – 60 Minutes ratings schadenfreude and the Barry Weiss era33:53 – The correspondents pushed out: Tanya Simon, Cecilia Vega, Sharon Alfonsi, Scott Pelley34:57 – Ross Douthat's incentives36:47 – The Patrick Clancy interview and why the choice of interviewer is the real story41:59 – Clip: Patrick Clancy's new wife on 60 Minutes43:29 – The "own the libs" theory44:34 – The actual ratings collapse, by the numbers49:39 – Clip: Pete Hegseth and the rescued pilot, "proudest dad moment"52:08 – Why Norah O'Donnell never asked the hard question59:29 – What should have been asked instead1:03:00 – Clip: the second Hegseth segment, the Iranian search party1:07:00 – Barry Weiss, Hegseth, and his wife Jennifer1:11:00 – Hegseth's approval numbers are brutal1:13:00 – Why Trump keeps him around anyway1:16:00 – JD Vance's own Iraq-era hypocrisy, tied in1:17:00 – Are we already in World War III?1:19:00 – The New Yorker's buried Kushner-Russia bombshell1:22:00 – NYT's own headline on Trump dangling business deals to Putin1:24:00 – Oliver Darcy's Status launch event1:27:00 – ProPublica's Don Jr. wedding/Russian-asset scoop1:29:00 – Brendan Carr, the FCC, and Qatar's outsized lobbying power1:31:00 – NYT hires its fourth white guy in a row to cover media1:35:00 – NYT's 175th anniversary party — who wasn't invited1:36:00 – Wrap-up and a JD Vance preview
Breaking the News is a weekly conversation about the stories shaping American politics and media, hosted by Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis. Every Friday, the three break down the week's biggest headlines with the sharp, unfiltered perspective of people who've spent careers inside politics, journalism, media criticism, and entertainment — no both-sidesing, no false balance, just a clear-eyed read on what actually happened and why it matters. Part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led media outlet covering politics, news, media, and culture.
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/id6754000270Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nEYLKKfOvZyIdGCLNiraQSubstack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetworkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetworkThreads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetworkWebsite: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com

Recorded live on September 11, 2026On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis share where they were that day and how the last 25 years have changed the way they see it. Jeff was under the World Trade Center that morning, on the last PATH train in before the towers fell, and stayed to report through the day — his account anchors the conversation. Julie was working in the U.S. Senate in Washington; Michelle was a college sophomore in upstate New York. Together they talk about nostalgia as a "dangerous drug," the toxic air and cancers that followed, the 9/11 Memorial, and what it means to keep telling these stories 25 years later.Read Jeff's original reporting from that day, published in the Jersey Journal in 2001:https://www.nj.com/the_jersey_journal_remembers_911/2001/09/a_journey_through_hell.htmlRead Jeff's 2025 reflection on Medium:https://medium.com/whither-news/25-years-900e543b3e52Chapters:00:00 – Cold open01:10 – Show intro: 25 years after 9/1101:54 – Jeff Jarvis: under the towers10:03 – Jeff's reflection, 25 years later11:27 – Michelle: watching from upstate New York19:45 – Julie: working in the U.S. Senate25:19 – No partisanship that day, no hot takes28:37 – Driving past the burning Pentagon29:07 – The ferry into Manhattan32:02 – What 9/11 did to the country36:56 – Bush, Iraq, and "out of chaos comes opportunity"40:16 – The NYT headline: "Trump personifies a nation moving on"44:04 – Conservatism, nostalgia, and false narratives47:37 – The tourist's selfie at Zuccotti Park53:36 – The toxic air and the cancers that followed59:59 – Mamdani's air-quality documents and Steve Witkoff1:01:53 – The 9/11 Memorial1:09:14 – On patriotism and disappointment1:12:00 – Closing thoughts: why we keep telling these storiesThe Mayday Network: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetworkWebsite: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com

Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis break down the media's split-screen response to Trump's primetime election speech, from ABC and NBC's blackout to CBS airing it with a disclaimer before getting grilled on air over the decision. They argue the real story isn't Trump's evidence, which collapsed on contact, but a president openly threatening ABC and NBC's broadcast licenses through FCC chair Brendan Carr, and the chilling effect spreading through both parties, from threatened poll workers to a Supreme Court justice describing a bulletproof vest. Plus, Pete Hegseth's testosterone policy, Gretchen Carlson's ten-years-later Me Too op-ed, and Julie's underreported column on the UAE-backed atrocities in Darfur.
Breaking the News with Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis.
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Also streaming now: The Illegals — The Americans Rewatch Podcast. Watch with our expert panel here: 🎬 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkgsO7fbBme9Hjq7PBtjcdbI34Z9cbRU2

Scott Pelley cross-examined his own network on the way out the door — and he's not going to stop speaking out anytime soon. 
This week on Breaking the News, Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis break down what the demolition of Sixty Minutes actually means, why the Ellisons bought Paramount with nothing to lose, and what happens when CNN becomes the next test case. 
Plus: Dylan Byers, the White House Correspondents' Dinner nobody asked for, and why the Graham Platner situation puts Democratic women in yet another impossible position.

The takedown of 60 Minutes. Who ordered it, who carried it out, and what happens next — Breaking the News with Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis.Air Date: Friday May 29, 2026