The Business Insider website. (Status)
On Thursday morning, Business Insider staffers gathered at the digital outlet’s lower Manhattan offices for a presentation from chief executive Barbara Peng and her leadership team. It was the company’s first all-hands–style briefing of 2026 and came on the heels of a bruising year for the Axel Springer–owned newsroom, which laid off 21% of its workforce in 2025 while also missing key revenue targets.
Peng, dressed in a cream-colored outfit and armed with a stack of note cards, opened the session by confronting an uncomfortable reality. A recent internal survey, she told staffers, found that leadership had scored poorly on transparency. Indeed, too often, employees have learned consequential news about their own company not from executives, but from outside reporting—including, notably, Status.
The candor suggested Peng is hoping for a reset in 2026. And, by most accounts, she and her leadership team were quite forthcoming on Thursday, doing little to sugarcoat the state of the business…
The rest of this story is for paid subscribers only.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why The Wall Street Journal declared Status a “must-read.”
The POLITICO logo. (Courtesy of POLITICO)
POLITICO's Pivot Point: More change is coming to POLITICO. On Thursday, the Axel Springer-owned outlet's current editor in chief, John Harris, announced in a memo that he will transition out of the role and move into a new position as chairman of the company, where he will try to identify the "next wave of ideas to drive impact and revenue in our subscription business." Harris said he will continue to carry out the duties as top editor until a new person is selected for the job "at some point in 2026." Meanwhile, it's unclear whether POLITICO will promote from within, or attempt to poach someone externally. Harris only said, "When we find the best leader, we will act swiftly." Earlier this week, Harris announced restructuring and buyouts, while the outlet also cuts three percent of its staff.
A CBS News report on the ICE official who shot Renee Good that relied on anonymous sources has drawn "huge internal concern” at the Bari Weiss-led network Jeremy Barr reported, citing internal emails he obtained. [Guardian]
Documented, a non-profit newsroom covering immigration, has been using WhatsApp and WeChat to "connect directly with immigrants," Mia Sato reported. [The Verge]
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a legal motion to unseal the records related to the FBI's raid on a WaPo reporter. [The Wrap]
😶 Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos remained silent for a second day, choosing not to share any words of support for his newsroom.
The WSJ re-upped Editor-In-Chief Emma Tucker, Lachlan Cartwright reported. [Breaker]
Ryan Lizza published part nine of his series about Olivia Nuzzi. It was supposed to be the final entry, but he ended the article writing, “I’m sorry, but there will be a Part 10.” [Telos]
Status Scoop | The main entrance to 1211 Avenue of the Americas, which houses Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and Fox News, is about to undergo major construction as part of a renovation project to modernize the offices. A memo that News Corporation sent to staffers Thursday said that as part of the renovation…
The remainder of this newsletter is for paid subscribers only.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why thousands of industry professionals rely on Status.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
A subscription gets you full access to our nightly newsletter, which includes:
✅ Essential reporting on and analysis of the Fourth Estate, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Information Wars, and more.
✅ Hand-curated links to the most consequential stories moving the needle in the key corridors of the industry.
✅ Unlimited access to our online archive where you can read previous editions of the newsletter.
