Jay Penske. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Last Friday, as Penske Media Corporation employees were preparing to tune out for the weekend, a note from Jay Penske hit their inboxes. The media mogul was writing to alert staffers to an important forthcoming change at the publishing and events powerhouse, which owns brands like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Rolling Stone, and Billboard as well as marquee events such as South by Southwest and the Golden Globes.
“As we move into the latter half of the year at PMC, I want to share some important insights and strategic direction that will shape how PMC and each of its businesses will operate for the remainder of 2025 and beyond,” Penske wrote in the memo, obtained by Status. “This guidance comes after careful observation and consideration of how to enhance our culture and competitive advantages in a time of accelerating change.”
Then came the news: starting this fall, all employees across the company will be required to…
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Shari Redstone (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Shari Breaks Her Silence: Former Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone delivered her first comments about the company's "60 Minutes" settlement with Donald Trump, by way of a James B. Stewart piece published Tuesday in The NYT. Throughout the merger process, Redstone had been granting Stewart interviews, under the condition that they would not be made public until after the merger closed. In one of the interviews, Redstone told Stewart that the decision to bend the knee to Trump and settle what her own company had called a "meritless" lawsuit was a "no brainer." After she was informed of the $16 million price tag, Redstone told Stewart she was "blown away" that it did not come at a much higher price. “How did they do it?” she said. “I don’t know, and I didn’t ask.” Redstone also addressed Trump's insistence that he has a side deal with new boss David Ellison for CBS to run millions in PSAs for causes he supports. "I hope it isn't true," Redstone said.
► Stewart’s piece treated Redstone with unusual generosity. Despite having thoroughly disgraced herself in front of the entire media industry, Redstone was treated to an oddly indulgent write-up—one that bent over backward to frame the events of the last year with her side of the story. The result read like a sympathetic brief for a media heiress desperate to salvage her reputation.
Several major philanthropic organizations said they will commit about $37 million in funding to help public media stations imperiled by Congress ripping away their funding. [WaPo]
MSNBC plans to spend $20 million on its advertising campaign rebranding itself as MS NOW, Lachlan Cartwright reported. [Breaker]
Bret Baier explained why he was pulled over by an officer, a moment captured on video and uploaded online: "I picked up my ringing phone as I drove past an officer while driving my wife’s car in Georgetown." [The Wrap]
✂ Cuts, cuts, cuts: Refinery 29 "quietly laid off staff as it plans to shutter its U.K. office," Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn reported. [Axios]
Reuters hired Craig Timbert as Washington bureau chief. [TBN]
POLITICO named Francesca Barber as executive vice president of A.I. and innovation. [POLITICO]
Chicago Public Media tapped Kimbriell Kelly as its editor in chief. [Sun Times]
The Guardian hired George Zornick to lead its U.S. politics enterprise team; the outlet also welcomed Aram Roston as senior reporter. [Guardian]
Forbes selected Elise Flick as interim communications director.
The NYT hired Keith Collins as senior staff editor for graphics. [NYT]
Megyn Kelly hosts Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Screen grab)
Megyn and Marjorie: Megyn Kelly, who likes to brand herself as a fearless truth teller, instead played hype woman on Tuesday by giving conspiracy-monger Marjorie Taylor Greene a warm and fuzzy platform. Kelly introduced Greene as merely a “lightning rod” with “epic fights on Capitol Hill,” scrubbing away years of unhinged rhetoric. During the lengthy interview, Kelly…
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