HOME
POWER LINES
STORE
GIFT
ABOUT US
Logo
LOG IN
SUBSCRIBE
Logo
SUBSCRIBE

Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem

The progressive media watchdog has been forced to undergo layoffs and take other cost-cutting measures as it continues to battle the “dark MAGA” billionaire in a costly legal war, Status has learned.

Oliver Darcy
Oliver Darcy

Jun 9, 2026

Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem

Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem

The progressive media watchdog has been forced to undergo layoffs and take other cost-cutting measures as it continues to battle the “dark MAGA” billionaire in a costly legal war, Status has learned.

Oliver Darcy
Oliver Darcy

Jun 9, 2026

Media Matters’ Musk Mayhem

In March of this year, an uncomfortable reality dawned on Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, and the non-profit’s leadership team. As he examined the progressive media watchdog’s finances, which had come under enormous strain over the last year amid a costly legal war waged by Elon Musk, Carusone concluded that he would need to make some difficult cuts to the organization.

Soon after, Carusone convened an all-staff Zoom meeting and warned employees of a potential budget shortfall, including the possibility of layoffs. Weeks later, he confirmed that Media Matters would need to reduce costs, but said he wanted to do so as humanely as possible. Rather than impose blanket layoffs, Carusone encouraged employees who expected to leave the organization within the next 12 to 18 months to share their plans with him.

Ultimately, after a series of conversations and one-on-ones, Carusone was forced to make difficult choices. Last month, according to people familiar with the matter, Media Matters…

The rest of this story is for paid subscribers only.

Unlock the Rest

Already a subscriber? Sign in.

Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why The Wall Street Journal declared Status a “must-read.”

Current and former "60 Minutes" correspondents Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Scott Pelley. (Photo by Jai Lennard/CBS)

Stahl Speaks Out: For the first time since the implosion at “60 Minutes,” Lesley Stahl is speaking publicly about the turmoil that has engulfed the storied newsmagazine under Bari Weiss. In an interview with Puck’s Bill Cohan, Stahl described Weiss’ purge of the show’s executive producer, three correspondents, and other top staff as “the hardest chapter of my career” and…

The remainder of this newsletter is for paid subscribers only.

Unlock the Rest

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.

Become a Member

Keep reading

VIEW MORE
caret-right
About Us
arrow-right
Archive
arrow-right
Go Premium
arrow-right
Quick Links

Home

Power Lines

Archive

Shop

Gift

About Us

Advertise With Us

Authors

Oliver Darcy

Jon Passantino

Natalie Korach

Brian Lowry

Status is the definitive nightly briefing that cuts through the noise to inform readers about what is really happening in the corridors of media power.

© 2026 Status News Inc..
beehiivPowered by beehiiv