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Bilton Overtime: Nick Bilton attends a reception honoring Weijia Jiang, the 2025-2026 president of the White House Correspondents' Association, at the British Ambassador's Residence in Washington, DC on July 23, 2026. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for WHC Insider and Spotify)
Welcome to the latest edition of Breaker. If this email has been forwarded, you can subscribe here and send your questions and complaints here. If you have a tip contact the 24/7 Breaker Tip Hotline via text or Signal at #551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonight's edition, as departed “60 Minutes” staff gathered to bid farewell to fired colleagues, new EP Nick Bilton has been considering a number of big-name comedians to sign on to the show. Find out tonight who the funnymen are and which much-loved “60 Minutes” segment he wants them to host.
Also, a new player in the sports media space has hit the court with the arrival of Underscore Media. The new venture is helmed by industry veterans with decades of experience reporting for Sports Illustrated, WFAN and The Ringer. Find out what they’re hoping will set them apart as we speak to the co-founder and CEO in tonight’s Breaker.
Plus former Teneo chairman Declan Kelly is making inroads in the financial and crisis PR game, poaching from a direct competitor; Jeffrey Goldberg has a raft of new hires at the Atlantic, and is Puck’s Jon Kelly stuck between two ferns?
Finally, we have a bumper reading, listening and watching list to keep you up to speed on the latest headlines from the world of media and power.
Mentioned tonight: Bari Weiss, Tanya Simon, Nick Bilton, Anderson Cooper, Bill Owens, Jeff Fager, Jonathan LaPook, Scott Pelley, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, Draggan Mihailovich, Guy Campanile, Matthew Polevoy, Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, Matt Gutman, Ken Burns, Ben Smith, Anna Wintour, Emma Tucker, Alex Sherman, Nick Summers, Talya Zax, Declan Kelly, Brian Moynihan, Ruthie Rogers, Sal Licata, Jimmy Traina, John Jastremski, Steve Hirsch, Lauren Hirsch, Roman Kemp, Lauren Laverne, Tiffany Hsu, Nilay Patel, Anna Silman, Bill Grueskin, Mark Walters, Benjamin Mullin, Geoff Bennett, Sam Roberts, Hiroki Totoki, Jason Douglas, Ela Jalil, Sophie Culpepper, Jessica Flint, Sebastian Modak, Yeganeh Torbati, Mahdi Ahmadi, Alyssa Katz, Stephen Battaglio, Samira Said, Sara Fischer, Jeffrey Goldberg, Gabby Deutch, Ian Bogost, Benjamin Spicehandler, Danya Al-Qattan, and more.
Clocked Out
(Exclusive.) Current and former “60 Minutes” staffers gathered on Thursday night at the Central Park West home of CBS News medical expert Dr Jonathan LaPook to celebrate “the fired six” colleagues who were victims of “Black Thursday” when Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss swung the axe.
Executive Producer Tanya Simon, her deputy Executive Editor Draggan Mihailovich, Producers Guy Campanile and Matthew Polevoy, along with Correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega were all fired from the show to make way for new EP Nick Bilton and a cast of new correspondents.
Guests described the event as "awkward and uncomfortable.” “There were a lot of unhappy people,” one person familiar with the shindig told Breaker.
Vega and Alfonsi were not present as they were traveling, nor was former Correspondent Anderson Cooper, who was on air with his CNN show. Also missing in action: former EP’s Bill Owens and Jeff Fager.
Former Correspondent Scott Pelley as well as current Correspondents, Lesley Stahl and Bill Whitaker, were also there, with the latter giving a speech toasting his departed colleagues and criticizing …
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