đĽ As a free subscriber, YOUâRE MISSING OUT! Upgrade now to read all the scoops. You can use Apple Pay and have full access within seconds. Support fearless independent journalism today!
One Last Hurrah: Chairman and CEO of CNN Mark Thompson and CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins attend The New York Times Celebrates 175 Years of Independent Reporting at Spring Studio on September 17, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The New York Times)
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 # 551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonightâs edition, with the future of CNN about to be in David Ellisonâs hands, we examine whatâs next for Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson and his sprawling news network soon to be under Paramountâs control.Â
Also, The New York Times Guild tried taking their plight to the sidewalk outside the Gray Ladyâs 175th birthday bash only to be met by an NYPD officer. Read on to find out how an unsighted permit could have led to a âtrespassing arrest.â
Finally, tonight the Semafor poaching spree continues; we reveal the latest name added to their stable from a competitor.
Mentioned tonight: Alex MacCallum, Kara Swisher, Gerry Cardinale, Mark Thompson, Amanda Wills, Charles Forelle, Marie Beaudette, Ari Emanuel, Lachlan Murdoch, Siobhan McKenna, David Ellison, Larry Ellison, Choire Sicha, Scott Galloway, Peter Kafka, Ellen DiMauro, Liz Hoffman, Rohan Goswami, Ashley Gold, Carolyn Ryan, Marc Lacey, Kevin Bacon, Fran Drescher, Robert Kraft, Peter Kiefer, Caitlin Moran, Amos Barshad, James Warrington, Amy Griffin, Jessica Bennett, Rob Waugh, Brooks Barnes, and more.
CNNâs Ellison Era
CNN staffers will gather tomorrow for a pre-planned town hall, but those hoping for answers about what is to come now that David Ellison has settled legal action paving the way for his acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will be sorely disappointed.Â
CEO Mark Thompson is expected to echo what he wrote in a memo on Monday after news of the settlement broke â which did very little to reassure anxious journalists, many of whom spoke with Breaker in the 24 hours since the settlement was announced.
âMany people feel Mark is âŚ
Support fearless independent journalism.
The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
â Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
â As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
Guilded Age
(Exclusive.) The New York Times Guild declared on Tuesday that they wonât âdig deeper as management lavishes shareholders and celebrities,â a shot at the Gray Ladyâs extravagant 175th anniversary gala Thursday night that drew A-list celebs including Kevin Bacon, Fran Drescher and Robert Kraft.
The Guild were there on the night with chants and flyers to highlight their cause in the bargaining negotiations, only to be met by police outsideâŚÂ
Support fearless independent journalism.
The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
â Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
â As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.