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Marky Mark and the Holy Bunch: Pope Francis meets with CNN CEO Sir Mark Thompson during an audience at Casa Santa Marta on February 14, 2025. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
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 tonight’s edition, with the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery deal on pause, CNN CEO Mark Thompson has rallied his senior leadership, praising their journalistic efforts in the face of the merger uncertainty. But Thompson also acknowledged the mounting stress they face and made a plea to stem any division amongst the ranks. Read on for more from the meeting.
Plus who will be the next editor of The New York Times Book Review? Breaker’s list of contenders for the plum role features a number of staff from within The Gray Lady. But could it be a dark horse from the outside, including talent from The New Yorker or The Atlantic, that takes the top gig?
Also, Vanity Fair generated buzz this week with an essay from Ruby Rippey, the woman involved in an affair with Gov. Gavin Newsom, some 20 years ago. It’s a raw and unflinching read, but could it only be a small part of a much larger story? Breaker has details on the bigger deal Rippey is hoping to land off the back of her VF spread.
Finally, it’s Thursday, which means Journo (and Comms) Jobs is back. Tonight we have gigs at The Atlantic, TED, Bloomberg, CNN, NYT Cooking, Fox, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and Hearst Magazines. Plus internship opportunities at: CNN, Punchbowl News and The Moth.
Mentioned tonight: Alex MacCallum, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling, Amy Entelis, Choire Sicha, Amanda Wills, Bari Weiss, David Ellison, Emma Tucker, Rupert Murdoch, Casey Wasserman, Brendan Carr, David Kuhn, Ruby Rippey, Jeffrey Trachtenberg, Liz Harris, John Williams, Boris Kachka, Gilbert Cruz, Tina Jordan, Phil Liggett, Maddy Varner, Noah Shachtman, Claire Howorth, Nancy Scola, Ali Swenson, Charlotte Tobitt, Elias Schisgall, Shawn McCreesh, Caroline Davies, Alexandra Alter, Erik P. Bucy, Milad Jalalian Ebrahim, and more
CNN’s Question Mark
(Exclusive.) On Wednesday afternoon, CNN CEO Mark Thompson gathered his senior staff over Zoom for an update on where the Paramount/WBD merger stands.
The meeting followed Friday's announcement from Paramount that they had agreed to postpone their $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until June at the latest, while an antitrust trial plays out.
Thompson gave an overview of the deal's legal landscape and had a message to his senior leadership…
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⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
Book ‘Em Daddy
(Exclusive.) It is the most prized position in the literary and cultural world: the editor of the Times Book Review.
The review has been headed up by deputy Tina Jordan following Gilbert Cruz’s move to be Canon editor last month (Before Cruz was appointed to the job, it was offered to The Atlantic’s Scott Stosell, who turned it down, according to people familiar with the situation).
Breaker has learned that among the contenders are …
Support fearless independent journalism.
The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
⁘ Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.