Cheers! Breaker sends a huge thank you to everyone who came along to our very first Bevvy’s & Burritos With Breaker at Super Burrito in Greenwich Village Wednesday.
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 today’s edition, to mark the return of The Breaker Pod, we have a rare free edition of Breaker.
Joe Scarborough is our guest for the premiere of season two, recorded live from downtown Manhattan. The Morning Joe co-host didn’t hold back, talking about the future of media (including NBC), why he still talks to Donald Trump, and his thoughts on Bari Weiss’ takeover of CBS News.
Plus, Breaker held its inaugural Bevvy’s and Burritos event on Wednesday night – a mix of hacks and flacks, execs and editors turned out to enjoy bevvies, burritos, and plenty of banter, of course. See who was there below.
Plus, it is Thursday, which means Journo Jobs is back. Tonight, we have gigs at: The California Post, CBS News, NBC News, Condé Nast, and The Guardian.
The Breaker Pod Returns With Joe Scarborough
The Breaker Pod is back for season 2, and we’re kicking it off with a bang as Breaker sits down with MSNBC's Morning Joe co-host, Joe Scarborough.
From The Bilt Neighbourhood Cafe in Noho (Bilt has grown to over 5 million members who earn what The Points Guy calls the most valuable points available), Scarborough didn’t pull any punches about the burning media topics. Here are some highlights.
THE FUTURE OF MEDIA
“The media landscape right now. It's the Wild West,” Scarborough told us.
“So what does it mean to be CNN? What does it mean to be CBS News? What does it mean to be NBC or MSNBC? Bari Weiss and people at CBS News decide what that means over the next two, three, four years.”
“You've got to be entrepreneurial. You've got to constantly be looking around the corner. You can't go by the old benchmarks to say, Oh, well, this was a success in 1996 or 1997.”
“You know, it's so funny, a lot of people in these big corporations, you know, if I ever wanted to knock somebody at NBC, I'm not knocking NBC here. They're operating like Seinfeld is still on. Right?”
STEPHEN COLBERT, JIMMY KIMMEL, AND FREE SPEECH
“It's so shortsighted. So what happens? You go after Stephen Colbert, right? Paramount wants the merger to go through, right? They take Stephen Colbert off, and what happens? They sign Trey Parker and Matt Stone for like billions of dollars, who do things that are 8,000 times worse than Stephen Colbert would ever do, it's the number one streaming thing on Paramount at all times, I mean, those clips are beyond viral, so it's always whack-a-mole.”
“So let's say you get Jimmy Kimmel, and you get Jimmy Fallon. You get everybody off. What have you done? Mm-hmm. You have now created the opportunity for them to create something on YouTube. Where they can South Park you every day!”
THE TABLOIDS
“You know what's so funny is one time Mika (Brzezinski), this is, I think, after we went to Mar-a-Lago and everybody was melting down. At one point, Mika was turning her eyes to look at the monitor, to check her hair, and the camera caught her. I think it was the Daily Mail or the New York Post or somebody going, “Mika enraged at Joe”, and I said to her, "that's pretty funny when you can just like check your hair and it's a headline!”
TRUMP AND EPSTEIN
“I just don't think there's ever going to be a smoking gun on Donald Trump and Epstein.”
“Simply because if there were one, somebody would've leaked into the New York Times in 2021.”
TALKING TO TRUMP
“We've known each other for a very long time. We talk and communicate, and I try to get insight on what's going on.”
“For instance, whether it's on Ukraine, I called him, I think after Anchorage, to call and say, what are you doing? What's going on? And of course, it’s all, “you all are so unfair.” You know, we go through that dance and everything. “Why are you all so mean, why are you so tough?” Or whatever.”
“But then we talk and I try to figure out where he's going, what can I do that will help my viewers understand what's going on and what's coming up? And I think in that case, especially with Ukraine, that helped.”
“Same thing with what's happening in the Middle East, I communicate with people of the administration. I talked to him to see exactly what the plan was and try to figure out what was the relationship with Netanyahu? Where was it going? And of course, I never get completely straight answers.”
BARI WEISS AND CBS NEWS
“You look at Bari, she's an entrepreneur. Look what she did with The Free Press.”
“I've known Bari for a long time, got great respect for her entrepreneurial views. You know, Bari came along with The Free Press at a time when people in the media were not saying what most Americans were saying when sort of political correctness, or I hate to use the term wokeness, was, really sort of at the height of cancel culture. And people were, were saying outrageous things, and nobody in the media was calling them on it. She started The Free Press, and the timing there was perfect 'cause there was a great audience for that.”
“I think the challenge is where, where is that audience going to be a year from now? Where's the next opportunity? Where's the next cutting edge? That's gonna be the real challenge. It's also gonna be very interesting just to see her vision, where she takes.”
THE FUTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
“I don't know what the Democratic Party is right now.”
“There's a reason why. If they have a 24, 25% approval rating, what are they, what do they stand for? What are they willing to fight for? I think a lot of that got kind of jumbled up in the 1990s when you had, and I'm not knocking him, this is what Republicans would want, but when you had sort of a Robert Rubin Democrats taking over the party of Bill Clinton, you had a lot of working class people that, that lost a home.”
“It doesn't make sense that billionaires are getting massive tax cuts that multinational corporations are getting massive tax cuts, that Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk had been getting massive tax cuts, and when Democrats were in power, they had a chance, they carried the interest loophole, they had a chance to raise taxes on billionaires.”
We have a stellar line-up of guests to come, so make sure you check us out and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods.
Bevvy’s & Burritos With Breaker
On Wednesday night, Breaker took over Super Burrito in The Village for our first event – Bevvy’s and Burritos with Breaker to toast the relaunch of The Breaker Pod.
From The New York Times to The New York Post, WME to CAA, Vanity Fair to The New Yorker, the worlds of media, politics, and culture collided for an old-school downtown media party.
SPOTTED: Aidan McLaughlin, Alethea Jadick, Alex Vadukul, Ali Zelenko, Alison Pepper, Alison Rudnick, Amber de Botton, Amber Sutherland-Namako, Amol Sharma, Anna Delvey, Andrew Kirell, Aude White, Ben Teller, Blake Saunders, Bradley Singer, Brian Morrissey, Brian Niemietz, Brian Stelter, Cami Fateh, Carl Swanson, Christa Robinson, Claire Howorth, Clare Malone, Corbin Boiles, Dana Brown, Daniel Attia, Danielle Carrig, Dave Weigel, David Jeans, David Mack, David Raleigh, Eric Koch, Erik Maza, Erin Zimmerman, Foster Kamer, Gabrielle Lyons, Gabe Brotman, Hadas Gold, Hugh Dougherty, Hugo Lowell, Irena Briganti, Jack Walker, Janice Min, Jannon McCabe, Jason Rapp, Jesse McKinley, Jim Rutenberg, Jodi Naglie, Josh Kaplan, Juda Engelemeyer, Julie Dressner, Justin Miller, Justin Silverman, Justin Smith, Katie Drummond, Kaitlyn Kurosky, Katie Robertson, Ken Li, Kelly O’Grady, Lauren Starke, Lis Smith, Lisa Dallos, Lukas Alpert, Madison Heuston, Mara Siegler, Matt Zimmerman, Maxi Tani, Maya Bakhai, Meera Pattni, Mitch Swenson, Mitchell Jackson, Natalie Raabe, Nate Evans, Nate Freeman, Nick Pacilio, Noah Shachtman, Noreen Malone, Oli Coleman, Oliver Darcy, Orson Fry, Pamela Paul, Paula Froelich, Peter Elkins Williams, Rebecca Smeyne, Richard Hudock, Ryan Jones, Sean Walsh, Simon Shore, Tom Namako, Tonner Jackson, Tyler Denk, Tym Matusov, Veronica de Souza, Victor Jeffreys II, Vivian Gomez, Wendy McMahon and Zach Christenson.
Wired’s Veronica de Souza (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Semafor’s Max Tani and Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
New York Magazine’s Erik Maza (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
YouTube’s Simon Shore and Jodi Naglie (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Herald PR’s Juda Engelmayer (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
MSNBC’s Richard Hudock (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The Ankler’s Janice Min & Brunswick Group’s Jack Walker (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Dow Jones’ Ashok Sinha (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The New York Times’ Jim Rutenberg (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The New York Times’ Carl Swanson and Axel Springer’s Gabriel Brotman (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Breaker hired a number of fortune tellers, if you’ve had any extra luck today be sure to let Breaker know (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Status’ Oliver Darcy (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
NBC’s Tom Namako (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Beehiiv’s Preeya Goenka (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
New York Magazine’s Justin Miller and CNN’s Andrew Kirell (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Page Six’s Oli Coleman (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The room was packed with hacks and flacks (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The New York Times’ Jesse McKinley, Breaker’s Lachlan Cartwright and Semafor’s Justin Smith (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Vanity Fair’s Claire Howorth (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Former CEO of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, who is now advising beehiiv (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Heller Inc’s Nate Evans (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Political strategist Lis Smith (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
WME’s Bradley Singer and CBS’ Kelly O'Grady (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
CNN’s Brian Stelter (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Page Six’s Mara Siegler (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Anna Delvey (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
The Spectator U.S’s Zack Christenson and Orson Fry (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Super Burritos’ Dank Wrap (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Aussie’s Nick Papps (The California Post), David Jeans (Reuters) and Katie Robertson (The New York Times) (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Vanity Fair’s Nate Freeman (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Super Burritos Eugene Cleghorn (Credit: Victor G. Jeffreys II for Breaker Media)
Journo Jobs
Every Thursday, we bring you hand-picked entry-level gigs for those brave enough to start out in journalism, as well as more senior positions as well. If you have a position that you’d like featured in Journo Jobs, email us.
Do you want to work with Bari Weiss? CBS is recruiting for an Executive Producer to lead their award-winning newscasts. ($165,000.00 - $180,000)
Condé Nast has their eyes peeled for a Global Features Editor to shape and commission feature coverage across Glamour US and the global network. ($125,000-$155,000)
An excellent opportunity for those new to the media, CNN are now accepting applications for their CNN News Associate Program with a Jan 2026 start date. $27.12 per hour
NBC News is seeking a Producer, Investigative Unit to support their Senior Legal Correspondent on all aspects of reporting, storytelling, and live programming. ($85,000 - $150,000)
The Guardian is launching their very first podcast for US audiences and they’re looking for a Host. They’ll be producing both audio and video, so if you’re camera shy, maybe skip this one. ($160,000 - $190,000)
The New York Post have just dropped a batch of new gigs for their soon-to-launch California Post, including City Hall Reporter ($95,000 - $125,000), Politics Editor ($100,000 - $150,000), Page 6 Media Reporter ($75,000 - $95,000), and more.
Reading list
From Shareholder to Surveillance: The Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia has leveraged its wealth and influence in Silicon Valley to gain power over the we like to call Twatter, with Saudi agents working inside Twitter to help unmask critics.
The Talk Show With Eric Metaxas, a rightwing version of the late-night talkshow format, has failed after four pilot episodes. Conservative donors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the project as they increasingly attempt to push their viewpoints through mainstream media.
Politico is rolling back the clock and using traditional text messaging to get their journalism out there. They’re sending messages that sound “personal and urgent” to a select group of lawmakers, political staffers, and lobbyists to make sure their updates are cutting through.
“Linear television news is dead. People can’t stand those stilted, censored conversations anymore.” Ex-Fox News host Megyn Kelly has inked a new deal with SiriusXM that includes the launch of her own channel with the satellite radio network.
Reporters Must Sign Off or Be Barred: The Pentagon has doubled down on new rules that make it harder for journalists to do their jobs, requiring them to sign off on strict conditions or risk losing access altogether. Critics say it’s a clear attempt by the Trump administration to rein in coverage and intimidate the press.
Are you struggling to get your content and messaging through to Gen Z? Perhaps it’s time to hire a Gen Z translator?
Kicker
“You've got to be entrepreneurial. You've got to constantly be looking around the corner.”
Newspapers pile up in Manhattan, brandishing front pages with news of the American-led coalition strikes against Afghanistan, October 8, 2001.