Pass The Kava: New York magazine editor David Haskell, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff and VP and general manager at New York Magazine Manny Getachew, attend the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026. (Photo by Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
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In tonight’s edition, we go inside Vox Media to report on the future of the media company. We reveal staff cuts that quietly occurred before the holiday weekend, and we look at the impact if the company were to split off its profitable podcast network from other aspects of the business that are struggling.
Also, Bari Weiss is at it again – after blowing up the CBS Evening News, we have fresh reporting about what her next target for change is at the network.
Plus, POLITICO announced a wave of new appointments on Thursday as Breaker reveals two rising stars who are leaving for competitors, we have details about the second round of New York Times bargaining that suggests The Gray Lady’s “ticking time bomb offer” may well detonate next month, before a deal is inked, and with news direct from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Business Insider is set to lose two key members of their sales team.
Finally, it’s Thursday, which means Journo Jobs is back. Tonight, we have gigs at Bloomberg, The New York Times, NBC, New York Post, Hearst Magazines, and WABC-TV.
Mentioned tonight: Mathias Döpfner, Jan Bayer, Gabriel Botman, Barbara Peng, Maggie Milnamow, Orlando Reece, Tessa Berenson Rogers, Alex Burns, Giuseppe Macri, Jack Blanchard, Bari Weiss, John Dickerson, Maurice DuBois, Tony Dokoupil, Robert Costa, Norah O'Donnell, Major Garrett, Walter Isaacson, Connie Chung, Chris Best, Chris Biegner, Christopher Williams, J.J. McCullough, Lesley Goldberg, Michael Savage, Lionel Barber, Natalie Korach, Michael Grynbaum, Adam Platt, Diane von Furstenberg, Dr. Seuss, and more.
Vox & Less Friends
(Exclusive.) Over the holidays, New York Magazine Editor, David Haskell, celebrated the new year with fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg in Fiji, participating in a traditional “kava ceremony.”
A kava ceremony is an island welcome of sorts, where all involved sit in a circle, acknowledge and honor traditions while passing around a drink that tastes somewhere between thin mud and bitter melon (full disclosure, it resulted in one of the worst Breaker hangovers of all time).
While he was enjoying some fun in the sun, Haskell no doubt was counting his blessings. Under his leadership, New York magazine has continued to capture the conversation with cover stories going viral and buzzy first-person pieces emanating from The Cut that drive subscriptions.
But ever since Vox bought the publication from Pam Wasserstein in 2019, questions have abounded, as some ask: What is the end game for the media company under Mr Nice Guy and Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff?
That guessing game intensified after it was reported before the holidays that Vox would spin off its podcast network, with an enviable stable of popular pods, including Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, which continues to be a money spinner for the company.
More questions developed as the rumour mill swirled. Would Bankoff exit to run the new podcast entity? As New York Magazine staffers pondered, what it could mean for the monopolistic Penske Media, which is already the largest shareholder in Vox?
On Friday morning, the taste of Kava was far from Haskell’s mouth when he emailed his staff to tell them that…
Face The Succession
(Exclusive.) Is there anyone at CBS News who chief booker (sorry editor-in-chief) Bari Weiss is not trying to replace?
Weiss first blew up CBS Evening News, resulting in the departures of the highly-respected John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. The pair were replaced by Tony Dokoupil.
Breaker has now learned the latest in the firing line is …