The O.G.: Former Editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, speaks onstage during "The Vanity Fair Interview" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 20, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
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, the deal we have dubbed “Air Puck” is just days away from closing, and tonight we have the backstory – including how much money both Air Mail and Puck were losing – of how two digital media startups will marry together.
It’s a deal about money, ego, and power, and we reveal what it means for the futures of the two men at the heart of it – Graydon Carter and his former assistant, Jon Kelly. It’s a story of our media times – and one you will only read about in Breaker.
Also, on The Breaker pod this week, we have someone who knows CBS News like no other. Former 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager sits down with us to share his unique insights on Bari Weiss, David Ellison, and the news magazine show that he helped make a ratings winner.
We also have the news about Semafor’s TV show that (owing to a production error) we did not get to bring you on Tuesday. And Journo Jobs is back. Tonight, we have gigs at: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Fanduel, The Information, The New York Post, and The Washington Post.
Mentioned tonight: David Zaslav, Barry Diller, Lord Rothermere, Ben Smith, Justin Smith, David Remnick, Brian Morrissey, Peter Kafka, Maxi Tani, Jay Penske, Jelani Cobb, Jack Shafer, Liz Hoffman, Faisal Islam, Rohan Goswami, Piers Morgan, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, William Cohan, Taylor Lorenz, and more.
Inside The Air Puck Deal
(Exclusive.) The deal for Puck to acquire Air Mail is set to close within the next few days, Breaker has learned.
We first reported last month that Puck, the media company founded by Jon Kelly in 2021, had entered into an agreement to acquire Air Mail, the publication Graydon Carter started after he left Vanity Fair.
It started with Air Mail engaging global merchant bank The Raine Group more than a year ago to sell the publication. Raine put together a deck labeled “Project Aviator” and started dialing and smiling for dollars.
That deck, obtained and reviewed by Breaker, claimed Air Mail has an email list of more than 500,000 people (around 50,000 of which are believed to be paying subscribers).
During the sale process, Raine started having explanatory conversations with several media companies, including Dow Jones, Daily Mail and General Trust Group, and Axel Springer, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Part of the problem in trying to shop the publication, known for its news features and culture dispatches, was its balance sheet. Breaker has learned Air Mail lost…
Jeff Fager on Bari Weiss, CBS News, 60 Minutes & David Ellison
(Exclusive.) There are not too many people who know CBS News as well as the former Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, Jeff Fager. Fager spent 37 years at CBS News, including a stint as Chairman.
So it was fitting we filmed this week’s Breaker pod from the Paramount building at Junior’s Restaurant & Bakery (cheers to the owner, Alan Rosen, for inviting us Uptown).
Fager told us he thinks it is a “mistake” that CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is reporting directly to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, describing the structure as “really unusual.”
“There are so many things you know he should be one step …
Semafor TV
(Exclusive.) Semafor chalked up its third anniversary last week while hosting its most recent World Economic Summit in Washington, D.C. The event attracted political and financial heavy hitters, and also acted as an unofficial birthday party.
As Breaker can attest, start-ups are incredibly hard work, and it’s impressive that Ben Smith and Justin Smith have steered Semafor to profitability in a relatively short period of time, while other digital media startups (as we report above), such as Puck and Air Mail, are still in the red.
Breaker has learned the dynamic duo has big plans for 2026 with the launch of a vodcast to be hosted by billionaire Penny Pritzker. Pritzker will interview CEO’s for the show that will stream on YouTube, along with other platforms. It will be paired with Semafor’s invitation-only offering, CEO Signal, which is helmed by former FT journalist Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson.
“In three years, we’ve become the number one Washington events media company,” Semafor co-founder Justin Smith told Breaker. “We pretty much dominate the D.C. events market.”
Smith says he is expecting anywhere between 400-500 CEOs (the World Economic Forum in Davos boasts around 700) for their Spring World Economy Summit event and remains focused on the U.S. and the rest of the world.
To that point, Semafor is launching a Gulf events business in Abu Dhabi later this year and a newsletter focused on the Chinese market to come in 2026.
Among the crowd at the Riggs Washington DC shindig: both Smiths, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman, Rohan Goswami, and the BBC’s Faisal Islam.
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.
Could you be The Atlantic’s new Assistant Editor? You’ll be specifically working on the audience engagement team to maximise the reach of The Atlantic’s journalism. ($69,000 - $75,000)
Fanduel are on the hunt for an Editorial Director to work across their gaming, sportsbook and cable platforms. ($122,000 - $153,000)
The New York Times are advertising for a Staff Editor, Style. You’ll work on the Styles desk line editing, copy editing and fact checking. ($62.61 - $63.19 per hour)
A unique position with The Information is up for grabs this week to lead their coverage on all things Amazon covering its leaders, its businesses, AI developments, and its battles with regulators ($80,000 - $160,000)
The New York Post are seeking a celebrity obsessed candidate to become their new Page Six Reporter/Editor ($75,000 - $85,000)
The Washington Post is calling out for an Opinions Researcher tasked with fact-checking and ensuring accuracy. ($73,600 - $110,400)
A TV cameraman reads a copy of the New York Post with the headline “Ebola Here!” October 24, 2014, in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from West Africa, tested positive for the deadly virus. (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)