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A Lessin learned?: Sam and Jessica Lessin attend the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 18, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)
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 Information founder Jessica Lessin sent a note to staff and subscribers announcing an editorial reshuffle. What she didn’t address was the unsettling workplace culture former staffers have compared to “a cauldron.” Tonight we hear from more former employees on why they and others have chosen to leave as The New York Times and Wall Street Journal gobble up their gun reporters.
Also, tonight CBS News execs cross the pond to face the music at their London Bureau. Taking questions from staffers, CBS News President Tom Cibrowski spoke about a possible CBS News and CNN merger and issues surrounding the network’s credibility.
Plus, The Washington Post makes a big poach from the Financial Times; we have a scooplet on the new project from the award-winning writer of hit Harper’s story “The Goon Squad,” News Corp and Fox comms pros meet at NYC’s Aussie Pub, and which leading EIC was spotted with the speech writer from a rival publication?
Finally, we have our extensive reading, watching, and listening list so you can keep on top of the latest happenings right across the media industry.
Mentioned tonight: Emma Tucker, Meredith Kopit Levien, Pui-Wing Tam, Tom Cibrowski, Kim Harvey, David Ellison, Shayndi Raice, Jessica Lessin, Nick Wingfield, Abe Brown, Meredith Mazzilli, Cory Weinberg, Grace Kay, Erin Woo, Anissa Gardizy, Berber Jin, Patrick McGee, Sri Muppidi, Miles Kruppa, Wayne Ma, Nick Bilton, Bari Weiss, Vinson Cunningham, Katie Zacharia, Andrew Murfett, Shams Charania, Paul Ronzheimer, Shawn McCreesh, Daniel Kolitz, Brian Nick, Arthur Bochner, Grace Bennett, Sarah Murdoch, David Rhodes, Bryan Lourd, Lesley Stahl, Eli Rosenberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Milo Walls, Jim Rutman, Derek Brower, Alex Levy, Amy Dockser Marcus, Jyoti Mann, Laura Bratton, Julia Hornstein, Jason Dean, Leo Schwartz, Dakin Campbell, Phoebe Liu, Alex Coutures, Claudia Chong, Alex Eichenstein, Ryan Barwick, Tiffany Li, Sara Germano, Steven Newhouse, Mark Sweney, Bob Woodward, Andrew Deck, Hillary Frey, Sara Fischer, Alex Vadukul, Katie Drummond, Nathan Fielder, Emine Sinmaz, Russell Brand, Sara Guaglione, Michael Savage, Jim Waterson, Alice Brooker, Gavin J. Quinton, Kyle Buchanan, Nicholas Quah, Christopher Williams, James Warrington, Christian Broughton, Lauren Cochrane, Huw Edwards, Patrick Delany, James Chessell, Azam Ahmed, Heidi Levine, Matt Murray, Bela Bajaria, Dan Lin, Ben Fritz, Jessica Toonkel, Joe Flint, Jonathan Turley, Catherine Herridge, Joshua Hunt, John Koblin, Jon Stewart, Ben Travers, and more
The Information Brain Drain
(Exclusive.) Late last week, The Information founder, Jessica Lessin, informed her newsroom and subscribers about a number of changes to her editorial ranks that will “set the stage for more growth in what is shaping up to be the most exciting time in our history.”
Lessin announced promotions for former New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Wingfield, who has been elevated to executive editor. Weekend section editor Abe Brown was named features editor, and Meredith Mazzilli became finance editor.
But Lessin didn’t just bury the lede; she left it out. Her announcement ignored a flurry of recent…
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⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
Bed News Bears
(Exclusive.) CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and CBS News Exec Producer Kim Harvey paid a visit to the CBS News London bureau on Tuesday, where they faced questions from staffers. Most were concerned about a mooted combining of CBS News with CNN now that both news networks are owned by David Ellison, according to people familiar with the situation.
Cibrowski played down the…
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.