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The Gibbs Is Up: Former White House Press Secretary now WBD Chief Comms Officer Robert Gibbs attends the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (Photo by Win McNamee/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, Robert Gibbs has worked his way up from the White House to the Golden Arches and on to be chief communications and public affairs officer at WBD, working for David Zaslav. Now, with the Paramount deal stalled, what does the future hold for Gibbs?
Also, “60 Minutes” EP Nick Bilton has announced his new lineup of correspondents for Season 59; you can read the new roster in full below. Still at CBS, Foreign Editor Shayndi Raice has confirmed a Breaker’s scoop with a new position announced Tuesday.
Plus, the Wall Street Journal hires an industry veteran (who previously worked at an ice creamery), the Financial Times has a new man in L.A. and the mystery surrounding the departure of Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane deepens – we do have details of a new project he has been working on, and it’s not what you may expect.
Finally, we reveal that Status has parted ways with an industry veteran. To help cheer the media newsletter up, we have made them an offer they most likely can refuse.
Mentioned tonight: David Zaslav, Melissa Zuckerman, David Ellison, Megan Klein, Joe Libonati, Heather Riley, Ali Zelenko, Matthew Hiltzik, Jeremy Adler, Adam Mendelsohn, Arik Ben-Zvi, David Rhodes, Bari Weiss, Sir Trevor Phillips, Kim Harvey, Wendy Fisher, Shayndi Raice, Dalit Haim, Nick Bilton, Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, Norah O’Donnell, Emma Tucker, Aja Whitaker-Moore, Matt Garrahan, David Folkenflik, Rob Waugh, Gad Saad, Lionel Barber, Stephen Bota, Adam Sella, Megan McCrea, Michael Savage, James Warrington, Byron Allen, Evgeny Lebedev, Joshi Herrmann, Mark Sweney, Michael Bloomberg, Liz Hoffman, Taylor Swift, Justin Baldoni, David McCraw, Alexandra Bruell, Melissa Korn, Jessica Toonkel, Katie Drummond, A.G. Sulzberger, Todd Spangler, Michael Schneider, Aidan McLaughlin, Bill Maher, Mark Halperin, Randall Lane, Kerry Lauerman, Angelina Jolie, Oliver Darcy, Brian Lowry, Maral Usefi, and more.
They Are Not “Loving It”
(Exclusive.) A little over two years ago, former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs became the “Big Mac” at Warner Bros. Discovery, named chief communications and public affairs officer.
At the time, the thick-skinned Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, heralded Gibbs as “the right leader to assume this new, critical global role.”
“Robert is an insightful and respected leader with experience spanning Fortune 500 companies, the White House and winning political campaigns,” Hollywood’s most loved studio exec said.
“He will be an invaluable part of the team as we create the most captivating stories and content for consumers around the world. I am thrilled to welcome him to WBD.”
But the former McDonald’s global chief communications officer and executive vice president of corporate relations has lost the support of…
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⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
All Rhodes Lead To CBS
On Tuesday afternoon, new “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Nick Bilton took to the platform he once wrote a book about to announce the new correspondents joining the program.
Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Sir Trevor Phillips will join the show in time for its Season 59 premiere in September. Bilton also announced…
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.