The Washington Post is making major changes to its newsroom that are meant to broaden the outlet's coverage and reach a wider audience, according to a staff memo from executive editor Matt Murray obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The shifts follow months of high-profile staff departures and blowback to recent opinion coverage changes by owner Jeff Bezos.

• Longtime Post opinion editor and columnist Ruth Marcus resigned from the Post Monday after CEO Will Lewis killed her column expressing concerns about Bezos' opinion section changes.
• Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron penned a scathing piece about the changes last week.

Zoom in: As part of the newsroom overhaul, the Post will divide its national desk into two sections that focus on national reporting, and politics and government coverage, respectively.

• The politics and government desk "will encompass most of our reporters and editors covering the political scene and the government, which remain a central pillar for The Post," Murray wrote. "The Economics and Economic Policy team from Business will move to this department."
• The national desk, "which incorporates the America team, the education team, and the GA desk in Washington, will have a remit to cover the United States and important issues and figures outside of Washington and across the country more broadly," he added.
• Business, technology, health, science and climate teams will be brought together in a new department that focuses on "how businesses are transforming across the economy; how scientific and technological shifts are affecting daily life; and what it all means for people's health, security and the planet," Murray said.
• New department head roles for each new desk will be posted shortly, Murray said. Murray hopes all newsroom changes are in place by no later than May 5. The Post's newsdesk will exist outside of those main departments.

Between the lines: Broadening coverage will help the Post become less dependent on political news, which can be cyclical in nature, Murray told Axios in an interview after announcing the changes.

• "I want to make sure there are a few areas that are equally staffed and strong to make sure we're always putting a strong foot forward and that we're not just the politics paper, even though that's important to who we are."
• Asked whether the newsroom changes are aligned with the opinion section changes announced by Bezos last month, Murray said the shifts run in parallel but aren't explicitly connected. Some of the newsroom changes, for example, stem from audience data about what readers want, not a broader philosophical shift at the paper.
• "Jeff is aware of my plans but they're my plans," he said. "They grew out of where we see opportunities for The Post as we grow."

Zoom out: The shifts are also meant to prioritize digital products and reader engagement, Murray said.

• Each reorganized department will have its own senior editor for audience growth and a senior editor for visuals.
• Murray is hiring a head of print to "ring-fence print from the rest of the newsroom and make it completely downstream, so the majority of us can focus our efforts on our growing digital products."
• "Text will no longer be a default (format) and length no more a reflexive measure of quality," he said.

State of play: In a town hall meeting discussing the changes, deputy managing editor Mark Smith — who has been tasked by Murray with leading newsroom transformation — announced 10 new principles that will guide the Post's journalism and culture moving forward.

• Those principles include things like "We center reader value and impact in all of our journalistic decision making and commit to measuring this impact" and "We know the best journalism and reporting has humans at the core. We work in interdisciplinary teams so that our audience benefits from the diverse skills in our newsroom."

The big picture: The newsroom "reinvention," as Murray describes it, reflects a broader scramble at the Post to transform itself following years of profit losses and shrinking readership.

• Murray was named interim executive editor after Lewis announced sweeping changes to the newsrooms's editorial structure and leadership last spring. Murray was quietly named permanent executive editor late last year.
• Those changes include the creation of a "third newsroom," called WP Ventures, that focuses on video, audio, newsletters and social engagement. New roles will be posted for WP Ventures shortly, per Murray.
• During the town hall, WP Ventures editor Krissah Thompson gave examples of ways the Post is innovating its approach to social journalism, including allocating more resources for journalists to film their own social videos, piloting video podcasts and YouTube shows, and experimenting more with AI video.

What to watch: Murray acknowledged that the new changes may not align with everyone at the company.

• "It is a time of change across The Post, including for our colleagues in the company and in Opinion. This is a big effort involving all of us, and it is disruptive. There will be some confusion and even some mistakes. Candidly, I realize it may not be for everyone," he wrote.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray and additional details from the publication's town hall.

The Washington Post's Opinion Section editor David Shipley resigned after owner Jeff Bezos mandated the section prioritize two topics, personal liberties and free markets, and not publish dissenting views in those areas.

Why it matters: The changes will dramatically reshape The Post's opinion coverage, which has focused on a broad array of issues, especially politics and policy, for decades.

• "This is a significant shift, it won't be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision," Bezos wrote in a note to staff Wednesday. "We'll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction."

The big picture: The new announcement, following a controversial move by Bezos to kill presidential endorsements last year, shows how much Bezos is willing to assert his power to shape public opinion as the owner of one of the country's largest newspapers.

• The Post lost thousands of subscribers last year over Bezos' endorsement decision. Members of the Opinion Board resigned in protest.

Zoom in: Bezos said the Post will cover other topics "but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others."

• "There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader's doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job," Bezos wrote.
• "I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity," he added.
• "I'm confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I'm excited for us together to fill that void."

Between the lines: Bezos said he offered Shipley the opportunity to lead the section under the new guidelines, but "after careful consideration, David decided to step away," he wrote.

State of play: Bezos' announcement quickly drew backlash from journalists online, including at The Post.

• "Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post's opinion section today — makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there," The Post's chief economics reporter Jeff Stein posted on X. "I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know."

Zoom out: The vast majority of America's largest newspapers by circulation didn't endorse a presidential candidate this year, marking a stark departure from previous election cycles and a turning point in the history of American opinion journalism.

• Opinion sections become a major source of contention within newsrooms during the first Trump administration, with journalists at major newspapers urging their bosses to reevaluate their policies.

What to watch: Efforts by the Trump administration to scrutinize media have forced media, entertainment and tech companies to make difficult decisions about how far they will go to defend their editorial values.

• Most notably, ABC in December settled a lawsuit filed against it by Donald Trump, even though some legal experts said ABC could've won the case.
• CBS News faces pressure to settle a $20 billion lawsuit with Trump, as its parent Paramount awaits regulatory approval to merge with Skydance Media.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Bezos is mandating the section prioritize coverage of personal liberties and free markets (not publish articles on those topics only).

MSNBC's new president Rebecca Kutler plans to announce broad programming changes to the network that elevate some of its most progressive voices, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The changes signal the network's intent to double down on its liberal bend instead of moving toward the center in a new Trump era.

State of play: The programming shifts, which will impact dayside, weekend and primetime programming, include moving former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, currently the host of the weekend show, "Inside with Jen Psaki," to anchor one of the primetime hours during the week.

• Psaki could be named anchor of MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour, which Rachel Maddow currently helms, sources told Axios. Maddow has returned to the anchor chair five times per week during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. She plans to return to anchoring just once per week on Mondays after that.
• Alex Wagner, who had been anchoring MSNBC's 9 p.m. hour Tuesday-Fridays since 2022, will remain with the network as a correspondent, sources said.
• Psaki, who joined the network in 2022, served in the Obama and Biden administrations. Her show has become the network's most-watched weekend program.

Zoom in: Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, the trio of co-hosts that currently anchor MSNBC's weekend program "The Weekend," will move to anchor a weekday program in the 7 p.m. hour, sources added.

• Menendez would be the first Latina woman to host a primetime cable news program on MSNBC.
• Steele, formerly the chairman of the Republican National Committee, would join MSNBC anchor Nicole Wallace and "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman, as a host of a daily program on the network.

Between the lines: Sanders Townsend, formerly a spokesperson for former Vice President Kamala Harris, was hired by MSNBC in 2022, shortly before Pskai. Kutler spearheaded both programs in her previous role as MSNBC's senior vice president of content strategy.

• Kutler, a longtime producer and former head of content development and talent at CNN, has a history of developing reporters and commentators into cable news stars.
• Sources said talks are underway for Kutler to add Politico's Eugene Daniels and NYU law professor Melissa Murray to the network's lineup.
• A network spokesperson declined to comment.

The big picture: MSNBC and several of its sister cable networks are expected to be spun out from Comcast as part of a separate, standalone company that will be publicly traded.

• The split will force MSNBC to build up some of its own reporting and newsgathering infrastructure, especially in Washington D.C., where Kutler is expected to announce a new Washington Bureau for the network in coming months.

What to watch: Kutler is also hiring for a Washington bureau chief and new heads of talent, newsgathering, and content strategy.

President Trump, in small and unprecedented ways, is punishing media companies more than any leader since America's founding.

Why it matters: Once considered a bastion for free expression, America's record on press freedoms has fallen to a historic low, according to Reporters Without Borders. Under Trump's second presidency, the press is "under siege," the group argues.

The big picture: Trump is targeting traditional media sources at a moment of tremendous vulnerability for the industry.

• American trust in media has hit an all-time low. Most U.S. counties have little to no local news sources anymore.

In his first four weeks, Trump's administration has:

• Banned the Associated Press: The White House last week said it would bar the AP from future events in the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision not to directly follow Trump's executive order renaming "Gulf of Mexico" as "Gulf of America" in its style guidance.
• Ended federal news subscriptions: The State Department on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of news subscriptions around the world. The directive came shortly after the executive branch said it will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying the outlet millions last year.
• Reshuffled Pentagon press: The Defense Department informed several outlets, including NPR, NBC News, Politico and CNN that they had to move out of their workspaces at the Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon, although their press credentials will remain intact. They will be replaced by mostly conservative outlets such as Washington Examiner, Daily Caller, and Newsmax, and others under a new rotation system.

Zoom in: These moves, while punitive, are temporary and a new president can easily reverse them. Broader efforts to target media companies by Trump, his administration and a Republican-led Congress recently could be harder to unwind.

• Congressional PBS, NPR probe: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has called on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify at a DOGE subcommittee hearing about what she says is "systemically biased content." It's the first hearing to be announced for the subcommittee. Both broadcasters rely on congressionally appropriated funding to survive.
• FCC PBS, NPR probe: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also investigating the two public broadcasters over whether their member stations violated FCC rules around airing commercial ads. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr implied that the investigation could help influence Congress' funding decision.
• FCC Comcast/NBC investigation: Carr informed Comcast he is opening an investigation into the company's diversity, equity and inclusion practices. It marked the first public effort by the new administration to target a private company for its DEI initiatives.
• FCC CBS inquiry: Carr opened an inquiry into CBS News to evaluate whether it violated the FCC's news distortion rules when it edited a "60 Minutes" interview with 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the campaign. The inquiry adds pressure to CBS, as it considers whether to settle a separate lawsuit filed against it last year by Trump before he took office.

Reality check: A strong U.S. legal and regulatory framework makes it difficult for Trump and his regulators to go after media companies without likely having to defend at least some of their actions in court.

• Efforts by Trump to block reporters during his first administration didn't pass muster in court, and First Amendment experts believe the principles established by those decisions should apply to the AP's situation if it's litigated.

Zoom out: Bullying and harassment campaigns, which include everything from lawsuits to name-calling, are often easier and more effective than leveraging presidential powers.

• Lawsuits drain media companies of precious time and resources. Public bashing undermines the public's trust in the media, which can have a material impact on business.
• Trump and Elon Musk have both attacked journalists by name on their respective social media platforms in recent weeks.
• Trump unleashed a slew of lawsuits against the media industry last year before he took office. He recently increased his lawsuit claim against CBS from $10 billion when it was initially filed to $20 billion.
• He sued and eventually settled a lawsuit with ABC, even though some legal experts said ABC could've won the case. In December, he filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its top pollster, while vowing to continue suing news outlets and influencers.

What to watch: Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that gives him greater power over independent regulatory agencies, including agencies like the FCC that govern media companies.

The bottom line: Trump and his allies have vowed to go after the media if he won reelection. They weren't bluffing.

The Pentagon's chief spokesperson Sean Parnell has invited radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton to broadcast their show from the Pentagon, sources confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: The Trump administration has moved quickly to establish new norms within press briefing rooms.

• The Defense Department informed NPR, the New York Times, NBC News and Politico that they had to move out of their workspaces at the Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon last month. It later added CNN, the Washington Post, The Hill and The War Zone to that list.
• Their space will be made available to a slew of mostly conservative outlets on rotation, such as the New York Post, One America News Network and Breitbart News. Bari Weiss' startup The Free Press and HuffPost will also be given space as part of the rotation.

Yes, but: Reporters from the organizations that were removed will still be members of the Pentagon press corps.

Zoom in: In an interview on Travis and Sexton's podcast earlier this month, Parnell teased the invitation, saying, "You all are welcome anytime in the Pentagon press room, or if you want to broadcast from the Pentagon, we will figure out a way to make that."

• Later in their show, Travis said, "There's a good chance we'll be at the Pentagon. I think there's a good chance we'll be at the White House."
• In a separate interview with press secretary Karoline Leavitt that day, Leavitt told Travis and Sexton, "We love what you're doing and hopefully we'll see you soon in the briefing room someday. You're always welcome."
• The Defense Department said, "We have nothing to announce today" and advised Axios to check www.defense.gov for the department's daily and weekly schedule.

Catch up quick: Travis and Sexton replaced the late Rush Limbaugh's radio show on Premiere Networks in 2021.

• The three-hour talk show, which is broadcast across hundreds of radio stations nationwide, holds weight within the Trump administration.
• On the show last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to suggest that Arab countries need to create a plan to combat Hamas.
• In addition to the radio show, Travis runs a sports media website he founded called Outkick, which has gained influence in the Trump era. Sexton is a political commentator and podcaster.

Zoom out: The Trump administration has applied extra scrutiny to the media in its early days, including ending federal news spending on Politico subscriptions and launching FCC inquiries into Comcast, NBC, CBS, PBS and NPR.

• Most recently, the White House said it would ban AP from Oval Office events and Air Force One. The White House targeted AP in protest of what aides see as years of liberal word choices that the wire service's influential stylebook spread across mainstream media, Axios' Marc Caputo reported.
• In her interview with Travis and Sexton, Leavitt said, "We've opened up this briefing room to new media members. We have really proven that this president is the most transparent and accessible president ever."

The White House on Friday said it will bar the Associated Press from future events in the Oval Office and Air Force One over AP's refusal to obey President Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Why it matters: The decision will be met with fury from press advocates who have argued over the past week — during which the White House barred AP from three previous events — that penalizing the news organization for its editorial standards sets a dangerous precedent for press freedoms.

Driving the news: White House deputy chief of staff and Cabinet secretary Taylor Budowich posted a statement on X confirming the White House's decision on Friday afternoon.

• "The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation," he wrote.
• "While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One," he added.
• "Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration. Associate Press journalists and photographers will retain their credentials to the White House complex."

An AP reporter who was scheduled to travel with the president on Air Force One Friday was reportedly told she would not do so, per a White House decision.

The other side: "Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people," AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said in a statement.

• "The White House has said it supports these principles. The actions taken to restrict AP's coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans."
• AP executive editor Julie Pace said in a statement Thursday that the "continued efforts to punish The Associated Press for its editorial decisions" were a "plain violation of the First Amendment."

Catch up quick: In an executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 20, the president declared that the "area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America."

• AP said it would continue to refer to the region by the original name it's had for over 400 years "while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."
• The White House barred AP reporters from covering Oval Office events on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, citing its editorial standards.
• When asked about the situation in a press conference Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "I was very upfront in my briefing on Day 1 that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America."

Context: The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news organization used as a wire service by thousands of newsrooms across the U.S. and around the world that license its journalism.

The big picture: Efforts by Trump to block reporters during his first administration were challenged by judges when met with lawsuits from press freedom groups. They could seek to challenge the White House's actions again.

• In 2018, the Knight First Amendment Institute sued over Trump's practice of blocking critics on his Twitter account. A federal district court ruled that doing so was unconstitutional.
• The government appealed that decision, and in 2019, a Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the ruling. The case was eventually dropped in 2021 after Trump was banned from Twitter. He was later reinstated after Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022.
• A federal judge found that the White House's stripping of the security pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta was unconstitutional after CNN sued the president over the issue in 2018. The ruling established a principle that to revoke a press pass, future administrations and elected officials would have to provide a meaningful process and justification.

What to watch: The principles established by previous court decisions should apply here as well, but "to determine the extent to which they do apply, they would have to be considered in court," said Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute.

Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Sunday drew a whopping 127.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures, making it the most-viewed Super Bowl and U.S. telecast of all time.

Why it matters: The record numbers are especially impressive, given the Philadelphia Eagles' blowout performance against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Yes, but: The game still had all of the quintessential moments needed to capture viewers' attention.

• Donald Trump made history as the first president to ever attend a Super Bowl. Taylor Swift and dozens of other celebrities made big screen appearances. Kendrick Lamar's buzzy halftime performance made headlines and featured a surprise cameo by Serena Williams.

By the numbers: Viewership for the game was up 3% from 123.4 million people who tuned in last year.

• The game peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter, per Nielsen.
• Lamar's performance drew an average of 133.5 million viewers across television and digital platforms, setting a new record for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance in history,

Between the lines: The ratings included viewership across Fox's broadcast network, Fox Deportes and Telemundo, as well the NFL's digital networks (including NFL+) and Fox's ad-supported streaming service, Tubi.

• An average audience of 1.87 million combined viewers watched the game in Spanish on Fox Deportes and Telemundo.

Zoom out: Fox said the game set a record for the largest Super Bowl streaming audience in history, delivering an average minute audience of 14.5 million viewers across Tubi, Telemundo, and NFL Digital properties.

• Fox was the first Super Bowl broadcaster ever to make its live broadcast feed of the game available to streamers for free. (Previous Super Bowl broadcasts were only available on paywalled streaming services, like Paramount+.)

The big picture: The Super Bowl is one of the rare live TV events that can still bring people together for a shared experience.

• That makes the Big Game an increasingly valuable place for advertisers to tap into the cultural zeitgeist.
• Fox reportedly sold some 30-second ads for up to $8 million, a new record.

Go deeper: Super Bowl LVIII most-watched telecast in U.S. history

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the Roman numeral of Sunday's Super Bowl was LIX (not LVI).

AP said Tuesday it was blocked from the Oval Office after the White House threatened its access for not aligning its editorial standards with President Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Why it matters: The Trump administration has made the media a key target during its first few weeks in office, but few efforts have alarmed press freedom advocates as much as Tuesday's White House incident.

• "Barring AP journalists from an official presidential event because of the news outlet's editorial decisions is an affront to the First Amendment and a free press," PEN America program director Tim Richardson said. "It is retribution, plain and simple, and a shameful attempt to bully the press into ideological compliance."
• "Today's action by the White House is a direct attack on press freedom. No administration gets to decide how journalists do their jobs. The role of a free press is not to serve as an extension of any administration," National Press Club president Mike Balsamo said.

Zoom in: In a statement posted Tuesday evening, AP executive editor Julie Pace said the outlet was informed by the White House that if it did not align its editorial standards with President Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, " it would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office."

• "It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," Pace said.
• "Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP's speech not only severely impedes the public's access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment."

Context: Trump said in his executive order the "area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America."

• However, AP says will refer to the region by its original name that it's had for over 400 years "while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."
• In response to an AP journalist's post to X about the situation, White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a GIF of a tiny violin with the comment "poor thing."
• The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the evening.

Zoom out: The White House and Congressional Republicans have scrutinized media companies heavily during the first few weeks of the new administration.

The big moves:

• Ending federal news subscriptions: The executive branch said it will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying millions of dollars to the news outlet last year. It's part of a broader effort to cut back on government spending, per White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
• Pentagon pushout: The Defense Department informed NPR, the New York Times, NBC News, and Politico they had to move out of their workspaces at the Correspondents' Corridor in the Pentagon.
• Pentagon pushout expanded: It later added CNN, the Washington Post, The Hill and The War Zone to that list and replaced them with conservative outlets such as Washington Examiner, The Free Press, Daily Caller, and Newsmax, along with the liberal HuffPost under a new rotation system.
• Congressional PBS, NPR probe: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has called on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify at a DOGE subcommittee hearing about what she says is "systemically biased content."
• FCC PBS, NPR probe: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also investigating the two public broadcasters over whether their member stations violated FCC rules around airing commercial ads.
• FCC CBS inquiry: FCC Chair Brendan Carr opened an inquiry into CBS News to evaluate whether it violated the FCC's news distortion rules when it edited a "60 Minutes" interview with 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during the campaign.
• Trump increases CBS claim: Separately, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS for what he claimed was a deceptively edited interview of Harris, which the network rejects. Trump increased the lawsuit claim from $10 billion when it was initially filed to $20 billion earlier this week.

The big picture: With media trust at an all-time low, news companies are under more pressure to defend their work.

• Elon Musk and Trump in recent weeks have both called for certain journalists to be fired on their respective social media sites, per The New York Times.

Go deeper: Trump's media playbook

The executive branch will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying millions of dollars to the news outlet last year, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Wednesday.

• "I was made aware of the funding of USAID to media outlets, including Politico ... And I can confirm that the more than eight million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer's dime will no longer be happening," Leavitt said. "The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now."
• 'This is a whole of government effort to ensure that we are going line by line when it comes to the federal government's books."

Why it matters: It's an easy political lever for the Trump administration to pull to undermine media without facing legal or regulatory hurdles.

• Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations — like The New York Times, AP and Reuters — for products and subscriptions. Look for those organizations to be in the hot seat next.

How we got here: A fake theory about Politico being funded by the government is catching fire in right-wing circles.

• It’s a prime example of how false information sweeps through social media — and it could spell trouble for Politico and any other media organization that has contracts for subscriptions with the government.
• Politico hasn't responded to Axios' request for comment.

Zoom in: The story appears to have started when Politico missed payroll on Tuesday because of a tech snag, media reporter Will Sommer notes.

• MAGA media dug into public records on USAspending.gov and uncovered that the government paid Politico $8.2 million in the last 12 months.
• People linked those two facts and wrongly assumed that Politico missed payroll because those millions came from USAID. That turned into dozens of viral posts on X, reposted by Elon Musk himself.

Reality check: It appears $24,000 of that $8.2 million came from USAID. $8.2 million was the amount the entire government paid Politico — and it's likely the cost of premium subscriptions, such as Politico Pro.

• This is paywalled content that goes deeper on policy and industry and costs thousands per year.

What they're saying: Politico CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and global editor-in-chief John Harris sent a memo to staffers saying "we welcome" the conversation around the value of Politico's subscriptions.

• The Politico bosses noted that the company had "never been the beneficiary of government programs or subsidies" and that the "overwhelming majority" of subscriptions come from the private sector.
• "Please know that our business is strong and enduring," they added.

Zoom out: The government spends money on subscriptions and advertising with various media companies. Agency heads are allowed to dictate that spending, according to the General Services Administration.

• There aren't federal laws that require the government to spend ad or subscription dollars with certain outlets, although there are some laws around public notice advertising that require state governments to run ads in local newspapers.

Our thought bubble: The government spends trillions of taxpayer funds annually. The fact that the Trump administration is focused on slashing relatively small media budgets at the outset of Trump's second term speaks to how seriously targeting media companies is their priority.

• MAGA accounts are continuing to seize on this theory and proliferate it online.
• Conservative commentator Dana Loesch is calling for protests outside Politico’s offices.

This story was updated with the internal Politico memo.

Disclosure: Our Axios Pro product provides in-depth policy and industry news to paying subscribers, including government employees. Last year, $5,550 in payments were made to Axios as part of a Federal Communications Commission subscription, according to the government's database that tracks federal spending.

Scale AI CEO and founder Alexandr Wang is heading to Washington Tuesday and Wednesday for meetings with lawmakers and Trump administration officials to discuss China's AI threat to America, sources confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: Wang made global headlines last month when he said DeepSeek, an open-source AI model that was built with barely any capital, showed that China has caught up with the U.S. in AI.

• Scale AI provides enterprise AI products for private companies and the government. The company recently took out an ad in The Washington Post that featured an open letter to President Trump saying "America must win the AI War."
• Scale AI did not respond to a request for comment.

Zoom in: Wang is in town to discuss AI's contributions to American job growth and how the U.S. can win the AI competition against China.

The big picture: Wang is the latest in a string of CEOs from major tech companies to pay court to the new administration.

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was in D.C. last week to unveil new technology to a crowd of lawmakers and administration officials.

A slew of advertisers are bringing a healthier and more female-focused message to this year's big game, with spots highlighting everything from breast cancer awareness to obesity and body positivity.

Why it matters: The trend is a shift from the last few years when the Super Bowl was flooded with ads that typically target young men and their vices, like sports betting and crypto investing.

Zoom in: Novartis will mark its Super Bowl debut with a 60-second, star-studded commercial spotlighting breast cancer awareness.

• Hims & Hers, a health startup, will also run its first Super Bowl ad this year, spotlighting America's obesity crisis.
• Dove is back this year with a 30-second ad that will highlight how body confidence issues prevent girls from playing sports in high school and beyond.
• WeatherTech has a 60-second spot showing four older women flirting with other road passengers and spray painting trucks while enjoying a joyride in a vintage Lincoln convertible.
• Several non-alcoholic drinks will also appear during the Big Game, including Killer Cola and Cherry Obituary from water company Liquid Death and probiotic soda from Poppi.

Reality check: A large number of Super Bowl advertisers — 17 of the 51 — are still fast food, snacks and alcohol brands, including Taco Bell, Doritos and Budweiser.

Zoom out: Super Bowl marketing typically reflects broader economic and cultural trends that impact consumer spending and sentiment. This year, a few key industries are sitting out.

• Fewer politics. No political cause or appeal ads have been teased yet for this year's game. Last year, Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and a religious group both ran advocacy spots.
• Less media. The COVID-era digital bubble drove more entertainment and social media firms to advertise. But this year, companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Snap haven't announced a return. Disney and Tubi, Fox Corp's ad-supported streaming service, are the only entertainment companies that have teased spots so far. Meta is back but showcasing its smart glasses. The NFL will air its annual spot.
• China checks out. Temu, the Chinese e-commerce giant that spent millions on multiple spots throughout last year's game, is sitting it out this year as Chinese retailers and tech giants brace for new trade rules and the possible implications of the TikTok ban law.
• Gambling shrinks. There is only one sports betting company that has announced plans to run a national ad during the game. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM each had splashy spots last year. This year, only FanDuel has announced bringing back its campaign. Crypto advertisers also have yet to return en masse following a big splash in 2022, before the FTX scandal.

The big picture: With big ratings expected this year, Fox has sold out its Super Bowl ad inventory.

• Nearly a dozen spots have sold for a record $8 million.

Go deeper: 2025 Super Bowl ads you can watch now

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that there are 51 total commercials in 2025 (not 59) as of Feb. 3 and that FanDuel will be running an ad. The chart was also corrected to show there will be 14 (not 15) consumer packaged goods ads and 11 (not 10) food and beverage ads.

Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier will sit down with President Trump for a pre-taped interview at Mar-a-Lago that will air during the network's Super Bowl LIX pregame show, Fox News confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: The four biggest U.S. broadcasters — Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC — air the Super Bowl on a rotating schedule. Trump's first Super Bowl back in office coinciding with Fox's broadcast this year is fortuitous, given the president's friendly relationship with the network.

• The tradition of presidents being interviewed during the Super Bowl pregame show by journalists from the game's host network goes back to 2004. Trump upended the tradition by skipping the pregame interview with NBC in 2018.
• Former President Biden skipped pre-game interviews for the past two years. He opted out of an interview with Fox News in 2023 and CBS News in 2024.

The big picture: The interview follows a dizzying two weeks of headlines around Trump's swift efforts to repeal Biden-era policies and introduce a slew of his own.

• Fox has not offered details about the length of the conversation but said the interview will be wide-ranging.

Flashback: The last time Trump was interviewed by Fox during its Super Bowl pregame show was in 2020 when anchor Sean Hannity sat down with him at Mar-a-Lago.

• Trump was interviewed by former Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly at the White House for a Super Bowl pregame interview in 2017.

What to watch: The Super Bowl is expected to drive big ratings for Fox.

• Sunday's AFC Championship nail-biter between the Buffalo Bills and reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs averaged a record 57.7 million viewers on CBS.
• The Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles, who they narrowly defeated for the Super Bowl title just two years ago.
• The NFL has seen a spike in female viewers ever since Chiefs' star Travis Kelce started dating pop icon Taylor Swift in 2023.
• Fox has sold out its Super Bowl advertising inventory, with nearly a dozen spots selling for a record $8 million.

Editor's note: This story was inadvertently published early.

TIkTok's 170 million users started receiving a "services temporarily unavailable" notice late Saturday night and the app was no longer available in Google and Apple's app stores as a law to ban the app was set to take official effect at midnight.

Why it matters: It's the first time the U.S. has banned a major online platform of this scale.

Between the lines: In declining to enforce the ban during his last day in office, President Biden essentially shifted the responsibility for enforcing the law to incoming President Trump.

• Trump has indicated that he will try to keep TikTok alive in the U.S., but facing hefty fines, Google and Apple likely chose not to take the risk of violating the law.

What they're saying: Apple said it is "obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates" and listed 11 other ByteDance apps that will also not be available — including Lemon8, which some TikTok users had been flocking to.

• Google declined to comment.

Catch up quick: For app store operators and cloud-services vendors like Oracle, which runs the backend for TikTok in the U.S., the ban story has proven complicated.

• Although the Supreme Court upheld the ban Friday, lawmakers have been split on whether they should try to find a way to extend the ban's deadline or keep TikTok shut out of the U.S. unless it found a U.S. buyer.

What to watch: Trump could decide to extend the deadline by 90 days, but he would have to show that legally binding negotiations for a sale of TikTok to U.S. owners are underway.

• There are U.S. players who are interested in buying TikTok, but any deal to acquire the app would also face the hurdle of winning China's approval.
• Trump could also issue an executive order or ask his attorney general not to enforce the law.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comment from Apple.

Bleacher Report, the 20-year-old digital sports brand, has signed a multi-year deal with the NFL that provides it with official game footage to use across social channels and owned-and-operated platforms, executives told Axios.

Why it matters: The deal speaks to parent Warner Bros. Discovery's commitment to live sports — and the appeal of Bleacher Report, one of the largest sports media brands on social media, to the NFL.

• Bleacher Report "has a sizable base of sports fans, and an official partnership adds authenticity and helps further engage an already-established audience," said Brent Lawton, vice president of business development and strategic investments at the NFL.

Zoom in: As part of the deal, Bleacher Report will receive individual highlights and game recaps from NFL games, per Lawton.

• It will also get silent NFL game footage for use in its original content across social media and B/R sites and apps, as well as access-driven content from select games throughout the season.
• Bleacher Report will also be able to access NFL tentpole events for content capture, including the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine.
• It will have the right to sell sponsorships and media packages around content leveraging those NFL assets, said Bleacher Report general manager Bennett Spector.
• As an official content partner of the NFL, the company will also be able to engage the league's official marketing partners, he added.

Between the lines: With the NFL, Bleacher Report now has digital content deals with all of the major U.S. sports leagues and beyond, Spector said.

• As a result of Warner Bros. Discovery's lawsuit settlement with the NBA, Bleacher Report and its flagship franchise now have rights to promote NBA content, as well as TNT Sports, a linear network also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
• Bleacher Report also has digital rights to games and events from Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, United States Soccer Federation, Major League Soccer, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championship, NASCAR, Roland-Garros, and more.

Zoom out: The NFL deal underscores Warner Bros. Discovery's commitment to Bleacher Report and sports writ large, said Raph Poplock, senior vice president of strategic partnerships, content acquisitions and business development at Warner Bros. Discovery.

• Bleacher Report and House of Highlights "serve as the connective tissue" between Warner Bros. Discovery's digital platforms, including its streaming service Max, and its linear TV networks like TBS and TNT.
• The two brands also give the company leverage in league deals given their reach with younger audiences, especially on social media.

The big picture: The NFL has been brokering more deals with digital publishers and platforms as it seeks to expand its audience.

• In addition to Bleacher Report, it also has digital rights deals with Overtime, a gen-Z-focused sports media company; and Betches, a female-focused social media brand.

Hundreds of staffers at the Washington Post sent a letter to the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, on Wednesday urging him to meet with newsroom leaders amid a confidence crisis with the leadership.

Why it matters: It's the most drastic step staffers have taken to address the myriad challenges facing the Post over the past year.

Zoom in: The letter makes it clear that the Post staffers believe Bezos is aligned with their mission, despite his decision last year to spike a presidential endorsement for Vice President Harris. It argues too much trust has been lost with readers as a result of recent leadership decisions.

• "We believe you take as much pride in the Washington Post as we do," it reads.
• "We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution, broken with a tradition of transparency, and prompted some of our most distinguished colleagues to leave with more departures imminent."
• "This goes far beyond the issue of the presidential endorsement, which we recognize as the owner's prerogative. This is about retaining our competitive edge, restoring trust that has been lost, and re-establishing a relationship with leadership based on open communication."
• Signed by top newsroom leaders, the letter represented non-unionized staffers, as well as staffers within The Washington Post Guild.
• A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment.

Zoom out: Tension had already been building at the Post, but it started to boil over a few months into CEO Will Lewis' tenure last year.

• Lewis announced sweeping plans to divide the Post's editorial side into three newsrooms, each with a different editor. The delivery of that strategy was met with skepticism.
• There was an internal meltdown over an aborted plan to appoint Robert Winnett, the top editor of The Telegraph in London, as the editor of the main newsroom.
• In recent weeks, a slew of top newsroom stars defected from the Post to rival publications. Last week, the Post informed staff that it would be cutting 4% of its staff, impacting fewer than 100 roles across business functions.

The bottom line: Once the most respected publication in the Beltway, the Washington Post now faces serious competition. Mounting anxiety from within threatens its reputation ahead of a historic second term for President-elect Trump.

Flashback: Bezos defends Washington Post endorsements block after backlash

Meta and Google are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries of a U.S. TikTok ban financially, according to a new analysis from eMarketer.

Why it matters: The growth of TikTok and retail giant Amazon has put real competitive pressure on Google and Meta, which for years have owned more than half of the U.S. advertising business.

Zoom in: If TikTok is banned, more than half of the ad dollars spent on the platform in the U.S. would go to Meta and Google-owned properties, eMarketer projects.

• Instagram and Facebook would take 22.% and 17.1% of TikTok's reallocated ad spend, respectively. Google's YouTube would take roughly 10.7%.
• Other social media platforms would also stand to benefit. Snapchat, Linkedin, Pinterest, Reddit and X would collectively take roughly 18.3% of reallocated TikTok ad spend. Some of those platforms have already begun to restructure their apps around their own TikTok-like short video products.
• Connected TV companies, or streamers, and other digital media companies across social, search and retail advertising would collect roughly 30% of reallocated ad dollars.

Zoom out: Companies like Meta and Google have invested heavily in their TikTok rival products, Reels and Shorts, positioning them well to take advantage of a possible ban.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors last year that Reels alone makes up more than 50% of user time spent on Instagram.
• Google said last year that over 2 billion logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts.

Of note: eMarketer expects that advertising dollars will get reallocated immediately after a ban, as marketers have had many months to figure out alternative plans.

What to watch: For now, the ban seems likely, and the Supreme Court's arguments Friday led court watchers to expect it will uphold the ban law.

• China has indicated for months that it wouldn't let ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company to skirt a ban.

Yes, but: A Bloomberg report out Monday suggests Chinese officials are eyeing a possible deal to sell TikTok to Elon Musk.

• If that were the case, Musk and X would likely stand to benefit enormously from the entire saga.
• TikTok is denying the report.

Go deeper: What will happen to TikTok on Jan. 19

Meta announced Tuesday that it will end its fact-checking program on its platforms in exchange for X-style community notes as part of a slate of changes targeting "censorship" and embracing "free expression."

Why it matters: It's part of a growing trend among online platforms, which are shifting away from policing misinformation and content amid charges of bias. The shift will have consequences for digital safety and young users.

• The changes echo calls from the right to walk back "censorship" on social media and coincide with President-elect Trump's return to the White House.

Driving the news: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined in a Tuesday post a series of content moderation reforms, impacting billions of users across Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

• Beyond replacing its fact-checkers, Meta will bring back more political content to its platforms and end restrictions on certain topics "out of touch with mainstream discourse," Zuckerberg said, "like immigration and gender."
• It will also adjust filters scanning for policy violations to only tackle illegal and "high severity" violations. Those include topics like terrorism, child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud and scams, per a Tuesday release.
• Additionally, Zuckerberg said, the company's U.S. content review team will be moved to Texas from California, contending it will help Meta "build trust to do this work in places where there is less concern about the bias of our teams."

What they're saying: Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, said on Fox & Friends on Tuesday that Meta's third-party fact-checkers have demonstrated "too much political bias."

• Kaplan, a prominent Republican, replaced Meta's policy chief Nick Clegg last week.
• Rules governing content on Meta's platforms have "become too restrictive over time," Kaplan said, "including about those kind of sensitive topics ... that people want to discuss and debate, immigration, trans issues, gender."
• He added, "If you can say it on TV, you can say it on the floor of Congress, you certainly ought to be able to say it on Facebook and Instagram without fear of censorship."

Context: Dropping fact-checking is also another step toward embracing MAGA for Meta.

• The company was quick to pledge a $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration.
• The company on Monday added three people to its board, including close Trump friend Dana White.

Flashback: Meta began to ramp up its fact-checking efforts following the 2016 U.S. election, when it was criticized for misinformation on its platform.

• It relied on a network of fact-checking partners that were part of a third-party consortium called the International Fact-Checking Network to do the fact-checks.
• By 2019, it had nearly quadrupled the number of fact-checking partners it worked with to combat misinformation globally.

Yes, but: Those efforts soon became politicized, with critics arguing its fact-checking partners were biased.

Zoom out: Meta did a lot to appease critics and dodge regulatory scrutiny during the first Trump era, even when those efforts were at odds with Zuckerberg's bigger vision of acting as a neutral platform for speech.

• The company invested millions of dollars in paying news partners globally, only to cut those investments when it changed its algorithm.
• Zuckerberg famously reversed the company's policies on Holocaust denialism following criticism.

The big picture: The politicization of fact-checking has contributed to a decline in the number of fact-checking sites globally, according to data from Duke Reporters' Lab, Axios has reported.

• In North America, the number of active fact-checking sites decreased from 94 to 90 from 2020 to 2023.

What to watch: In the U.S., fact-checking mostly serves as an exercise to ensure Meta doesn't get in trouble for allowing blatant political misinformation.

• But abroad, Meta's fact-checking network has been critical in stopping manipulation and abuses on its platforms, including posts that have led to real-world violence.

Go deeper: Meta deletes 2023 AI-generated profiles after uproar

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details and context.

NFL's Christmas Day double-header games were the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history, according to preliminary Nielsen figures that don't include international viewership.

Why it matters: Once international figures and additional U.S. data is calculated, the league expects both games will have averaged around 30 million viewers each, a source told Axios, representing a massive win for Netflix's live sports ambitions.

• The massive viewership numbers show the platform's potential for attracting big eyeballs to major sporting events, especially abroad.

Context: Last year's Christmas Day match on traditional television between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders drew 29 million viewers, the second-highest Christmas Day game since 1989.

By the numbers: The first Christmas Day game between the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers, had an average minute audience of 24.1 million, per Nielsen figures provided by the NFL.

• Nearly one-third of Netflix's global concurrent viewers on Christmas Day were watching the game at one point, a spokesperson said Wednesday, making it the most-watched concurrent stream of any Christmas Day for Netflix in the past four years.
• The second Christmas Day game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens had an average minute audience of 24.3 million.
• It was the most-watched Christmas Day game on record among 18-34 year-olds, per the NFL, with 5.1 million U.S. viewers. (That figure is based on Nielsen records dating back to 2001).
• U.S. viewership for Ravens-Texans game peaked at Beyonce's halftime performance, with over 27 million viewers tuning in.

Zoom out: In total, the NFL's Christmas Day broadcasts on Netflix, including its pre-game shows and Beyonce's performance, were viewed by at least 65 million people, representing a remarkable day of total viewership for the NFL.

• A Netflix spokesperson said the Chiefs-Steelers game drew viewers from roughly all of the 190 countries in which Netflix is available at some point during the broadcast.
• For the NFL, which has major international expansion ambitions, Netflix's global audience reach is a huge selling point when considering future streaming rights.

Zoom in: Netflix spared no cost trying to nail its broadcast.

• The company reportedly invested around $150 million on the broadcast, and cut a big pay check for Beyonce to perform at halftime.

The big picture: Sports are becoming a bigger part of Netflix's live programming ambitions.

• The company started experimenting with live programming in 2023, when it aired the "Love is Blind" Season 4 reunion special in real-time.
• It's since experimented with a few live comedy specials.
• Wednesday's Christmas Day game was the second-most popular live title on Netflix to date, the company said.

Yes, but: Netflix, like most major streamers, will have to work on its technical infrastructure to ensure it has the bandwidth to support major live sporting events without any glitches.

• The "Love is Blind" Season 4 reunion special was delayed and canceled due to technical issues on the day it was supposed to air.
• The company's Nov. 15 live fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was marred by buffering and freezing issues for some users.
• While the streamer worked with third-party broadcast and production groups on the event, the game still included minor glitches, which is common for new streamers airing popular live sporting events for the first time.

What we're watching: Netflix's successful first live NFL game will serve as an example to other sports leagues that the streamer, which previously said it had no intention of getting into live sports, can attract a big audience.

• Next year, Netflix will become the exclusive streaming home to the WWE. That $5 billion distribution deal includes many live events.
• Netflix last week inked a deal to broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup in the U.S. in 2027 and 2031.

What's next: Global ratings and additional U.S. insights will be released on Dec. 31, the NFL said. Those figures will provide a more comprehensive look at the NFL;s Christmas Gameday performance globally on Netflix.

Fearing political retribution and strained by new business challenges, media companies that once covered President-elect Trump with skepticism — and in many cases, disdain — are reconsidering their approach.

Why it matters: Trump's decisive victory in November has forced media executives to put their business interests ahead of their personal politics.

Case-in-point: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, a longtime Democrat whose wife served as the ambassador to the Bahamas during the Obama administration, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this past week.

• "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who railed against Trump for years, met with Trump in an hour-plus meeting at Mar-a-Lago last month, infuriating their loyal audience. Scarborough said the reaction showed "a massive disconnect ... between social media and the real world."

State of play: Amid a record media trust deficit, outlets once critical of Trump are now making overtures to the former and future president, and the majority of American voters who voted for him.

• TIME magazine not only named Trump "Person of the Year," but the magazine's CEO, Jessica Sibley, chanted "USA! USA!" alongside the president-elect as he rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell.
• A week after Trump's victory, two executives from TelevisaUnivision, the parent of the largest U.S.-based Spanish-language broadcaster, flew to Mar-a-Lago so the president-elect could personally thank them for election support, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• L.A. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong vowed (on Fox News, no less) to balance out his editorial board with conservative voices. He also has discussed plans to add a digital "bias meter" for editorials and opinion columns.
• Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos (who, like Soon-Shiong, overruled his staff to kill a Harris endorsement) said at The New York Times' DealBook Summit earlier this month that he's "actually very optimistic" about Trump's second term.

The big picture: Compare that to the resistance media era that started in 2016, with outlets like The Washington Post garnering tough-on-Trump reputations (and thousands of subscriptions).

• This time around, national outlets — struggling to regain viewers and subscribers — are trying to signal they're no longer out for blood.

Between the lines: Another business consideration for news outlets reversing course is the legal risks associated with getting on Trump's bad side.

• ABC's $15 million defamation settlement with Trump shocked some legal experts who say ABC could've easily won the case. ABC has declined to say why it settled. But media onlookers see the settlement as a possible effort to avoid further scrutiny and legal attacks from the president-elect.
• The settlement comes amid a barrage of major lawsuits being lobbed at media companies by Trump. Those costly lawsuits sap outlets of time, legal resources and morale.

What we're watching: Tech titans facing historic regulatory scrutiny are also scrambling to be inside Trump's tent this time around.

• Meta, Amazon and Open AI have each donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Bezos have all met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago since the election.
• TikTok faces a potential ban in the U.S., barring a Supreme Court intervention. Meta faces a historic government antitrust trial next year that seeks to unwind its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.
• Google has been found guilty of one major antitrust investigation around its search business and is facing another antitrust case around its ads business. Both cases threaten to break up the company.

News organizations are on high alert after President-elect Trump filed yet another defamation lawsuit on Monday — and vowed to continue suing new outlets and influencers over their coverage.

Why it matters: While there are political levers that Trump can pull to target media companies, harassment campaigns and lawsuits that drain companies of time, money, resources and trust are often easier and just as punitive.

State of play: ABC's $15 million defamation settlement with Trump, announced Saturday, shocked some legal experts who say ABC could've easily won the case.

• The lawsuit stemmed from a March 2024 interview with star ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), a rape survivor.
• Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump was liable for rape, when in reality he was liable for assault and defamation. Trump sued ABC in a Florida federal court shortly thereafter.
• ABC has declined to say why it settled, but media onlookers see the settlement as a possible effort to avoid further scrutiny and legal attacks from the president-elect ahead of his second term.

Between the lines: Trump's victory over ABC prompted him to consider more legal action against news outlets he claims defamed him.

• On Monday, Trump filed suit against the Des Moines Register over a poll it ran showing him possibly losing the presidential race.
• He vowed to continue suing new outlets and influencers for defamation. "It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press," he said at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

Zoom out: Trump has been suing media companies for years, but leading up to his second term, he's taken a more aggressive stance.

• Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS over allegedly doctoring its "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Harris. CBS has filed motions to dismiss the complaints.
• The parent company to Trump's Truth Social network, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), filed a $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit against The Post, claiming an article falsely accused the company of securities fraud.

Yes, but: While Trump has a long history of filing lawsuits against media companies, he doesn't have a winning track record.

• A $475 million lawsuit against CNN was dismissed by a Florida federal judge last year.
• New York's State Supreme Court tossed a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump's re-election campaign against the New York Times over an op-ed.

Trump has also lost several key legal battles against the media over the past few years, including pulling press credentials for reporters he doesn't like, blocking people online and deleting online posts that are considered official presidential records.

The big picture: Trump has been involved in thousands of lawsuits throughout his business career, but media cases began to spike significantly during his first presidential campaign, per an analysis from USA Today.

• In the past, Trump has threatened to "open up" libel laws to be able to further target the press. The federal standard for libel, established by the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan case, sets a very high bar for libel.

What to watch: Press freedom advocates warn that Trump's lawsuits against the press will create a significant chilling effect, forcing media companies to pull punches to avoid legal scrutiny.