Skydance and Paramount Merge, MSNBC Rebrands and More Media News from August

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the month. 

August was a busy month for media, full of mergers and dealmaking, ongoing fallout from the Trump administration’s decision to cut federal funding to public media, new AI deals for publishers, and more.

Keep reading to catch up on the month’s big media news, and maybe discover a few headlines you missed.

Paramount Skydance Merger Finally Closes

Paramount Global and Skydance Media reached the end of their long $8.4 billion merger process, which was originally announced in July 2024.

The merger dragged on for months amid President Trump’s lawsuit against 60 Minutes (which resulted in a controversial $16 million settlement from CBS) and hold-ups by the FCC. Top of mind moving forward are the fates of Paramount’s many cable networks and the potential for additional layoffs.

“My vision is to honor exceptional storytelling while modernizing how we make and deliver content to support the world’s top creative talent, enhance experiences for audiences worldwide, and create sustainable value for our shareholders,” Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a press release. The newly combined company is officially known as “Paramount, A Skydance Corporation.” (Deadline)

It was a big month for dealmaking, including:

• The NFL announced it would take a 10% equity stake in ESPN. (New York Times)
• Nexstar is acquiring rival Tegna for $6.2 billion, a move that will reshape the TV industry. (Deadline)
• Penske Media Corp. sold TVLine, the digital news platform focused on TV news, to digital media company Static Media. (Variety)
• YouTube TV and Fox Corp. narrowly avoided a blackout and reached a new carriage agreement. (Hollywood Reporter)
• The board of directors at the DallasNews Corporation rejected the revised, non-binding proposal from MNG Enterprises, Inc., and reaffirmed its unanimous support for the company’s merger with Hearst. (Editor & Publisher)

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down

On Aug. 1, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it would begin winding down operations, following Congress’ vote to cut nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding.

The decision is expected to severely impact local member stations of PBS and NPR that depend heavily on CPB for funding (NPR and PBS nationally receive most of their funding from nongovernment sources).

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement.

According to the company, a small transition team will stay on through January 2026. (Axios)

In related news:

• The Knight Foundation and other organizations are working to provide $50 million to stabilize the stations most at risk from the cuts. (New York Times)
• More than 500 positions at the U.S Agency for Global Media and Voice of America were eliminated. (The Hill)
• The cuts have hit rural broadcasting in Alaska particularly hard. (New York Times)

MSNBC to Rebrand to MS NOW

The progressive cable network MSNBC is rebranding to MS NOW, which stands for My Source for News, Opinion and the World. MSNBC and several other networks, including CNBC and Golf Channel, will be spun out from NBCUniversal into Versant.

In its work to separate itself from NBC News’ broader newsgathering operations and develop its own identity, MSNBC will drop the iconic peacock logo, which will stay with NBCU. MSNBC has been hiring for dozens of new positions over the past few months.

The Versant spinout is expected to be completed by the end of the year. (Axios)

In other launch news:

• The New York Post will debut a daily Los Angeles-based newspaper called The California Post in early 2026. (Axios)
• A new morning newscast, “Connecting America,” will stream on USA Today’s FAST channel. (NewscastStudio)
• A group of left-leaning writers and journalists is starting a new publication, The Argument. (Semafor)
• NASCAR became the first major sports league to launch a newsletter on Substack. (Axios)
• Time announced its plans to launch Time Africa in more than 50 countries throughout the continent, from Algeria to South Africa. (MediaPost)

Perplexity has Cooked Up a New Way to Pay Publishers for Their Content

Perplexity’s new revenue-sharing plan, Comet Plus, will pay publishers every time their content is surfaced in an answer from its AI assistants.

The subscription costs users $5/month and gives subscribers access to premium content from a group of trusted publishers and journalists. Publishers will get 80% of the revenue of Comet Plus, according to Perplexity. The company says it will initially pay participating publishers out of a $42.5 million “revenue pool” that will expand over time as the subscriber base grows.

It’s not yet clear if this plan replaces Perplexity’s existing Publisher Program or will exist alongside it. The current program “shares ad revenue based on the traffic a Perplexity search is stealing away by providing a summary of an article.” The existing program counts publications like TIME and Fortune as participants. (Engadget)

In other AI news:

• Reddit started blocking the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine from indexing anything other than the site’s homepage. (The Verge)
• In a “marketing masterstroke,” Perplexity made a $34.5 billion offer to purchase the Chrome browser from Google. (Axios)
• Wired and Business Insider were among several outlets to publish news features written by freelance journalist Margaux Blanchard, which later appeared to be AI-generated. (Press Gazette)
• A new study digs into AI adoption at 16 major newsrooms across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. (NiemanLab)

Vogue Names Chloe Malle as Its New Editor

After 37 years in the role, Anna Wintour has answered the decade-long question of her succession and named Chloe Malle as the new editor of American Vogue. Malle, 39, is the editor of Vogue’s website and co-host of its podcast. Her new title is “head of editorial content,” and she begins immediately.

Ms. Wintour, the publisher of Vogue, is not retiring. She remains the company’s chief content officer and Ms. Malle’s direct supervisor, overseeing all 28 international editions of Vogue.

“I know that some people who were interested in this job were sort of daunted by the idea of Anna being down the hall,” Ms. Malle said. “I’m very happy she’s down the hall with her Clarice Cliff pottery.” However, she added, “Placing my own stamp on this is going to be the most important part of this being a success. There has to be a noticeable shift that makes this mine.”

Her first print issue will most likely be published next year. (New York Times)

August was busy with media moves, including:

• Jennifer Peter, the longtime number-two editor at The Boston Globe, is leaving to become editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project. (Media Nation)
• Alex Altman is being promoted to Executive Editor at TIME. (TIME)
• The Los Angeles Times promoted Philip Gray to the post of op-ed editor. (MediaPost)
• The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) selected Elise Durham as its next executive director. (PR Newswire)
• Skydance-Paramount unveiled its new senior leadership team. (Deadline)

ICYMI

Here are a few other big headlines from August:

• Vanity Fair will eliminate reviews, trade coverage, and ‘news aggregation’ to re-center its coverage around entertainment, celebrities, and culture. (Variety)
• About half of U.S. adults (49%) say journalists are losing influence in society. (Pew Research Center)
• The White House launched an official TikTok account amid ongoing uncertainty for the app’s future in the U.S. (The Guardian)
• Here’s a spirited argument in defense of the em dash, the “gentle friend and ally of all writers.” (The Ringer)
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will stop publishing a print newspaper at the end of the year. (New York Times)
• The New York Times moved its Mini Crossword behind a paywall – and fans are not happy. (MediaPost)

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