Get The End of Day Closing Note
The news tells you what happened. We explain what changed.
- Free. Delivered every evening.
Explore all past issues, only on Beehiiv.
Media
News, publishing and the business of who gets heard.
Media
Rachel Lindsay Questions Stephen A. Smith’s Dinner With Trump. What Did It Accomplish?
Stephen A. Smith has defended his White House dinner with Donald Trump as a chance to advocate for Black Americans. Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan are asking whether the conversation produced anything meaningful.
By Social Storytellers Collective News Desk · October 26, 2026
Media
Netflix Still Has the Audience. The People Making Television Need Something More.
Netflix is facing slower engagement growth and fierce competition from YouTube. Behind the streaming industry’s financial math is another measure of success:…
Media
Nearly 4 in 10 Americans Have Found Community Online. Half Still Doubt It Counts.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds online communities are filling real gaps in people’s lives, especially for young adults. But most…
Media
Disney Laid Off Hundreds of Workers. Then It Agreed to Pay $60 Million a Year for 66 AI Specialists.
Disney will pay roughly $900,000 a year per person to hire most of bankrupt chatbot startup Character.AI’s staff, weeks after its third…
Media
Americans See Money and Politics Shaping the News. They Disagree on What Press Freedom Requires.
Americans may agree that news organizations face outside pressure, but they do not agree on what the government…
By Bryson Davis · October 14, 2026
Media
Most Americans Don’t Publicly Talk About the News. They’re Sharing It Privately.
New Pew-Knight data shows private messages and quiet engagement now matter more than public comments. That changes what…
By Social Storytellers Collective News Desk · October 14, 2026
Media
Netflix Is Growing. It May Still Cut About 800 Jobs.
The streamer is reportedly preparing its largest workforce reduction since 2022 as investors scrutinize slowing engagement and the…
By Social Storytellers Collective News Desk · October 13, 2026
Media
The White House Press Fight Is No Longer Just About Who Gets a Badge
CNN, MS NOW and Politico are fighting to keep their White House access while the Justice Department investigates…
By Bryson Davis · October 12, 2026
Breaking News
- Sinclair Is Launching a National News Brand on Substack
- The Emmys Are Leaving Broadcast Television for a Free Streaming Home
From the Newsroom
Media
What’s Actually Worth Streaming This Weekend?
This weekend’s strongest new streaming options range from political crime and Spielberg science fiction to action comedy, horror and a few titles…
Media
What to Watch, Read and See This Week: The Weekend Culture List.
This week's culture slate is heavy on power, memory and reinvention — from a return to the Facebook story to new film,…
Media
The News Conversation You Can See Is Only Part of the Conversation
Pew finds private sharing far more common than public posting, challenging the habit of reading social feeds as a complete map of…
Opinion
Black Poverty Is Falling. Why Are We Still Calling This Progress?
The latest Census figures offer encouraging news, but nearly 8 million Black Americans still live below the poverty line. At what point do we stop celebrating small improvements and confront…
By Bryson Davis · October 27, 2026
Read the column →In Case You Missed It
Media
Morehouse Built a Place for Black Storytellers to Work. Keeping It Open Is the Next Investment.
A new multimedia center gives students access to equipment and professional training. Its long-term value will…
By Will Davison Jr. · October 2, 2026
Media
SSC Weekly Playlist: Inflection Points — Volume 1
We’re introducing a new series today. Inflection Points is SSC’s weekly curated playlist — not a…
By Social Storytellers Collective News Desk · June 19, 2026
Stephen A. Smith has defended his White House dinner with Donald Trump as a chance to advocate for Black Americans. Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan are asking whether the conversation produced anything meaningful.
Netflix is facing slower engagement growth and fierce competition from YouTube. Behind the streaming industry’s financial math is another measure of success: whether the people who write, film, build and produce entertainment can still make a living doing it.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds online communities are filling real gaps in people’s lives, especially for young adults. But most members don’t feel close to the people they find there, and many Americans still see digital connection as a lesser substitute for the real thing.
Disney Laid Off Hundreds of Workers. Then It Agreed to Pay $60 Million a Year for 66 AI Specialists.
Disney will pay roughly $900,000 a year per person to hire most of bankrupt chatbot startup Character.AI’s staff, weeks after its third round of layoffs this year.
Americans may agree that news organizations face outside pressure, but they do not agree on what the government should be allowed to do about it. In a September 15 Pew Research Center study, 81% of U.S. adults said corporate and financial interests have at least some influence over which stories receive coverage. An identical 81% said the same of government and political interests. Those findings describe perceptions rather than documented instances of interference. Still, they identify a problem for journalism that cannot be resolved by simply declaring the press independent: readers want to know who shapes the agenda, what incentives operate behind editorial choices and where government authority ends.
New Pew-Knight data shows private messages and quiet engagement now matter more than public comments. That changes what news organizations should consider an engaged audience.
The streamer is reportedly preparing its largest workforce reduction since 2022 as investors scrutinize slowing engagement and the company pushes for faster growth.
CNN, MS NOW and Politico are fighting to keep their White House access while the Justice Department investigates television networks that stopped pool coverage in protest. The dispute is becoming a test of whether government can use access and enforcement power to shape journalism.
This weekend’s strongest new streaming options range from political crime and Spielberg science fiction to action comedy, horror and a few titles worth saving for next week.
This week's culture slate is heavy on power, memory and reinvention — from a return to the Facebook story to new film, music, theater and documentary work.
Pew finds private sharing far more common than public posting, challenging the habit of reading social feeds as a complete map of public engagement.
Sinclair, one of the country’s largest local broadcast groups, is launching The National Press, a national news brand on Substack built on reporting from roughly 1,200 journalists across its 60 local newsrooms, Axios reported October 6. Independent journalist and former Newsmax co-host Lyndsay Keith will anchor the publication, which was developed with New Media, a company founded by Free Press veteran Alex Chitty, with Vice co-founder Shane Smith among its investors. Readers can subscribe for free or pay for ad-free and extended content. CEO Chris Ripley said revenue growth will be the top measure of success, followed by subscriber growth, and acknowledged that Sinclair’s earlier digital brand, Circa, was a “failure” after four years. The launch shows legacy media companies now treating newsletter platforms as a core distribution channel.