Charlamagne tha God said he would "definitely" sit down and have a conversation with President Trump if given a chance, "The Breakfast Club" co-host said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: Appearing on Charlamagne's show and The Black Effect Podcast Network could offer the president access to the company's 2 million-plus monthly listeners, and comes at a time when the Trump administration is pressuring broadcasters to moderate their content to better align with the president's ideals.
News media companies need to focus on making their coverage balanced and fact-based in the current political environment, Shari Redstone, chair and CEO of the Redstone Family Foundation, said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: Her comments come as free speech advocates warn of eroding press freedoms, as President Trump sues news outlets and calls for broadcasters to oust their late-night talk show hosts.
ESPN would consider other unconventional or equity deals with sports leagues, if those transactions would boost its standing with fans, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: ESPN has been experimenting with equity deals as it reevaluates how it structures its business partnerships.
Snap doesn't need to raise funds to launch its new Specs augmented reality glasses next year, but could consider opportunities to accelerate its expansion, CEO Evan Spiegel said at the Axios Media Trends Live event on Thursday.
Why it matters: The company is running head-long into competition with Meta, which is leaning heavily into its own smart glasses platform.
President Trump said networks giving him negative coverage may deserve to have their licenses revoked, ramping up threats administration officials have made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing.
Why it matters: Trump's threat came a day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show over remarks about conservative's response to Kirk's death, a move critics already see as government-driven censorship.
Popular Substack newsletter Feed Me is launching its first podcast, founder Emily Sundberg announced Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: The move underscores how independent newsletter writers are evolving into full-fledged media operators with new formats and revenue streams to build staying power.
The New York Times is confident it can defeat President Trump's $15 billion defamation lawsuit, the paper's executive editor Joseph Kahn said Thursday at an Axios Media Trends Live event.
Why it matters: The paper is aggressively defending itself at a time critics accuse some other media organizations of not standing up to the administration.
Condé Nast is preparing for the inevitable day when Anna Wintour steps aside — but she isn't going anywhere yet, CEO Roger Lynch said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: Wintour has been the defining face of the legacy media company for more than three decades, shaping not only Vogue but the entire portfolio of brands.
Netflix's upcoming "Frankenstein" movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro, will have a limited run in IMAX theaters, CEO Richard Gelfond said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: The news comes after IMAX previously struck an exclusive theatrical deal with Netflix for Greta Gerwig's "The Chronicles of Narnia."
NASCAR continues to have international expansion plans, though it's "tricky" right now to sell America overseas, commissioner Steve Phelps said at the Axios Media Trends Live event on Thursday.
Why it matters: Even auto racing isn't immune to the global tensions denting America's reputation and complicating things for big business.
The Federal Communications Commission under the Trump administration is "weaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel," FCC commissioner Anna Gomez said Thursday at the Axios Media Trends Live event.
Why it matters: Her comments come as FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been vocal in pressuring broadcasters with threats of investigations and warning of other actions.
The Associated Press is doing better than it had expected raising money toward a $100 million goal for its news philanthropy fund, AP CEO Daisy Veerasingham said at the Axios Media Trends Live event on Thursday.
Why it matters: The AP fund is intended to support local journalism at a time local newsrooms are consolidating and closing at an accelerating rate.
Tracee Ellis Ross may be traveling solo — but she chose to partner with Roku Originals for her viral travel show because its technology allowed her to pair business with entertainment, the award-winning actress said Thursday at Axios Media Trends Live.
Why it matters: In a crowded entertainment landscape, every streaming company is jockeying for talent and original content as they compete to be major players in this era's dominant source of television consumption.
AI chip maker Nvidia is coming to the aid of its struggling rival Intel, agreeing to invest $5 billion in the company and to collaborate on developing chips for data centers and PCs.
Why it matters: It's a huge vote of confidence in Intel, which last month agreed to allow the U.S. government to take a nearly 10% stake in the company for $8.9 billion.
President Trump's economic agenda collided with the Supreme Court Thursday, as Trump asked the justices to let him fire Fed governor Lisa Cook and the court scheduled arguments on a challenge to his trade agenda.
Why it matters: The outcome of both cases has major implications for the future of the economy and administration policy.
BET's new sports talk show "106 & Sports" will premiere Oct. 15, the network announced Thursday.
The big picture: Based on the popular "106 & Park," the series will highlight sports, music and entertainment with hosts Cam Newton and Ashley Nicole Moss.
The Federal Trade Commission sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation on Thursday, accusing them of allowing brokers to snap up large quantities of tickets and profiting from it.
Why it matters: Ticket sellers have been under scrutiny for years for "junk fees" and for failing to crack down on automated bots that buy tickets before the public can purchase them and then jack up the price for resale.
Anthropic — the AI research lab behind the large language model Claude — has launched its first brand campaign.
Why it matters: Anthropic has been a key player in enterprise AI, but hopes this campaign will raise awareness within the consumer market that's dominated by its competitor OpenAI.
More than 80% of corporate affairs work can be augmented and automated by AI, according to a new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report.
Why it matters: AI presents so much opportunity for efficiencies and cost savings that it cannot be ignored, BCG chief communications officer Russell Dubner says.
In 2021, Spotify tapped music artists Billie Eilish and Finneas to help announce the rollout of a high-fidelity audio feature, called "lossless," which would be available later that year. Months passed, but the feature didn't launch.
Why it matters: The long-awaited rollout presented a tricky communication challenge, but instead of ignoring how much time had passed, the audio streamer leaned in.
AI policy proposals, and even many AI investments, often are rooted in the concept of a "race with China." Rarely is there follow-up about what the race course or finish line might look like.
Yesterday, however, we got into some of the particulars during an Axios AI+ Summit conversation with Sriram Krishnan, the longtime tech exec and venture capitalist who now serves as the White House's senior policy advisor for AI.
Mastercard forecasts shoppers will lean more on gift cards this holiday season, anchoring budgets with a tariff-proof option.
Why it matters: Tariffs are raising costs on staples like toys and Christmas décor, inflation is creeping back, and retailers are expected to be more cautious with discounts.
European Union green rules will "challenge" the U.S.-EU energy deal, Exxon CEO Darren Woods tells Axios.
Why it matters: Woods is pushing back hard on looming ESG standards for companies based or doing business in the bloc above certain revenue threshold levels.
Trump-friendly billionaires are consolidating control over American media, steering legacy brands and social platforms in a new conservative direction.
Why it matters: The media landscape of 2016 is unrecognizable. Once dominated by critics of President Trump, today's fragmented ecosystem is increasingly controlled — or threatened — by forces aligned with the White House.
Axios' 2025 AI+ DC Summit mapped a stark divide in approaches to handling a predicted tidal wave of jobs disrupted or eliminated by AI.
Why it matters: Whether and how to help workers navigate a job market reshaped by AI will be one of the most consequential choices the U.S. government makes in the next few years.
Three police officers in York County, Pennsylvania, were shot and killed and two others criticallyinjured on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The big picture: The suspect in the shooting, which happened in a rural community some 100 miles west of Philadelphia, is also dead, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris said at a Wednesday evening briefing.
ABC is pulling Jimmy Kimmel after a wave of criticism over the late night host's recent comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing.
Why it matters: Kimmel is among the most high-profile people to face professional consequences for criticizing the conservative activist killed last week.
Jimmy Kimmel's comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk saw his show pulled by ABC on Wednesday.
The big picture: "'Jimmy Kimmel Live' will be pre-empted indefinitely," an ABC spokesperson said in a statement shared with outlets including Axios. Here's what Kimmel said on his show and Instagram about Kirk's shooting in Utah last week.
