Axios

Just how badly does SoftBank want to combine Sprint with T-Mobile?

Enough that, according to Reuters, chief Masayoshi Son is willing to give up control and let T-Mobile's team run the company.

It's hardly shocking that the owners of Sprint and T-Mobile are imagining what married life would look like. T-Mobile CEO John Legere this week hinted a combination could be in the company's future. In fact, the only thing holding the companies back at the moment is the fact that they are prohibited from talking to one another during an ongoing U.S. spectrum auction.

Backstory: SoftBank and T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom talked before, giving up only when it was clear the Obama administration was going to oppose any deal that reduced the number of major carriers.

Why do they need a deal?: The cell phone business is a scale game. AT&T and Verizon have it; Sprint and T-Mobile don't.

What's next?: Expect talks to heat up soon after the FCC gets done with the spectrum auction, probably in April.

The only remaining question: Will Trump's FCC, as expected, buy the companies' argument that a merger is needed to preserve long-term competition in the industry?

Snapchat stories by companies have great engagement stats but the rules Snapchat places on stories mean advertisements must run separately, where the effectiveness is less clear.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai discussed some of his plans for media ownership and enforcing explicit language rules in an interview with Fox Business Network The takeaways:

Media ownership: Pai said he wants to modify media ownership laws. One major rule he's looking to change prohibits local consolidation of multiple media platforms, like a local newspaper buying a local television station.

Pai emphasized that as the industry continues to be outpaced by the internet, it doesn't make sense to keep them bogged down with regulations.

Explicit language: When asked whether Adele cursing at the Grammy's or Kristen Stewart swearing on SNL is acceptable, Pai stated that he will respond to complaints of explicit language on television as they come. "As long as the rules are on the books we have to enforce them," he added. He didn't say whether he will open investigations into those incidents.

Bloomberg reports that the Kremlin has ordered Russian media "to cut way back" on their complimentary coverage of Trump in light of the uncertainty around whether Trump's administration will be as friendly as they originally thought. The order comes amid the increasingly loud anti-Russian sentiment in Washington, where government agencies are digging deeper into suspected connections between Trumpworld and Russia.

Putin is apparently defending the the decision as a result of Russian viewers' decreased interest in Trump's rise to power, but Bloomberg also points out that some of the most popular TV segments on Trump focus on ideas that Russia would rather not promote, such as Trump's pledge to "drain the swamp."

P.S.: Bloomberg also notes that Trump got more mentions than Putin from Russian state media in January.

Also of note, the media was pushed out of the room when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were delivering remarks, and the the Foreign Minister was not happy about it.

Here's what went down: Lavrov fielded a question about ousted National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, and said, "You should know we do not interfere in the domestic matters of other countries." Then as soon as Tillerson started speaking, the media was signaled to leave the room. Lavrov reportedly turned to Tillerson and asked him, "Why did you shush them out?"

As Bloomberg put it: "awkward."

At 6:34a.m. this morning, Trump tweeted: "Stock market hits new high with longest winning streak in decades. Great level of confidence and optimism - even before tax plan rollout!"

Numbers below:

It's official: POTUS now has best 1st-month stock performance for an incoming WH since LBJ:(via @SPGMarketIntel) pic.twitter.com/8517FnyCDi— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) February 15, 2017

President Trump claims traditional media represent a stronger, more effective opposition party than the Democrats. So far, he's undeniably correct.

This has only a little to do with the Democrats. They have no power in Congress, so no real oversight authority, and few high-profile voices since Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama exited the stage. Rarely do you see Democrats shaping the conversation about President Trump.

It has a lot to do with the media, which was unambiguously anti-Trump during and after the presidential campaign, but is now legitimately hammering away on administration scandals and missteps. A snarling press corps is turning ravenous.