Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have both launched YouTube shows in recent weeks — the latest examples of how the Trump administration is redefining how government communicates with the American public.

Why it matters: The White House has bypassed traditional press relations while assuming an unorthodox approach to media that puts itself in the role of content creator.

• 🏛️ Cabinet officials are taking notice.

🔎 Zoom in: In "The Real Food Show," Kennedy plays celebrity chef, donning an apron to make healthy meals alongside guests.

• 🚗 Duffy's new show, "The Great American Road Trip," features segments that resemble a reality TV program.
• 🛋️ It includes behind-the-scenes footage of Duffy's family talking about personal decisions, like college choices, featured alongside "couch confessional"-type reflections of those interactions.

Between the lines: Other sitting officials have started experimenting with podcasts, which has become more common among elected politicians.

• 🧪 NIH director Jay Bhattacharya hosts "The Director's Desk," which mostly features conversations with science professionals about medical progress.
• 🎙️ In addition to his cooking series, Kennedy also hosts the interview show, "The Secretary Kennedy Podcast."
• 💊 Former FDA commissioner Marty Makary launched the "FDA Direct" podcast, which he hosted for roughly a year before resigning.

Reality check: Although President Trump — the original reality TV star-turned-politician — successfully built his career off of "The Apprentice" and other media ventures, his Cabinet officials have seen mixed results as content creators.

• 👨‍🍳 Kennedy's "Real Food Show" is averaging over 175,000 views across three episodes — a healthy number, if not Mr. Beast-like.
• 📉 On the other hand, Duffy — a former reality TV star himself — is getting about 7,500 views per video since the six episodes of "The Great American Road Trip" were released last week.

Zoom out: While officials in previous administrations have done one-off influencer collaborations or Reddit AMA conversations, few have ventured into the territory of highly produced video series starring themselves.

• That may be because those projects can be time-consuming and often expensive to produce.

💸 Follow the money: The Wall Street Journal notes that several of the sponsors for the nonprofit that's funding "The Great American Road Trip" include companies the Transportation Department regulates, including Boeing and Toyota, which have both reportedly donated $1 million to help fund the program.

🖼️ The big picture: For Trump administration officials, personal vlogs and podcasts can serve as an opportunity to use a more casual tone that resembles the president's communication style, with the hope that it will resonate with everyday Americans.

• The White House itself has leaned heavily into creator-style content on its social media accounts, using memes and internet humor to trumpet mass immigration arrests and the Iran war.

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TV is going back in time heading into the fall season.

State of play: Streamers are no longer leaning as heavily on binge releases, opting instead to drop their biggest hits in weekly increments or two to three times per week, according to data from Parrot Analytics.

• 🕰️ At the same time, nostalgic teen shows are making a comeback.
• 📺 And tech firms are trying to bundle channels and networks again.

Why it matters: Binge watching and à la carte choice was critical in ushering broad adoption of subscription streaming. Now, entertainment giants recognize that appointment viewing can drive fandom and reduce churn.

🍂 Zoom in: This fall, Apple TV will release "Where's Wanda? Season 2" and "Slow Horses Season 6" episodes weekly. HBO Max will release "Ware" and "4 Blocks Zero" episodes weekly as well.

• Hulu and FX will use a hybrid model for the release of "American Horror Story Season 13," just like "The Shards" a few weeks ago.

Zoom out: Netflix remains the notable outlier. While it's experimented with weekly and batch drops, this fall, "The Gentlemen Season 2," "East of Eden" and "A Different World" will each drop all of their episodes at once.

🔢 By the numbers: For the first time last year, the supply of streaming shows in the U.S. more than doubled that of binge releases, a testament to how much streamers have changed their strategies since the binge show drop first became popular in the late aughts.

• Shows have been steadily moving back to weekly releases since the pandemic, per Parrot Analytics.

The bottom line: Streaming is starting to look a lot more like the television business it disrupted.

Axios Media Trends Executive subscribers can go deeper to access our full report on streaming.

Erik Slavin, former editor-in-chief of the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes, says the Pentagon never raised an objection about any of his many media interviews until a controversial conversation with CBS News aired on July 5.

Why it matters: Slavin's removal raises fresh questions about press freedom at the Pentagon and the independence of Stars and Stripes.

• 📰 While the military newspaper receives some of its income from the Pentagon through congressionally appropriated funds, it was established to serve as an independent publication.

Zoom out: Slavin was abruptly dismissed by the Pentagon Friday for "insubordination" over that CBS interview, in which he said hypothetical censorship at Stars and Stripes would be a "red line" for him.

• He told Axios that his separation notice also cited a second specification regarding an administrative violation around giving an unauthorized interview. "I had always notified my supervisor, the publisher," he said.

Between the lines: Slavin was removed along with publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte.

• While he has been vocal about concerns around limited access to the Pentagon under the administration, he told Axios he never felt any pressure from the government to adjust his reporting in any way.
• "We have always reported to the highest standards of journalism," he said.

🪖 Zoom out: Stars and Stripes, which has been continuously published since World War II, has long existed as a source of independent news for the U.S. military community, especially service members overseas.

• ✏️ Its independence can be credited for breaking major news stories, including recent reports about the mental health crisis about the USS Abraham Lincoln.
• ⏱️ Slavin noted that his separation notice came around 10 days after the outlet broke its initial story on that issue.

The big picture: The firings at Stars and Stripes follow a long list of efforts by the Pentagon to tighten press coverage and control information.

• In January, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Defense Department planned to "refocus" the paper's content "away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members."

What's next: Slavin told Axios he intends to reply to the separation notice. "There's nothing regarding appeals in that, but I will reply to it," he said.

🍿 The Paramount deal drama is more interesting than any show Hollywood is producing right now.

Why it matters: Just as Paramount CEO David Ellison appeared poised to get his deal over the finish line, he encountered a new, unexpected hurdle.

Driving the news: California Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled Monday's planned meeting with Ellison, accusing Paramount of leaking details of a prior meeting.

• He told CNN Monday night that he's willing to reschedule talks "if Paramount is able to get a lid on what's happening, get their house in order, stop the lying leaks, and engage in good faith."

🙅 The other side: In a statement, a Paramount spokesperson denied the allegation.

• "We share AG Bonta's concerns about the public discussions and misreporting that has surrounded this deal. As we have assured the Attorney General's office, Paramount has not been the source of the leaks of any of our confidential discussions with the AG's office."
• "We remain hopeful and stand ready to continue good faith discussions to resolve the Attorneys General suit and move forward with our plans for increased competition and increased output to the benefit of the talent and entertainment workers."

State of play: The pair had been expected to negotiate a settlement to the multistate antitrust lawsuit that seeks to block Paramount's proposed $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

• 📽️ Bonta may have asked Paramount to commit to keeping Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures separate, as well as divest some cable channels, per WSJ.

💰 Yes, but: That second ask may prove tricky, since Paramount is counting on cable cash flow to help pay down acquisition financing.

🔄 What to watch: Prospective buyers are circling the Warner Bros. Discovery assets should a deal require divestitures or fall apart, Bloomberg reports.

A state court struck down Maryland's digital advertising tax last week, marking a major victory for tech platforms facing increasing tax pressure from a slew of states around the country.

⚖️ Why it matters: The ruling could force other state lawmakers to reconsider or reconstruct similar measures out of fear that they may not hold up in court.

🦀 Catch up quick: Maryland became the first U.S. state to enact a tax specifically on digital advertising in 2021.

• 📱 The bill drew swift blowback from media and tech firms. NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, Google and Apple were among the companies that challenged the tax.

State of play: In striking down the levy last week, a state tax court ordered Maryland to refund taxes paid by Apple, Google and Peacock, plus interest.

• ⚖️ The court found the measure violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce, as well as the Commerce Clause and Due Process Clause.
• 📻 Among their concerns was that Maryland taxes digital advertising, while nondigital advertising — including print, radio and television ads — is not subject to the same statewide tax.
• 💵 The court also took issue with Maryland's use of companies' global revenue to determine whether they are subject to the tax and the rate they pay.

Zoom out: Over the past few years, lawmakers in several states have introduced various advertising tax bills in a bid to generate more state income.

• 🏜️ Utah and Illinois enacted targeted advertising taxes this year that take effect in 2027. A state advocacy group has already filed a challenge to Utah's ad tax measure.
• 🏗️ Pennsylvania's House passed a 5% gross receipts tax on digital advertising services. Tennessee proposed applying sales and use taxes to advertising services more broadly for businesses with at least $100 million in annual revenue.

What to watch: Further appeals are expected in Maryland.

Three press freedom projects are debuting this fall that underscore the increasing threats journalists face around the world.

The big picture: The stories highlighted across these projects serve as a reminder of the risks many people take around the world to support pivotal journalism, and how the press freedom crisis is intensifying.

🇦🇫 Sept. 8: "The Last Free Women" debuts on the heels of the fifth anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan.

• The book, authored by journalists Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Kapp, explains how the New York Times was able to help identify and ultimately relocate more than 200 people fleeing the conflict, 124 of whom ended up in the U.S.

🇮🇷 Sept. 9: "Freedom Desk" launches as a new weekly video podcast hosted by Jason Rezaian, director of press freedom initiatives at the Washington Post.

• Confirmed guests include Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), CNN journalist Clarissa Ward, and former U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens.

🇷🇺 Sept. 29: "This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story," the highly anticipated prison memoir from the Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich, will for the first time provide a detailed, firsthand account of Gershkovich's time imprisoned in Putin's Russia for more than a year.

Zoom out: The number of journalists around the world facing imprisonment, displacement and attacks continues to grow.

• Rezaian, who was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2014 while serving as the Post's Tehran correspondent, told Axios his new podcast aims to help listeners understand what's at stake for democracy and why the First Amendment is so critical.

By the numbers: Reporters Without Borders helped journalists flee 40 countries in 2025, more than double the 19 countries it assisted journalists in leaving in 2021, the year Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, according to RSF data.

• Of those that fled in that time period, 677 were Afghan journalists, 160 were Russian journalists and 101 were Burmese journalists. Hundreds more came from roughly 60 different countries.

The bottom line: "This sort of work is not for the faint of heart," Blumenstein — formerly of the Times and now NBC News' president of editorial — told Axios in a recent interview.