A watchdog group has filed a bar complaint against White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, requesting a probe into the alleged unauthorized practice of law (Mallory Wilson/The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6148366-katie-zacharia-legal-license-investigation/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p19#a261014p19
ESPN launches ESPN JV, a YouTube channel for kids, featuring an original animated series and appearances by sports figures and Disney characters (Brian Steinberg/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/espn-launches-espn-jv-youtube-channel-kids-1236911989/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p18#a261014p18
Sources: YouTube has held talks with publishers in recent months about an audiobook feature that could be ready next year and may be bundled in YouTube Premium (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/youtube-is-looking-to-expand-into-audiobooks-d28bd876?st=cq5paJ
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p17#a261014p17
A judge extends an earlier order to ban taxpayer-funded pro-Trump TV ads until Nov. 8, past Election Day; she'll hold a hearing on a more permanent order Nov. 4 (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-14/judge-extends-ban-on-trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-past-election-day
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p16#a261014p16
Shareholders for both Fox Corp. and Roku approve Fox's $22B acquisition of Roku; Fox expects the deal to be finished in H1 2027, subject to regulatory clearance (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/fox-roku-acquisition-approved-shareholders-1236912437/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p15#a261014p15
YouTube Music rolls out labels for songs created with the help of AI; Spotify has AI labels, and Apple Music plans to add "Made With AI" labels later this year (Lauren Forristal/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/youtube-music-launches-new-labels-as-ai-generated-music-floods-streaming-platforms/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p14#a261014p14
SCOTUS weighs whether a 1988 video rental privacy law covers Paramount sharing a free 247Sports newsletter subscriber's viewing data with Meta for targeted ads (Julian Mark/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/10/14/does-video-store-privacy-law-apply-online-supreme-court-will-decide/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p13#a261014p13
CNN says it will expand its All Access streaming service on October 20 to Canada for CA$7.99/month and the UK for £4.99/month, with 2027 plans for other markets (A.J. Katz/The Wrap)
https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/streaming/cnn-all-access-streaming-uk-canada-launch/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p12#a261014p12
Hollywood agents and producers launch the American Entertainment Alliance to lobby for a law requiring streamers to spend 50% of original budgets on indie TV (John Koblin/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/business/media/hollywood-agents-producers-ron-howard.html
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p11#a261014p11
Sources: UMG is executing extensive layoffs across the US and UK, with several top executives, including Def Jam Records Chairman-CEO Tunji Balogun, leaving (Jem Aswad/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/music/news/universal-music-group-layoffs-top-execs-out-1236911991/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p10#a261014p10
Faber and Sally Rooney withdraw her books from UK as anti-terror laws prevent Faber from paying royalties after her pledge to donate them to Palestine Action (Haroon Siddique/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/14/sally-rooney-says-she-can-no-longer-sell-books-in-the-uk-because-of-palestine-action-support
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p9#a261014p9
Skydance stock falls 25%+ after it distributed ~471M warrants to Paramount Skydance Class B shareholders, giving them the option to buy stock in the new company (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/skydance-stock-drops-warrants-paramount-investors-1236911580/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p8#a261014p8
Sources: Netflix Film VP Doug Belgrad has been laid off as part of the company's largest restructuring in four years; Belgrad joined Netflix in 2024 (The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/netflix-film-vp-doug-belgrad-layoffs-1236729799/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p7#a261014p7
Turkish police raid pro-opposition Halk TV, the country's most-watched news channel, halting live broadcasts and placing it under a state-appointed trustee (John Paul Rathbone/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/0c178261-2c29-4677-9649-5b9257662d7e
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p6#a261014p6
Memo: Netflix is cutting 6% of its staff, or ~1,000 jobs globally across product, tech, legal, and HR, its biggest layoffs since 2022, amid slowing growth (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/netflix-eliminates-about-6-of-staff-in-biggest-cuts-since-2022-0a2d8ec3?st=HQJnG2
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p5#a261014p5
Memo: Ben Frow, the chief content officer of Skydance-owned UK network 5, formerly Channel 5, plans to step down next year, after 14 years with the company (K.J. Yossman/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/ben-frow-exiting-chief-content-officer-5-skydance-uk-network-1236911166/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p4#a261014p4
Newly formed GNN Group, which includes Whalar co-founder James Street, acquires Good News Network, a digital publisher that champions stories of human progress (Jesse Whittock/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2026/10/good-news-network-sold-gnn-group-formed-1237155562/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p3#a261014p3
Big Issue, sold in the UK by homeless or vulnerable people, says content deals with major brands are helping it diversify its income as print revenue declines (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/magazines/big-issue-helps-brands-reach-purpose-driven-consumers/
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p2#a261014p2
The State of Local News annual report finds that the 10 largest owners control 75% of the 678 distinct local commercial TV newsrooms across the US (Sara Fischer/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/10/13/local-news-television-newspapers
http://mediagazer.com/261014/p1#a261014p1
A US federal judge rules the White House cannot enforce President Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico in the long term pending a trial or an appeal (Ted Johnson/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2026/10/trump-white-house-ban-cnn-ms-now-politico-4-1237155884/
http://mediagazer.com/261013/p23#a261013p23