The Grill Room

Mosheh Oinounou joins Dylan to discuss his leap from legacy media to independent journalism with the founding of Mo News, which, despite early challenges, has grown to more than 12,000 paid subscribers and expanded into podcasts and newsletters. Oinounou also digs into the importance of A.I. in news customization, the potential for future collaborations between independent creators and legacy medi...

Julia Alexander swings by the pod to dig into the recent slew of licensing deals, à la ESPN-McAfee and Fox-Portnoy, which allow creators to maintain their independence while benefiting from additional exposure and revenue. This leads to a broader conversation about the challenges and opportunities for legacy media companies in adapting to the creator economy writ large. The Grill Room Podcast is p...

On this special episode, the Ruthless Podcast co-hosts, Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook, and Shashank Tripathi, join Dylan to discuss the origins of their podcast—and more intriguingly, their new licensing deal with Fox News. They also dig into their unique approach to politics, the lack of conservative humor in the media landscape, the challenges faced by legacy media, and much more. T...

Dylan and Julia chew over the most pressing media news of the week: Disney’s dynamic NFL deal, the finalized Paramount-Skydance merger, the chatter surrounding David Ellison’s interest in Warner Bros., and much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: https://www.bp.com/InvestingInAmerica To learn more about listener data and our privacy practic...

Katie Drummond, global editorial director of Wired, joins the pod to reflect on her overhaul of the tech magazine—transforming it into a sharp-edged outlet covering the dystopian intersection of technology, politics, and culture. She discusses the significance of original reporting, Wired’s notable growth and ambitions growth strategy, A.I.’s threat to journalism, and much, much more. The Grill Ro...

Julia Alexander rejoins Dylan to hash out the most combustible stories in media: The Wall Street Journal’s increasingly aggressive Trump-Epstein coverage—and Trump’s retaliatory lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch; how editor Emma Tucker is turning the Journal into a serious challenger to The New York Times; what the media world might look like in a post-Murdoch landscape; and much, much more. The Gril...

Vox Media C.E.O. Jim Bankoff joins Dylan for a deep dive into the company’s evolution following a recent investment that now values the business at $500 million, roughly half what it was worth a decade or so ago. They dig into Vox’s strategy around talent-driven content, the central role of their podcast network, the enduring value of their legacy print publications, how the company is adapting to...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to chew over the media industry’s latest soap operas: South Park’s satirical take on Trump and Paramount, the unfolding legal battle between Trump and Rupert Murdoch, Bari Weiss’s $200 million valuation target for The Free Press, Bezos-CNBC acquisition murmurs, and much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America:...

Dylan sits down with an anonymous, plugged-in investment banker in the media space to peel back the curtain on Substack’s recent $100 million raise—and the staggering $1.1 billion valuation that came with it. They unpack what it means for the future of the platform, the broader implications of this investment on the media landscape, and whether it can lead to more sustainable business models and i...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan for a wide-ranging chat about the most pressing plotlines consuming the media industry: what Substack’s recent $1.1 billion evaluation portends for the creator economy writ large; Apple’s $150 million offer for F1 and the streamer’s broader sports media ambitions; David Ellison's courtship to bring Bari Weiss to Skydance; and much, much more. The Grill Room Podc...

John Ourand joins Dylan to dissect Apple’s $150 million bid for F1’s U.S. media rights—and what it reveals about the company’s growing ambitions in live sports. They also examine why ESPN, facing a new era of financial restraint, chose not to compete, and what that decision portends for the broader sports rights arms race. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to delve into how A.I. services like ChatGPT are cutting into Google’s search market share—and how Google’s new A.I. tools may be cannibalizing its own business. They also discuss the annual Allen & Co. conference, dig into the biggest storylines stemming from the Sun Valley Lodge this year, and much, much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all...

Wall Street Journal’s Josh Dawsey joins Dylan to discuss how the recent $16 million settlement between Trump and Paramount came to fruition—a far cry from Trump’s initial demand of $100 million. They also dig into Dawsey’s new book on the 2024 election, the Democrats’ strategic malaise, and why the Journal is well-positioned for this political moment. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See...

Julia Alexander rejoins Dylan to pick up where they left off on Tuesday, shifting the focus to legacy media’s slow unraveling and the uphill climb of the creator economy in the news space. They dig into the harsh realities facing independent journalists and legacy media refugees attempting to build sustainable businesses without institutional backing—and why, for most, true scale remains out of re...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to address a handful of media industry questions and provocations: why YouTube’s success with niche content doesn’t mean Netflix should necessarily follow suit, how the entertainment pendulum is swinging back toward quality over quantity, and what a bombshell A.I. ruling means for content creators and copyright law. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See...

Adam White, founder and C.E.O. of Front Office Sports, joins Dylan to recount how he transformed a college class project into a fast-growing, multi-platform media company—now majority-owned by RedBird. Adam explains the company’s editorial thesis, how they stay relevant in an oversaturated sports media landscape, and why he’s betting big on their newly launched Front Office Sports Studios, a long-...

Oliver Darcy, founder of Status, joins Dylan to reflect on the highs and hurdles of launching his own media venture. He discusses the challenges of building a sustainable business without external capital, the pressure to deliver distinctive reporting, the looming influence of A.I., the enduring value of editorial integrity—and much more. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways...

In a special anniversary episode, Dylan and Julia ponder how YouTube has totally transformed the media business over the last 20 years: the proliferation of the creator economy, the amateurization of news, and whether Jake and Anderson should grab a microphone and ditch the suit.  The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠https://www.bp.com/InvestingI...

Steve Grove, the new-ish C.E.O. of The Minnesota Star Tribune, joins Dylan for a rollicking conversation about the existential threats facing local journalism—and the strategies he’s deploying to combat them. Grove, the former director of Google’s News Lab, gets into the weeds of why homepage traffic still matters, how he’s targeting affinity groups, the surprising value of high school sports cove...

Dylan and Julia weigh into the chaos surrounding WBD’s breakup and what it means for HBO and CNN as the company’s biggest brands go separate ways. They also discuss Apple’s underwhelming developers conference earlier this week, and how Google’s A.I. “overviews” are bleeding the media business. Then Lauren Sherman swings by to chat about Anna Wintour appointing one of her deputies to run Vanity Fai...

Axios’s Alex Thompson joins Dylan for a deep dive into ‘Original Sin,’ the Biden exposé he co-authored with CNN’s Jake Tapper. They discuss the role and responsibility of journalists in today’s media climate, and particularly, the media’s culpability in allegedly covering up Biden’s cognitive decline while he was in the White House. They also address Karine Jean-Pierre's pivot to independence, the...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to unpack the shifting logic behind sports streaming deals—and how platforms are rethinking how to value audience engagement and viewership. They also discuss how generative A.I. is poised to disrupt the advertising business and the unexpected opportunities it could create. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠...

Dylan welcomes his Puck partner Bill Cohan to discuss the latest revelations at Warner Bros. Discovery, which just suffered a credit downgrade. Is Zaz about to spin his cable assets? Can he even afford to at this point? The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re investing in America: ⁠https://www.bp.com/InvestingInAmerica To learn more about listener data and our privacy pra...

Julia Alexander reunites with Dylan to break down a pair of media industry talking points: whether Disney’s strategic acquisition of ‘Cocomelon’ can help the business reclaim its foothold in the kids content space, and what YouTube’s brazen poaching of ESPN’s Justin Connolly signals about its ambitions in the live sports arena. The Grill Room Podcast is presented by bp. See all the ways we’re inve...

On this special crossover episode with The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly joins Dylan to unravel the plot twists in Rob Manfred’s ongoing MLB’s media rights negotiations, highlighting their potential deals with NBC and Apple. Then they dive into the firestorm ignited by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, ‘Original Sin’—and the fractures it’s revealing within the Democratic Party. The Grill Room...